"Graphics are everything

     "Are we truly into the next generation?  Have games once again truly evolved?  I guess that depends on what you read, but I believe they have, to a greater degree than ever before.  Genre lines have now completely blurred.  The platformer, FPS, action RPG, and action adventure are no more, replaced by hybrids that contain elements of them all.  As games become bigger and more complex, what is it that really drives change?  I believe that the answer is unequivocally graphics, because graphics define gameplay.

     "People generally consider graphics superficial; the appearance of a game's exterior, which is accurate, but also incomplete.  The evolution that's struggling to take place is the shift from the blatantly artificial to the hyper-real, whether it be within a creature - or human-based infrastructure.  On the outside, complex models with realistic layers of clothing and facial features are obvious, along with practical water effects and normal mapping that bring textures to life.  However, the more realistic things get, the more art dictates quality and the more subtle inaccuracies stick out.  Dynamic collision, for instance, was hard to come by in previous years, but within today's HD worlds, its absence sticks out like a mustache on the Mona Lisa.  Uncharted, Kameo, Viking:  Battle for Asgard, Assassin's Creed, Tomb Raider:  Legend, GTA IV, Halo 3 and Gears of War are all great examples of how to marry characters with their environment.  They feature player models (both main and in some cases even ancillary) with sufficient articulation to change cadence and animation when coming to rest on or negotiating slopes and stairs.  If what meets the eye is drop-dead gorgeous but limited in terms of animation and expression, the result is more artificial than if the architecture (exterior) were crude.  The same rule applies to terrain:  Clothes that appear wet emerging from water or footprints that produce residual particles make the elements come to life, just as real time terrain deformation helped Motorstorm become the new benchmark in off-road racing.  All of these visual refinements are what's elevating videogames to an entirely new level, in concert with advanced physics and AI (which are also manifested as graphics) and, when they get it right, the double-edged sword that is realistic human face modelling and animation.  When it's not perfect, the results can be downright creepy, but in the instance they do get it right, the results can be one of the most powerful means of elevating the gaming experience.  Currently, Kojima productions, Epic Games, Team Ninja, Naughty Dog, Square Enix, and Ninja Theory (with an assist by Weta) have achieved greatness, with the pinnacle being Heavenly Sword,which defined how dramatic an effect expression, acting, and writing can have on a game when they are made as high a priority as any other facet of the overall production.

     "At its best, current technology has elevated games to interactive cartoons and cinema. only many times longer and user-directed.  That's the dream.  At its worst, however, it's become a shiny coating for otherwise subpar content.  The men are truly being separated from the boys here.  It's time to get to know game directors, producers, artists, animators, designers, and musicians like we know those of film.  It's also time to start reviewing these complex and expensive productions for what they are and whom they are created for, so that great games beyond those suckling the predetermined "blockbuster" teat, can find their way home through the quagmire of an ever incoherent industry.  Technology is manifested as graphics -- what you see and feel through the controller.  Gameplay is easy.  Everyone knows what we like.  There's no mystery left.  It's all about how epic you can make it now.  What about innovation you ask?

"Innovation is Everywhere

     "If I, had a nickel for every time I've read or heard someone yap about gaming needing true innovation, I could be filling up with super unleaded.  But does anyone really know what that even means?  In media and music, digital delivery is certainly innovative, so doesn't the same apply to games?  True "innovation" (the act of innovating; introduction of new things or methods) is all around us.  In terms of hardware, the Wii has an edge, although it's really just an airborne mouse and joystick.  Few games use it in a manner I'd call innovative.  Zack and Wiki and Wii Sports come to mind, although Wii Sports is pure novelty with next to no gameplay; a heavy price to pay for the ability to flick your wrist.  The Wiimote and nunchuk are best when they're used to enhance traditional gameplay, like in No More Heroes.  I'll give controller innovation to Nintendo, but in terms of gameplay (which I'm pretty sure is what people are referring to), The Eye of Judgement is not only the most innovative game I've played, but it's based on a hobby that serves millions of rabid fans and is supported by micro-transaction expansions that, if it succeeds, would never cease.  In other words:  truly innovative with a massive base including a ton of people (like me) who've always wondered what compels someone to spend their weekend at a folding table in a comic book store.  It's beautifully made in every respect and infinitely enjoyable with the family . . . but it tanked out of the gate.  I thought it would sell systems and start a revolution.  Not even one similar game has been announced.  Imagine what The Eye could do with many a comic book, movie, or game franchise.

     "Next up on the list of innovation is Little Big Planet.  Not only is it completely innovative, but just look at it.  A communal online platformer we get to mold?  If this doesn't hit, I don't ever want to hear the word "innovation" again.  I don't know about you, but I'm counting the days . . . I'll be looking for a way to order a puppet of my Sackboy, too.  Sony is clearly leading the way in gameplay innovation, so why isn't the PS3 outselling the Wii if that's what everyone wants?  They have the SixAxis pad, Home starts beta-testing soon, and you can even buy a two-handed controller.  Don't forget about the Blu-ray player and the cell processors either.  Is it the hundred-dollar price difference?  Negative; it's longevity and multimedia features make it the cheapest console over the long haul by far, and has anyone seen a Wii for under $200?  Wii's not even HD, which happens to be the biggest innovation in home entertainment since color TV.  So much for innovation.  Innovation is driven by technology, which drives graphics, which drive gameplay.  Even those $10 downloads rely on graphics.  Anyone played Lost Winds?  That's innovation -- but it's driven by the graphics -- that wonderful Wimote technology tethered to a stunning visual.

     "Would anyone want Castle Crashers or Bionic Commando Rearmed if they didn't look shiny and new?  Nope.  I rest my case."

-- From Play Magazine, Volume Seven: Issue Seven, July 2008 issue.  pg 51.  The Article entitled "So Far, So Great:  A Seventh Generation Introspective by Dave Halverson and Play Magazine staff.

     Dave Halverson has been a longtime gaming journalist and publisher.  He published one of the greatest of all 16 bit gaming publications in Die Hard Gamefan (which happens to be my personal favorite American gaming magazine of that time) and portrayed two of that magazine's popular characters.  The reviewer E-Storm and he was also the Postie that drove a Humvee mail truck and answered reader mail.  Today he is the publisher of Play Magazine.

Reflections upon further reading?