Graphics in Games DO Make a Difference

[K.Rool Addict 718]

See this video right here:

^This video should speak for itself.

...but just in case it doesn't, I present to you the following:

Shadow of the Colossus is my #2 favorite game of all time. I consider it a 9.8/10 "near perfection". This trailer got me more hyped than any other trailer I have seen in the past 10 years of E3 press conferences.

Now, why am I so hyped? I have played this game countless times in the past. I bought the original release on the PS2 over a decade ago and have played it many times since then. When the PS3 remaster was announced a few years back, I was ecstatic. "How awesome would it be to have one of my favorite games of all time on a PS3!", I thought. "I can't wait to see all the graphical improvements they have made after all these years!". But the game came... and I was disappointed, quite frankly. All it really was, was a higher native resolution, better framerate, and slightly improved texture work. It looked like trash compared to other PS3 games at the time. <- Which stands in stark contrast to how amazingly groundbreaking the original release was back in 2005. There was hardly any other games on the PS2 that could even come close to competing with Shadow of the Colossus in terms of graphics.

Seeing this new PS4 remake with legit "PS4 quality" graphics completely blew my mind. It communicated to me "Look, we know you old-school Playstation fans are out there, and this is for you". The amount of effort put into those visuals... it makes the whole ordeal EXCITING. It's not just like "Oh here's a game you used to love now with some shitty slapped on bloom filter and better res. Give us $60 please" (looking at you Wind Waker HD >.>). 

Graphics.... are not as important as gameplay. I fully comprehend that factor. BUT, if a GOOD game has incredible graphics to go along with all the other essentials that indeed make it so good, the graphical aspect does SOOOO much to enhance the experience of playing through it! The immersion is unparalleled  

The reason I'm making this thread, is because time and time again, whenever I get into a discussion or debate about videogames ANYWHERE on the internet, there is always like a group of 3-4 people who make the assertion "Graphics do not matter". They repeat this over and over no matter what argument you give them -.- Idk... if graphics didn't matter, then why the hell don't all games still look like N64 titles? All they need in order to improve the gameplay is higher resolution, higher fps, and higher draw distances. That would be the purest way to "play a game" no doubt. But games are experiences. They are supposed to take you to another world. Not merely be tasks you are supposed to complete. If I'm gonna play a game, I want to enjoy myself. I don't complete games to get paid. I don't complete games to feel a sense of accomplishment. I play them for enjoyment. And graphics, particularly ones of the impressive variety, tend to make great games into amazing experiences.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. =^-^= And please feel free to share your own thoughts. 

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,206]

Great gameplay can make up for bad graphics. Great graphics cannot make up for bad gameplay.

[K.Rool Addict 718]

2 minutes ago, Kyoshi said:

Great gameplay can make up for bad graphics. Great graphics cannot make up for bad gameplay.

I agree /)^3^(\

Just look at Rise Son of Rome or The Order 1886... both games with amazing graphics... but unfortunately the gameplay in these titles left much to be desired.

I wish both amazing graphics and truly immersive / ambitious game design could join together in harmony more often. It is rare that we get a truly groundbreaking game with equally groundbreaking graphics. Super Mario Sunshine is one of the last I can think of. Horizon Zero Dawn was just short in the gameplay department. NieR:Automata and Xenoblade Chronicles X came up short in the graphical aspect. It's like, we as gamers simply are not allowed to have our cake AND eat it too Q.Q

[Mesme Rize 15,683]

First of all, i must admit that i am very interested in the remake of shadow of the colossus and it really looks awesome.

With that said, i know that good graphics are a really nice touch to certain games, but like  @Kyoshi already said good gameplay can makeup for bad graphics and not the other way around.

A good example for that, is F-Zero X for the N64:

The graphics are even for the N64 very horrendous, almost as bad as Superman 64, but it makes up with a great variety of vehicles, stages, runs in 60 FPS and has incredibly smooth racing mechanics, not to mention that the soundtrack is really good. This is a prime example of graphics don't always make a game.

I am not trying to say that graphics don't matter, but especially these days graphics can't impress me anymore.

[CheeryFox 23,816]

5 minutes ago, Kyoshi said:

Great gameplay can make up for bad graphics. Great graphics cannot make up for bad gameplay.

Sounds about right to me! Bad gameplay will bore the crap outta ya! 

