How much do graphics add to your experience? (technical graphics)

[Kantor]

Jay520 said:

Kantor said:

 

However, it undoubtedly adds to the experience. It's easier to see things. The little things impress you more. You become more immersed in the world.

 

A lot of people say this, but I think once you reach a certain point, when the games stop looking ugly, any more increases will start to have diminishing effects. Of course, it's hard to get into a PS2 game, those are too low. But I'd say a game like Demon's Souls is much more immersive than Uncharted. And Uncharted wouldn't be any less immersive if it had less graphics. Nor would Demon's Souls be any more immersive if it had better graphics. It's really all about the gameplay imo.

It's undoubtedly true that gameplay contributes to immersion more than anything else.

A close second, however, is atmosphere. A lot of atmosphere is visual design and soundtrack, but some small amount is contributed by technical graphics. Compare, for example, the atmosphere of Far Cry to that of Crysis. In my opinion at least, Crysis was far more immersive, even though they had pretty much identical visual aesthetics. Far Cry looked great for its time, but Crysis is beautiful. Having said that, the technical side of things was only worth anything because of the stellar visual design.

Lackluster design + great technology = mediocre result

Great design + great technology = great result.