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Do graphics make a game good?


Pgpaw3

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Do you think that the look of the game makes it good, or is the overbearing power the game play and story line?

Personally I couldn't care less about the graphics, as long as the game is fun to play, that's what makes me play it.

That's what I think anyway, but I know some people who disagree.

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No, they don't. The most important aspect to a game will always be the gameplay itself. Good graphics is just the icing on the cake, and also matter more in some games while less in others.

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Graphics are a huge part of it. Visual media isn't much without the visuals.

People say that graphics are unimportant and what matters is how fun it is to play. Half of that is false. They ARE important, as art style and visual naunces can make an alright game good.

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Graphics are an excellent thing to have, but graphics come second to the gameplay and/or story (depending on the type of game)

Great graphics can make an already great game fantastic, but great graphics can never make up for other significant shortcomings.

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Graphics are Important, but not everything in a game. The game play is the most important thing. First thing that make the game great. Graphics are the Second thing that improves the gameplay.

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It's complex...

First, it depends on the type of games. Some, highly conceptual (like Minecraft) don't need fancy graphics to be fun to play (well, it's said some have fun playing that! :P). When you play an FPS, it's important to have the impression *you* play, to be pulled inside the screen. And that's *mainly* done with graphics. Not only the quality of the models, shaders and stuff, but also with how well physics is rendered (bullet physics, hitbox collision system...). This is not pure graphics you'd say, but the development of these technologies is highly tied to the one of graphics.

Then, expectations of the players. This has a kind of temporal relation. Like... you don't expect the same amount of graphic quality from a 1995 game, one from 2000, 2005 to nowadays'. And this is true when you play it (a 2010 game played in 2010) and when you play it years later (you can still appreciate the "graphical quality" of Starfox SNES today... in a way).

Also, some games are meant to be graphical bombs and not innovative games. Crysis and The Witcher for instance, even if they introduced some new game experience were meant to graphically impress players (and stress computers!) in the first place! They'd have been "bad" games, and people would have still acknowledged their high quality of graphics. In some other cases, graphics are the only way to render properly the ambiance and/or the personality the original universe of the games...

It's all about intensions, conventions and expectations.

If you intend to rely on graphics only, it's fine, but it's got to be assumed.

If you want to be a "full-fledged" game, and only rely on fancy graphics, well... It's gonna fail.

An innovative game that need gameplay to have a good impact on the player will also suffer if the gaming experience is not convincing enough...

...

What is that thread doing in the Rec Room by the way? :/

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Graphics alone cannot possibly create a great game; your game may look excellent but be boring as hell to play! *COUGH-REALITY-COUGH*. Graphics come second to gameplay and storytelling in my opinion, though they are still invaluable; the Wii could've been much better had it been HD.

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What is that thread doing in the Rec Room by the way? :/

Yeah, I put it in the wrong spot, sorry about that.

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Good Graphics, but bad gameplay is a no no. Decent Graphics plus good gameplay is a successful game. A good balance of both make those great games we have today. If the game is lacking graphics but good game play I guess its ok, I mean look at DOOM, it had some pixel-like 3D graphics but fun gameplay.

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eh, music to me is almost more important :/. but it all depends on the type of game, a low resolution call of duty game would suck, however the graphics in stratagy games don't need to be very good. it all depeneds on the game type

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They're nice to have, but they're not needed.

Gameplay is king always.

But it's nice to not have an incomprehensible game (the graphics are so bad you cant see a damn thing)

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Important, but at the same time the least important thing in a game.

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Graphics are dead last on the list of things that make a good game. Don't get me wrong, if you have a great game, and top it off with mind-blowing graphics, it truly becomes a work of art. But when you have a mediocre game with mind-blowing graphics, it's still a mediocre game, just now it's a "pretty" mediocre game.

Game concept, gameplay, sound, and such are more important than graphics. I'd go more in-depth on that, but I have a massive toothache and can't think clearly right now.