[K.Rool Addict 718]

13 minutes ago, Kyoshi said:

Great gameplay can make up for bad graphics. Great graphics cannot make up for bad gameplay.

3 minutes ago, Mesme Rize said:

With that said, i know that good graphics are a really nice touch to certain games, but like  @Kyoshi already said good gameplay can makeup for bad graphics and not the other way around.

A good example for that, is F-Zero X for the N64...

...This is a prime example of graphics don't always make a game.

I am not trying to say that graphics don't matter, but especially these days graphics can't impress me anymore.

3 minutes ago, Stormfury said:

Sounds about right to me! Bad gameplay will bore the crap outta ya! 

 

^All three of you act as if I failed to address this in my OP:

 

19 minutes ago, K.Rool Addict said:

Graphics.... are not as important as gameplay. I fully comprehend that factor. BUT, if a GOOD game has incredible graphics to go along with all the other essentials that indeed make it so good, the graphical aspect does SOOOO much to enhance the experience of playing through it! The immersion is unparalleled  

The reason I'm making this thread, is because time and time again, whenever I get into a discussion or debate about videogames ANYWHERE on the internet, there is always like a group of 3-4 people who make the assertion "Graphics do not matter". They repeat this over and over no matter what argument you give them -.- Idk... if graphics didn't matter, then why the hell don't all games still look like N64 titles? All they need in order to improve the gameplay is higher resolution, higher fps, and higher draw distances. That would be the purest way to "play a game" no doubt. But games are experiences. They are supposed to take you to another world. Not merely be tasks you are supposed to complete. If I'm gonna play a game, I want to enjoy myself. I don't complete games to get paid. I don't complete games to feel a sense of accomplishment. I play them for enjoyment. And graphics, particularly ones of the impressive variety, tend to make great games into amazing experiences.

 

[CheeryFox 23,816]

7 minutes ago, K.Rool Addict said:

 

^All three of you act as if I failed to address this in my OP:

 

 

Oh, I'm sorry...forgive my opinion I stated. I don't wanna say the opposite and lie. 

[K.Rool Addict 718]

Just now, Stormfury said:

Oh, I'm sorry...forgive my opinion I stated. I don't wanna say the opposite and lie. 

Umm... what?

[Jeric 46,848]

I think we have reached a point in the medium's development where it's more about design style than graphics. The right connection between style and gameplay is what can make a game feel so naturally immersive your forget aspects of both. 

But yes, the art style and graphics do absolutely matter in a game. Cuphead looks fucking phenomenal! 

8 minutes ago, Stormfury said:

Oh, I'm sorry...forgive my opinion I stated. I don't wanna say the opposite and lie. 

Heh

7 minutes ago, K.Rool Addict said:

Umm... what?

K.Rool, that comment you made can be interpreted as if it the OP was expected to be taken as a static op-ed, and not a conversational platform following a solicitation for opinions. I'm certain everyone read it correctly, they simply attributed appropriate weight to certain points you made since everything from open to close to title indicated your weighted opinion -- which can lead to the inference that you believe graphics are more important than variable x or y. 

Take the comments as a challenge to the weighted arguments presented, or craft the OP in a way that such an inference is unlikely. 

[K.Rool Addict 718]

14 minutes ago, Jeric said:

Heh

^ I take extreme offense to that

14 minutes ago, Jeric said:

K.Rool, that comment you made can be interpreted as if it the OP was expected to be taken as a static op-ed, and not a conversational platform following a solicitation opinions. I'm certain everyone read it correctly, they simply attribute appropriate weight to certain points you made since everything from open to close to title indicated your weighted opinion -- which can lead to the inference that you believe graphics are more important than variable x or y. 

Take the comments as a challenge to the weighted arguments presented, or craft the OP in a way that such an inference is unlikely. 

My intention was to share my opinions and invite others to do the same. Not to allow others to attack me with passive aggressive hostility. I think it may be best if I leave these forums, if this is the way I will continue to be treated. 

People constantly gang up on me trying to either throw personal insults my way, or become hostile merely as a response to me sharing my own viewpoints.

16 minutes ago, Stormfury said:

Oh, I'm sorry...forgive my opinion I stated. I don't wanna say the opposite and lie. 

^A perfect example of such. And your "heh" was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.

