Why are we so obsessed with HD?

[NezumiiroKitsune]

Well I wouldn't willingly go back to SD. I paid £400 for a 1080p HDTV and it was worth every single .0001 of a penny. I like my games to look nice. A stunning vibrant painstakingly crafted game world that acts as an interactive form of moving artwork in which I can partake in escapism is a major supporting factor is something that makes a game a joy to be a part of.

Don't get me wrong, Fallout 2, Chrono Trigger, Wizardry 8 etc etc etc... they're all still great games, but it doesn't mean I never want to move on, and same goes for SD. Gaming, like language, scientific understanding and life itself, changes over time to hopefully improve. HD is a major step in that direction. If the difference between SD and HD was negligible I'd see some sense in your argument, but the difference between Ratchet and Clank A Crack in Time in SD and when I see it in 1080i, it adds so much wealth to the experience. Every explosion, every extreme weapon, ever hair folicle on Ratchets head, every lush exotic alien infested world explored, all rendered in sublime detail.

Graphics matter.

By the way, if your taking "sides" your as bad as those Team Edward / Team Jacob brain dead twonks. "I'm on the side of gameplay / story / graphics (though this is never the case) / multiplayer / menu screen design" these elements are not in contest with one another you pillock.

 

[Jark212]

Were probably as obsessed with it as when color TV came out, and Football (American Football that is) looks awesome on it...

 

[Yoshemo]

People don't like to Think~ As long as its pretty lookin or shiny, the populace will eat it up like candy

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

I never really understood why so many want realistic graphics. If you want perfect, crisp, and the most realistic graphics ever, why don't you just turn your head to the window to outside. No polygon count to worry about, no hidden valley effect. It is perfect. If you want things to look pretty, why make them all gun metal grey or garbage truck brown?

I been more of a fan of stylization rather then realism. For example, the people from Heavy Rain (which boasted heavily about its skin texturing and other things to make the character look more human) always looked a bit plastic and something was off about everybody. This made the characters a bit off settling and unlikable. Take a look at TF2's cast of characters, and you will see that they look in no way like real humans look like. Yet their cartoony design, and extremely well written (and voiced) diologe often made me forget these are not just characters in a game and thought of them as silly, murderous, and lovable people. Or in Plant Vs. Zombies, very stylized and not even in 3 demensions, the design made me feel sad when ever the zombies ate through my walnuts.

When I care more about a freaking barricade then a father who lost a child to a murderer, something is really wrong.

 

[Kaymish]

i am a game play and story kind of girl graphics are a bonus all i ask for is colour and animation

i do not understand the obsession with monster graphics

 

[Siuki]

I'm not obsessed with it, but I needed a new TV anyways (read: old one broke, NEEDED new one) so I got an HD anyways. I gotta say, it's noticeably better looking and I love it, but I'm not stuck up about having HD. I'd get a Wii if its games appealed to me, but I tried shooters on it and didn't much like them.

Did you try Metroid Prime Corruption? It's great. And what about Mario Galaxy, it was stellar.(Forgive the pun)

 

[Spawny0908]

Gamers are like magpies and HD is the pretty shiny shiny

Nice way of putting it!

 

[Cody211282]

Well all I game on is a PC(with a CRT monitor) and a DS, so I really could care less about HD

 

[SenseOfTumour]

First of all, pretty games aren't excused for being bad games... Secondly, HD and graphics are two -very- different things with different advantages to gameplay. (admittedly it's mostly vistual, BUT...)

HD allows more content to be on screen at once. You can see further, see more enemies, more of the road, know that corner's coming before you hit it, see that hole before you swing the club. But also, it allows HUDs to shrink down meaning they occupy less of the screen and obscure less of the action.

Graphics allow things such as hiding in dynamic shadows in stealth games, jumping at your own shadow in horror games and recognising the difference between friend and foe in action games. In sports games it also means you get to see your favourite stars.

Now... I'm not pretending the main advantages aren't "purtyness", but my Dragon Age quickbar can't fit 20 things on it in 800 x 600.

I must say, well done, for sort of convincing me away from my 'what the hell is the big deal with HD' standpoint, making me realise that I play WOW at settings way over HD just so I can fit more buttons on the screen. You're right about HUDS too, so long as they can convey the info clearly, with HD they can be shrunk down and make more room for you to see what you want to.

I do however wonder how far they can push graphics, not thru technology, which of course can only keep improving, but think of this, everything in a game needs designing, and the better graphics get, the longer it's going to take to create each item, and the more people it will need. This means longer dev times and higher prices. This is why we've gone from games written in the bedroom in some teen's spare time to $100 million for GTA4, hell didn't even Braid cost $185,000 or so?

I just sense there has to be a 'sweet spot' where devs will have to say, 'we can't push the graphics any further or we'll never sell enough copies to make a profit'.

Also of course, with realism, the tiniest flaws can be illusion breaking, whereas with stylised graphics, they can be really good while hiding the small mistakes.

 

[azncutthroat]

Someone mind filling me in on just WHY graphics are so God dang important?

Seeing as how VIDEO ga-

stop right there. That's pretty much it.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

Graphics don't mean as much as they used to. Fortunately, game designers seem to be focusing more on story and content rather than looks. HOWEVER, HD makes that story and content look DAMN pretty, and I wouldn't want to give it back.

 

[Kevlar Eater]

Just about every Xbox 360 game I currently own looks a hell of a lot better in HD. Some games have small text that would be nearly impossible to decipher in SD, and I was getting a headache from trying to read it all. So I upgraded and never looked back. And because I love games with guns, seeing the enemy in HD is quite advantageous, in my opinion.

I can't say I'm obsessed, but after seeing FF13 cutscenes in 1080p glory, I had to slap myself.

 

[mushupork3mpire]

i recently hooked xbox 360 upto a hd tv, only to realise i dont have a hdmi lead. but im getting an elite for my birthday in may with one included; however it's necessity is questionable to me; few days ago i watched my mate's brother on DMC 4 with a hdmi lead in, couldnt tell the difference. i was mainly hoping it would polish the already sound graphics on WWE SvR 2010 for me.

also we dont have V+ or a blu-ray playa so the HD feature is about as useful to us as a chocolate fireplace.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

Nitid quality of our TV's until Holographic TV's comes in...

 

[Thaius]

I love HD, because it makes everything pretty. To judge an entire gaming system by those standards, on the other hand, is shallow and stupid.