These aren’t mutually exclusive
High-fidelity and artfully stylized aren’t, but photorealism is like… a photo.
I think they mean that you can like both, you don’t have to choose only one to like
Oh well then there is no conflict at all, yeah
Don’t make me point at the TitanFall 2 and MGSV sign again.
Its just that that’s hard for developers to develop, for management to allow, so, instead, use horrifically unoptimized UE5!
artfully stylized graphics will always be better because they will look timeless
There are several games who we’re just “this looks like reality” when they released who have aged well too. Half-life 2 (even without the updates) being the first one I think of, but I also think the first Far Cry and Crysis look amazing even now. Good design will age well no matter, the only thing that goes away is the immediate excitement of how impressively real it looks for the ones that went for that, but they still stir something inside people who experience them for the first time decades later.
Psychonauts!!
I would be happy if they stopped making everything look somehow both covered in vaseline while also being more reflective then a fucking mirror.
Just look at this shit in the demo:
This works for a tech demo if you want to show off a new rendering engine or a new GPU. But yeah, if you base the whole game around that, it’s like those movies with more CGI than plot.
I mean, effects like these have their time and place as well. Looking for a sci-fi setting in a distant future where these robots coming fresh out the factory like that? Cool. But I get your sentiment, if everything just looks like this because it just can and no conceptual thought goes into it, it’s crap.
Oh yeah, for sure there is a place for it. But a big part of the whole selling point for raytracing is it will just do its thing and look good. However it looks like this.
In this world, there is no dust or dirt and everything looks like an early 2000’s Apple product.
And if there is dirt, its glossy and reflective. I swear they are trying to give uncanny valley vibes on everything now.
Hah. Remember in the Xbox 360 era when everything looked like it was wrapped in saran wrap? I hated that so much. It’s like - some if not most objects are not that reflective. Yes light bounces off of things, but it’s such an “all or none” solution. Things in real life are so much more diffused.
Its odd that things become shiny and greasy everytime the industry pushes graphics. I want to play a game that is by it’s very nature not the real world. If you want to do a photo realistic game then bring back FMV.
Mirror’s Edge is still beautiful to this day, despite being 17 years old
Dear AAA game studios: Just look at Hades II.
LOOK AT IT. A good chunk of the art you see on every playthrough isn’t even animated.
I’m probably going to clear 300+ hours on this thing before I put it down, and I’ll likely tell everyone to buy it because it’s that good. Photorealism is the last thing I care about.
Similarly Schedule I. Tyler optimized TF out of the very unrealistic graphics in that game, and is only hiring an artist so that the expansion looks pretty.
So I remember playing xenosaga 3 on the PS2. The visual effects on some of the mech attacks were absolutely stunning. It was sooooo pretty.
I like both, they each have their place
you know what, I’ll just keep playing the same old decade old games I’ve been playing
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But Clair Obscur, tho.
Like, damn.
Anyone who says photorealism and stylized art are mutually exclusive needs to play Clair Obscur, then delete their comment
I watched my friend play Mall Simulator, and in spite of it not being graphically intensive, the game breaks down when there are too many assets in the world. Absolute respect to the people that optimize games.
Well… Ontologically speaking…
Plague tale (requiem in particular) is also ridiculously beautiful on mid range GPUs. I couldn’t believe my graphic card was able to do that. It’s a shame games reviews and screenshots don’t account for average setups because that’s what most of us have and some developers deserve praise to make it work for us.
The trouble with photorealism is that you very easily stumble into the uncanny valley. In addition, something that often looks “photorealistic” today will look really dated in a few years.
If you go with artfully styled games, it can actually be much harder. You need to adopt a consistent artistic style and have that style be used by many different artists. Unlike with photorealism, there isn’t always going to be a reference available. You have to watch that over time, and as the scope of the game grows, the style remains consistent. But, when it’s done well, it can be amazing.
One of my favourites in terms of artful styling is the game Interstate '76. It came out at a time when full motion video cutscenes were the style of the day. You’d have low resolution graphics, and then come in with a VHS-quality cutscene with real actors and real sets. Then back into low resolution graphics. Interstate '76 chose an amazing artistic style, then did in-engine cutscenes, which kept the style consistent.
The other master of this, IMO, is World of Warcraft. It must be a gargantuan undertaking to have a game with that many different models and to have a consistent style for all of them, but they mostly do. They often do out-of-engine cutscenes, but their style is so consistent that their cutscenes just look like even more detailed shots from that same world.
something that often looks “photorealistic” today will look really dated in a few years
Check the overall vibe of game cube games VS ps2/xbox. N64 VS PS1. Colourful pretty games stand the test of time way better than realism.
Rule #1: Never get out of the car
What was that?!
Flying saucer.
Oh.
Wow had been interesting lately. The last expansion I played, there were legitimately zones that I thought “I can’t believe this is wow” compared to the vanilla zones. You can still tell after a moment, but it is just a lot more detailed. I do love the point you make here. It reminded me of my first experience with uncanny valley in a game. I prefer not to have that experience tbh.
Were you thinking “I can’t believe this is WoW” or “I can’t believe how good this looks?”
Because, I haven’t experienced the first one. To me, once I’m in the game, there really seems to be an amazing consistency in how things look. After a while things look “realistic” but in a “realistic for WoW” way. Like, obviously Orcs and Demons are not realistic, but the consistency is so strong that how things look, and move, and behave is so strong and predictable.
The initial impression of the new Arathi zone, before really getting close enough to see details was a “I can’t believe this is wow” moment on first impression. There are a couple areas like that where it really throws me. But in a way, yes, it looked so surprisingly good and a tad different.
something that often looks “photorealistic” today will look really dated in a few years.
I’m fairly certain that with AI framegen and he hyperfocus on raytracing this paradigm is broken. Were going from consecutive titles looking better to stagnation while only projects with some breathing room in production will advance visually. (E.g. new witcher).
Depends. Some horror games really sell the value of photorealism well
I’ll be honest, I like both.
Agreed, it really depends on the game. Battlefield with Art Stylized graphics would look terrible, just like how if Final Fantasy was done with Realistic graphics would be weird.
The last several final fantasy games have been done with realistic graphics though lol
Why do that when I can just ask Sora to make it for me? Then I don’t have to engage my brain at all!
Art directors are expensive. A guy that can “google it” is much more cost effective.
Jesus god and more pre-rendered graphics.
