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General discussionWhen graphics matter(48 posts)(48 posts)
(48 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted March 09, 2021
Overall, I tend to have a hard time with any graphics that are more primitive than games in the NES era (when I started playing games) which sets the bar pretty low.

Technically, I'm starting to mind a little when they are at NES quality level. Anything SNES & Sega Genesis level or higher, I don't really care.

I'm slightly pickier about shooters and racing games, though not by a lot.

Otherwise, for some specific genres, I strong prefer 2D over 3D: Turn-based strategy games, point & click adventure games, platformers.

I tend to get more excited about indie games nowadays which are not graphically intensive.

I won't go through the mental gymnastics of trying to justify preferences that are mostly emotional based on my life experiences. The only thing I'll say is that I find a lot (but not all) of very graphically intensive games bland. When you got limited resources and you use most of them on graphics, I guess gameplay can suffer.
Post edited March 09, 2021 by Magnitus
Posted March 09, 2021
Reminds me how in FarCry we used to switch from high detail to low and back to see what foilage disappears. Because only foilage that stays in low detail mode actually hides you from the enemies, added detail doesn't hide you, it just obscures your vision - the enemy can see you (and will shoot you) just fine xD
Posted March 09, 2021
I can be a little picky stylistically, but a word of advice for you aspiring game artists:

KEEP IT CONSISTENT. Even the ugliest scenes in Ečstatica don't compare to how offputting it can see mixed bit styles in a game where that isn't a central mechanic.

Otherwise, as Magnitus says, my timeline starts at the NES, and even then there's some games aging out stylistically.
Posted March 09, 2021
When it comes to ascii games like Dwarf Fortress and Cataclysm:DDA, for some reason I find proper tileset graphics visually unbearable. I always return to ascii, or something resembling ascii. However the development of the steam release does look pretty good (except for the world map)

Still even though I enjoy ascii graphics, there are still several games that I could technically play on medium-ish graphics, but I don't want to. I.e. not until I have a more powerful system to enjoy the game in high settings, e.g. Bannerlord, Doom, Rise and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Age of Wonders 3...
Posted March 09, 2021
most pvp competitive gamers lower graphs not only for higher and more stable fps which will increase your reaction and precision a lot , but many games it will cut down the clutter making it easier to notice enemies

sadly many thinks if it is pixelated game it is fine how ugly it is ... nope some pixel games are just so ugly/minimalistic you cant even get what's on the picture
Posted March 09, 2021
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Breja: I know there's one western-themed here but I can't find it now (it's not Westerado).
Fistful of Gun? Luckslinger? Bombslinger? West of Loathing? If it's the last one, I'm sorry, because that's a great game despite its goofy looks. ;)

Personally, I set great store in consistency; I'm put off if a game mixes very different graphic styles in a way that's not convincing and makes it look amateurish more than artistic (e.g. Fell Seal: why mix realistic portraits with anime sprites that look totally different? There are worse, more amateurish looking games - at least in this case the different graphic styles seem competent enough in themselves, but they totally clash with each other). It's not enough to prevent me from ever trying a game, but it will make me very sceptical and prejudiced towards it.

What's actually preventing me from being able to enjoy a game is screen tearing (and no Vsync options to correct it) or other issues connected to possibly badly optimized 3D games where due to some thing or other the turning is not as smooth as the human eye expects and makes me nauseous, gives me a headache, or is just no fun at all because I will constantly struggle with it.
Post edited March 09, 2021 by Leroux
Posted March 09, 2021
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Breja: I consider great graphics in something like Uncharted 4 or Witcher 3 crucial to the impact those games had on me
That reminds me that it would be nice to try playing also the Nintendo Switch version of TW3, to see if the difference in graphics affects the enjoyment over the game at all:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVmaupufOrQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLKOLverlr0

I still find it marvellous how TW3 has been crammed into a handheld, and apparently is still quite a good game.

Anyway, what I find interesting in the long run is to see which games I still consider great 10-20 years from now, even though their graphics are aging. Those which I don't, apparently I liked them only for their visual quality etc. Then again, nowadays the improvement of graphics over the years seems much less noticeable than, say, 20 years ago when games could look drastically different in mere 5 years or so.

