Do good graphics really matter?

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Kyrian007

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Graphics mean nothing. Rating a game on a scale of 1 to 10, good graphics raise its rating .001 or so. Much more important is story, characterization, gameplay, mechanics and control. Several people have mentioned immersion. Immersion is broken for me on all of the above, but I've never said "the graphics aren't good enough for me to "get into" a game." It's just not important. Thinking that graphics make a difference is just as shallow as disliking a classic movie for being b/w, or a foreign movie for subs or dubs.
 

Emilin_Rose

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Aug 8, 2009
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short answer - no
long answer - nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo-etc.

Take minecraft for an example. Blox. That's it just blocks. Even the monsters look like blocks. does it matter? no. You know what the creeper is and what its going to do. Does it need high-def realistic looking slime tentacles to ruin your day? no. You can tell what it is and what it's there for. That's all you need really. I can get games getting more realistic over time but at a point it just becomes redundant. Look at the game Twilight Princess. On the gamecube, on the wii, noticable difference? no. not at all. Graphics can only make a game to a certain point. I hear games praised for graphics all the time and after the third game i make it a mental note that the source of said praise is most likely retarded. If a game doesn't have good gameplay, people will still buy it, sadly, same with story. Are these people stupid, brought in by the something sparkly on the box or wherever? probably. But all the great games of time, old and new, from super mario, donkey kong, and duck hunt, to the newer epics like Team fortress 2, left 4 dead, disgaea, modern warfare, portal, all have something greater than simply being shiny. Now ask a common graphics urchin drooling over the newest generic graphics engine wank what disgaea is, they'll say 'gezunteit?', team fortress will just get a blank stare, Ocarina of Time will just net a 'something about nintendo?'. They'll insist that said picture-wank is way waaaaaaay better than those other titles by merit of graphics and that they'd never heard of them(god damn it this is longer than i wanted it to be). (waaaaaay longer)So why has gaming taken this route? it isn't the generic termed 'casual gamers' who are happy with things from popcap, not known for dark gritty hd graphics, its the actual 'casual gamers' who play games an hour a night because it's 'cool' and 'hardcore' and only play 360 because wii is for kids and grandmas and 'casuals'(like they have any right to use that word)and the ps3 is for 'fags' and all that stuff they think make s them awesome. Is this ever going away? no. like owning your own car gaming will remain cool forever.

How do we fix this retarded mess? There are more gamers worldwide than there are of them. We just need to act out more. Not just angry emails to the company. Publicly burning copys of games if we have to. Actively talking to people about the finer points of gaming, going to stores and talking openly about how bad the titles are. Getting together publicly and showing what gaming is(was(is losing quite rapidly)) and what gaming is not, should not be, and will be if we don't.

Rise my brothers and sisters, take to the streets about this nonsensical bullshit that's being spoon fed to the slack-jawed jocks of the world and being shoved down our throats, before we lose gaming forever.

Hell, using the now popular minecraft as an example, if this were put on tv for the masses it would be slammed as worthless and stupid, and yet its popularity is proof that there are not just some of us left, but many of us, enough of us, all of us. We have the numbers, we have the influence and it's time to make a stand. Even if my post means nothing, at least, even if you didn't enjoy minecraft(i didn't) specifically, to go out there. it doesn't matter how scared or shy or 'apathetic' or uncharismatic you are. You can change things. Get together with friends, or just people in your city, make a stand, start speaking out.

Gaming is dying. That's all there is to it. Like the first child of a middleclass family, neglected and abused as the new baby comes in, beaten, stabbed, and starved. He is going to die because everyone saw it happening and no one spoke out.

Everyone, rally a cry. If you take nothing else from me, take that small spark that it doesn't matter how shy or quiet or nerdy you are, you are the voice of gaming as it lays dying. The only one who can save it.

