Do you care about graphics?

[DaJoW]

As long as it's clear what's going on, the world is consistent and there are no invisible ledges or anything else that messes with gameplay I'm willing to at least give it a shot. Some games are more about the graphical (racing and sports come to mind) but some truly fantastic games are quite dull graphics-wise.

Spoiler: One of the consistently most exciting games I've ever played looked like this

 

[pulse2]

As long as it's clear what's going on, the world is consistent and there are no invisible ledges or anything else that messes with gameplay I'm willing to at least give it a shot. Some games are more about the graphical (racing and sports come to mind) but some truly fantastic games are quite dull graphics-wise.

Spoiler: One of the consistently most exciting games I've ever played looked like this

One of the many things that used to piss me off about Tomb Raider games back in the day, things weren't always clear making gameplay at times frustrating, but still, I prefer the old Tomb Raiders any day compared to the new ones, I could replay the old ones over and over, the new ones bore me to tears 20 minutes in

 

[Restoshamankk]

Graphics dont mather so much, as long as they are not extremely bad, and with extremely bad I mean the first 3d games

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Here's a screenshot from one of my favourite games; you tell me if I think graphics are important!

Of course, roguelikes do have good graphics, in the sense that they do what they're intended to do. The designers wanted the display to be a simple schematic of the dungeon showing where things are in relation to each other, and that's what it is.

Yeah, but only in the way that two bundled up jumpers make good goalposts. What ASCII graphics - sorry, 'graphics' really give is simply a focus point for the player's own imagination.

 

[ImperialDragoon]

For me I think that as long as the style of it is good it doesn't matter. Which is why there are so many Nintendo games that look better than games on other consoles.
Anyway most of the time the graphic style can make a game better; take Borderlands as an example. Its renovated art style probably added to its success. Zelda: Wind Waker probably felt the negative end of the stick. Most of my friends decided not to buy it because of the art style but that didn't stop me getting it for my birthday. Tf2 probably lends some its success as well as the style makes the classes stand out for easy recognition.

 

[Zantos]

Gameplay over graphics every time. Great graphics are an optional extra. Gameplay is an essential.

 

[Mike Laserbeam]

I thought Crysis looked amazing, but the gameplay became kind of a drag so it didn't keep me as stimulated as say Timesplitters 2 did.

But did you, or did you not, think that TS2 had fantastic graphics when you first played it?
In relation to every other game of their time graphically Crysis and TimeSplitters could be on the same level, but TS2 is a far superior game fun-wise.
You can't really compare things like that I don't think. You're comparing games to more fun predecessors and then saying the difference if graphics.

Maybe if you'd come at them from a different perspective, having never played either of those games and play them now, you might think differently. But because you played games like GTA:SA or Spyro when they were first made, and the graphics available for comparison at the time didn't make them look nearly as dated as they do now.

Try comparing two games that come out in the same year graphically, not ones that come out 8 years apart

 

[StraightToHeck]

good graphics are neccessary to see and process what's going on, but at a certain point, they plunge into the depths of "who has the biggest development budget?"

so: good graphics are good, astounding graphics are good but unneccessary

 

[Fledge]

I find that better graphics tend to be a strong aspect in making good immersion.
So yes, they are important - although we've not had a single game that lives up to what is possible...yet

 

[veloper]

To a degree. Good gfx can help create an atmosphere and pretty is nice.

Gameplay is king, but for full price you should demand the game to have everything.

 

[Harlemura]

I was going to say I don't, but then I remembered that I've been playing Uncharted again recently and can't help but think "That looks better in Uncharted 2" whenever I see... well, anything improved in Uncharted 2.
So I don't mind graphics unless I've seen what they could be.

That and I do love me some big, well rendered landscapes. Out of all the things everyone knocks Final Fantasy XIII for, you can't knock it for it's big, well rendered landscapes. And graphics in general, really...

 

[Pillypill]

A bit, i like high end graphics, but they aren't all that important, provided the graphics don't impare the game i'm fine. So minecraft; simple graphics but not "BAD" graphics,
though i find old games like Zelda Oot, harder to get into at first becasue everything looks muddy and faint.

 

[bulldogftw]

Not really, i care more about gameplay and story telling

 

[GiantRaven]

I like a visual aesthetic that looks nice and works well with the game in question.

That doesn't mean the graphics have to be SUPER AWESOME AND ULTRA REALISTIC but there are definitely games where that works in their favour.

 

[dibblywibbles]

graphics should play a part. if a game sucks, it won't be just the graphics that kill it. I look for gameplay over graphics(geometry wars anyone?) but I appreciate the time and effort when both are done right.

 

[Stuntcrab]

Nah graphics don't matter to me, I still play Half life, and its mods like natural Selection. I would still play STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl so yep, graphics don't matter to me but I wouldn't mind a little "High Quality" reskins

 

[soperg]

yes, graphics matter. not much. but minimally. well i guess even less graphical QUALITY as coloration. i have A REALLY SHITTY TV. so when i was playing a shooter called "task force 121" i couldn't get through one level because there were vents i had to crawl around and though my brightness was turned all the way up, i still couldn't see my way around, a more recent example was when i was playing GTA and i was in a back alley and a cop was shooting at me from SOMEWHERE in my vicinity, but since the entire alley was black and brown and his outfit was a VERY dark blue, i could see the stupid bastard. so one cop took me out. but modern warfare 2 (i know a lot of people have wrapped their lips around that particular lollipop but bear with me.) had great graphics and the coloration and the HUD allowed me to differentiate between friend and foe at a moments glance and differentiate wall from small passageway that needs walking through. so we're pretty much at the pinacle of what is needed for graphics at the moment. tightening up our gameplay and making a proper FPS for the PS3's move peripheral or an upgrade on the no-fingers model that the kinect is working off of. but i digress, just mix up the palette, as i have NO problem not being able to see something, i want to know whifch way to run from the monstrosity thats running me down with a butcher knife and voice that sound like he came back from the dentists after undergoing root canals on about half the teeth in his jaw.

 

[Fishyash]

Can I see what is going on? Is it clear what actions are being taken, by both myself and other chracters?

Congratulations, you've hit the point of graphics where I stop paying any real attention. Sure, Eye Candy is never frowned upon for me (enough with gritty realism, please), but you don't need Terrific graphics to achieve that effect. Minecraft certainly proves that point, and the original Myst was a game I found to be quite beautiful, despite its "poor" graphics by modern standards.

This is basically my standpoint on graphics.

When I think of graphics, I don't think of poly count or texture detail, I think of if the graphics match the gameplay. I don't want to run to something that looks accessible be in actuality unreachable. I don't want to fall through a platform, and I don't want things to acctually be smaller or bigger than they acctually are. I don't want important items to blend in the background unless it's meant to (can be averted if you make said items sparkle).

Simply put if the graphics don't fool me into doing something that I wasn't meant to do, they are fine.

 

[Poopster]

i don't mind if whether the graphics suck or not as long as i'm enjoying the game.

 

[Yoder13]

For me it is more important for a game to tell a good story and have solid game mechanics than to have the best graphics. Sure smooth looking games are nice, but a nice looking game that does not draw you in with at least a semi-compelling story does little for me.