The Graphics Plateau: Where do we go next?

[Hyper-space]

Gaming visuals are reaching their peak, slowly but surely. What will happen once we finally reach it? The current generation of Consoles has been the driving force for bringing lifelike visuals to gaming, with games like Killzone 3, Crysis, and such.

Where do we go next? The Playstation 2 era hit its graphics threshold rather quickly, and so games instead expanded outwards. Instead of trying to push the limits further, the PS2 era began to focus more on gameplay and style over realism, with solid platformers like Jak and Daxter or Ratchet and Clank.

But while all this was happening, and the older consoles gaining massive catalogs of games, the companies were still working on the NextGen consoles, which we have now. Of course the biggest focus of the new hardware was the shinier graphics engines, which pushed the boundries of graphical fidelity. We are reaching the end of that push for realism.

What is going to happen next? I'm really not sure. Thoughts?

In short: THE MOTHERF*CKING GOLDEN AGE OF VIDEO-GAMES.

Long version: Imagine as video-games hit the graphics plateau and its becomes easier for people to work with super-high graphics, the indie market will be able to create games with sick-ass graphics with no effort AND experimental gameplay/story/everything else.

This means that the indie market (which is the experimental sector of the video-game industry) will fully realize its potential as it would be able to make ANY kind of game that they want, which in turn would give the AAA part of the industry a constant source of inspiration and new ideas to work on AS WELL as being able to devote more time and resources on gameplay/story/everything else.

So yeah, it would be the greatest thing to happen to gaming, ever. Which is why I am not against the graphics-heavy focus of the industry, as I know that once it hits it plateau we will all as gamers be that much more richer.

SO HERE'S TO GRAPHICS, may it drive itself into irrelevance.

 

[viking97]

well physics engines and AI, and other things that can still be upgraded without the need of graphics. Although thats the only two that stick out in my mind...

 

[Stall]

yeah because taking next gen graphics advice from somebody who made the least graphically appealing game in the last 10 years sounds like a sensible move.

Maybe you should read what he wrote before you come decide to be smarmy. Besides, that's an ad hominem argument, since you are dismissing his opinion a game developer and designer because of something he made. It comes down to animation being incredibly difficult with voxel graphics, among other things.

http://notch.tumblr.com/post/8386977075/its-a-scam

There. I found it for you, since you would prefer to act all high and mighty and discount the opinion of someone who knows MUCH more about video games than you instead of doing a google search and maybe learning something. Like I said, read it before you be smarmy next time. Besides, voxel graphics are nothing new.

 

[Ninjat_126]

...game prices will rise (I'm predicting $80 as the new standard, personally)...

By "rise", you mean "drop", right? Because $80 is about $30 less than we're spending in Australia.

Personally, I think (as well as gameplay) we should be focusing on making all the brilliant graphics actually work. Because I hate how PC gamers need to buy new hardware every few months if they want to play the latest games. I'd love to buy Crysis or Crysis 2, but once you add in the cost of buying a new laptop it's just not worth it.

 

[Zero_ctrl]

Aesthetics and gameplay are next.
Clever use of limitations can create better looking projects than the ones that boast how powerful their engine is.

 

[Reaper195]

Fuck graphics. We need to start making games that don't take five hours to finish, have shit voice acting and better/deeper stories before we make them look prettier.

 

[kickyourass]

I think that the next "Graphics arms race" you might say will come when we start building holodecks or something.

 

[Jdb]

Fantastic graphics become easier to use, freeing developers to focus on game play. It's already starting to happen I think. Hawken comes to mind. I don't know how easy the Unreal Engine 3 is to use, but it doesn't sound too hard if nine guys can make something like Hawken in one year.

 

[Simeon Ivanov]

Next ... probably Virtual Reality.

OR ... we do the smart thing and stop giving a fuck about graphics.

 

[captaincabbage]

how bout instead of focusin on graphics more work on increasing what is going on in gameplay like more advanced AI or more detailed gameworlds

This is what I'm hoping for personally.
With the upper end of graphical prowess being reached, which will all invariably drop all the failures into the uncanny valley and all the successes crawling up the other side, we're not really too sure what to do next.
As previously stated, the PS2 era provoked sideways thought, in a good way, allowing people to see what they were meant to see without all the overpowered hardware we have on offer today, instead of relying on said overpowered hardware to hold up the entire game.

As it should always be said and thought of in game companies, a game is like a present. It'll only ever be as good as the thought you put into it and the contents will show that, and always, always remember, graphics are never the main event, they're just the wrapping paper.