I find the way I am mistreated for sharing my own opinions that go against the "norm" to be quite disgusting considering when I disagree with other users, they band together in an effort to hurt me in any way possible. This has happened multiple times within individual users status updates, especially recently.

I do not appreciate it, and I find it quite deplorable, to be perfectly honest. 

Edited June 14, 2017 by K.Rool Addict

[Jeric 46,848]

5 minutes ago, K.Rool Addict said:

^ I take extreme offense to that

My intention was to share my opinions and invite others to do the same. Not to allow others to attack me with passive aggressive hostility. I think it may be best if I leave these forums, if this is the way I will continue to be treated. 

People constantly gang up on me trying to either throw personal insults my way, or become hostile merely as a response to me sharing my own viewpoints.

^A perfect example of such. And your "heh" was the straw that broke the camel's back, son to speak.

I find the way I am mistreated for sharing my own opinions that go against the "norm" to be quite disgusting considering when I disagree with other users, they band together in an effort to hurt me in any way possible. This has happened multiple times within individual users status updates, especially recently.

I do not appreciate it, and I find it quite deplorable, to be perfectly honest. 

Just giving some advice on how to massage a great discussion is all. It's always a good idea to predict reader bias as you formulate how you want to approach the discussion topic. The general point that the virtues and importance of a game's visuals shouldn't be marginalized -- which is I think was your conclusion to the rhetoric if I am not mistaken. I assume that many of us agree, though they appear to favor other elements of the final product more. Some suggest gameplay is supreme. I tend to push the holistic route in that they need to be complimentary like any piece of work. It's just a thing.

Though you gave me a great idea for a movie based discussion point!

[CheeryFox 23,816]

13 minutes ago, K.Rool Addict said:

^ I take extreme offense to that

My intention was to share my opinions and invite others to do the same. Not to allow others to attack me with passive aggressive hostility. I think it may be best if I leave these forums, if this is the way I will continue to be treated. 

People constantly gang up on me trying to either throw personal insults my way, or become hostile merely as a response to me sharing my own viewpoints.

^A perfect example of such. And your "heh" was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.

I find the way I am mistreated for sharing my own opinions that go against the "norm" to be quite disgusting considering when I disagree with other users, they band together in an effort to hurt me in any way possible. This has happened multiple times within individual users status updates, especially recently.

I do not appreciate it, and I find it quite deplorable, to be perfectly honest. 

Hey...it ain't like that. I was just letting you know, I wasn't agreeing to what you said (more or less). You came off like my opinion didn't matter. Anyway, my bad. 

[Nerdy Luigi 2,065]

In my honest opinion, graphics don't really matter extraordinarily much, but they do a little bit. I don't like playing hideous eyesores too much.

[Twilight Dirac 721]

Graphics are important, but not necessarily in the way most people think.  Graphics in video game are first and foremost a tool to both inform the player of the vary aspects of the game and its world and to immerse the player in the games fiction.  They exist in service to the rest of the game.  Possessing the most advanced graphics made available by current technology should never be the goal of graphics design in video games.  It may very well be that a cartoony 2D sprite based design may be superior to high resolution 3D graphics because the sprites provide a clearer presentation, communicate information to the player more clearly and are just plain easier on the eyes.  And if the graphics are making the video card chug by simulating advanced water refraction effects while player has to constantly pause I check an in game menu for pertinent information because he was unable to obtain that from the games' presentation, those graphics are poorly implemented no matter how advanced they are.  Ultimately good graphics are dependent upon the context and needs of the game, and game that uses its graphics well will ultimately have superior graphics to one that merely attempts to use the most technologically advanced graphics available.

[Celli 4,336]

Graphics only matter to a point. 

Also, I really hope they improve the controls for the Shadow of the Colossus remake. It was an interesting game, but the controls felt a bit stiff and it made the game less enjoyable to be quite honest.

[EpicEnergy 23,068]

Whether or not graphics are important when it comes to video games is primarily subjective, as graphics don't matter to some while others consider them a crucial component in enjoying a video game.

[The Kaeya Simp 13,987]

On 2017-06-14 at 11:24 PM, Kyoshi said:

Great gameplay can make up for bad graphics. Great graphics cannot make up for bad gameplay.

I have to agree with you here

[DixonTheAdversary 1,632]

As long as I can tell exactly what everything is and what it's supposed to resemble, that's all that matters to me for graphics.