Do Graphics Matter To You?

[SonicBoom]

Do Graphics Matter To You? If you saw a game that had absolutely terrible graphics would you not play it? I Know some people do, But does anyone on this forum do that?

[The Shawn]

Of course.

Yes they matter.

Is this a trick question? Do I win a prize?

[Junkyrdsalesman]

They don't matter to me, as long as you can tell what you are doing . When i see bad graphics, i just laugh and get on with the game. Good graphics to me are just an added bonus. But if it's the same game on 2 different systems and one looks a little prettier, of course i'll get that one.

[Sunnyvale]

Yes, of course they matter!

Which is why I really like my Colecovision better than my Intellivision. Donkey Kong looks so much better!

[treismac]

Yes, graphics matter to me. The look of a game is a big part of what sucks me into the video game's universe. I can't imagine me beating Okami three times (twice on PS2, once on the Wii) if I hated the way the game looked. Taking a further note from Okami's aesthetics, I don't need realism. I think many of Activision's 2600 games (Pitfall!, Pitfall II, Seaquest, Chopper Command, etc) look great and all the graphics are is a bunch of well placed, blocky, yet colorful pixels. With all of this said, if a game is engaging enough, I can overlook a certain amount of crappy graphics, I suppose. Nothing is coming to mind at the moment, but I'd like to think I'm not too shallow as a gamer.

[substantial_snake]

Graphics don't matter as much to me as good art direction and style does. I happen to find that games who look visually interesting or distinct are usually better games then those who chose the more typical and boring route.

Graphics are either boring or interesting to me, I would only ever consider them "bad" if they interfered with gameplay. Things like popup, texture errors, etc. for 3D games and things like ill defined foreground/baclground, hitboxes larger then sprite, etc for 2D games.

[Greg2600]

not that much. grew up on 8-bit games.

[icbrkr]

Nope. If they did, I would have thrown away my Atari 2600 years ago. That said, I always like to see what someone can pull out of a classic machine graphics-wise. Look at the later 2600 games compared to Combat. Look at the final games for the C64 (commercial anyway) as opposed to the first releases.

Donkey Kong on the INTV looks good... now http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErMgBMGirEE

[Game Hoarder]

Graphics do matter to me, but not as much as gameplay. So, yeah I can play old games with bad graphics and still enjoy them.

[Ryudo]

People need to learn the difference between graphics and aesthetics.

Graphics mean nothing to me. Graphics are the least important thing in gaming. They just allow more lighting and polys to be added. But if it has bad or no aesthetics it can still be an ugly game even with great graphics. Aesthetics do matter more. The things I look into most for games for me to enjoy are. Aesthetics,Music,Good gameplay.

Xenoblade. The graphics are not very good. However it has great aesthetics making it a beautiful game.

[Game Hoarder]

Xenoblade. The graphics are not very good. However it has great aesthetics making it a beautiful game.

I can't wait to get Xenoblade. I think the graphics look good as well as the aesthetics and the gameplay is going to be awesome too.

[Ryudo]

I can't wait to get Xenoblade. I think the graphics look good as well as the aesthetics and the gameplay is going to be awesome too.

Me personally think it's the best game this gen and the best and biggest rpg this gen. I imported it and plan to buy the US version as well. This feb I buy The Last Story as well.

[Dire 51]

Graphics don't matter to me, but in some cases designs do. For instance, I tried playing Psychonauts once and couldn't get past those godawful character designs. It might be a great game, but damn are those characters ugly.

[Game Hoarder]

Me personally think it's the best game this gen and the best and biggest rpg this gen. I imported it and plan to buy the US version as well. This feb I buy The Last Story as well.

Unfortunately, I don't import games. I hope they bring The Last Story to the US.

[retroman]

I think they matter some, but a good game is a good game

[Wraith Storm]

I don't expect anyone will agree with me on this, but graphics never really mattered to me until the PS2 on up to this generation. I am quite the opposite of most, but I hate the fact that games look so good these days.

The ENTIRE time I am playing classic games, I am analyzing and dissecting them. Especially the Saturn/Ps1/N64 era. I marvel at the level design on a technical level. I love seeing a strategically place hill or wall that obscures the pop up in the distance. It's creative and restrictive level design and the end result gives the impression of an amazing looking level. I just love discovering all the little techniques used in a game that are all around but usually go unnoticed by most.

The thing I miss most is pixelation. Anti-aliasing and the like have made games much less enjoyable for me. I can't tell you how many times, regardless what game I was playing, that I would run my character into a wall and stare at each and every pixel to see how they blended them in the texture map. I miss being able to see and appreciate the fundamental building blocks that make up a game.

These days, games look so good and the systems are less restrictive that its next to impossible for me to enjoy and dissect the individual pieces that make up the game.

I know I'm odd, and that's cool i'm content with that. It's hard to explain though. Here is the best way to describe what I mean...

You can look at a painting from across the room and tell that its a very nice painting. But its not until you get up close that you can begin to see and appreciate each individual brush stroke that makes the bigger picture.

I used to get so much out of games, but as graphics get better and systems more powerful, I get less and less fulfillment.

[Tatsu]

Actually I do agree with you, Wraith Storm. At least to a certain extend. I have to say I rarely play with my X-Box 360 and I only have two games for it (Sacred 2 and Fallout 3). Most games on that system have kick-ass graphics (if you compare it with the S-Nes, the PS1/2 and so on), still they don't move me at all. It might very well be me getting old but I have the feeling that most games focus too much on graphics and special effects as eye-candy instead of gameplay. For quite a long time I thought I might have grown out of gaming since I rarely played anything besides Guitar Hero and Wii Sports with my friends. Sacred 2 grapped me but that was about it. Then I bought a PSP and woohoo, here we go again! So many nice games (well, nice for my personal taste that is) that get you hooked to the console. I haven't felt like that in ages.

So to answer the original question: no, I don't really care about graphics. Sure, if I do have the choice I like my games to look good and being able to read the text blocks and being able to see what is going on on the screen ist a must. But I prefere an old-school style (pixeled for example) game over stuff like Asassins' Creed any day because with AC the gameplay is just boring to me.

[jonebone]

Are they the end-all be all? No. Do they matter to me? Yes.

[jdc]

Kind of siding with what Wraith Storm and Tatsu were alluding to. Oftentimes i'll run back to the "charm" of pixelation, which is why I love the PSX years. I also get a little embarrassed when I think of the days when my friend and I were adamant that graphics couldn't POSSIBLY get any better than the ones in the N64 games made by Rare.

[treismac]

I know I'm odd, and that's cool i'm content with that. It's hard to explain though. Here is the best way to describe what I mean...

You can look at a painting from across the room and tell that its a very nice painting. But its not until you get up close that you can begin to see and appreciate each individual brush stroke that makes the bigger picture.

You're damn right that's cool!

Awesome post, Wraith Storm! The above selection really spoke to me. I remember in games like Wolfenstein 3D running up against walls and objects to take it all in, absorbing the pixels one by one, and then stepping back to see the object or wall further away again. I'm sure to the young kids of today who would know Pong from Pitfall! your technical/artistic appreciation of graphical limitations would seem absurd, but I'm more than with you!

In a way, the older first-person 3D games with blocky, pixelated graphics and objects that pop up suddenly in the horizon make me feel like I am inhabiting a strange dream where the laws that normally regulate the universe are more than a bit off kilter, where something very strange could happen with no warning at any moment that has no connection to the previous moment. The occasional glitch/bug only heightens this disconnected, surreal feeling.