How important do you think graphics are?

To me, graphics are just as important as any other major aspect of a game.Good visuals can immerse me in a game just as much as a compelling story or a soundtrack that really sets the tone of the game. However when I say "graphics", I'm not referring to the level of technical advancement of the game engine; I'm referring to the aesthetic design of the game, which ranges from the art direction to the scenery/level design to the animations. Things like that are what make even old games like Half-Life 2 look good, and I think more people would agree that graphics were important if they thought of it the way I do.

The graphics matter in games that use as an integral part of the game, namely aesthetics and atmosphere, crysis i would be fine playing on medium or lower because the graphics themselves arent important to the game itself. But i wouldnt want to play something like amnesia in Unlit mode because that would be seriously detracting from the gameplay.

The graphics matter in games that use as an integral part of the game, namely aesthetics and atmosphere, crysis i would be fine playing on medium or lower because the graphics themselves arent important to the game itself. But i wouldnt want to play something like amnesia in Unlit mode because that would be seriously detracting from the gameplay.

ferret-gamer

I like graphics but if the gameplay is bad then graphics alone will not make me want to play the game. But if the graphics were bad and the gameplay good then I would play that.

Graphics means nothing to me, it's the Gameplay which is important, that's why videogaming isn't interactive movies.

For some reason... reviewers and the public keep looking to graphics specifically in reviews and have cut details of controls, game depth, sound (sound is all but gone out of reviews), replayability, and other features. Sad to see but true. I don't personally see the affection so many people have with said "graphics" when other things are so narrowedly viewed.

1- Gameplay & Story 2- Graphics & Sounds Gameplay comes first and that's expected but we wouldn't play all of todays games if it weren't for the graphics. Imagine games with PS1 graphics on an HDTV...amazing I know. I believe better graphics give you better game experience and if you say you don't care about graphics at all then why not just play only 8-bit games.abuabed

Graphics means nothing to me, it's the Gameplay which is important, that's why videogaming isn't interactive movies.

rockerbikie

Graphics means nothing to me, it's the Gameplay which is important, that's why videogaming isn't interactive movies.

For some reason... reviewers and the public keep looking to graphics specifically in reviews and have cut details of controls, game depth, sound (sound is all but gone out of reviews), replayability, and other features. Sad to see but true. I don't personally see the affection so many people have with said "graphics" when other things are so narrowedly viewed.

jedikevin2

The reason is because I like Multiple different games on different consoles. I do love 8bit games and I love all gaming except for xbox gaming, Sega and motion gaming.rockerbikie

That's weird...

I thought gamers follow good games not the systems they're on.

[QUOTE="rockerbikie"]The reason is because I like Multiple different games on different consoles. I do love 8bit games and I love all gaming except for xbox gaming, Sega and motion gaming.abuabed

That's weird...

I thought gamers follow good games not the systems they're on.

For some reason... reviewers and the public keep looking to graphics specifically in reviews and have cut details of controls, game depth, sound (sound is all but gone out of reviews), replayability, and other features. Sad to see but true. I don't personally see the affection so many people have with said "graphics" when other things are so narrowedly viewed.

jedikevin2

Some people talk about depth, atmosphere and replayability as part of gameplay experience and put a clear line between it and graphics which is from my point of view is not completely true. The game can hardly be called atmospheric if it weren't for it's graphics (could be 2D [e.x Limbo, SoTN] or 3D[e.x Crysis, Uncharted]).

The graphics influence our experience without we admit that they are, it's just how it is. You see graphics first and then you actually play the game. You can't play a video game that has "no graphics". It just doesn't make any sense. Of course I wouldn't play a crap game because it looks beautiful but if it looks stunning then I'll probably give it a try(assuming I never read any review) and once I discover it has low quality gameplay experience I'll leave it for good.

If we're talking about replayability. Say you play Area X and if you play the game on hard you fight double the number of enemies. Or you replayed X game because it looks graphically nice (assuming that it's got good gameplay elements). Another reason could be the game has vast scale (graphically related) and you'd love to play it for a long time to discover those locations. Those points are related to both gameplay and graphics and we can't completely separate then.

Gameplay>Story(depends on the game)>Graphics>Sound.

Some people talk about depth, atmosphere and replayability as part of gameplay experience and put a clear line between it and graphics which is from my point of view is not completely true. The game can hardly be called atmospheric if it weren't for it's graphics (could be 2D [e.x Limbo, SoTN] or 3D[e.x Crysis, Uncharted]).

The graphics influence our experience without we admit that they are, it's just how it is. You see graphics first and then you actually play the game. You can't play a video game that has "no graphics". It just doesn't make any sense. Of course I wouldn't play a crap game because it looks beautiful but if it looks stunning then I'll probably give it a try(assuming I never read any review) and once I discover it has low quality gameplay experience I'll leave it for good.

If we're talking about replayability. Say you play Area X and if you play the game on hard you fight double the number of enemies. Or you replayed X game because it looks graphically nice (assuming that it's got good gameplay elements). Another reason could be the game has vast scale (graphically related) and you'd love to play it for a long time to discover those locations. Those points are related to both gameplay and graphics and we can't completely separate then.

