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[tsumake]

Being a gamer since the NES days, I’ve seen amazing strides in graphics over the generations. Going from 8-bit to 16,32,64 and even 128 bit, I wowed over the increase of colors, polygons and discs. But towards the end of this generation, it just seems like diminishing returns. Yes, games are prettier than ever - I’m a stickler for high quality textures in particular. Ray tracing and DLSS are nice, arguably necessary for the next generation. But the graphics hype just doesn’t get me anymore.

Granted, I still game on a Samsng HDTV from 2011. I have that calibrated to an inch and it serves me well, and I know HDR and OLED exist. Again, I like improving technology but there’s not enough out there to really make me want to upgrade.

Please note the tag - this is my opinion. I know there are a lot tech enthusiasts who like chasing the pretty dragon. Again I am glad for tech progress -I don’t want to be stuck with PS2 graphics forever. But, there are a lot of great PS2 games, are there not?

Is there anyone else as underwhelmed with the graphics hype as me?

 

[TonyK]

The other day I was watching Avatar and I thought "if these were the graphics of a next gen game, would I be amazed?". And my answer was no : /

However, today I felt amazed for a sequence of the last Call of Duty campaign, so I think it depends more of the use of the graphics rather than the quality.

 

[Tranquil]

I'm fine with current gen graphics (Not counting Switch), I just want 60fps minimum with little to no load times.

 

[INC]

Flight sim says hello

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

Sunk-Cost Fallacy is a hellavu drug, OP...

 

[Warnen]

Don’t think since the 360 era have I been blow away by graphics. Going from something like the Saturn to the Dreamcast was huge but 360 to the Xbox one, not so much.

No question stuff looks better but Skyrim on my PC still looks pretty good.

 

[hyperbertha]

What else is their to be hyped about in this risk averse industry? (besides Cyberpunk?)

 

[Hobbygaming]

We're going to get amazing graphics next generation

As with every console cycle (Killzone, Ryse, Infamous, being exceptions) developers will learn to get the most out of the powerful hardware through optimization later

 

[nowhat]

Being a gamer since the NES days, I’ve seen amazing strides in graphics over the generations. Going from 8-bit to 16,32,64 and even 128 bit, I wowed over the increase of colors, polygons and discs. But towards the end of this generation, it just seems like diminishing returns. [...] Granted, I still game on a Samsng HDTV from 2011.

As you say yourself, things like higher resolutions (be they native 4K or not), HDR and OLED panels exist. And they are something that you really have to appreciate in person to see the benefit. They may not seem important to you, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't be important to many.

 

[SlimySnake]

the last of us 2 and ghost of tsushima wowed me pretty regularly. i dont see diminishing returns. all i see are flaws.

cant wait for next gen.

 

[tsumake]

The other day I was watching Avatar and I thought "if these were the graphics of a next gen game, would I be amazed?". And my answer was no : /

However, today I felt amazed for a sequence of the last Call of Duty campaign, so I think it depends more of the use of the graphics rather than the quality.

I saw Avatar on IMAX 3D when it was released. Projecting a 1080P image to a ginormous screen is not pretty. And since it was shot in 3D, everyone’s skin tones were blown out because of the extra lighting requirements- everybody looked like blurry vampires.

Actually, at 1080P I think you can make a game that looks like Avatar, at a higher framerate (hah!).

 

[Dr_Salt]

Nothing shown at either conference impressed me. Games will look better as time goes by tho.
I'll take gameplay over graphics anyday but these gaming companies seem to have forgot to include actual gameplay in their trailers.

 

[tsumake]

As you say yourself, things like higher resolutions (be they native 4K or not), HDR and OLED panels exist. And they are something that you really have to appreciate in person to see the benefit. They may not seem important to you, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't be important to many.

That’s the point of the thread. I’m curious if others share a similar sentiment.

 

[NahaNago]

I think the worlds that have been created are more boring for the most part.

 

[lastmessiah]

What I can't get behind is how people equate "gud graphix" with photorealism.

 

[nowhat]

That’s the point of the thread. I’m curious if others share a similar sentiment.

Well, on a personal level, HDR is the greatest thing since sliced bread - when implemented properly, and you need a good TV too ("HDR compatible" really doesn't mean much). But when it's done right, it's outright transformative.

 

[Hostile_18]

I just like "clean" graphics, no jaggies at all. I could quite happily play a PS1-3 game in 4k and be happy.

