Is It All About the Graphics?
Lately, I’ve been musing over how huge the hardware requirements for video games are. Want to play a game such as Crysis? Then you’ve got to bleed cash for you to enjoy it. How about HD gaming? Surely, you need a high-end console such as the Xbox 360 and the PS3. But some consoles have design problems and are likely to fail. Which means that your investment is not guaranteed for the long haul.
The question then is: is it now all about the graphics? It is such a high priority among developers and end users? Are graphics the end all or be-all of games? Whatever happened to gameplay innovations such as the games of the good-old-days: Zelda, Mario, etc.
And then, whatever happened to good storytelling and gameplay? Is it now second-rate to graphics?
These and more after the jump
Graphics vs Gameplay
We’ve all seen how a lot of hype goes into promoting the graphics features of the game. You see this all the time - marketers and the developers harp on the great graphics, the innovations or “reality” and attention to detail. These go into mediums such as Youtube and are spread virally across the web via other means - blogs, other video channels, trailers, torrent, etc. In fact, eye candy may be the initial “pull” of gaming companies when it comes to sending a message to potential buyers. But more often than not, it’s the gameplay that critics (and true gamers) want at the end of the day. Look at what happened to Hellgate… graphics was good, I liked the trailer but I honestly feel that it was a rushed project and really did not give me the fun I was hoping for. Why? All the levels looked the same and everything was repetitive.
Good thing games such as Guitar Hero, AudioSurf and most games for the Wii focus on the gameplay and the ”fun factor”.Â
It’s the Stories that drive the game
Sure, you and your pals will talk about the great graphics of a game over coffee or beer. But the most enjoyable conversations will be the stories behind the games. You all know the classic storylines of such great games as Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, and Onimusha right? It’s these games that make you want to play more. I think that the industry has to return to great storytelling to drive usage (and interest back) in video games. We don’t want to see another “cookie-cutter” game based on a tweaked storyline of zombies and undead.
In the end, sure - graphics are great. Technology is here and we have to use it. Playing a game in HD is an experience I look forward to all the time. But if there’s no compelling reason for me to continue - i.e. the gameplay sucks, the story’s lame… chances are I hit the reset button or just exit.
Game Over!
GM T
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sylv3rblade said
am April 2 2008 @ 2:49 pm
I think the Wii’s popularity is testament to the ideology that graphics is not everything in a game. I like it so much I’m pushing back the purchase of a PS3 until prices drop or FF13 comes out.
But generally I think it depends on the market that a platform is targeting. The PS3 and the 360, (and the PC unless your rig sucks like mine) are pioneers for the graphics sector but if you’re looking for something fun.. go with the Wii.
justine said
am April 3 2008 @ 11:16 am
In my opinion, the Philippine market generally look first at the graphics more that anything else, second to that is the gameplay and the storyline. What is the basis for my opinion? Okay, go out and stroll in the malls, you would almost always see a person holding a psp rather than a ds. in other countries like hongkong, its the opposite, you would always see people holding a ds, or playing it in the subway.
Aside from that, if you go to trading/selling website, when you type “want to buy” then “ds lite” you would only see a few selling but type in psp and there would be a lot of people selling or trading their ds to psp.
Paul said
am April 4 2008 @ 7:53 am
Well, you could not really blame the Philippine market for acting just like that. It’s just that we are so stuck in the PS era consoles that most of us forget that there are other options aside from the PS line of consoles
issai said
am April 5 2008 @ 1:19 pm
always the gameplay
examples:
ps2 is not HD but god of war rocks!
hellgate is all about graphics, no content, buggy, but i love the books… just got book 2: goetia, can’t wait to read it.
WOW looks cartoonish, but it’s freakishly fun
i would still play twin bee in nes if i could. and tetris is legendary.
GM T said
am April 6 2008 @ 12:58 am
I think the DS is fast catching up. In the LUG office, it outruns the PSP 2:1
issai said
am April 6 2008 @ 1:03 am
i love DS! I’ll only think about getting a PSP for god of war. The Wii is nice too, the games are just more expensive than your regular ps2 games, like $50 vs $20. But i know my son will love the Wii, so the Wii wins!
headtrip said
am April 14 2008 @ 8:01 am
My friends ask me why I still play Chronotrigger and other old school games despite having an epic’d out character in the most popular mmo. I always tell them that the eye candy will not keep me hooked on any game. Sure my rig can run Crysis at high settings (yes i just heard my wallet cry) but can it keep my up all night wondering what’s going to happen next? New games are too easy for my taste, I dont find the epic feel that i used to have after uncovering plot after plot. Graphics for fps games would be welcome but I would say it is way behind story and gameplay for me.
Blackwolf said
am May 4 2008 @ 2:40 pm
@ Headtrip: You play Chrono Trigger? You have impeccable taste. Kudos to you! Not everything new is good.
Oh, to play games with rich storylines and plausible plot twists with unpredictable but logical endings… Sigh.
As for graphics, well, back in my day, sonny, we were lucky to have more than one color for graphics! Back when Pong was king! And no, I’m not referring to that semi-retarded, stuffed muppet turtle.
Headtrip said
am May 4 2008 @ 3:47 pm
Among other games. Nowadays games are either too easy, too flashy or too hard core (grindfest). I got emulators for Snes and Genesis and they keep me up when I get bored with MMO’s.
I remember pong. I was not around when it came out but I had to play it (I cant stand to not experience gaming history). It was fun, except the part where your friends would rib you to no end after being owned by the bouncing dot.
JC John SESE Cuneta said
am May 7 2008 @ 7:55 am
Gameplay #1 factor for me. Graphics is even 5th!
I’ve been playing online games for more than a decade, thanks to MUDs (text-based online games). Thanks to that, I landed a job as pioneer GameMaster in the Philippines, as GM-Yukino. Now Community Manager.
But today’s gamer generation, graphics is a major factor.
Crysis is Most Pirated Game | gmtristan.com said
am May 9 2008 @ 9:51 am
[…] all know that Crysis topped a lot of charts. In fact, it can crush your PC rig to its limits just by the sheer video and hardware requirements of the […]
headtrip said
am May 9 2008 @ 4:40 pm
LoL MUDs were nice but the god mode factor really got old fast. Although I am mostly a pen and paper type guy, MUDs provided me a lot of fun times, not to mention the barely passing exam scores.
JC John SESE Cuneta said
am May 9 2008 @ 10:45 pm
“god mode factor”? Didn’t experience that with the MUDs I played :p Those few of us who are IMMs strictly separated our IMM job and our PCs. With a healthy check-and-balance system as well. :p
I mostly play on MUDs related to DragonLance and Forgotten Realms back then.
But yah, talk about being the 1st batch of Game Addicts :p We got out of it!!