Why do people want games to be realistic?

Need a Dispenser

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Jul 9, 2011
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Me:"Hey are you going to buy the new SSX?"
People:"No, it's to unrealistic."

I honestly don't get why some people want to play a realistic snowboard simulator.

What happened to the times when people wanted to play something unrealistic and just have fun? Now the games are all about the graphics and how close it is to real life, and I find it sad that people tell me with a straight face that they would rather play something like Shaun White's Snowboarding than SSX.

So Escapist, what's your take on SSX and Realism in games in general?
 

Terminate421

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Jul 21, 2010
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Because we want to reach the ultimate game that we can put "ourselves" into and mimic real life.

Unless of course we are talking about just keeping gravity set on Halo, than thats just basic physics.

Other than that, Realism has sort of dropped over the last year. The only game that really 'went' for it was Battlefield 3. (Other than Sports games)
 

Corven

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Sep 10, 2008
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I honestly don't get why some people want to play a unrealistic snowboard simulator.

The same statement could be said to you in reverse. before the pictures start showing up I'll say it's all down to personal preference and taste, the sooner you accept that fact and stop dwelling on it and just go on to enjoy your own stuff the better off you'll be.

Sometimes people want an accurate depiction of reality in their gaming experiences, just look at gran turismo, people like the series because the devs try to go for 100% authentic sound /handling/appearance of the cars within the game, but on the flip side some people just like the arcadey goodness and mayhem of the burnout series.
 

Muspelheim

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I want -some- games to feel realistic, and some not, basically. In the realistic corner, I've always got good old ArmA 2 and what else the old (good) Operation Flashpoint developers make.

However, I wouldn't like to see realistic drop-off or something in Team Fortress 2.
 

Rivenart

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I don't want the new SSX because it looks too realistic, they've ruined my favourite psycho. Then again I've not exactly payed it much attention either. 3 was meh, huge, nice customization. Never did try the one with skiers. Think tricky was the best, but some of that bias may be in how much fun I used to have playing it with my friends way back.

And I love arguements that the lighting or why a character does X action or can't "die" is unrealistic in games about fighting dragons and saving the world.
 

DoPo

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Jan 30, 2012
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I think the issue is that we're throwing "realistic" too casually. It can mean both "authentic" and "immersive"[footnote]Or "credible", "believable", "consistent", if you like. The question is does it bother you and are you willing to suspend your disbelief while playing it[/footnote]. Shooting with an M4 at real-life-looking people can be just as immersive as killing aliens with an AK47. One is less authentic than the other, of course. And then you can have something like Serious Sam where you shoot at hordes of skeletons, giant bulls and enormous bio-robots with a hand held cannon and a gatling rocketlauncher. Is it authentic? No, it's not. But is it immersive? That depends on the player. It comes down to whether you how close you want to simulate reality versus how much you want to shoot shurikens and lightning.

That's why we can't exactly say how much a game is "realistic". For different people it means different things. I have friends who play racing games for the authentic experience and they call it "realistic", I have other friends who play the game because it has real cars in it and real race tracks, although driving and some mechanics may not be authentic. They still call it "realistic". I myself liked playing NFS until about 4 where your car could break down and misbehave (the car getting so broken to the point it made a left turn, if you just pressed forward - I loved that), after that game, the damage to the car was only cosmetic (cracks on the windows and really heavy damage was slightly more cracks) and it didn't feel so real. However in a fantasy game, I'm completely fine with battling ogres, demons and dragons with flames from my fingertips. Until an NPC dies when I am well aware that resurrection methods are dirty cheap by then (and I probably have a handful already), that ruins it for me. That makes the game feel less immersive, hence less realistic (because it feels less "real"). Especially when similar stuff happens frequently.
 

Burrito With Legs

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Jan 27, 2012
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I'm fine with having games try to achieve realism, but the thing that really makes it a game is usually the parts of it that are unrealistic and stuff we can't do in real life, like visit the land of Skyrim and ride dragons, or get mind-f'ed in the haunted city of Silent Hill.
 

Smooth Operator

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Because 99% of them don't know what the word means.
Realism is happening all around us, if they actually wanted the genuine experience then they sure as heck wouldn't be looking for it on a computer.

What they are looking for however is the exciting 1% of reality in a safe environment, which makes the whole experience incredibly unrealistic no matter how well simulated.
 

