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> Modern graphics help games such as The Last of Us or Horizon Zero Down make you feel like you are part of the story, living through it along with the characte

> Modern graphics help games such as The Last of Us or Horizon Zero Down make you feel like you are part of the story, living through it along with the characters. Except it doesn't work for me. It's in an uncanny valley of near realism, where I notice every flaws and bugs that instantly break the immersion. Same with character development: due to growing up and kind of getting more experience of humankind I find myself becoming more demanding on character and worldbuilding coherence. When huge parts are up to the imagination, suspension of disbelief works for me. I just found I can still get emotional over a few pixel Tamagotchi by reading that article. But with modern graphics, the bar is set very high for everything else to follow and be credible (it needs to be like a strong very long good movie).

killtimeatwork 6y ago
> Except it doesn't work for me. It's in an uncanny valley of near realism, where I notice every flaws and bugs that instantly break the immersion. Same for me. The high-fidelity of graphics promises me a realistic simulation of the world, while the gameplay immediately breaks immersion (e.g. if I punch one of the friendly NPCs in the face, they usually don't take offence and continue as if nothing happened etc. etc.). In the lo-fi games, it was clear from the beginning that the game is just a richer chess or minesweeper or mario or any other purely mechanical system and there were no pretense of realism - they were more coherent this way.
- agent008t 6y ago
  I think for this reason 1998-2004 was the golden age of gaming. Hardware capabilities got good enough that fairly rich 3D environments and mechanics were possible, but they were primitive enough that there was no pretense at complete realism and imagination could fill the gaps. Games were also cheap enough to produce, so novel ideas could get funded and smaller studios could make AAA games. Gaming audiences were also still small enough that you didn't have to pander to the lowest common denominator. All of the above resulted in such gems as Deus Ex, System Shock 2, Silent Hill 2, Metal Gear Solid, etc. I do not think this is nostalgia talking either - some of these games I only played for the first time recently and many years after their release.
dirktheman 6y ago
To me, it's a combination of the story, the storytelling, voice acting and music. The graphics can help with the immersiveness of a game, but they're only secondary. The games I used to play as a kid like Monkey Island, Sam&Max and Full Throttle still hold up today, despite their dated graphics. I bought an Xbox last year and a copy of Red Dead Redemption 2. It instantly brought me back, the same feelings and attachment to the main characters. I broke up a little when Arthur died. I can appreciate the modern, realistic graphics but without the rest... it's just a technical fad. While the other way around you can still make a great, immersive gaming experience without realistic graphics.

killtimeatwork 6y ago

> Except it doesn't work for me. It's in an uncanny valley of near realism, where I notice every flaws and bugs that instantly break the immersion. Same for me. The high-fidelity of graphics promises me a realistic simulation of the world, while the gameplay immediately breaks immersion (e.g. if I punch one of the friendly NPCs in the face, they usually don't take offence and continue as if nothing happened etc. etc.). In the lo-fi games, it was clear from the beginning that the game is just a richer chess or minesweeper or mario or any other purely mechanical system and there were no pretense of realism - they were more coherent this way.

agent008t 6y ago
I think for this reason 1998-2004 was the golden age of gaming. Hardware capabilities got good enough that fairly rich 3D environments and mechanics were possible, but they were primitive enough that there was no pretense at complete realism and imagination could fill the gaps. Games were also cheap enough to produce, so novel ideas could get funded and smaller studios could make AAA games. Gaming audiences were also still small enough that you didn't have to pander to the lowest common denominator. All of the above resulted in such gems as Deus Ex, System Shock 2, Silent Hill 2, Metal Gear Solid, etc. I do not think this is nostalgia talking either - some of these games I only played for the first time recently and many years after their release.

dirktheman 6y ago

To me, it's a combination of the story, the storytelling, voice acting and music. The graphics can help with the immersiveness of a game, but they're only secondary. The games I used to play as a kid like Monkey Island, Sam&Max and Full Throttle still hold up today, despite their dated graphics. I bought an Xbox last year and a copy of Red Dead Redemption 2. It instantly brought me back, the same feelings and attachment to the main characters. I broke up a little when Arthur died. I can appreciate the modern, realistic graphics but without the rest... it's just a technical fad. While the other way around you can still make a great, immersive gaming experience without realistic graphics.