And example, however, is BC2 vs. MW2. MW2 has so much bling and shine in their game it actually hurts gameplay, causing unnecessary lag. Probably the biggest criticism BC2 got was that it wasn't as aesthetically appealing as MW2, but that's because if it was, the game would of been unplayably laggy. With bigger maps and just more of everything going on, the game runs smooth as silk compared to MW2, which makes it a much better game, despite not being as shiny.

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Something you all are failing to take into account is that good graphics doesn't necessarily mean "WHOAMGOD I HAVE MORE POLYGONS THAN YOU" and such. Good graphics are about more than just blowing peoples' minds with your super advanced graphics engines and whatnot; having a distinctive, pleasing and easily recognizable style is just as important.

Take, for example, TF2. It's definitely not some shining example of how one can push the limits of graphical technology - hell, I run it pretty well most of the time and my laptop is a piece of shit. Even so, it's got some amazing graphics because of how unique and well-implemented their visual style is compared to every single FPS on the market. I mean, sure, CoD has a different visual style than Battlefield and so on, but not being a player of those games I can't tell the difference by looking at them, whereas if I'd seen even a few gameplay videos of TF2 before playing I'd instantly be able to pick it out again on sight alone.

Now, imagine TF2 if they had decided to make it look like every other FPS game in existence. It'd be boring. As fun as the game is, most of the charm comes not from the gameplay but from the instantly recognizable characters, which means that aesthetics and voice acting can have just as much impact on a game's success as gameplay does.

Another example is the Touhou series. Not exceptionally good games, but decent for the most part. Pretty standard bullet hell stuff, but the biggest appeal for many fans, myself included, is just how damn pretty those attack patterns are. It's a somewhat fun game, but I wouldn't play it nearly as much as I have if not for visuals and music that just blow me away.

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I personally count that under "style" than just pure graphics, but that's just me.

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Something you all are failing to take into account is that good graphics doesn't necessarily mean "WHOAMGOD I HAVE MORE POLYGONS THAN YOU" and such. Good graphics are about more than just blowing peoples' minds with your super advanced graphics engines and whatnot; having a distinctive, pleasing and easily recognizable style is just as important.

Take, for example, TF2. It's definitely not some shining example of how one can push the limits of graphical technology - hell, I run it pretty well most of the time and my laptop is a piece of shit. Even so, it's got some amazing graphics because of how unique and well-implemented their visual style is compared to every single FPS on the market. I mean, sure, CoD has a different visual style than Battlefield and so on, but not being a player of those games I can't tell the difference by looking at them, whereas if I'd seen even a few gameplay videos of TF2 before playing I'd instantly be able to pick it out again on sight alone.

Now, imagine TF2 if they had decided to make it look like every other FPS game in existence. It'd be boring. As fun as the game is, most of the charm comes not from the gameplay but from the instantly recognizable characters, which means that aesthetics and voice acting can have just as much impact on a game's success as gameplay does.

Another example is the Touhou series. Not exceptionally good games, but decent for the most part. Pretty standard bullet hell stuff, but the biggest appeal for many fans, myself included, is just how damn pretty those attack patterns are. It's a somewhat fun game, but I wouldn't play it nearly as much as I have if not for visuals and music that just blow me away.

So much this. We all know the TF2 example, but to support the shump point, compare this:

to this:

Touhou is MUCH more aesthetically pleasing.

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Something you all are failing to take into account is that good graphics doesn't necessarily mean "WHOAMGOD I HAVE MORE POLYGONS THAN YOU" and such. Good graphics are about more than just blowing peoples' minds with your super advanced graphics engines and whatnot; having a distinctive, pleasing and easily recognizable style is just as important.

Take, for example, TF2. It's definitely not some shining example of how one can push the limits of graphical technology - hell, I run it pretty well most of the time and my laptop is a piece of shit. Even so, it's got some amazing graphics because of how unique and well-implemented their visual style is compared to every single FPS on the market. I mean, sure, CoD has a different visual style than Battlefield and so on, but not being a player of those games I can't tell the difference by looking at them, whereas if I'd seen even a few gameplay videos of TF2 before playing I'd instantly be able to pick it out again on sight alone.