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

Hopefully when graphics technology plateaus, developers will get bored of realism and realize that sometimes people play video games to get away from real life. Then, graphics will become brighter and in general more stylized. After that, developers will use the money usually devoted to ultra realism to work more on story and gameplay. Especially gameplay.

This is all just wishful thinking, though...

 

[F4LL3N]

Good graphics is what sells. We are not the majority. If there wasn't a large market looking for photo-realism, then we wouldn't see it. In 10-20 years time the audience wanting to play 'AAA' titles will be 30 times bigger than it is now, and the larger the market the more variety we'll see in games. If developers/technology companies listened to half of you guys we wouldn't have half the technology we have today. We'd still be using Windows 98 and VHS tapes.

You'll all be thanking these guys when you can go pick up your 100" full HD-3D TV with a built in super computer that'll be a cross between a TV, a computer and a console with half a TB of RAM, 10 petabytes of harddrive and an internet connection that'll transfer your entire harddrive in seconds.

You'll be playing HD-3D MMO's that'll hold a million players on a single server with 100FPS and 0% lag from every corner of the planet...

Do you see what I'm getting at? Improving technology isn't a bad thing. Sure, we're in a bit of a ditch now. But that won't last forever, and eventually you'll see that the high up graphics trend we're in now is a good thing.

Btw, I'm with the group that says console graphics are currently sh*t. PC graphics are sh*t too when you realise you need a $2000 computer to run it and MMO's can't improve above World of Warcraft graphics without turning the game to mush.

 

[Ir0n Squid]

I want more intelligent AI. Not just smarter enemies but also a smarter game overall. By that I mean imagine being able to make a computer DM in a fantasy game be able to react and adjust just as a real human would. Be able to learn from previous sessions, etc. etc.

Just... not too intelligent as to take over the world.

 

[Okysho]

Maybe money won't be wasted on "graphics" and be put towards making the actual game.


that'd be.... a Revolution!!

 

[I Have No Idea]

Now hire somebody who knows how to write a fucking story again that doesn't involve "duck behind wall, shoot, move 15 feet, duck behind wall, angst about dead friend, shoot, move 15 feet..."

You can't really bash that, because it's not story. It's gameplay. And no matter how amazing the story is, it must take a backseat to gameplay. If the game isn't fun, then the story doesn't matter.

However, you can bash it because it's not exciting gameplay. I agree with you, though, we really need more innovation, especially in the FPS department. Sadly, that innovation won't happen for a while until games get cheaper to make and publishers begin to take more risks.

 

[krazykidd]

I vote for ... Virtual reality but real virtual reality like in the movie "gamer" not what nintendo promised us 10 years ago , * stares at the virtual boy * ... Which will bring it's own set of problems . Could you imagine a virtual world of " the sims"? People no longer about to tell the difference between their virtual life and real life? Or even worst a virtual "world of warcraft" ? How many people will lose their souls to that . Not to mention fox news would have a field day with Virtual COD ... The world would end .

Edit: A virtual portal game would be AWSOME but a virtual Amnesia : the dark descent , would be the leading cause of heart attacks .

 

[80Maxwell08]

yeah because taking next gen graphics advice from somebody who made the least graphically appealing game in the last 10 years sounds like a sensible move.

Maybe you should read what he wrote before you come decide to be smarmy. Besides, that's an ad hominem argument, since you are dismissing his opinion a game developer and designer because of something he made. It comes down to animation being incredibly difficult with voxel graphics, among other things.

http://notch.tumblr.com/post/8386977075/its-a-scam

There. I found it for you, since you would prefer to act all high and mighty and discount the opinion of someone who knows MUCH more about video games than you instead of doing a google search and maybe learning something. Like I said, read it before you be smarmy next time. Besides, voxel graphics are nothing new.

There. I found it for you, since you would prefer to act all high and mighty and discount the opinion of someone who knows MUCH more about video games than you instead of doing a google search and maybe learning something. Like I said, read it before you be smarmy next time. Besides, voxel graphics are nothing new.

maybe if you do a google search you could lean that they are doing animation and in no way is the technology similar to the voxel stuff notch works with

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVB1ayT6Fdc
I figured that would be relevant to the conversation you two are having here. Also to the second guy it seemed you dismissed him because of minecraft but that doesn't necessarily mean he knows nothing about graphics he chose that art style. I don't mean to jump on either of you I just thought this was relevant.

 

[T7nowhere]

I would say until There is a new generation of consoles that can handle higher quality visuals maybe the developers will have to focus on making games that play in different and interesting ways instead of just being pretty.

 

[DustyDrB]

I've been saying it for years now: AI

When companion AI falls behind me because it doesn't know how to jump over a short fence, I have to wonder if they've really improved AI much at all over the last decade.