RPGDot Network    
   

 
 
Gladius (Xbox)
Display full image
Pic of the moment
More
pics from the gallery
 
 
Site Navigation

Main
   News
   Forums

Games
   Games Database
   Top 100
   Release List
   Support Files

Features
   Reviews
   Previews
   Interviews
   Editorials
   Diaries
   Misc

Download
   Gallery
   Music
   Screenshots
   Videos

Miscellaneous
   Staff Members
   Privacy Statement

FAQ
Members
Usergroups
RPG Graphics.
  View previous topic :: View next topic
RPGDot Forums > CRPGs General

Author Thread
Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Stranger In A Strange Land




Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia
   

OK, we wandered off-topic.

I think we can come pretty close to that banner with this generation. I'd say we are at most two generations away from near photo "perfection".

However, this potentially brings a lot of baggage. Take a look at Oblivion - as unbelievably fantasmagorical as it looks, this near-realism makes every imperfection stand out.



Her skin looks like it's made of shiny plastic and her cleavage somehow joins her neck - it really doesn't look that great to me.

On the other hand...



Before playing WoW, I thought the graphics looked embarrassingly childish. But there's a beautiful cohesion to the art that goes way beyond the rather low poly-count.

Photo-realistic games will push the expense of art generation to the point where only a small handful of top-tier producers with deep pockets will survive*. And you won't get any innovation or niche market products, because it will be too risky (as it almost is now). Funny thing is, as demonstrated by WoW, lower poly counts with good artistic direction can produce fantastic results.

*The possible saviour is middleware - can Speedtree, FaceGen and so on compensate for the longer art development pipelines?
_________________
Editor @ RPGDot
Post Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:35 am
 View user's profile
X-dANGEr
Unknown Destiny
Unknown Destiny




Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 2383
Location: The X place
   

quote:
Originally posted by Arma
While I agree that better graphics may bring new players to RPGs, what they do these days are put off old players.

I really can't see a reason for this, as long as Graphics are next to a good story, NPCs, etc.. It will be a nice extra thing to the game. And I really, wouldn't like the destiny of RPGs to be like that

quote:
Originally posted by Dhruin
Photo-realistic games will push the expense of art generation to the point where only a small handful of top-tier producers with deep pockets will survive*. And you won't get any innovation or niche market products, because it will be too risky (as it almost is now). Funny thing is, as demonstrated by WoW, lower poly counts with good artistic direction can produce fantastic results.

Well, we can't stop big companies from wanting to achieve better gfx, leading to better sales.
_________________
Post Sat Dec 17, 2005 9:34 am
 View user's profile
Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Stranger In A Strange Land




Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia
   

There aren't too many hugely successful games built on graphics alone. I agree that graphics can initially attract interest but it's always the gameplay that sustains long-term successful sales.
_________________
Editor @ RPGDot
Post Sat Dec 17, 2005 11:32 pm
 View user's profile
X-dANGEr
Unknown Destiny
Unknown Destiny




Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 2383
Location: The X place
   

Well, I think the short-term sales are enough for such companies to make a wealthy sale.
_________________
Post Sun Dec 18, 2005 12:28 pm
 View user's profile
Arma
Mysterious Lady
Mysterious Lady




Joined: 24 Oct 2003
Posts: 1230
Location: in the middle of hell
   

Well, because of that RPGs are at the state they are.
Post Sun Dec 18, 2005 2:54 pm
 View user's profile
xSamhainx
Paws of Doom
Paws of Doom




Joined: 11 Sep 2002
Posts: 2192
Location: San Diego
   

@ Dhruin - I agree, WoW is a truly beautiful game.

As far as graphics go, I usually get into games more if they look good. That said, "looking good" to me is all relative. As I said in another post, the time the game is released, the team doing it, the budget, and the rep of the place all factor in to whether a game has "good graphics" in my mind. Regardless of whether the game has the lastest pixel shading or whtever, if a game looks convincing enough, it's good enough for me.

For instance, I think Morrowind has good graphics. "Minions of Mirth", to some people will appear sub-par graphically, I think it looks great. However, if Blizzard put out "Minions.." I would be disappointed.

With the pressure to do everything 3D, the age of the well-made 2d game has kinda been lost. To me, this is made more apparent in the RTS world, Age of Empires 3 comes to mind. Id have rather they made it a good looking 2d game, then a 3d title that plays like a 5 year old RTS
_________________
“Then away out in the woods I heard that kind of a sound that a ghost makes when it wants to tell about something that's on its mind and can't make itself understood, and so can't rest easy in its grave, and has to go about that way every night grieving.”-Mark Twain
Post Mon Dec 19, 2005 3:43 pm
 View user's profile
X-dANGEr
Unknown Destiny
Unknown Destiny




Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 2383
Location: The X place
   

quote:
Originally posted by xSamhainx
For instance, I think Morrowind has good graphics.

I surely don't agree to that, I just didn't see the beauty of Morrowind 'Graphically' or the gameplay.
quote:
Originally posted by xSamhainx
With the pressure to do everything 3D, the age of the well-made 2d game has kinda been lost. To me, this is made more apparent in the RTS world, Age of Empires 3 comes to mind. Id have rather they made it a good looking 2d game, then a 3d title that plays like a 5 year old RTS

We can't really blame Graphics for that, the responsability of this is goes to both, the consumer and the company.
_________________
Post Mon Dec 19, 2005 6:25 pm
 View user's profile


Goto page Previous  1, 2
All times are GMT.
The time now is Mon Apr 08, 2019 6:37 pm



Powered by phpBB © 2001 phpBB Group
 
 
 
All original content of this site is copyrighted by RPGWatch. Copying or reproducing of any part of this site is strictly prohibited. Taking anything from this site without authorisation will be considered stealing and we'll be forced to visit you and jump on your legs until you give it back.