Lets discuss GRAPHICS

[Intrinsic]

Chark said:

Intrinsic said:

I am not saying graphics are not important. But no, graphics are not key to new gameplay methods. 95% of every game made today stems from genres that have ben in existance for the most part of the last 20yrs. Yes, we get better detail and more effects, but te things that really make these games shine tody aren't things that are defined by graphics. A games mechanics, ai, animation, physics, level design...etc are all the details that makes a game better today. It doesn't hurt that the game looks good though.

 

 Graphics is a wide term and includes animations in many regards. Graphic capabilities are heavily tied with the performance of a computer system. The stronger it is the more particles can appear on screen, the more joints can be rendered, the further distance can be viewed, the greater particle destructability can be acheived, the greater persistency of particles can be obtained. All of these can be incorporated into gameplay mechanics. The value of destructable environments, the scale of players, the density of world environments, environment effects, etc. The enhancements to one game to the next in a series is not due just to a better understanding of game design and gameplay method experience but to the advancement of the graphical capabilities of the hardware that allow for new and improved methods to be utilized and tried.

Graphics are not just frames per second, resolution, shaders, and filters.

You are saying the same thig i am saying, just giving it a  different name. Everything you listed out there, has nothing to do with a game running at 1080p/720p or at 30/60fps using MSAA, TSAA or FXAA...etc. Take oblivion as it was made, using the same textures and models, and make it with new hardware in mind and you will get it to have more of everything you just described. The game could still look exactly the same, but have better animation, ai, particles, destructibility, draw distance, characters on screen...etc. 

All these things have to do with performance, and i have no problem with that, this is why newer and better hardware is needed. The more powerful the hardware, the more designers can do with games. Graphics are all about art style and presentation, a games performance is something completely different. Graphics deals with texture quality and variety, resolution, colors and presentation while perfomance deals with how the game actual plays of which a consistent framerate ties into (not 30/60fps, more importantly just consistent) level design, ai, control response...etc. My problem is that graphics now seem to be all anyone talks about, two years can go by and all most devs will show is trailer after trailer of their game... where as what is ost important is how that game plays.