I was looking at some more philosophical stuff about visuals and came across this experiment: http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/1180000/1178849/a22-el-nasr.pdf?ip=130.127.84.253&id=1178849&acc=ACTIVE%20SERVICE&key=A79D83B43E50B5B8%2EEB6DCC30042720A5%2E4D4702B0C3E38B35%2E4D4702B0C3E38B35&CFID=844237151&CFTOKEN=92955151&__acm__=1475002194_f1612180b8a60ee76e264fecde9b99f2

It basically talks about how visual ques such as color can catch our attention and lead us into the right or wrong path. It also says that less obvious ques, like the bright wall used in their example, can be missed because of human instinct to try logical possibilities, like a door or a window.

There is also some interesting info on how the goal of the game can affect the entire way we view the experience. In fps games, our attention is generally focused on the middle of the screen, while adventure games our eyes wander and view the scenery.

It's really cool because it shows that graphics or aesthetics can be used as a mental guide and replace the use of actual narration when used correctly.

@mrbojangles25: I feel like philosophy is a must when you talk about stuff like this.

Hell maybe it isn't that creations like the human robots lack soul, maybe it is the fact that their soul is "manufactured." The way other people can almost create a seemingly real person is a bit scary.

@soul_starter: I do enjoy seeing indie developers create games with the intention of creative gameplay first and foremost. Shovel Knight has fun mechanics, great music, and although is not graphically pleasing, it is aesthetically beautiful. Yooka Laylee seems to be the revival of an entire lost genre of video games.

I wonder if people just starting feeling like they were in this rut. There will always be a new sports game every year, and it may look slightly better and play slightly better, but it still feels too similar to the previous game. Indie games feel fresh and new, even though design wise they are a step backwards. What is also interesting is that back during the time of the NES graphics and aesthetics were closely linked. The sprites were as good as they could be for the machine and there were only so many colors to use, so developers were forced to be creative with their choices. Now a game like Shovel Knight is purely aesthetic design because we know higher graphically technology exists, but we still enjoy the game just as much.

I'm not thinking of the perfect way to explain all this but hopefully you get what I mean.

@mrbojangles25: Interesting, I never thought about the idea of graphics being so realistic that it is creepy. I can imagine now that VR is increasingly popular, a VR game with realistic graphics could be unsettling.

So I am doing research on how it seems that graphics has become such a huge part of the gaming industry. More and more games seem to boast amazing graphics. Are graphics so important in games today? Are aesthetics important, since graphics falls into aesthetics? How has the industry formed around gamers' new standards?

I would hopefully like to see both sides of the argument, of course being respectful to those posting honest and related opinions or experience.