Film grain
Mostly used in horror games but also made an appearance in Mass effect. Dither the whole screen to simulate more detail? Film grain in movies can add to the emotional impact (watch City of god), however the poor attempts at simulating it in games don't do it for me. At least in Outlast it sort of makes sense, looking through the video camera night vision view finder.
Example: Outlast
Mass Effect 2
Silent hill origins
CRT effects
Ah that retro gaming feel. Actually I quite liked it in Pixeljunk sidescroller. In Fract OSC it didn't add that much, a moving moire pattern that obscures detail in the distance and you mostly notice when it's not looking good. I guess it's better than fake fog to limit draw distance, but how actually would you get this effect in real life. Filming an irregular shaped crt monitor?
Example: Pixeljunk Sidescroller
Fract OSC
Any effects that I missed? Anyone really like these effects?
I wish developers would concentrate more on human vision instead of crappy cameras. Maybe VR will spare us most of these.
