why realism?

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Depends really, I like battlefield having realistic elements because things like bullet physics, distance over time, you need to lead your shots and adjust for distance which really helps weed out the people who are only sniping for kills, since they can't just point and win. Helps with immersion too, but done well even an crazy sci fi can be immersive.

I wouldn't say Cod is that realistic since most people play it like a death match game. People seem to care more about kill/death ratio than actual objectives, unlike Battlefield.

The weird thing about Battlefield is that it's more realistic than CoD, but every time I play it I get the feeling that it knows it's still an arcade shooter, just one that's a little bit more realistic than the norm. CoD wants you to think it's ArmA, but Battlefield just wants to be Battlefield.

OT: Realism is a major selling point because there were a few successful games right around the start of the last decade, and we've been riding the wave ever since. They were little more than the next big thing after people started to get tired of the arena shooters, and we'll probably see something else come in after people get tired of the "realistic" shooters; the seeds of that discontent are already starting to sprout.

 

[Vault101]

depends realism can mean fun

take far cry 2 that did the imersion thing really well

 

[ultrachicken]

Yes, Call of Duty. The most realistic game ever made. Why, I just got back from a great day of Snowmoblie-Target Practice. After single-handedly operating my nuclear submarine. Tommorow, I'm going Helicopter-jumping. Should be fun.

I enjoyed that.

Regardless, I suppose some people enjoy realistic games because they're realistic. In a way it makes sense, as it provides a more real story, and it's a bit more relatable. Of course, if you want to get down to it, a majority of "realistic" games aren't really realistic at all. (Halo, Gears of War, et cetera.) It's more the graphics than anything.

Can't say much though, because I'm not one of the aforementioned people. I prefer a much more fantastic storyline. Something absurd and entertaining. Something that's, you know. Different, from the messed up stuff that happens in war and such. As opposed to...Well, more of it.

Neither Halo or Gears of War is trying to be realistic, and no-one thinks of them that way. Both of those games are sci fi.

In the beginning of the Gears of War 1 instructions, Cliffy B talks about being in a paintball game and realizing that games where you run around like crazy aren't very realistic. So he asked what makes hiding behind cover fun, and he said "make it real". So that was part of the aim from the start.

However, I must say that I don't want to play a video game for realism. I play games for fun. I play CoD like I play Doom, on easy mode and out in the open, blowing people away Rambo-style.

I think that might have been a joke. In gears of war 2 you get a gun which calls down a giant death laser from orbit. They're obviously not striving for realism.

I agree that realism isn't very fun; at least for the most part. Games that use "realism" to create more tactical combat scenarios are still fun (e.g. rainbow six vegas).

 

[bushwhacker2k]

I'd say people shoot for realistic measures because it has more easily-definable boundaries.

We can slip outside of these boundaries with zombies or magic, but it's a totally different kind of slip than the gravity doesn't exist and the earth is flat kind of slip.

I really wish people would recognize that difference more often, because it leads to people calling each other idiots while technically having two totally different conversations.

Someone being a zombie and someone acting vastly outside how a human would ever act are totally different.

 

[zen5887]

If people really wanted realism ArmA and Flashpoint would be a lot more popular. CoD and Battlefield pretty arcady.

But anyways.

Why are there games popular? Same reason stuff like Bulletstorm and Duke Nukem are popular, people like to escape. Instead of escaping into a world where you battle aliens and jump 12 feet in the air, you battle terrorists and the worlds laws are similar to our own, making it easier to suspend disbelief.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

Realistic games are good sometimes, but since one got popular and made money, the subgenre of fun FPS games died and is now, finally, coming back.

 

[Kadoodle]

i have been thinking. why do games like COD or battlefield keep being made?
ok i guess people buy them so they make money so they make those games but.
we have this wonderful thing with games, we can make anything from fantasy to insanity...
so why make war games? we can make a mario, we can make dragon age, we can make ANYTHING,
so why the f*** do we make them realistic.

i know more people then me dont like games like COD but i dont understand why people keep buying those games. war is horrible why make games about them.
dont get me wrong i like FPS games i like most genre's but if we can make games in space piloting war mechs or games were we crawl around in afganistan, why do we choose realism.

/end rant

Simple answer: War=Fighting. Fighting=Adrenaline. Adrenaline=Fun...sort of.
Besides, there are easily as many unrealistic shooters as there are "realistic" ones.

And I like it realistic sometimes. Realism can add tension and excitement. It's why the battlefield series is so well known for the epic moments that occur while playing.

 

[tunderball]

When was the last time you defended the white House from the Russians or gunned down hundreds of innocents as part of a covert ops mission? That's not realism it's fantasy that simply uses the illusion of realism and a modern day setting to add to immersion. A game like the Sims would be a far better example of realism.
But I understand your meaning and the answer is.... because they are popular.

 

[PlasmaFrog]

Primarily due to the misconception of "better technology" having to do with "better graphics".

 

[LawlessSquirrel]

Because it's easy. That's probably the main reason.

Perhaps counter-intuitively, cartoony or stylised games take more work than realistic ones conceptually, and in shader/texture work. I believe Extra Credits mentioned it a while ago, but I'm not certain.

Think of it this way: if you want some gritty battlefield, you take some reference pictures, snap some shots of the walls and floors etc for textures, and throw on lighting. For stylised, you'd likely need to conceptualise everything from scratch, ensure they're consistent and if not redesign them, make textures from scratch, add lighting, and generate shader systems from scratch.

It ends up being a lot more work for something that will likely sell worse than the relatively easy, cheap option.

