Much like the 'bit-wars' that occured during the ninties, where consoles competed and marketted heavily on the basis their console had so many bits in comparison to others (Early Sega Mega Drive/Genesis adverts claiming their console was better simply because it was 16 bit compared to the NES's pitiful 8), games these days have a major emphasis on graphics.
I don't mean just how the game looks model and texture wise, but the lighting, the physics, destructable terrain etc. being touted proudly on the back of the box. Even Valve fall into the trap with their Source physics/graphics engine being one of the game's most well known features to even the most casual of gamers.
My problem is this: A game should be all about the gameplay. Why does it matter in this day and age, to the point where it can decide if a game sells well or not, if the graphics are top of the line?
Graphics are purely a way for the player to see the game fold out in front of them, to allow them to interact better. True, bad graphics make for confusing games, a problem with the NES and the way some games handled backgrounds. But in modern day standards, graphics from the PS1/N64 era onwards are generally easy to distinguish between the player, the enemies, the items and the levels, all aspects more important than the graphics themselves.
And then there are games which proudly spout out that they're great, when they aren't all that good. Halo 3, for example, had vastly inferior graphics when compared with other 360 games even a year or two before hand, and suffered some massive slowdown in some parts when more than a handful of explosions were shown at once. It had a constant, overactive use of the bloom effect which hurt my eyes for a lot of the time I played it, yet it manages to sell itself as having 'outstanding graphics'
A more recent game, The Conduit for the Wii, talks about having new technology to make the graphics look as good as the 360 and PS3, when they barely stand up to last generation's consoles. This however brings me to the point of how older games, especially ones in the consoles' later years, had graphics comparable to modern day. While Timesplitters 3 had rather poor player/enemy models, the environments were wonderfully well designed, looking as good as at least the early 360 games.
This emphasis on the graphics capabilities of both a system and a game are tiring me and many other gamers who enjoy the game based on the gameplay. Some reliance on graphics is certainly required, if only to improve gameplay or immersion by making the environments look brilliant or to help players distinguish between player characters and enemies.
I can't wait until we develop virtual reality systems capable of being more detailed, i.e. further than atoms, than real life... I will be waiting for the people complaining that "RL's graphics need updating."
17 August 2009
Topics!
Just a list of things I'm hoping to detail. Well, the titles of them at least. I'll leave you to guess the detail within.
- Games I Like And Why
- Innovation
- Graphics
- Story
- Casual Gamers
- Hardcore Gamers
- The Wii - Gaming Platform?
- Game Advertising
- The Development Process
- Movies and Games - Can they combine?
- Game Idea: Ghost game
- Game Idea: Zombie RTS
Fanbases, Halo vs Half Life and pointless topics of discussion...
I'm sick to death of fanbases.
I have never understood these obsessive, die hard defense of games people like, and on the subject the anti-fanbases that also arise, i.e. the anti Halo/Half Life crowds that many gaming forums are plagued with.
I don't deny I was part of such things. I'm a part of the pro-Valve, anti-Bungie crowd. However, unlike many in these cliques, I very soon realised just how futile such things are. People who are passionate about their favourite games are horribly unlikely to change their opinion because some teenager whines about it on a forum somewhere.
True, without fans, companies would find it difficult to gain a constant foothold in their respective markets, I just don't see the point in people making thread after thread after god damn thread along the lines of "i h8 halo, i r hardcor gamer"
Why? Why would anyone upon reading this, especially fans of the Halo series, suddenly think "Wow! This guy's put a great case forward. I too will dislike Halo!" Surely the point of games is to enjoy them, and in Halo's defense it is a very accessible game to the newbies to gaming yet still retains the fun and challenge for the more veteran gamers of past genenerations.
One thing I have noticed is an all out war between the fans of Halo and the fans of Half Life, both going to desperate struggles to prove in every way their favoured game is better than the other, detailing innovation, gameplay, story complexity, graphics, soundtracks... All things that really only merge to form a game's most important aspect: how fun it is to play.
While I agree that on pretty much every point Half Life wins, I had as much fun playing the Halo games (Besides Halo 2, that one was dreadful) both in single player and multiplayer. As well made as Half Life is, Halo stands up highly against it purely because it's such an easy game to pick up and play whenever, no matter how interested in games you are, while Half Life is definately more of a game for the long-time gamer.
It all depends on why you play a game. If you prefer all the nerdy aspects of looking with detailed precision into a game's mechanics, the story and the way it presents it, and how technical the graphics and physics engine is, Half Life is definately for you. It just doesn't strike me as the kind of game you could play multiple times with similar enjoyment, where as Halo can be played many times through, especially in Co-op even if it has the same horrid problems as Timesplitters 3's co-op mode where major plot changes occur (thinking of the Harry Tipper levels mainly here, took me fucking ages to figure out the second player didn't have to retrieve the disguises on the first level of it).
Half Life is more an interactive story, taking the player through various locales and situations where he/she must complete objectives, where as Halo is something for any kind of gamer who just wants to shoot shit up.
