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HappySqurriel on 16 February 2009
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Sqrl said:
HappySqurriel said:

This isn't saying that pushing the limits of realtime graphics has no value, but (as a publisher) you have to know when it is appropriate to let a game's budget balloon to $40+ Million and when it makes more sense to keep the visuals simpler and the budget at a more modest level.

 

Or in other words when your game is titled GTA #, MGS #, Halo #, Gears of War #, or God of War #? I might have missed some but that should get the point across =p

Basically the only way the expenditure is worthwhile is if the publisher knows the title has a large existing fanbase that will buy the game...and even then it's only worthwhile if that fanbase evaporates in the absence of those great graphical leaps.

But let me ask this: Does anyone think Halo bots wouldn't buy Halo 4 if it had Goldeneye equivalent graphics?

There are only two scenarios here:

Scenario A: Most would buy it anyway because they enjoy the game and the gameplay thus calling into question the need for graphics.

Scenario B: Most wouldn't buy it and the publisher should ask themselves if constantly building up graphical expectations for a fanbase whose major purchasing factor is graphics is a smart business model (which it almost certainly isn't given the diminishing returns on time/$ invested into improvements).

 

I think it all revolves around what it means to have "Goldeneye equlivalent graphics" ...

On the N64 you didn't really have the ability to have dynamic lighting, and you were (pretty much) limited to a single texture layer with a very simple color palate. While the game is far more advanced than anything that could be produced for the N64, MadWorld (due to the choice of artistic style) looks to have a lot in common with N64 games because it doesn't use dynamic lighting (because that would ruin the hard black-and-white look of the game) its color palate of the textures is amazingly simple (black and white) and it is possible that most of the game only uses one texture layer. A game with technically simple but highly polished graphics (like MadWorld) could probably sell pretty well on the XBox 360 ...

On the other hand, if you produced a game where the characters looked like Max-Headroom because of how low detail the character models were it would be difficult to sell unless you used an art style where the polygonalization was a benefit.