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[Column] General: Do Graphics Matter?
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
In an increasingly crowded market, game makers are looking for the way to hook the most players. Graphics have become a standard of sorts in that effort. But, in the end, do they really matter? Find out in our latest Pokket Says and then leave your thoughts in the comments.
Over time, the graphics in video games have evolved, that’s for sure. But one question on a lot of people’s minds is: Do they matter? Do they matter as much as good gameplay? Well, I know that isn’t the easiest question to answer with a solid “yes” or “no.” I do, however, believe they matter more than most gamers, especially the “hardcore” gamers, are willing to admit.
Read more of Hillary Nicole's Pokket Says: Do Graphics Matter?
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Comments
for me-yes-iam a graphic designer!-details details details!!
for some friends -no.-they are coders.
-go figure. apple dosent fall too far from the tree.
Steam: Neph
In the MMO market, graphics are not the be all end all. Many of us look at gameplay and/or the systems embedded in the game. I really get a chuckle when someone knocks a MMO game's graphics, it immediately tells me that they are not a true MMO player, but someone migrating over from console games or new to the genre.
To give you an example, take Asheron's Call, very graphics dated, yet still a great game, I still go back and play it sometimes. Then take a game like SWTOR, fantastic graphics, great lore, amazing vocals and cut scenes. Yet the game had no magic, nothing pulling me back to the game again and again.
You can easily use Wow as an example too, as the graphics are nothing to speak of, yet it is the top game in the market.
Good article Pokket
http://thewordiz.wordpress.com/
This is true, because resources have to be used in making those graphics, instead of making more gameplay, unless a developer has unlimited resources - which they never do, of course.
Another thing though, is that the more elaborate the textures and models are, the less flexible they become. It can be more difficult to make them customizable or modular, which limits a lot of what can be done in a game. Devs need to make all sorts of sacrifices, like that.
When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.
Gameplay > all else, but if a game (MMO) is asking me to play for an extended period of time (months/years) and especially if I am being asked to pay for that time then the game better not have bland, uninteresting visuals.
Style > all else, polys and pixels don't matter as much as immersion.
"Censorship is never over for those who have experienced it. It is a brand on the imagination that affects the individual who has suffered it, forever." - Noam Chomsky
too many people spend 100s of dollars on graphics cards for your subject not to matter
i consider myself a graphics whore so yes it really does matter
but gameplay mechanics don't need to suffer because of superb graphics - bad devs/publishers might beg to differ but......................
I want a mmorpg where people have gone through misery, have gone through school stuff and actually have had sex even. -sagil
You need both to be successful. If the engine is not up to modern standard the art style has to compensate for an audience to give it more than a second look.
If the gameplay is rubbish no one will play it for more than 10 minutes.
Still I jump at pretty graphics faster than a review of good gameplay simply because many reviewers seem to have no idea what they are talking about or are lying for the payola.
In short.
Fun is a pre-requisite to any effect other mechanics may have on the game.
If it is not fun, it doesn't matter. It's not easy to make fun games.
League of Legends looks great. GFX alone is not what decides how good a game looks but also artstyle, aesthetics etc. and LoL has excellent aesthetics and art style.
Beside that I agree with the article. GFX, or rather "looks" matters, but not at the expense of gameplay,
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We are all puppets in a fancy show, the trick is to seize the ropes that bind us, and become the puppeteer