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Why do FF games look so great?

monochrome19monochrome19 Member UncommonPosts: 723
in General Gaming

I've been looking around the web for hours and had no luck so I came here.

If you've ever played a FF game you know their DAMN gorgeous.

So my question is... Why? and more specifically How?

 

I dont know much about game design but is it because of the game engine?

Does the engine determine the graphics quality? So if I make a game with the Luminous Studio Engine will it look like Agni's Philosophy or FFXV or Lightning Returns?

Or is there something else I'm missing?

Is it the lighting? The textures? Any answer and or comment would be greatly appreciated.

Comments

  • PhryPhry Member LegendaryPosts: 11,004
    Probably its the art style, the graphics engines used are just a way of displaying it after all. But in a world where so many games use 'stylised' and 'cell shading' the FF games stand out because they just look so much better. image
  • EdliEdli Member Posts: 941

    They always had great artists. Design has always been the strong point of FF games. 

    I love the architecture on FFXIV for example. 

  • NitthNitth Member UncommonPosts: 3,904

    Originally posted by monochrome19
    I've been looking around the web for hours and had no luck so I came here.

    If you've ever played a FF game you know their DAMN gorgeous.

    So my question is... Why? and more specifically How?

     

    I dont know much about game design but is it because of the game engine?

    Does the engine determine the graphics quality? So if I make a game with the Luminous Studio Engine will it look like Agni's Philosophy or FFXV or Lightning Returns?

    Or is there something else I'm missing?

    Is it the lighting? The textures? Any answer and or comment would be greatly appreciated.

    Artists.

    I once read an article about..."Spirits within" and apparently they had artists doing the Hair Strand-By-Strand....Its that kind of dedication to a product that gets the results.

    Even their pixel art was great for its day.

    image
    TSW - AoC - Aion - WOW - EVE - Fallen Earth - Co - Rift - || XNA C# Java Development

  • monochrome19monochrome19 Member UncommonPosts: 723
    So lets say hypothetically I wanted to replicate the graphics from Lightning Returns, how would I go about that? Its not so much the style of FF games I like, its the quality. Visually, their games are just... better. Better than 90% of other games on the market. So I guess another way to put it is... what factor determines the graphic quality/detail of a game?
  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 44,057
    Interesting observation, some folks on these forums have reported the graphics look dated, wonder what they are comparing them to to come up with such a contrasting opinion?

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  • ScalplessScalpless Member UncommonPosts: 1,426
    Originally posted by monochrome19
    So lets say hypothetically I wanted to replicate the graphics from Lightning Returns, how would I go about that? Its not so much the style of FF games I like, its the quality. Visually, their games are just... better. Better than 90% of other games on the market. So I guess another way to put it is... what factor determines the graphic quality/detail of a game?

    Talent and money. Games like LR have lots of great designers working on them. So, to replicate the quality, you'd have to get rich, first.

  • SpottyGekkoSpottyGekko Member EpicPosts: 6,916
    Originally posted by Kyleran
    Interesting observation, some folks on these forums have reported the graphics look dated, wonder what they are comparing them to to come up with such a contrasting opinion?

    "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

     

    Wonderful old cliche, but so obviously true in the case of game graphics. A large part of people's opinions regarding game graphics are probably flavoured by a range of emotions associated with the game in question.

    Perhaps the fact that the game play in FFXIV is more "old school" causes certain people to associate that with the graphics and art style too ?

  • monochrome19monochrome19 Member UncommonPosts: 723
    You guys consider it dated? :O
  • monochrome19monochrome19 Member UncommonPosts: 723
    I take it no one knows...? :(
  • FoomerangFoomerang Member UncommonPosts: 5,628

    They have been making video games for 30 years. Their games graphics and engines reflect that.

  • FlemFlem Member UncommonPosts: 2,870
    Apart from what has already been mentioned time is another key factor, the team behind the FF games do not rush their product out the door until they are satisfied it is completed to their satisfaction.
  • monochrome19monochrome19 Member UncommonPosts: 723
    So, money + time + experience = good graphics? Still seems a little vague...
  • DauntisDauntis Member UncommonPosts: 600
    Money + Time + Experience + Talent + Tools (systems and programs)... It is sort of like asking why can't this artist paint like Michaelangelo, he has the same oil paints. There is no satisfying answer anyone on this site can give you, because there is no answer to your question as it is a combination of things that go into making those graphics look that way. To be perfectly honest you as an individual would probably not be able to create graphics at that level alone, well without an exceptional amount of time put in. There is no simple way to do it, those guys have a large team a lot of dedication and the budget and gear to make it happen.

    Help support an artist and gamer who has lost his tools to create and play: http://www.gofundme.com/u63nzcgk

  • ElRenmazuoElRenmazuo Member RarePosts: 5,361
    Sure the graphics are great but their story telling has gone down the drain ever since they started focusing so much on cutscenes and graphics.  The best stories were back in the day with FF4-7 and their other titles like Chrono Trigger/Cross and Xenogears.
  • FoomerangFoomerang Member UncommonPosts: 5,628

    Originally posted by monochrome19
    So, money + time + experience = good graphics? Still seems a little vague...
    really? money + time + experience = pretty much good anything in life.
  • Ender4Ender4 Member UncommonPosts: 2,247

    It is the art style. You can have high quality graphics and have your game still look awful, just look at Rift for an example. You need to have a good style to go with the actual graphic quality.

  • sorattasoratta Member Posts: 39

    Art style is a definite yes. Their game engines have been hit-and-miss, but I suppose what makes FF games that attractive and memorable is the aesthetic (not to be misunderstood as graphics.) 

     

    I think it's because they have a cohesive aesthetic across different games, and that they have over a dozen games that follow that trend that makes it so memorable and visible. And art style. Can't ever fault their art style.

  • rainbowdashunicornrainbowdashunicorn Member Posts: 12
    Since the first ones I've seen I think it's because of the graphics during the cutscenes or cinematics or whatever it's called. From then on they lived up to it...at least I think they did.
  • monochrome19monochrome19 Member UncommonPosts: 723
    I was looking at a few articles and they said the polycount for lightning in ffxiii was about 20k+ which is insane. thats like 3x the polycount on the average character depending on he game.
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