Overused graphical effects

[shaboinkin]

I noticed modern games tend to overuse certain graphical effects in games like Bloom, HDR lighting, light rays, etc.

Some games pull it off well, some don't. Which one do you tend to dislike when overused or hate in general?

I get sick and tired of excessive bloom and light rays. Real life is not one giant bright blob nor do I see light rays every where I go.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

If it's done right, bloom is brilliant. Got Uncharted: Drake's Fortune yesterday and the jungles are lush. Not bad for a game made 3 years ago. I bet Uncharted 2 looks much better.

 

[Irridium]

Yeah, Bloom.

I'm looking at you, Fable 2...

 

[veloper]

Not sure what I dislike more
Bloom, Depth of field or motion blur.

These effects simulate the artefacts of poorly used camera's, not human eyesight. Unless I'm roleplaying a short-sighted drunk.

 

[lacktheknack]

Try playing "Roller Coaster Tycoon 3: Soaked!" with full bloom effects onAAAAUUUUUUGH MY EYES!!!!!

 

[shaboinkin]

Bloom. Granted, it's beautiful when pulled off correctly but most devs cannot and it tends to shit over the game itself, graphical wise.

I think some devs think Bloom = sky on fire

 

[DeadlyYellow]

motion blur.

Recently playing Mass Effect PC I realized just how stupid this looked. It blurred for every movement, making the game seem fuzzy.

The Film Grain effect was even worse.

 

[Blue Baby]

Unreal Engine 3 plasticosity, excessive blur(Haze),the filter grain in FEAR 2...
Ah, and texture pop-in(Assassin's creed 2 was awful in that aspect).

 

[veloper]

motion blur.

Recently playing Mass Effect PC I realized just how stupid this looked. It blurred for every movement, making the game seem fuzzy.

The Film Grain effect was even worse.

I turned it off first thing in the option menu.
Yeah I admit to owning ME.

 

[Tupolev]

Sometimes it seems that developers decide to stick more objects places just because they have the resources to do so.

"Hey, we can use 10,000 more polygons in this area before players will suffer framerate drop!"
"Great, put small objects everywhere!"

And we watch as the beautiful simple geometry of a perfectly designed area gets washed away in a sea of awful visual clutter.

(Hey, devs: SotC or Halo CE are beautiful because of the well-applied simplicity, not despite it. Yes Bungie, I'm looking at you. And Reach in particular.)

 

[AmrasCalmacil]

Not sure what I dislike more
Bloom, Depth of field or motion blur.

These effects simulate the artefacts of poorly used camera's, not human eyesight. Unless I'm roleplaying a short-sighted drunk.

Incase you've never noticed, your eyes will take into account depth of field, especially if you have an object close to your eye and you're focussing on something further away.

A good example is this, if I'm aiming down a gun and focussing on the front sight, the butt and back of the receiver are going to appear out of focus in comparison to the front sight.

And before you say anything, I've never experienced a single problem with my vision in all my life.

Not to mention that depth of field is not an example of 'poor use' of a camera, it's an effect designed to draw your eye towards what is in focus.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

motion blur.

Recently playing Mass Effect PC I realized just how stupid this looked. It blurred for every movement, making the game seem fuzzy.

The Film Grain effect was even worse.

Luckily you can switch off the film grain. I found that option as quick as I could.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Motion blur is something that I could live without. Just make the game run at 60 frames per second then no need for dodgy effects.

Bloom and HDR can be pretty good if used well.

 

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

motion blur.

Recently playing Mass Effect PC I realized just how stupid this looked. It blurred for every movement, making the game seem fuzzy.

The Film Grain effect was even worse.

I turned it off first thing in the option menu.
Yeah I admit to owning ME.

I actually kind of liked the film grain effect. Not sure why. Also, what's wrong with owning ME? It's a great game, an opinion, as far as I can tell, which is fairly popular on this site.

 

[-Seraph-]

Chalk another vote up for Film Grain and Bloom. Film Grain just never looks right unless the game is going for a western or film noir look.

And excessive bloom is just ugly and sometimes blinding. I'm sorry but people do not shine like that. Seriously, if they look like they have been exalted by god and are emitting an aura, there is something seriously wrong.

 

[AetherWolf]

http://gangles.ca/2008/07/18/bloom-disasters/
This old article shows the most triumphant examples. I also hate excessive realism in general.

One of the reasons I liked Mirror's Edge was that it avoided the "Real is Brown" trope almost completely.