famousringo on 27 August 2008
In robotics, they call this the 'uncanny valley.'
The idea is that a humanoid robot will evoke a positive emotional response. But if the robot tries too hard to look like a human, while still remaining discernably non-human, people will be creeped out by it. Just look at those talking mannequins they're making in asia nowadays.
If you apply this concept to video games, you'll notice that 'realistic' graphics are something the industry has been working towards since 3D came along. Yet graphics are, and will continue to be, obviously unreal. Games which looked 'realistic' a few years ago look like crap now, just as today's 'realistic' games will. Games which focus on style and atmosphere age much more gracefully.
Reality is what's outside my window. It's boring. Give me a stylistically interesting game with an immersive atmosphere and I'll love it for years. Give me a realistic game and I'll get frustrated and bored, just like I do with reality.
In response to somebody who said they didn't want realistic graphics. I think it was a pretty solid first post.
I then went on to trash Killzone 2.
"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event." — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.