 

[Tyrak]

Yes, Call of Duty. The most realistic game ever made. Why, I just got back from a great day of Snowmoblie-Target Practice. After single-handedly operating my nuclear submarine. Tommorow, I'm going Helicopter-jumping. Should be fun.

I enjoyed that.

Regardless, I suppose some people enjoy realistic games because they're realistic. In a way it makes sense, as it provides a more real story, and it's a bit more relatable. Of course, if you want to get down to it, a majority of "realistic" games aren't really realistic at all. (Halo, Gears of War, et cetera.) It's more the graphics than anything.

Can't say much though, because I'm not one of the aforementioned people. I prefer a much more fantastic storyline. Something absurd and entertaining. Something that's, you know. Different, from the messed up stuff that happens in war and such. As opposed to...Well, more of it.

Neither Halo or Gears of War is trying to be realistic, and no-one thinks of them that way. Both of those games are sci fi.

In the beginning of the Gears of War 1 instructions, Cliffy B talks about being in a paintball game and realizing that games where you run around like crazy aren't very realistic. So he asked what makes hiding behind cover fun, and he said "make it real". So that was part of the aim from the start.

However, I must say that I don't want to play a video game for realism. I play games for fun. I play CoD like I play Doom, on easy mode and out in the open, blowing people away Rambo-style.

I think he was talking about atmosphere, not actual realism.

...Wow, I got megaquoted.

I was referring to atmospheric realism, yes. I'm aware there aren't space aliens invading us at the moment. ><; Remind me to reference Call of Duty and Medal of Honour next time. (Why /did/ I not mention Call of Duty and Medal of Honour. )

 

[Netrigan]

People have different types of fantasies and interests.

Why do we have sports games when you could be out there playing the real sport? Well, because not everyone can play the real sport, but they can still enjoy an entertaining facsimile of it.

Not everyone wants to jump around in a mushroom kingdom. Some people are bored by the infinite variations on the D&D/Tolkein fantasy world. Some people can't get into science fiction. Some people want adventures that are closer to reality, which is why we see so many adventures set in the (more or less) real world in novels, comics, TV, and movies. Why should video games be any different? Does James Bond suck because his adventures don't involve dragons and magic mushrooms? Does The Unforgiven suck because Clint doesn't pull out a BFG-9000 and fight aliens?

Every medium gets hits with trends. Right now the video game industry is inside of a four year old Modern Warfare trend. Which, oddly enough, coincides with the U.S. being involved in foreign wars. Being a comic fan, I'm also aware of a trend in the early 50s when war comics boomed in popularity... right around the same time as the Korean War. Said war comics mostly vanishing from the stands once the war ended.

 

[azurine]

I hate realistic war games. I'm sick of most shooters in general, a lot of them feel like the same game. my argument will always be "why play a game based on realism when you can live real life?"

I play games to get away from reality because reality sucks. I wish there was more fantasy in games, preferably well written fantasy. and when I say "fantasy" I mean "fantasy". not "science fiction". I'm sick of THAT too.

but like movies, the most boring game is considered the best because it's decided by people who are boring, with the occasional rare exception.

 

[Tyrak]

Every medium gets hits with trends. Right now the video game industry is inside of a four year old Modern Warfare trend. Which, oddly enough, coincides with the U.S. being involved in foreign wars. Being a comic fan, I'm also aware of a trend in the early 50s when war comics boomed in popularity... right around the same time as the Korean War. Said war comics mostly vanishing from the stands once the war ended.

We have discovered the solution to FPS overload.

End current war.

Boom, done.

(Pleasedon'ttakeoffensetothat.)

 

[Netrigan]

Every medium gets hits with trends. Right now the video game industry is inside of a four year old Modern Warfare trend. Which, oddly enough, coincides with the U.S. being involved in foreign wars. Being a comic fan, I'm also aware of a trend in the early 50s when war comics boomed in popularity... right around the same time as the Korean War. Said war comics mostly vanishing from the stands once the war ended.

We have discovered the solution to FPS overload.

End current war.

Boom, done.

(Pleasedon'ttakeoffensetothat.)

Pretty much. Although we'd still have to ride out the nostalgia waves.

 

[dragonhunter21]

...if we can make games in space piloting war mechs or games were we crawl around in afganistan, why do we choose realism.

Which is easier to roleplay as: A pilot of a space-mech, or Joe Average on the ground in Afghanistan?

That's partly why I enjoy quote-unquote realistic shooters. (COD is not realistic and anyone who thinks that it is deserves what they get.) Beyond that, it depends on the game. For all its faults, Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2's campaigns made you feel like a hero. Plus, the COD games have stellar multiplayer (Prestiged three times in MW2, and I could anytime in BLOPS). Battlefield is much more tactical, more team-based. When I want twitchy, fast-paced shooter action, I fire up BLOPS. When I want tactical, flanky-type fun, then I fire up BF2. (Or rather, I would, if I could find my CD key.)

If you actually want to play an honest-to-god realistic shooter, go play ARMA 2, Operation Flashpoint 2, or SWAT 4. They're the get-shot-twice-and-you're-done type. (Also, they're all really clunky. Anybody but me notice that all realistic shooters have really awkward controls?) I own Op:Flashpoint 2, and it's all right. A bit confusing, but alright.

But really, the main reason why these games keep getting made is money. People enjoy these games, so they buy these games. Devs notice that CoD 7 MW4 has sold fifty billion copies, and realize that this is money goldmine, so they start making their own. That's why Medal of Honor got brought back from the grave last year. Honestly, if you don't like them, vote with your wallet and don't buy them. Me? I'll keep playing them, because I seem to be one of a small handful that enjoys these games unironically.