Graphics Don’t Matter? A Ridiculous Concept
Self-described videogame connoisseurs have long claimed that graphics don’t matter. ‘It’s all about the gameplay, obsession with graphics is for immature plebeians who can’t recognize real quality!’
This is a ridiculous notion. Videogames aren’t merely about the story or the gameplay; they’re about the total experience. A big budget film like Avatar can offer a different and equally valuable experience as a small art house film, and a graphically stunning videogame can offer the same.
Just eye candy?
Gamers like to downplay their fascination with graphics, and yet when each better looking game comes out they fawn over it. While it’s difficult to say exactly what we’re drawn to about these graphics, given that they are still short of the visual experience you’re going to get by looking out the window in terms of realism and fidelity, I believe it’s the interactivity that makes the difference.
It’s no coincidence that ’sandbox’ games have exploded in popularity over the last couple of years, with some merely buying a game like GTA IV or the upcoming Just Cause 2 to screw around in the world and not even play through the story.
Gamers have vivid imaginations and while it’s interesting to imagine what a stunt or an explosion is going to look like, it’s also fun to create the setup and watch the outcome rendered beautifully.
Unfortunately, nobody can be told the outcome to barrel experiments in Crysis. You need to see them for yourself
While critics of graphics obsession say that graphics are merely a crutch and good gameplay is the only necessity with the rest filled in through imagination, sometimes that’s just not the case.
There are thousands of Crysis barrel tower collapse videos on YouTube because it’s an interesting experiment and something that cannot merely be imagined; the results frequently surprise and the experience would not be the same if every barrel was represented by a black cube, and the nuclear weapon or tornado that the player spawns to collapse the tower replaced by a text prompt. There’s something to be said for graphical fidelity.
Signaling mechanism
Gamers don’t like to waste money. Developing high quality graphics, especially in the current HD console generation, is extremely expensive. Much like incredible special effects in films are only seen in high budget productions, good videogame graphics are usually only seen in AAA titles.
It's going to take a lot of imagination to make this look good
There is a correlation between good graphics and impressive gameplay because it’s the rare studio that’s going to invest a ton of money producing an impressive looking game without also having a team of writers and designers making the rest of the experience just as top notch. Impressive graphics are merely a signaling mechanism to the gaming community that this is a game worth noticing.
Artistic intention
When gamers are asked to draw Samus, different people can come up with hugely different representations. That’s because there’s a lot of leeway in interpreting a pixilated icon into reality. When gamers are asked to draw Nathan Drake, or one of the characters from Heavy Rain, on the other hand, you can be pretty sure they’re all going to end up with the same image.
When everything is fully true to life, there is very little room for interpretation. This translates to environments and set pieces as well. When graphics are impressive, a game director can more accurately recreate his artistic vision. While it is fun sometimes to read a book and fill in most of the gaps with your imagination, it’s also interesting to interact with somebody else’s vision.
While Thane and Frog from Chrono Trigger might look the same, without impressive graphics I'm never going to access the original intention; Frog could be imagined in hundreds of different ways
In addition, without good graphics it’s tough to have great art design. There is a tangible feeling to the world of Mass Effect 2, something that would have been lacking had everybody has a stick figure body and a pixilated sphere for a head.
Graphics aren’t everything, and gameplay is also critical. Writing off graphics in a game as ’superficial’ or ‘overrated,’ however, is equally short sighted as saying gameplay isn’t important. All facets of a game contribute to the experience. They all depend on each other to create a compelling whole.
