Yes, I think games should look better generation by generation. However I still love games like Ms.Pac-Man so graphics are not the be all end all. A game has to be fun above all else.

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Die Zeit ist jetzt. Der Platz ist hier.

  I don't even know how to answer this question.  If you don't like graphics you wouldn't play a video game. 

  It's really a money factor.  What are you willing to spend for graphical improvements?  Most people don't buy giant PC's with dual graphics cards in them.  So most people aren't graphic whores.  They prefer to save their money for other things.  But, I bet if I said that I could double the graphics power in your game console for $100.  Most people would buy it.  It's a money game.  How much are you willing to spend?

K

 

there are two attributes of game graphics
technical accomplishment (how "realistic" things look)
and artistic (how well things look overall)

i only really value the artistic quality of game graphics. take patapon as a good example. it doesn't push the graphical capabilities of the PSP like God of War does but it certainly looks great still.

and overall, the graphics just support the gameplay :)

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Yea, but fellas, they aren't video games if you don't include graphics.  Monopoly might be fun, but it's not a video game.  So if the question is, "Do games need graphics?"  the answer is obviously "No."

  Graphics help create the atmosphere and the story.  It draws you into the game. 

  They also serve a purpose today.  It's harder to do battle when there is a fog limiting your line of sight.  If it's night-time instead of day, you can't see as well.  A sun glare in your viewfinder can cause you to crash.

  Weather effects now create rain and in some games mud and waves.

  But what are graphics anyway?  Are we just talking about the texture that is mapped onto the model?  I think in most cases we're talking about the "effects"  and the effects are important.  Ragdoll physics, tire traction, gravity and physics.  This stuff is all in the GPU now. 

  I mean, you can take the Wii.  And you can put a crap-load of graphics RAM in it.  If you did that, you could take the Gears of War textures and apply it to a character model.  But you wouldn't have the lighting, the physics, the bump mapping, etc.  So you couldn't make the game without a better GPU even if you had all the same graphics.

  To most gamers, when they describe the graphics, they are describing the entire scene.  Not just the texture maps.  And so it really becomes more of a necessity.  You can't create or tell the stories of many games without the added horsepower.

K

I dont think graphics are important but I dont mean it in the sense kevin is talking.

I just look beyond *shiny* in the games I play. If the game isnt good, I dont give a rats ass about the graphics. Actually after the SNES and Genesis, I dont give a rat's ass about graphics at all. I think graphics reached that level during the PS2/Xbox era where everything they can add to the game content is in peak. Right now better graphics are just embleshiments to me.

It's like comparing a girl with a bigger boob job and another one with a moderate sized job.

The blasting Chorno Trigger sales on the DS dont seem to prove me wrong either. Great games are great games regardless of gfx. If your a.....what I would call "Generation gamer" who plays games based purely on what the current gen of gaming is giving you, gaming as a whole is gonna constantly be that elusive, expensive hobby. FPS's havent changed in content since 2003. Break out Deus Ex and it's still as good as ever and there are games today which still cant hold a candle to it.



Additionally, I totally a whore for stylized graphics in games like Okami, Killer 7, Psychonauts etc. Currently most of the games I play are coming from Atlus or NIS (who makes 2d sprite RPGs) so go figure. Oh yeah, not to mention me still playing Mount & Blade (because it's a FUCKING great game....) and other numerous old DOS games on the PC like Zone 66 and Full Throtle and shit.

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"Everyone is judgemental, just that most are'nt honest about it... "
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"To destroy is to challege man .
      To create is to challenge god ."

FPS's havent changed in content since 2003.

That's completely wrong.

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KILLAHBEEZ wrote I was a graphic whore, untill the Gears of War game came out for the 360. The game blew me away. But playing it made me sick. Now that a lot of games have caught up, I can't play games for more than 2 hours at a time. Kinda weird.

Is it giving you motion sickness or something?

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KILLAHBEEZ wrote  NutMan wrote KILLAHBEEZ wrote I was a graphic whore, untill the Gears of War game came out for the 360. The game blew me away. But playing it made me sick. Now that a lot of games have caught up, I can't play games for more than 2 hours at a time. Kinda weird. Is it giving you motion sickness or something? Ya, thats what I think it is, I play on a 52 inch LCD, so that might be it too, bright colors, fast movement and shit, maybe I need to switch to a smaller screen. I'm still a gamer though, even for only playing in 2 hour blocks.

Reminds me of the warnings they give out:

Do not play for extended periods of time. Make sure to take a 15 minute break every hour to rest, focus your eyes on distant objects in the room. If you start to experience a sick or dizzy feeling, immediately stop usage and see your doctor.