Wht is more important in a game for you- Music or Graphics?

[The Ghost of RubangB]

Rainbird said:

The Ghost of RubangB said:

Chairman-Mao said:
WTF why are so many people saying music?

Graphics by a mile. Music can suck my nuts.

Would you rather watch a movie on mute or listen to the book-on-tape version?  What's more important, seeing a guy's lips move, or hearing what he has to say?

No matter how good graphics can get, you can't have a room full of people humming along to the graphics.  They can all do that to the Mario theme from 1985.  Music, like most gaming, is more of a social activity than visual art.  You can even have entire games based on playing with the music, like Parappa the Rappa, Rock Band, Just Dance, Audiosurf, BIT.TRIP BEAT, and Elite Beat Agents.

Name one music track that is more known than the Mona Lisa. I know the example is completely irrelevant, but I don't understand why so many people dismiss graphics as unimportant, when they are in fact quite important. And again, I'm not talking about the tech that renders the image, but about the image itself.

If games like Super Mario Bros., Metal Gear Solid or Sonic The Hedgehog had looked bland and boring, they wouldn't have been as popular. If the visuals don't cut it (and I can't stress this enough, it's not about the technology), then people won't find it as attractive, just like if the music is boring.

You still have games today that don't push graphical technology in any kind of way, but their artstyle and graphical execution are still fantastic.

I have no problem with people choosing music over graphics, but dismissing graphics as unimportant is just ignorant.

I'm talking to everyone who dismiss graphics by the way, not just Rubang.

Goodnight.

Maybe "Thriller" or "Happy Birthday" or "Ode to Joy" or "Here Comes the Bride?"  I don't know.  But even if you're right, my point is that you can't dance to the Mona Lisa.  A group of people can't remix the Mona Lisa and sing along.  You can't FEEL the Mona Lisa in your bones, making you shake your moneymaker.  People can do that to the Mario theme, or a video game.  Appreciating visual art is more of a solo activity, while music and gaming can be enjoyed solo or in groups.

It's not that I think graphics are unimportant.  It's that graphical improvements aren't worth tripling or quadrupling a game's budget.  When games get that expensive to make, they can't take as many risks, because they HAVE to please as many people as possible to try to get their money back.  No game has had its development budget tripled or quadrupled due to the soundtrack.  Games that do interesting things with music can still take risks and still be affordable.

And I agree that everybody focuses way too much on the technical side of graphics.  The games that focus on the tech side and photorealism are the ones that age the quickest.