does good graphics lead to bad gameplay?

[Zhukov]

No.

While I agree that sometimes developer focus too much on graphics, it's not a zero sum situation.

Besides, I love me some good animation. It makes characters and worlds feel more believable. There's this one fan-made Half Life video...

[snip]

...

You horrible, horrible person.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

No.

While I agree that sometimes developer focus too much on graphics, it's not a zero sum situation.

Besides, I love me some good animation. It makes characters and worlds feel more believable. There's this one fan-made Half Life video...

[snip]

...

You horrible, horrible person.

Yes.

I stole the video you showed me.

I'm awesome

 

[DustyDrB]

No.

While I agree that sometimes developer focus too much on graphics, it's not a zero sum situation.

Besides, I love me some good animation. It makes characters and worlds feel more believable. There's this one fan-made Half Life video...

[snip]

...

You horrible, horrible person.

Yes.

I stole the video you showed me.

I'm awesome

I like Oblivion's memes much better.

 

[kTrmnatr]

There are definitely games out there that have good graphics and so-bad-I'd-rather-be-set-on-fire-and-watch-grass-grow gameplay, but the graphics aren't the problem, at least directly anyways. The problem is lack of good gameplay, which might happen as a result of investing too much of a developer's scarce resources into making good graphics.

 

[Kahunaburger]

A great game has both great graphics AND great gameplay.

So, uh, what does that make Super Metroid?

 

[TheProfessor234]

It's been mentioned before but I just want to mention the Metroid Prime games. Those somehow looked awesome and I feel they played just as good as they looked. Hard to believe that the GameCube pulled those looks way back when. Though you could say it's just an art style that is pleasing but it's not very realistic.

Also, having some knowledge in video game development, I see it in this sense though it's very very very watered down;

You have 100 blocks of resources to create this game, you can spend them in three categories;

Game Play
Graphics
Animation


Way back when, systems couldn't handle awesomeamazing graphics, it just wasn't possible, so more resources were poured into game play and animation. These days, now that hardware can support awesomeamazing graphics, it's all about looking good. Since it is somewhat easy to achieve now, more is spent there.

Of course, I'm just reiterating what other people have already posted but I just like typing.

 

[TephlonPrice]

Nope.

It's a combination of valuing graphics over animation, interesting art style, and quality gameplay/narrative elements. It's the sort of thing that brings this question up to begin with.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Sometimes. Usually a studio working for EA does that sort of shit. But there are others. And it's good that such a strategy doesn't always work. Volition traded good gameplay for better visuals in SR3 and it flopped. That was fun to watch.

 

[Wintermoot]

not exactly the reason pretty games suck is because devs in that case assigned more personnel and money to graphics instead of game design. Sometimes pretty games are also fun but not often.

 

[Irridium]

Jim Sterling actually wrote a nice article [http://www.destructoid.com/why-xenoblade-chronicles-had-to-look-like-shit-226518.phtml] on Xenoblades touching on this.

Good graphics don't lead to bad gameplay. But good graphics do impose limits on other parts of the game.

Though I'm probably not the best one to talk to about graphics. Since I think everything these days looks absolutely fantastic. Even games that apparently look like shit. I can't really tell. It all looks great to me.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Certainly there is some correlation but it's not that direct, there is always a budget on time / money / people, so if they put more time into X there is less for Y.

Comes down to the devs to know their limits and what needs most attention in their game, but I have noticed that games where devs go "we just want it cinematic" do end up rather wanky.

 

[Lunar Templar]

while i believe devs are, and the gaming community to some degree are to hung up on graphics, i don't think 'good graphics' directly leads to 'shit gameplay' and to blame bad game play on the graphics departed is kinda silly,since no on working on the games look is coding how the game plays.

no, i blame bad DEVS for bad game play. we have a ton of games with good graphics and game play, I'd have be willing to give CoD a nod for this *stabs leg in penance for heresy* so there's no one TO blame but the people in charge of programing game play to blame for the game play sucking

 

[JesterRaiin]

What do you guys think?

I think there's no connection.
I guess that quantity is what makes people think about "x leads to y". Back in the old days we had very small amount of games and we tried to play each and every, we tried to live with their errors, flaws and limitations. Nowadays we don't have to - we have a multitude of alternatives.
Anything lees than total perfection ? Uninstall the game, try alternative, write bad review. That's our way. :]

Simple as that.

 

[Fappy]

I don't know if I consider good graphics to lead to bad gameplay, but they are often the result of a "make it more cinematic!" philosophy of game design that I think frequently leads to bad gameplay. So, correlation, but not causation.

I completely agree with this assessment. I have no problem at all with anything that results in a better narrative experience, but not if it sacrifices what makes it a game in the first place.

 

[suitepee7]

no. well not simply anyway. personally i see it as good graphics = higher cost = preferring to play it safe in terms of gameplay

i see a lot more innovation in terms of gameplay when i play indie games. the main reason that market appeals to me is because the gameplay is usually varied, because it can afford to be. until publishers see that we genuinely do want new and interesting ideas, they'll back the safer option.

 

[josemlopes]

Animation, for me, is more important than graphics.


The textures are still awful and people are still block men, but everything moves like it should.

I just wish Half Life actually played like that

There are lots of games with pretty visuals, but some things just don't move like they should.

Character models in Mass Effect move terribly in cut scenes.

That is why I like games with headbob (if that is the right name), I am still waiting for the "Real FPS mod" for Skyrim to work properly, just look from 12:02 to the end on this video