Nowadays I look at some 15 years old game like Two Worlds or Far Cry 2, and think it looks quite good and believable even today, not wishing it to have better graphics.

https://www.gog.com/game/two_worlds
https://www.gog.com/game/far_cry_2_fortunes_edition
Post edited March 09, 2021 by timppu
Posted March 09, 2021
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Matewis: When it comes to ascii games like Dwarf Fortress and Cataclysm:DDA, for some reason I find proper tileset graphics visually unbearable. I always return to ascii, or something resembling ascii. However the development of the steam release does look pretty good (except for the world map)
So how does Caves of Qud make you feel? Personally, I don't like it. It feels like the graphics are both too low-fi and noisy at the same time.
Posted March 09, 2021
i just have to look at ori and see how a good graphics improves the enjoyment a lot , clearly graphics matter
Posted March 09, 2021
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Darvond: So how does Caves of Qud make you feel? Personally, I don't like it. It feels like the graphics are both too low-fi and noisy at the same time.
I find it somewhat appealing visually, but the game itself doesn't interest me. It's kind of midway between fancy tilesets and ascii, and reminds me of the retrodays tileset I always use when playing cdda.

The best I've seen a game pull off this sort of graphics is Cogmind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAuTK72ynTE
Posted March 09, 2021
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Matewis: I find it somewhat appealing visually, but the game itself doesn't interest me. It's kind of midway between fancy tilesets and ascii, and reminds me of the retrodays tileset I always use when playing cdda.

The best I've seen a game pull off this sort of graphics is Cogmind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAuTK72ynTE
Might I counter with the recently released Loop Hero?
Posted March 09, 2021
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Matewis: I find it somewhat appealing visually, but the game itself doesn't interest me. It's kind of midway between fancy tilesets and ascii, and reminds me of the retrodays tileset I always use when playing cdda.

The best I've seen a game pull off this sort of graphics is Cogmind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAuTK72ynTE
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Darvond: Might I counter with the recently released Loop Hero?
yeah another game which would be better with better graphics
Posted March 09, 2021
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Darvond: Might I counter with the recently released Loop Hero?
Oh yes I have to say that does look incredible - however the 'high res' character images that appear in the dialogue screenshots conflict with the overall style I feel (a little bit).

I'd absolutely love for an open world CoQ / DF adventure mode type game to be made in this style.
Posted March 09, 2021
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Breja: I know there's one western-themed here but I can't find it now (it's not Westerado).
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Leroux: Fistful of Gun? Luckslinger? Bombslinger? West of Loathing? If it's the last one, I'm sorry, because that's a great game despite its goofy looks. ;)
Nah, West of Loathing is actually on my wishlist. I don't mind a goofy or simplistic look at all when it fits the game, it's deliberate art choice, everything is perfectly clearly visable, it looks fun.

No, there is some very pixelated, seemingly all in yellow and brown, 2D action game. Fairly recent too. Unless my mind is playing tricks on me and just hallucinated the whole thing.

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Darvond: Might I counter with the recently released Loop Hero?
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Matewis: Oh yes I have to say that does look incredible
Funny, I would actually use it as another example of o super ugly pixel game where I can barely tell what's even on the screen. Really, the world-map screenshots look like a headache just waiting to happen.
Post edited March 09, 2021 by Breja
Posted March 09, 2021
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Breja: I actually think that graphics matter tremendously. I know it's an unpopular thought among some gamers, that it may sound shallow, but I don't think it is shallow at all. Games are a visual medium. The visual side of things is of utmost importance. Now, that does not mean I think all games need to have cutting age, melt-your-CPU graphics. Sometimes those can be great, and downright necessary, but other times style is much more important than technical achievement.

I consider great graphics in something like Uncharted 4 or Witcher 3 crucial to the impact those games had on me - giving the world a sense of scale and beauty, visiting these places and being awed by some vistas, wanting to slow down and take them in was what turned "events" into an "adventure" for me.

But equally as important were relatively simplistic but absolutely perfect graphics in Apotheon, or the colorful 2D "medieval tapestry come to life" art style of the first Heroes of Might and Magic.

As for games where the graphics impact my ability to play them, there's a lot of those pixelated indie games, not very well made pixel games, where just by looking at pics or videos I just see that I literally would not be able to play them. They are just a mess of pixels all bleeding into one. Pixel art can be great, but all to often indies use it with no rhyme or reason, no sense of gameplay care or artistic intent.
I'd say art direction and style are more important than graphics straight up.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionWhen graphics matter(48 posts)(48 posts)
(48 posts)