This post has been general but now I'm directing it at you. Yes you. There is no one else here who will take my words and use them. they will listen, they will understand, they will agree, but they will not do. That task is yours and yours alone. and with your voice, the others will follow. With your words, others will act, with your actions, others will rise. You are the leader of this revolution. Not me, not them, you and only you can do this. Save what you love, what we all love. Be the hero he, and all the rest of us, need. Not then, when it's dead, it doesn't need a revival. Now, when it needs its salvation and be known forever more if as nothing else than the first voice to speak to save everything you and we hold dear. Rise, stand, scream if you have to, but this is all on you now, and you are the one to save us.
 

slightly evil

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Feb 18, 2010
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who cares? I'm playing silent hill 1 and it's really creepy, way scarier than deadspace, it *feels* creepy, I cant think of any modern game that can match it
 
Aug 25, 2009
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No, yes, maybe, depends on the game...

Can we please stop fucking talking about this?

In some games you need good graphics, either because part of the ambience of the story is provided by the scenery and set pieces (Tomb Raider, Uncharted), whereas in others the graphics are tertiary to the other considerations.

Also, whenever people complain about how we didn't need no good graphics back in the days of FFVI or Grim Fandango, remember that those games looked beyond incredible for their time, and were pushing the engines in new and unseen ways, FFVII had fully rendered cuscenes, and that was new and unusual, whereas now we take it for granted. When using an argument to back up your case, try and find me an example of a game which has more than niche appeal from the last two years but has graphics that look like they came from the PS1. I know everyone rags on the Wii but if you go back and play your old PS1 games sometime you'll realise just how far we have come.

No, not every game needs to have top of the line HD 1080p graphics, but then again if a game was released today looking like Toy Story 2: The Adventures of Buzz Lightyear everyone, including the most die hard 'only story and gameplay matters' elitists would crticise it for being unfinished. We demand a better quality of product now because we are capable of it.

But one way or the other, can we please stop having so many threads about this?
 

ramboondiea

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Oct 11, 2010
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depends on the aim of the game, horror games can benefit greatly from better graphics (anyone who brings up silent hill as a counter example: shush! the game was scary at the time, play it now and its pretty pathetic) but other then that its nice to have something pretty to stare at for several hours
 

Anaklusmos

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Jun 1, 2010
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I feel, if BioShock didn't have the good graphics it did, it wouldn't have been as immersive as it was. I mean when you're looking into the face of a Splicer you can see all the detail of their drug abuse, you can see the insanity on their face. When you first looked out a window your mouth was open from the beauty surrounding you. So yes, in some games, graphics are very very important.
 

vivadelkitty

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Dec 21, 2008
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For the most part, no. If they're so utterly terrible that I can't discern what's going on, it's an issue, but for the most part, I love cel-shading, N64 era graphics, SNES and NES graphics. It's probably just nostalgia, but what the hell. Doesn't make the games any less enjoyable.
 
Sep 14, 2009
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i used to say they don't matter at all..

but now a days all i can think about is when i'm getting my next big paycheck and i'm going to be buying a nice 23" 1080 LED monitor to match my crossfiring 5770's

so yeah, they are a WONDERFUL bonus, but not the most essential
 

RikSharp

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Feb 11, 2009
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agree with a couple posters above me. i would much rather have believable graphics than realistic graphics.
games like LoZ wind waker were slated as the graphics were "too cartoony" but i felt that they stuck out, were interesting and most importantly, fit in with the game.
 

Jandau

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Dec 19, 2008
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In what is predominantly a visual medium, of course graphics matter. However, the problem is that developers tend to focus too much on making the most realistic dirt or trees, thinking that's what makes graphics good, instead of focusing on quality visual design and aesthetic style.
 

Denamic

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Aug 19, 2009
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Of course.
Now, what 'good graphics' is is highly subjective though.
Could be photorealistic, or it could be highly stylised, like in TF2.
I think Minecraft has excellent graphics, for example.
If it suits the game, the graphics are good.

What's a "Backjob"?
Got it in the captcha.
Sounds kinky.
 

GeorgW

ALL GLORY TO ME!
Aug 27, 2010
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No way. I actually prefer it to look bad, cuz my PC sux! Minecrafs FTW!
 

Do4600

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Oct 16, 2007
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Depends, Some games are ugly as hell and amazing, and others are beyond pretty and terrible.

Graphics don't matter in my opinion, however, games that use graphics to augment an already good game stand out even more because of it.