Pro-tip for The People Of The Internetz: no one in the world, ever, is the only person thinking anything. I mean, I may be the only person playing Elite on console at the Escapist, but that's a different issue...
Madmatty said:
nearly every game for the past few years has been gritty brown and realistic and honestly im sick and tired of realism and games with dark gritty stories. does anyone else feel this way? Plus when Battleborn and Overwatch come out im getting them because they totally break that trend.
Ideally what you mean by "realism" must be defined first. You seem to be drawn to colours. Is Gears Of War "realistic" because it's "brown"? Or does it have a "gritty" tone but is about as "realistic" as Jet Set Radio?
Is Call Of Duty "realistic" because it's generally had recognisable weapons and worlds - despite it actually being about as realistic as a particularly wacky James Bond film? Last I checked, zipping about space stations firing automatic weaponry wasn't particularly realistic. Or gritty. It's actually kinda goofy and OTT, neither of which are typically associated with "gritty realism".
Personally? I don't really think there's a bias towards any style, and there's always a variety to pick from. Is there a
lack of realism because I don't have a contemporary version of Ghost Recon Island Thunder to play, or an SP Rainbow Six with a setting and punishing gameplay which approximates authenticity? No, it's just those styles of games, annoyingly for me, aren't being made at the moment.
someguy1231 said:
Video games are not real life.
Did anyone say they
are?
I don't play games to compare them to real life. I play them to have fun.
And people who like, say, simulations
aren't playing them to have fun? If someone puts 400hrs onto a hardcore flight sim, do you think they're just freaky gluttons for self-punishment and boredom?
Complexity and cause and consequence can be hugely engaging, not to mention rewarding.
Besides, anyone clamoring for "realism" in games is a hypocrite. No game can ever be 100% realistic, and one that is would be incredibly boring and unfun.
Er, maybe people have fun in different ways? And how on god's green earth is
subjective taste tantamount to hypocrisy? Would you rather people who like shooters go out, buy guns, and start shooting each other for the ULTIMATE realism just so they're not being filthy hypocrites? Probably not...
Role-play in RPG's can also be another form of approximated 'realism'. Given I was on console with no mods, on Skyrim I'd still change gear dependent on weather despite no Frostfall present, and I'd try to carry provisions even though I had no Realistic Needs & Diseases mechanic enforcing me to play by such rules. For some, immersion is greatly increased by RP's and approximated authenticity.
People grousing about how silly forms of realism is in games are no different, surely, to those who dismiss Nintendo as being a company who makes children's toys. I may have never owned a Nintendo system in my life, and have zero desire to do so, but I'm not going to dismiss more colourful, OTT, 'fun'/moment-to-moment gameplay IP's as they're just on a different part of the spectrum that is a spectacularly varied medium.