I don't know why so many people say that they completely don't care about graphics (lol maybe it's a psychological thing related to personality traits or maybe it makes them think of the term "graphics wh0res" which they hate :P).

If we look at the graphically superior games on any system we would see that rarely we have a gorgeous looking game with poor gameplay experience. Take Crysis, Uncharted 2, Gears, Alan Wake, Monster Hunter, Mario or Zelda games. All of them actually have great/amazing gameplay value why?

Because the developer used the graphics to support the gameplay which made them top of the line graphically and gameplay-wise. Of course there are other factors (sound effects, story, cinematic..etc)

Gameplay>Story(depends on the game)>Graphics>Sound.

93BlackHawk93

To me, graphics are just as important as any other major aspect of a game.Good visuals can immerse me in a game just as much as a compelling story or a soundtrack that really sets the tone of the game. However when I say "graphics", I'm not referring to the level of technical advancement of the game engine; I'm referring to the aesthetic design of the game, which ranges from the art direction to the scenery/level design to the animations. Things like that are what make even old games like Half-Life 2 look good, and I think more people would agree that graphics were important if they thought of it the way I do.

Xeros606

it really depends on the game, some games need superior graphics to portray a deeper atmosphere to the player, whereas some games don't.

Graphics are important to make games more immersive.

They aren't the most important thing, but they definitely mean something. Just like gameplay, story, sound and whatnot are important in a good game, so are the visuals.

You would be hard pressed to find anyone that prefers graphics over gameplay. Regardless of all the hype of graphics that goes on throughout gaming journalism, pretty much everyone knows gameplay comes first. However, without graphics, we would all be playing text adventure games (nothing wrong with them).

You do have games like Lair and Haze where it looked like the graphics came first causing the gameplay to suffer and play like arse, but games can have garbage graphics and still end up being terrible.

However, it's the year 2010 heading straight into 2011. We are allowed to have both good gameplay and graphics all at once. Are we not yet deserving of this luxury?

You would be hard pressed to find anyone that prefers graphics over gameplay. Regardless of all the hype of graphics that goes on throughout gaming journalism, pretty much everyone knows gameplay comes first. However, without graphics, we would all be playing text adventure games (nothing wrong with them).

You do have games like Lair and Haze where it looked like the graphics came first causing the gameplay to suffer and play like arse, but games can have garbage graphics and still end up being terrible.

However, it's the year 2010 heading straight into 2011. We are allowed to have both good gameplay and graphics all at once. Are we not yet deserving of this luxury?

Seriously, graphics are the least important these days. With current technology no game ever looks plain bad, so graphics have become irrelevant. Gameplay, story - that's what matters.

Graphics are not the most important part of a game but i'm always pleased when one looks great. If a game does not live up to a certain standard of graphics, then it must not be full price because of the effort it takes to creat a visual/audio masterpiece. The Wii is an excellent example of fail across the board. Does not support the current standard for graphics, does not support surround sound, and should therefore not cost $50 for a game especially when the characters look like rayman.

Finally someone who doesn't try to deny the importance of graphics for the sake of trying to look "cool" for not being a "graphics whore." I can't stand people who claim things like "gameplay > graphics". No, "gameplay = graphics" in terms of importance... because without good graphics, then the game won't run well, or look good (we are playing VIDEO games afterall).

Graphics sometimes affect gameplay and also affect overall immersion, I'd say they are almost as important as gameplay if not equal in importance (depending on the game)

Depends. If I'm playing an open world sandbox game, I expect my surroundings to be believable, but if I'm playing an arcade puzzle game I don't expect much.

Very since graphics in VG was the reason it caught my eye and became a huge fan - if not for ever improving visuals in VG ( minus Nintendo this gen :P ) I'd still be playing board games.

Immersion doesn't really matter to me, unless I'm following the story. The only time graphics really matter to me are for shooters, where the graphics can actually help. But other than that, I have no problem with games not being graphically advanced.

Liking graphics is perfectly fine...until people start hating on games with fully functioning graphics, games like SMG2 and DKCR. That's just ridiculous.

To me, the graphics have to be just good enough to get me into the game. Crysis is great and all and don't get me wrong I love it, but I don't need it. I still play Tribes 2 which just goes to show, that if the gameplay is there it doesn't matter how bad the graphics are. Another example is Battlefield 2. The graphics are better than Tribes 2 and I never play it. Something about hitting a guy with a gernade and him not dying that just takes the fun out of it.

Graphics aren't important at all to me, I just bought Deus ex and Deus ex invisible war and I am loving it

I just spent $500 on a GTX580. I guess i think graphics are important :D

Gameplay > Story > Music > Graphics.

Thats the way I see it

along with the atmosphere, art style, technical graphics and gameplay, sound design ect. Everything is equally important.

Not so important than gameplay

gameplay and story goes first before i look at the graphics.

example of gameplay over graphics is probably Minecraft :P

its the most importmant imho its why the ps3 is king because of the ps3 games that are graphics kings. every time theres a ps3 game graphics king there will be lots of threads about it because its true and graphics is the most important