Has graphics gone too far?

[JcGross]

I've been thinking about this as of late. Has graphics in games gone too far? Lemme esplain.

 

I've been gaming since... Hell, since the C64. I think that was my first machine. Then DOS, then I was blown away when I got my windows PC. For a long while graphical leaps were freaking HUGE. We used to be so impressed with each generation. And then it died down kind of in the middle of the 360/ps3 era. From the last gen to the current gen there was a jump in graphical quality yet again, but it just doesn't feel impressive anymore. Maybe because as a PC gamer I was subjected to a slow and gradual change, so when the current consoles came out I already experienced that quality. But I think there's more to it.

 

I don't feel like I'm playing games anymore. Scene transitions are too smooth. For example I've been playing resident evil 7 and there were times where I questioned if I had control. It feels a bit floaty. Compare that to RE4. It always had clear indication that it's a cutscene, all other times you had full control! And it's not just that game. AC origins too. I think it has to do with the animations and how they are stringed together. It makes it feek unresponsive, because the character is often acting without input. All because it looks better.

But then again, Max Payne 3 would be an even bigger offender than RE7 and that's one of my absolute favorite games. (for the record, I really liked RE7 as fell, it just feels really strange to play games like this)

 

I genuinely love oldschool games. Not just because of the nostalgia. I've played through old games that I never played back in the day. I love the PS1 era ugly graphics. They require immagination. And they let you know that you're playing a game. Maybe that's the problem, since I am accustomed to old graphics my brain doesn't recognize these new games as games?

 

Am I crazy? Am I alone in this? I kind of don't want graphics to get any better. I want better stories and better gameplay!

[emosun]

Your angle for WHY you dislike modern games is..... weird. But your interest in retro games and dislike for newer games is extremely common and normal.

When I was a kid and we played ps1 , we actually thought the ps1 graphics were pretty crappy. I literally remember talking with my friends about how (Driver 2) on ps1 just didn't look good and how we wanted it changed to look better. Now being older I know it was due to hardware limitations.

While I VERY much like 2d 8-16bit pixel art games , early 3d games look terrible. ps1/n64 games look really bad today especially in their native 240p no antialiasing original state. The hardware of these consoles just barely has enough power to run 3d games and it really shows.

But yeah , liking old games instead of new ones is common. Modern games suffer from "programming effort" now. We have all the hardware power in world , how much effort the developer puts into the game is now the main source for how much advancement is made in graphical progress.

[LHJKO]

 I want graphics to get where I cant tell the difference between the real world and my pc then upgrades for my eyeballs that will make games look better than the actual  world  

[JcGross]

2 minutes ago, emosun said:

Your angle for WHY you dislike modern games is..... weird. But your interest in retro games and dislike for newer games is extremely common and normal.

I feel like you completely misunderstood what I said. I don't dislike modern games. Some of my favorite games are not "retro" games (The Wticher 2 & 3, Max Payne 3, Hitman to name a few). Although none of these are ones that I have problems with. It's really ps4 era games that I feel "wierded out" by. I feel like my brain can't process if it's a game or a movie. I kind of feel like there's a lack of distinction between characters, objects and static scenery. Everything just kind of blends together and that bothers me.

 

And yeah, PS1 era games are definitely ugly (the 3D ones I mean), but I can't help but love them. Soul Reaver 1, Tomb Raider 1 and 2, SW: Dark Forces 2, games like that are just the best. Actually, TR1 didn't look that bad.

[JcGross]

Just now, Vernw3 said:

 I want graphics to get where I cant tell the difference between the real world and my pc then upgrades for my eyeballs that will make games look better than the actual  world  

Why not have eyeballs that make the world look better?

[Humbug]

For the people who do not like modern games There are loads of fantastic indie games on steam thay capture the spirit of those retro games and some of them do it brilliantly.

 

They just have to open their eyes and look beyond the aaa games.

[emosun]

4 minutes ago, JcGross said:

I feel like you completely misunderstood what I said

alrighty then

[Xander Cousins]

I don't think graphics have gone too far it is just that they have gotten to a point where Game graphics have gotten to a level of detail to where it is on par with some Cutscenes which is why with your experience in RE7 you never knew if you where in control or a cutscene. some people find this bad because they will stand like and idiot for a few minutes while other will find it amazing as it doesn't break you from the story by fading out or cutting back to ugly graphics like in the old era of the PS2 and previous versions. (I Found that more comedic really)

[JcGross]

27 minutes ago, Alex Colson said:

I don't think graphics have gone too far it is just that they have gotten to a point where Game graphics have gotten to a level of detail to where it is on par with some Cutscenes which is why with your experience in RE7 you never knew if you where in control or a cutscene. some people find this bad because they will stand like and idiot for a few minutes while other will find it amazing as it doesn't break you from the story by fading out or cutting back to ugly graphics like in the old era of the PS2 and previous versions. (I Found that more comedic really)

Well, some games solve this with letterboxing when they take away player control. Or disable the HUD. I find that very effective and useful to signal whether the player has full control or not.

 

1 hour ago, emosun said:

alrighty then

I just meant that it's not like I hate modern games or anything. It's just that I feel like there's a disconnect when I play these games that come from a lack of definitive distinction of what is supposed to be what. Like, there were times when you could look at an in-game object and you knew instantly that that's breakable, or you can pick it up and throw it, or things like that. I dunno, maybe I'm just being stupid here. It's just a feeling I get that's hard to describe.

 

As a counter example, take NieR Automata. It is a very structured game in terms of gameplay. Everything has it's place, and I feel like the graphics contribute to that. It doesn't look all that great in my opinion, but to me it looks like a game through and through, and that makes me feel comfortable, it feels familiar.

[Frankenburger]

It sounds more like an issue of developers going for a realistic style than "graphics going too far".

 

To me, realistically styled games have little distinction between each other, making them bland and boring to look at. But there are games out there that take a more stylistic approach towards their graphics, while simultaneously being graphically advanced that don't have the issues you're talking about. Monster Hunter World is a good recent example of this.

[Mira Yurizaki]

7 minutes ago, Frankenburger said:

To me, realistically styled games have little distinction between each other, making them bland and boring to look at. But there are games out there that take a more stylistic approach towards their graphics, while simultaneously being graphically advanced that don't have the issues you're talking about. Monster Hunter World is a good recent example of this.

That reminds me that when I tried out Gravity Rush 2's demo and I thought that if I didn't know any better, I thought I was watching a CG movie.

[asus killer]

don't play AAA games so much, there is so much more out there. 

[Murasaki]

I've actually been thinking about graphics through time recently. Nowadays they've progressed enough to be a normal thing and can't provide the "Wow look at these graphics!" reaction anymore or not as much at least. Games from 10 years ago to me still look graphically decent. That's just one of the things the future has taken from us. Maybe in a decade or more newer technology can bring back that sensation when jumping back to early 200x/201x games.