Do you care about graphics?

[Bang25]

I appreciate it when a game has good graphics, but they don't have to. An art design can be beautiful without taking away from gameplay, and beautiful doesn't have to mean complex.
Look at Limbo. The game looks fantastic and has real depth and prescence, and Limbo's art design is a bunch of shadows against a white background.

I think that if a game looks terrible, than I wouldn't play it. It should at least have "fair" graphics. I never played the origional Doom, or any Doom game for that matter. I think that if I wanted to play a game like it, I would just pop in Painkiller. It's a lot prettier and cooler looking and has great enviornments. Especially the Cathedral. That level is awesome.

Edit: Painkiller's gameplay is awesome too.

 

[AdamRBi]

first thing I do with newer games is lower everything graphics wise, with the exception of visual effects like motion blur and film grain. I'm actually currently fixing an Atari 2600, I can't get enough of those games.

However I don't play them as long as I do the newer games. The visuals are a big part of story and story is a big part of what drags me into a game, but it's the gameplay that keeps me locked in. So while graphics are important, it's only if the graphics help with story that they matter and they don't need to be high end to do that.

 

[warm slurm]

Not particularly, although I think some games have aged terribly in terms of graphics and are kind of an eyesore to play (Final Fantasy VII, for example), which can put a damper on things. I like it if they're there, though, but it isn't a big deal.

 

[ethaninja]

For the 70000000th time, no I don't care about them. Not when there is so much else to make up for.

 

[Ashcrexl]

obviously gameplay is more important, but if two games are about equally fun, i will definitely like the one with better graphics more. also, it's really much more about the art style than the actual resolution.

 

[LightOfDarkness]

I appreciate good graphic (though stylization like in TF2 or left 4 dead works better in most cases) but I draw the line when people start ignoring gameplay to up the resolution on textures that you won't notice on exactly all your playthroughs.

 

[wizzyboy12]

If game defelopers are just going to work on graphics you'll get GTA 4.
It looked like everything you where able to do in GTA San Andreas was taken away and replaced by these socalled good graphics.

That's the main reason why I still play: 007 James Bond Nightfire.
If you're reading this comment, just give it a try, you'll find that the game is really hard! Compairing to new games. And the possibility's

Why not give it a try?

 

[JeanLuc761]

Yup, it's half the game.

Emphasis on half. Half a battery isn't going to power your train, half a game is going to suck.

As well good graphics does not mean "High tech 3d in your face!" graphics. It means good.

You know what games have good graphics? Infamous. Killzone 2. LBP. Resistance. Warhawk. Kingdom hearts 2. Shadow Hearts.

You know what else has good graphics? Super mario. Chrono Trigger. Asteroids(arcade). Donkey Kong Country. Zelda, namely the Super Nintendo one for me the n64 disappointed me. To anyone not old enough to know I am talking all nes, snes and gameboy lime and colors. Not the Wii versions.

Good does not mean the most techhed out. It means good and appeasing to the eye. It means what your looking at makes you think "That's a tree! That's some grass!". When you look at it you believe it is what it is supposed to be, thus you become immersed. It' not about tech, its about the passion the creator had for what they made.

Tech will never be a substitute for passion, but it can be an awesome tool.

MC kids and Paladin quest are good examples of bad graphics. Brown "realistic" graphics are an example of bad graphics. Tearing. I will stop playing a game for tearing alone.

When it comes to text games, they have there place to. Graphics are not part of the equation. Books do not need picture to be good do they? Text games immerse you with descriptions, much like books aim to. Rather then show you the game tells you.

The problem ultimately is when people say "Do graphics matter" what they are really asking is "Does a visual based game have to be teched out graphically to appeal to you?"

The answer, obviously, is no for anyone. Do the graphics have to be good though? Yes. They always have and always will be.

Beautifully said, and I couldn't agree more.

Graphics will always, ALWAYS matter (unless, as you said, the game doesn't require them. See: text-based) and as long as there is good gameplay to back it up, then I'd say we're doing just fine.