Now, imagine TF2 if they had decided to make it look like every other FPS game in existence. It'd be boring. As fun as the game is, most of the charm comes not from the gameplay but from the instantly recognizable characters, which means that aesthetics and voice acting can have just as much impact on a game's success as gameplay does.

Another example is the Touhou series. Not exceptionally good games, but decent for the most part. Pretty standard bullet hell stuff, but the biggest appeal for many fans, myself included, is just how damn pretty those attack patterns are. It's a somewhat fun game, but I wouldn't play it nearly as much as I have if not for visuals and music that just blow me away.

This. This whole post. Especially that.

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Something you all are failing to take into account is that good graphics doesn't necessarily mean "WHOAMGOD I HAVE MORE POLYGONS THAN YOU" and such. Good graphics are about more than just blowing peoples' minds with your super advanced graphics engines and whatnot; having a distinctive, pleasing and easily recognizable style is just as important.

Take, for example, TF2. It's definitely not some shining example of how one can push the limits of graphical technology - hell, I run it pretty well most of the time and my laptop is a piece of shit. Even so, it's got some amazing graphics because of how unique and well-implemented their visual style is compared to every single FPS on the market. I mean, sure, CoD has a different visual style than Battlefield and so on, but not being a player of those games I can't tell the difference by looking at them, whereas if I'd seen even a few gameplay videos of TF2 before playing I'd instantly be able to pick it out again on sight alone.

Now, imagine TF2 if they had decided to make it look like every other FPS game in existence. It'd be boring. As fun as the game is, most of the charm comes not from the gameplay but from the instantly recognizable characters, which means that aesthetics and voice acting can have just as much impact on a game's success as gameplay does.

Another example is the Touhou series. Not exceptionally good games, but decent for the most part. Pretty standard bullet hell stuff, but the biggest appeal for many fans, myself included, is just how damn pretty those attack patterns are. It's a somewhat fun game, but I wouldn't play it nearly as much as I have if not for visuals and music that just blow me away.

that is what i really tried to get out...

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Graphics aren't everything in a game. The most important thing IMO is gameplay.

Yeah this. Putting graphics over everything is foolish. It's like saying Sonic 06 (you know, that game) is better Super Mario Bros. just because it has "better graphics".

Graphics are important, but I don't think it should ever be the deciding point.

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While graphics aren't everything, I find it hard to enjoy a game that has less than stellar graphics. I liked to feel immersed in the game's world.

Still, for myself personally, it's the story and gameplay that's a tick more important than the graphics.

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Nope graphics do not make it so that games are good yea it looks nice and cool but there is a point where its to much based on graphics, an example is FFXIII,

also a lot of older games are really fun yet they have horrible graphics. so really basing it on graphics id have to say you are silly if you think graphics make games good.

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Graphics are a huge part of it. Visual media isn't much without the visuals.

People say that graphics are unimportant and what matters is how fun it is to play. Half of that is false. They ARE important, as art style and visual naunces can make an alright game good.

Oh come on, Space Invaders was good and look at those graphics! If you're playing some super fast flight simulator where many things are happening, yes you need good graphics, but without good gameplay a game is nothing!

You need good gameplay for a good game. You don't need good graphics, but it helps.

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Graphics aren't the most important factor in the game, but neither is gameplay or story or, hell, even music . . . well nowadays anyway.

I see it like this. In order to make a great game for this generation, everything has to play a big part. If graphics aren't so important, then why are these new systems pushing to put in higher performance graphics cards from ATI or nVidia or some shit like that. It's because trying to sell a brand new franchise via retail with outdated graphics would be impossible to do.

Graphics are meant to catch your eye and draw your attention to the game

Story should motivate you to continue the game to see what happens to the characters based on the writing or choices you make

Gameplay should make playing the game feel more fluid and . . . well . . . playable

Music should set the mood of the environment properly.

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It seems like everyone ignored the title: 'Do graphics make a game good?' Not: 'Are graphics necessary to make a good game or are they just nice to have?'

So the answer is yes. They do.

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