RagTagBand

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Thinking something is "To unrealistic" is not the same as wanting something to be a Simulator; There is an entire middle ground that you're ignoring.

People want Realism to a point where it is believable (or that require your suspension of disbelief to be put into overdrive) but unrealistic enough so that they don't feel like the inept amateurs that they are.
 

RobDaBank

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Nov 16, 2011
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Snowboard Kids for the N64 is better than any SSX for the reason that it's designed to be unrealistic and fun :)
 

Dandark

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A lot of the time people can enjoy realisim. You just want realisim in their game.
It's mostly a matter of personal taste that can vary game to game. I personally like to have some realisim in a few of my games but I don't need it all the time. It's also really easy to make fun of games like Cod or Battlefield that people will tell you are really realistic when they are not. Especially Cod.
 

Bat Vader

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Need a Dispenser said:
Me:"Hey are you going to buy the new SSX?"
People:"No, it's to unrealistic."

I honestly don't get why some people want to play a realistic snowboard simulator.

What happened to the times when people wanted to play something unrealistic and just have fun? Now the games are all about the graphics and how close it is to real life, and I find it sad that people tell me with a straight face that they would rather play something like Shaun White's Snowboarding than SSX.

So Escapist, what's your take on SSX and Realism in games in general?
I have never played any of the SSX games so I don't really have an opinion about it. I do think realism in games is a good thing. After awhile playing as a solider that can regenerate having a dozen bullets shot in his face by crouching behind a rock/chest high wall can get pretty dull. Realistic games like Arma, ArmaII, and Operation Flashpoint are pretty fun. You will die a lot in them though since they are realistic but that is what makes them fun though.
 

lord.jeff

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Realism like any feature or idea works in some games and not in others. I believe certain genres benefit from realism, like survival horror.
 

Dasick

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Oct 4, 2009
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People want realism because it is the easiest way to provide immersion for the player. It can take some time for you to start thinking in terms of Tetris rules, but you already operate by real life rules all the time, so by "realistic" people mean they want to be able to extend their way of looking at things into video games.

TL;DR it's a shortcut to immersion.
 

viranimus

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Nov 20, 2009
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Ill suggest it MIGHT hold a generational element. From my observations it seems that many MEs rebel against most things in the figurative and hold greater appreciation for things in the clear literal.

Also take notice of the NBA JAM/NFL BLITZ line of games. Now I know there are other pros and cons involved here but neither of those franchises and their modern counterparts are anything even remotely as popular as their late 90s progenitors, much less the popularity of their "realistic" counterparts.

Look at it in the movie industry where frequently things with any sort of humorous slants gets re purposed in a dark and gritty reboot awash in realism.

Look at comedy. Comedy has been drained of all of the humor surrounding it and replaced with realistic awkwardness to represent comedy.

So basically a new group of people tries to carve out their own niche and differentiate it from those that bore them and that means rejecting values held by the previous generation to do so.

TL;DR
Basically...
This.
 

GonzoGamer

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Apr 9, 2008
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viranimus said:
Ill suggest it MIGHT hold a generational element. From my observations it seems that many MEs rebel against most things in the figurative and hold greater appreciation for things in the clear literal.

Also take notice of the NBA JAM/NFL BLITZ line of games. Now I know there are other pros and cons involved here but neither of those franchises and their modern counterparts are anything even remotely as popular as their late 90s progenitors, much less the popularity of their "realistic" counterparts.

Look at it in the movie industry where frequently things with any sort of humorous slants gets re purposed in a dark and gritty reboot awash in realism.

Look at comedy. Comedy has been drained of all of the humor surrounding it and replaced with realistic awkwardness to represent comedy.

So basically a new group of people tries to carve out their own niche and differentiate it from those that bore them and that means rejecting values held by the previous generation to do so.

TL;DR
Basically...
This.
Overall I think you're right. However as realistic as the NBA & other sports games are now, I still see them moonwalking across the court/field but not as much as when they were wildly popular. I still remember those big heads; but that was on purpose.
Personally, I don't really look for realism in games. My favorites from this generation are games like Valkyria Chronicles and Borderlands and they have a very unrealistic look to them as if they were drawn on the screen.
It's probably because I'm old and grew up on games that couldn't be realistic: Atari, Intellivision, or even the NES.