Where will games head once the quest for 'Photo-Realism' is achieved?

As we can tell by the sheer amount of 'graphics king', 'graphical realism', and 'which looks better' discussions that populate the gaming scene, my question is - what direction will gaming travel in, from both a player and developer point of view, once photo-realistic graphics become available?

As it stands, the quest for top-notch photo-realistic graphics is the deciding factor on pushing console and PC hardware and improvements in technology. There are other aspects of technological advancement don't get me wrong (physics, AI, networking), however it seems that the majority of updates, improvements, model changes and inclusions are to push what is possible in the realm of graphics.

As it stands, some are clearly more graphically oriented than others - and that goes for devs, manufacturers and gamers alike. So once 'perfection' is achieved, what becomes the next push? Where does the industry go to continue improvement? And, perhaps more pertinent, is graphical perfection even possible or are we chasing a moving target?

Size .... scale.... Fully 3 Dimensional.

Gaming has more room to evolve than most other forms of entertainment. We wont see the wall in our lifetimes thats for sure... asuming theres no nuclear war. :P

Art direction hopefully. There are other colours bar brown and grey, seriously.-Feath-

Name 10 brown/grey games from this gen and i'll name you 20 that aren't. If you mean a few of the shooters then yeah I agree but come on it's not like everything is that way.

Photorealism won't be achieved for a very long time.

Next on the list will be A.I.

Gameplay, size, story you know the important stuff that makes or breaks a game, not graphics which lets face it aren't the end all of a video game like most here tend to believe. Mario never got famous cause of his graphics. The gameplay made it.CreepyBacon

But given two games with the same gameplay but one has far better graphics, which would you choose?

Art direction hopefully. There are other colours bar brown and grey, seriously.-Feath-

Yet Shadow of the Colossus was primarily a dull looking game, despite being artistically astounding. Is it safe to say that in certain environments and settings (game wise), things can be both dull and beautiful at the same time?

I agree on size, scale and dimensions - however to be truly 3D we won't be able to game by looking at a flat source such as a TV or Monitor - and if that is the case it will require an external device such as headset or simulator. If said devices were required, would that hold back social networking as it would be a primarily solitary activity? And therefore would graphical advancement and immersion cause the eventual downfall of (arguably) more important gaming aspects?

I already have photorealism, its called Real Life.

I want to escape reality, not ape reality. Unless im playing a sim.

i would play anyday a game with non photo realism visuals but with a great story / gameplay.... i hope that once photo-realism is reached (if ever), it wont be for the expence of average AI or else mediocre gameplay...

size and real physics.

imagine a fps the size of liberty city with photo realistic graphics and actual bullet physics.

fiber optics to every user for connection speed would be nice too, 500 vs. 500 anyone? :P

imagine a fps the size of liberty city with photo realistic graphics and actual bullet physics.

FragTycoon

OK, that brings up another point - would such a game actually be allowed?

[QUOTE="FragTycoon"]

imagine a fps the size of liberty city with photo realistic graphics and actual bullet physics.

_Mastastica_

OK, that brings up another point - would such a game actually be allowed?

the goverment would snatch it up for military use :P

Photo realism huh? I don't think that will ever be acheived for a long time, their still struggling with A.L right now

Kinda where they are going now. Wherever developers creativity can take them.

However, on a technical term, after graphics, I think AI and scale of the game world would be the next two boundaries pushed.

Photorealism won't be achieved for a very long time.

Next on the list will be A.I.

tenaka2

the new amd graphics chip showcased a real-time demo and it was more or less photo-realistic graphics. it has been achieved to some extent

Virtual Reality :P

And not that cheesy DOOM helmet type, like, real feeling interactive things with a suit and lawnmover man.

Photo realism will not be achieved for a long time, before it can the uncanny valley will have to be surpassed,simply the closer we get to it the more noticable the minor imperfections will be.

To be honest I think we've pretty much hit the limit when it comes to graphics, I doubt there will be much of a boost in graphics next generation. Mostly because of rising development costs. Boosting the graphics anymore is only going to make games cost loads more to develop, make games way shorter, make games take forever to be made, and probably loads of other issues that the majority would like to do without.

I'm guessing graphics on consoles next generation will be around those of Crysis on high but thats about it. Sure PC might get a select few graphical master piece games but thats about it. Next generation is probably going to be about features and zero lag games and innovative controllers much like the Wii-mote except they wont sacrifice hardware for the sake of saving money. I think the generation after the next there may be a major graphics upgrade but I have doubts. I'm not a major graphics whore anyway so I don't give a damn. I've been playing my DS lately and enjoying the hell out of it than any of my consoles put together.

theres alot of work to do in the physics department (photo realism will need proper motion was well as looks).

besides that? well having those graphics and a massive draw distance. theres also alot of work to be done on "the little things" to make a world come alive (graphics alone wont cut it for that). AI and sound are sorely neglected in todays games in the pursuit of graphics....alot of work to do there.

overall making better games. better writing, better music, better level design and so fourth. hopefully, when we do reach that wall....we can lave the graphics race behind and focus on dam fine games.

As we can tell by the sheer amount of 'graphics king', 'graphical realism', and 'which looks better' discussions that populate the gaming scene, my question is - what direction will gaming travel in, from both a player and developer point of view, once photo-realistic graphics become available?

As it stands, the quest for top-notch photo-realistic graphics is the deciding factor on pushing console and PC hardware and improvements in technology. There are other aspects of technological advancement don't get me wrong (physics, AI, networking), however it seems that the majority of updates, improvements, model changes and inclusions are to push what is possible in the realm of graphics.

As it stands, some are clearly more graphically oriented than others - and that goes for devs, manufacturers and gamers alike. So once 'perfection' is achieved, what becomes the next push? Where does the industry go to continue improvement? And, perhaps more pertinent, is graphical perfection even possible or are we chasing a moving target?

_Mastastica_

Immersion. Like controls that really put you in the game.

size and real physics.

imagine a fps the size of liberty city with photo realistic graphics and actual bullet physics.

fiber optics to every user for connection speed would be nice too, 500 vs. 500 anyone? :P

FragTycoon

real physics is actually pretty dull. what gamers really want is movie physics, where explosions and shotguns look a lot more spectacular than they are.