Computer graphics: are art directors becoming ballsier?

[Christer]

It's better to succeed at something cool than to fail at photo realism, and failing at photo realism does seem to be the option that most games have picked since whatever the first textured 3D game was. Even though you have games like interstate '76, viewtiful Joe and Team Fortress 2 that have tried to shake things up.

Are these attempts becoming more common? Are art directors becoming ballsier, or do you think we'll just keep seeing "fail at photo realism" with only occasional experiments that go nowhere?

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

Most games actually don't aim for photorealism, they utilize stylized realism.

 

[Altorin]

Most games actually don't aim for photorealism, they utilize stylized realism.

it's true, even most of the games that people THINK of as "photorealistic" that's not really the intent

 

[manythings]

Viewtiful Joe had a horrible look which is consistant with Cell shading as a stylistic choice (And no Okami isn't cell shading). You will always lose when you go for as real as you can because the more real you make it the more obvious and vivid flaws become especially if you revisit a game a year or so later. In ten years games that had stylised artistic visions will probably still be ok but Modern Warfare 2 won't even look like crap because no one will even remember it.

EDIT: Interstate '76? That's a long way back into the dinosaur times.

 

[Vrach]

It's better to succeed at something cool than to fail at photo realism, and failing at photo realism does seem to be the option that most games have picked since whatever the first textured 3D game was. Even though you have games like interstate '76, viewtiful Joe and Team Fortress 2 that have tried to shake things up.

Are these attempts becoming more common? Are art directors becoming ballsier, or do you think we'll just keep seeing "fail at photo realism" with only occasional experiments that go nowhere?

It's better to succeed at something than to fail at something? No shit Sherlock :\

I like realistic graphics but also enjoy stylized realism and something spiced up. One of the games I loved most for different graphics was XIII, was a fantastic game as well. Borderlands tried something similar and it works pretty well, it's just a shame the game itself doesn't have more to offer.

Realism has been pretty much perfected (it's just a matter of getting PCs stronger to support it easily) so yeah, I imagine artists will be going in different directions to do something new. I don't think they ever went for the same old for too long, it was (and still is, but not as much) just a matter of trying to improve realistic graphics (which is imo definitely not a bad thing).

 

[Cheesepower5]

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Dragon Quest 8!

http://media.ps2.gamespy.com/media/496/496303/imgs_1.html

Best graphics ever.