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[Column] General: Do Graphics Matter?

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Comments

  • BookahBookah Member UncommonPosts: 260

    Spot on Pokket.

    I enjoyed playing "City of Steam" beta this week more than i have enjoyed almost all the games I have played this year and it is a Browser game.

    image
  • rojoArcueidrojoArcueid Member EpicPosts: 10,722

    the graphics matter to me as long as the gameplay is even better. With that said, if the gameplay is awesome but the graphics are bad, i wont touch that game. If the graphics are awesome but the gameplay is bad, i wouldnt bother either.

     

    Devs have to start making good games in all departments, gameplay, graphics, progression, endgame, story, all of it. I would gladly download a good chunk of gigabytes of a game very well made and full of good stuff rather than a small and fast download from an incomplete mess.

    I noticed that when somebody complains about subscriptions they are told by subscribers to get a job... well if thats the case then, ill say if your PC cant run X game then get a job and upgrade too

    Im all for great graphics, like i said, as long as the gameplay is as good as the graphics.

     




  • Storman1977Storman1977 Member Posts: 207
    Graphics are always going to matter.  The way a game plays is what will get people to stay with a game, but the visuals are usually going to be the bait that lures them to the game in the first place. 
  • XthosXthos Member UncommonPosts: 2,739

    I dont mind playing UO with the 2D client, so that is my answer on if graphics mean everything.

     

    Most of these pretty mmos have shallow systems in them, such as harvesting/crafting...I find them boring.

     

  • EstelveaEstelvea Member Posts: 5

    "Does it look good? Yes? Sell it. Look at Call of Duty, look at the Halo games (past the 2nd one). Even the latest GTA mainly has a lot people commenting on how good the game looks. Therefore their marketing ploy is working. I am just going to throw out there that the story will probably be predictable, not that exciting, and the gameplay will not blow very many people out of the water. "

     

    Jesus Christ, the staff here are ridiculously bad. On topic? Of course graphics matter, but more than gameplay? Of course not., but it still matters a hell of a lot this day and age. In regards to MMORPGs, if all I'm going to be doing is click mobs and wait for them to die, you need something pretty to look at.

     

    And in regards to traditional games, writing is becoming stronger and more cinematic (Halo 4 had a great story and if Red Dead and Max Payne 3 can be used to benchmark GTAV, hold onto your butts. Rockstar's writing is stellar). You need brilliant visuals to sell the believability of a world the player immerses themselves in and for players to grow attachment to a well-written protagonist. Of course, if the game itself is just going to blow as a result, then forget it. But graphics DO matter. The staff writer's stupidity in what I quoted is almost unfathomable.

  • GravargGravarg Member UncommonPosts: 3,424
    It's not high up on the list, bu they do matter.  Gameplay is first for me.
  • ET3DET3D Member UncommonPosts: 325

    I don't think that graphics come at the expense of gameplay or content. Sure, the developers could theoretically divert money towards gameplay and content, but if they really were inspired in that departement they'd do that anyway. If you took away the graphics, you'd just be left with a game that's bland in all ways.

  • MumboJumboMumboJumbo Member UncommonPosts: 3,219

    The more expensive the game, the more important for marketing the game, the graphics must be. As mmorpgs tend to be expensive, they therefore tend to "need" good graphics and then as they are competing against each other, that raises the acceptable bar even more.

    Do good games need great graphics? No. Eg

    Elite:

    Elite

    Minecraft:

    minecraft

    Dwarf Fortress:

    dwarffortress

    ==

    All these games players spend HOURS and HOURS playing/played. So I believe graphics is purely for attractive value which is very non-lasting but seemingly very profitable.

    That said, a game's style of graphics has an affect and if it's the icing on the cake instead of what most mmorpgs are, the cake on the icing (!) then it definitely contributes.

    Eg Some artists work on an IP for so long their work becomes the STANDARD of that IP eg Star Wars, Games Workshop and more. For comparison of a style that may suit a culture, the anime style makes me barf in most mmorpgs compared to like it in actual anime films *some styles more than others!*.

  • IcewhiteIcewhite Member Posts: 6,403
    Originally posted by Vyeth

    This is what happens when an age old formula of good gameplay meets traditional but updated graphics. (done right imo)

    MMOs already exemplify that well enough, considering they developed from games that did not have graphics at all.

    The end result of MMOs existing as an enormous genre demonstrates the power of graphics, as a market-builder.

    The nearly complete degradation of communities over the same period demonstrates graphic's inherent weaknesses.

    Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.

  • SuprGamerXSuprGamerX Member Posts: 531
      The famous question that should be obvious to answer on it's own by now.  If graphics were important to the majority of people, Maple Story and Minecraft wouldn't be on top of the world right now, population wise.  Graphics, as I always like to say, means bull if there is no content and gameplay to keep a player busy. And we didn't have much offered to us in the MMO market when it comes to high end graphics in the past 4-5 years.   I fail to see why Devs cannot start with a crappy graphic game but loaded on content and innovative stuff and awesome game play , and from there work on graphics.   But no , Devs work in reverse , 95% effort on graphics + 5% on the rest = garbage release day.  Graphics on a MMORPG will never be important , and nothing in this world will change this known fact. The only ones that can change this fact are the Devs , but they are too busy having their heads up their rears to realize. Putting adverts of a big cleavaged sprite is more important then adding some fun content. And when it comes to cleavage , the Devs sure deliver ... pathetic.
  • LordDmasterLordDmaster Member UncommonPosts: 130

    50/50

    50% graphics

    50% game play

    If I own a 2K system? Make my system work at 70% best settings.

    If I payed 2k for a system, give me my moneys worth.

    If I pay you 15 d a month, give me my moneys worth.

    If you are selling a F2P, make it work on those Walmart & Best Buy systems.

    …..it’s a guideline, not a rule, as players we must remember: “It’s a Game”.

  • TheMonkeyLegacyTheMonkeyLegacy Member UncommonPosts: 1

     

     
     
     
  • VincerKadenVincerKaden Member UncommonPosts: 457

    Graphics matter in modern games because they make up for a lack of good story, interesting and unique mechanics, and diverse challenges that were the hallmark of games before plug-in-play engines, design patterns and various object oriented methodologies began to streamline releases targeted at the broadest video gaming demographic  without concern for appealing to any sub-division therein.

    If it's pretty, it's looked at. I believe that also applies to many other entertainment industries.

     

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