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As a developer, I have prided myself on putting user experience and ease of use first. This was not something I was taught to do in college or from books on UI

As a developer, I have prided myself on putting user experience and ease of use first. This was not something I was taught to do in college or from books on UI or watching keynote speeches. I learned user experience from Shigeru Miyamoto via Super Mario Brothers and the Legend of Zelda. When consoles started to gain more horsepower and graphics became a primary selling point in games, I was never seduced by polygon counts or FMV cut scenes. I wanted better controls. I wanted more immersive level design. More than anyone that's had influence on me as a developer, Miyamoto has inspired me to make software for people. As an aside, do you think there's any way we can get him to make an HTML 5 game? Or series of games on some sort of Miyamoto blog? Forking anything that Miyamoto has made would be the highlight of my professional life.

jrockway 15y ago
Why do graphics and gameplay have to be a tradeoff? A game like Super Smash Bros. with 1080p graphics would be amazing!
- Djehngo 15y ago
  I'm not a game developer, but I am assuming that if you iterate on gameplay too long you have less time/money to develop high fidelity art. Assumptions: * Lower poly models and lower res textures can be produced faster * Gameplay starts unbalanced/poorly paced/with a mix of good and bad mechanics and is then improved iteratively * Hiring more artists costs money which results in hiring less devlopers/designers (or vice-versa) * Art and gameplay do not compete for staff time (artists vs designers/developers) however due to an almost-critical path they do compete for completion time.
- barrkel 15y ago
  Graphical fidelity increases immersion; gameplay typically tries to create some kind of puzzle-solving flow state in an action / reaction loop. A game can be good with mostly just one or the other, albeit quite different experiences, but the best games have both. For example, Tetris has terrible "graphics" as such - the thing is entirely abstract, and is almost a pure expression of gameplay. But a game like Skyrim is rather the opposite; it's all about immersing yourself in a role via a character you've created and grown. Meanwhile, the actual tension-creating gameplay mechanics of Skyrim, combat and sneaking, the first is fairly poor, while the second ultimately is overpowered. But those things don't stop it from being a highly enjoyable experience. Why is it a tradeoff? Because building immersion means emulating reality to a greater and greater extent, and that reality gets further and further away from the abstract core of what makes a gameplay mechanic work well, because reality is complicated and has too many details. You have to build the gameplay in such a way that it doesn't break the spell of immersion; instead of being abstract, it has to be made out of simulated reality components.

jrockway 15y ago

Why do graphics and gameplay have to be a tradeoff? A game like Super Smash Bros. with 1080p graphics would be amazing!

Djehngo 15y ago
I'm not a game developer, but I am assuming that if you iterate on gameplay too long you have less time/money to develop high fidelity art. Assumptions: * Lower poly models and lower res textures can be produced faster * Gameplay starts unbalanced/poorly paced/with a mix of good and bad mechanics and is then improved iteratively * Hiring more artists costs money which results in hiring less devlopers/designers (or vice-versa) * Art and gameplay do not compete for staff time (artists vs designers/developers) however due to an almost-critical path they do compete for completion time.
barrkel 15y ago
Graphical fidelity increases immersion; gameplay typically tries to create some kind of puzzle-solving flow state in an action / reaction loop. A game can be good with mostly just one or the other, albeit quite different experiences, but the best games have both. For example, Tetris has terrible "graphics" as such - the thing is entirely abstract, and is almost a pure expression of gameplay. But a game like Skyrim is rather the opposite; it's all about immersing yourself in a role via a character you've created and grown. Meanwhile, the actual tension-creating gameplay mechanics of Skyrim, combat and sneaking, the first is fairly poor, while the second ultimately is overpowered. But those things don't stop it from being a highly enjoyable experience. Why is it a tradeoff? Because building immersion means emulating reality to a greater and greater extent, and that reality gets further and further away from the abstract core of what makes a gameplay mechanic work well, because reality is complicated and has too many details. You have to build the gameplay in such a way that it doesn't break the spell of immersion; instead of being abstract, it has to be made out of simulated reality components.