Of course, my personal opinion is that Call of Duty 4 encapsulated both game's impressive gameplay and story telling into one wonderful package, but that's a topic for another time...
I have never understood these obsessive, die hard defense of games people like, and on the subject the anti-fanbases that also arise, i.e. the anti Halo/Half Life crowds that many gaming forums are plagued with.
I don't deny I was part of such things. I'm a part of the pro-Valve, anti-Bungie crowd. However, unlike many in these cliques, I very soon realised just how futile such things are. People who are passionate about their favourite games are horribly unlikely to change their opinion because some teenager whines about it on a forum somewhere.
True, without fans, companies would find it difficult to gain a constant foothold in their respective markets, I just don't see the point in people making thread after thread after god damn thread along the lines of "i h8 halo, i r hardcor gamer"
Why? Why would anyone upon reading this, especially fans of the Halo series, suddenly think "Wow! This guy's put a great case forward. I too will dislike Halo!" Surely the point of games is to enjoy them, and in Halo's defense it is a very accessible game to the newbies to gaming yet still retains the fun and challenge for the more veteran gamers of past genenerations.
One thing I have noticed is an all out war between the fans of Halo and the fans of Half Life, both going to desperate struggles to prove in every way their favoured game is better than the other, detailing innovation, gameplay, story complexity, graphics, soundtracks... All things that really only merge to form a game's most important aspect: how fun it is to play.
While I agree that on pretty much every point Half Life wins, I had as much fun playing the Halo games (Besides Halo 2, that one was dreadful) both in single player and multiplayer. As well made as Half Life is, Halo stands up highly against it purely because it's such an easy game to pick up and play whenever, no matter how interested in games you are, while Half Life is definately more of a game for the long-time gamer.
It all depends on why you play a game. If you prefer all the nerdy aspects of looking with detailed precision into a game's mechanics, the story and the way it presents it, and how technical the graphics and physics engine is, Half Life is definately for you. It just doesn't strike me as the kind of game you could play multiple times with similar enjoyment, where as Halo can be played many times through, especially in Co-op even if it has the same horrid problems as Timesplitters 3's co-op mode where major plot changes occur (thinking of the Harry Tipper levels mainly here, took me fucking ages to figure out the second player didn't have to retrieve the disguises on the first level of it).
Half Life is more an interactive story, taking the player through various locales and situations where he/she must complete objectives, where as Halo is something for any kind of gamer who just wants to shoot shit up.
Of course, my personal opinion is that Call of Duty 4 encapsulated both game's impressive gameplay and story telling into one wonderful package, but that's a topic for another time...
Intro
Seems pretty standard for a blog, so here goes...
My name's Ryan Whitehead, I'm a frequent gamer of many platforms who has a lot to say about the realm of video games, old and new. I'm an aspiring game developer, learning C++ and hopefully going to Keele University to study Creative Computing, which basically entails general programming and basic computer science, graphics editing and game design all in one, and it also involves a dual honours thing in Music Technology, so essentially I'll have all the skills I need to enter any part of the games industry.
With this blog I hope to detail both ideas I have had for games themselves, along with issues I've noticed arising within various gaming communities, game developers, the games themselves and their connection with other forms of the entertainment industry. As this is a blog, I hope to receive comments you may have, and I'm glad to discuss various things although I must point out now I am rather closed minded in my opinions, rarely giving in to many arguements against my views, so please don't be upset if you're unable to sway me from disliking Halo (specifically its fanbase), loving the PC as both a gaming and general use system etc.
If you wish to contact me, whether it be to discuss games or really anything, or just to invite me to a game of something, I'm available on three pretty major IM systems, and you can always email me:
AIM: Teundusia
WLM: r.w2@hotmail.co.uk
YIM: RYjet911
Email (Preffered): ryan.whitehead2@gmail.com
Email (Secondary): spacemarinealex@gmail.com
My name's Ryan Whitehead, I'm a frequent gamer of many platforms who has a lot to say about the realm of video games, old and new. I'm an aspiring game developer, learning C++ and hopefully going to Keele University to study Creative Computing, which basically entails general programming and basic computer science, graphics editing and game design all in one, and it also involves a dual honours thing in Music Technology, so essentially I'll have all the skills I need to enter any part of the games industry.
With this blog I hope to detail both ideas I have had for games themselves, along with issues I've noticed arising within various gaming communities, game developers, the games themselves and their connection with other forms of the entertainment industry. As this is a blog, I hope to receive comments you may have, and I'm glad to discuss various things although I must point out now I am rather closed minded in my opinions, rarely giving in to many arguements against my views, so please don't be upset if you're unable to sway me from disliking Halo (specifically its fanbase), loving the PC as both a gaming and general use system etc.
If you wish to contact me, whether it be to discuss games or really anything, or just to invite me to a game of something, I'm available on three pretty major IM systems, and you can always email me:
AIM: Teundusia
WLM: r.w2@hotmail.co.uk
YIM: RYjet911
Email (Preffered): ryan.whitehead2@gmail.com
Email (Secondary): spacemarinealex@gmail.com
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