The Case Against Good Graphics

Let's face it. At one time or another, we have been a victim of Video Game Graphics overhype. Be it from the NES (16 bit? ALL RIGHT!) the SNES (It displays more than 3 sprites at a time!), or any other system, we at some point have gauged a system on it's graphical capability.

Were we wrong? Probably. The Sega Genesis Supposively had better graphics than the SNES. However, it ended up being the SNES that did better overall of the systems. The Nintendo 64 trumped the PS1 graphically, and got a whole generation of gamers that way. However, on the back burner on the Sega Saturn, many superb games were being made that essentially got ignored. When it came to good graphics back before the Dreamcast, the Nintendo 64 was (slightly) superior, and virtually every Nintendo fan was willing to rub that into a PS1 fan's face.

So why do we look at graphics? When I see screenshots of new games for the XBOX 360, PS3, and PC, I notice one thing. What's new? The logical transition of video game consoles and PC purchases has essentially gone to new waves in technology. The 8 bit NES was preceeded by the 16 bit SNES. The 16 bit SNES was proceeded with the 64 bit 3D N64 and PS1*. Those were proceeded with the PS2, Gamecube, XBOX, and Dreamcast, all with varying success rates. What now?

*(Note: I debated with a lot of people over the bit set of the PS1. When it boils down to it, it doesnt matter. Even if it was technically 32 bit, it ran on two processors. It really didn't matter at this point, because 3D was generating, and 2D sprites were virtually unlimited)

Looking at these games, no-one can honestly say we've reached a leap in technology, at least from layman's examinations. Displaying things in a 3D realm requires a lot of memory, but with proper memory management, games can still look stunning on crummy systems (Such as Katamari Damacy on the PS2).

I think that's why systems are being debated more now. There's no d*** way to assign "Good" and "Bad" to a particular system. Right now, the PS1 is the graphical weakling of the three Next-Gens. However, it still competes hard, coming up with graphics sometimes trumping XBOX graphics. And all systems have crappy games. The PS2 is full of mediocre anime titles. The XBOX tries to be hardcore and fails horifically. The Gamecube, no matter how hard it tries, still appeals to the least common denominator, age-wise. It's a no-win battle.

So, what are we to do? I say Independent Game Developers will save us from this conundrum. Independent game developers for a console are what James Bond is to MI6- one group kicking three times his weight in ass. Microsoft signing with GarageGames (Maker of Marble Blast, a Monkey Ball esque game that's harder than hell), is a good sign of this. The PS3 working on supporting community-wide games is another example if this. People want good games, and they really don't care who makes them.

Look at, for example, the game Shadow of the Colossus. The graphics, while looking good on TV, are somewhat hard on the eyes. They're very gray and bland, but when you play the game, it doesn't matter. You are immersed. Do you think if Shadow of the Colossus had AA/AF turned on it would be that much better? Absolutely not. Do you think bump mapping would have made it better? No. Do you think physics on a bouncing Katamari would have made Katamari Damacy that much better? No.

This is not to insult people who work hard on graphics. Battlefield 2, Half Life 2, Doom 3,F.E.A.R. and Day of Defeat: Source all have stunning graphics. However, while the graphics immersed you, they weren't the game, and most developers knew that. Battlefield 2 doesnt make you sit through 30 minute loading times so they can Anti-Alias the shadow on a soldier's ass (They do it to load the players, haha).

As I've been looking at different game development methods, I'm slowly but surely becoming quite dissapointed with game developers. I used to think 3D was this mythological, hard-to-do skill that required hundreds of hours typing in the coordinates of every triangle. It's no longer like that- people have programs to do that for them. So, now that we have that, why don't we rely on gameplay now?

It's going to be interesting to see how it goes in the future. Will gamers buy the PS3 because it has great graphics? Will they buy the Revolution because the controller is shiny? There's probably a demographic that will- but let's hope more people are smart. Support your local indie developers. Don't support s***ty companies making s***ty remakes for the public to consume like a fat person eating cake. Check out those games in the bargain bin. They're cooler than you think.