It would be better if we had a generation that used the extra power for AI and game design but like any commercial product looks matter most and are the most easily marketable.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Its just that it has reached a point where art direction surpasses graphical phidelity in terms of "wowing" people.

It could also be that you simply matured, I too stopped caring about graphics at some point. All i see when i look at an HZD or a new Assassins Creed is a boring open world full of time-fillers, and that i would rather spend my time on some interesting VN i found or playing some fun coop game with friends.

 

[Bryank75]

Depends what you mean by 'graphics'.... the aesthetic depends more on art and asset quality, which is based on talent, time and investment. That is why PlayStation games are recognized as high quality games, it is not lifelike really, there is a style even to Uncharted.... there is a certain stylized way to doing the characters and R* also has a certain style......

This is less applicable to car games and sims, like Flight Sim today.... they are just inanimate objects, rendered and don't need style or as much work or talent or anything.

You need to invest more and more to get better looking assets and art and it takes more time...so a more advanced GPU will not do too much in this case.... only offer raytracing and very small improvements that really are not traditionally seen as generational improvements.

But at the end of the day and with so much it is subjective.

 

[Pejo]

Even ray tracing, which I think improves visuals quite a bit, is only an incremental upgrade. I think we've plateaued as of the PS4/Xbone gen, the rest will just be better resolutions and hopefully better frame rates. I've been firmly in the camp of "Art style > graphics> for about 3 gens now. Honestly I wish more game budgets went to things like gameplay and QA instead of wringing everything out of a graphics card. That's why as shitty as Nintendo games look/run, I'll always buy the latest Nintendo console because at the very least you're going to get a handful of exclusives that are fun and play like a dream.

 

[Wunray]

nah, when we reach FF level cgi in real time is when I believe we have peaked, so we got like maybe 10 years to go.

 

[Vawn]

Flight sim says hello

An example of using tech to make an amazing "game" that's an absolute bore to play.

 

[itsjustJEFF]

It all depends on what you're looking for I guess. I've never been into the idea of "realistic graphics" like playing a game that looks like real life. I've always leaned toward stylized or hyper real graphics. In that case I've seen a few games, as of late, that have "wowed" me. I really liked KENA, Everwild, The Gunk, Stray, and Ratchet & Clank. Of those I like the esthetics of Stray the most, it just has a style to it.

 

[Strider Highwind]

Plus some of my fave games this generation didn't necessarily have the best graphics

Shit my fave game in a long time was Katana Zero lol

 

[INC]

An example of using tech to make an amazing "game" that's an absolute bore to play.

Looks at thread title

Graphics Graphics Graphics

Not

gameplay gameplay gameplay

 

[tsumake]

Looks at thread title

Graphics Graphics Graphics

Not

gameplay gameplay gameplay

Right, gameplay is a different discussion. To be fair, graphics have always been used as a crutch for subpar gameplay.

 

[Tesseract]

i stopped caring somewhere around the time of hl2

still gotta push the frontier if you wanna be competitive with the big dogs (it's even worse if you are a sole indie dev, eat up years of your life creating prefabs)

 

[Danjin44]

When I was younger I did care about most high tech graphics but I as got older I care far more about art direction and gameplay rather than tech behind graphics.

 

[Black_Stride]

Actually, at 1080P I think you can make a game that looks like Avatar, at a higher framerate (hah!).

 

[Faithless83]

nah, when we reach FF level cgi in real time is when I believe we have peaked, so we got like maybe 10 years to go.

Geez man, have you played FF7 Remake?


I saw everything since late 80's and still blows me away seeing games.
This is were it all started for me, Dishaster/Mr. Chin was my first Atari 2600 game:

It may seem hard to understand wtf this is but here's a cover to clarify things:

I was six and the concept of making something move on the TV with a controller, blew my mind.

People also seem to forget that gameplay evolved as well (not everything so gracefully but still, evolved)

Next we'll have this:

This forum sometimes, man...

 

[tsumake]

Geez man, have you played FF7 Remake?


I saw everything since late 80's and still blows me away seeing games.
This is were it all started for me, Dishaster/Mr. Chin was my first Atari 2600 game:

It may seem hard to understand wtf this is but here's a cover to clarify things:

I was six and the concept of making something move on the TV with a controller, blew my mind.

People also seem to forget that gameplay evolved as well (not everything so gracefully but still, evolved)

Next we'll have this:

This forum sometimes, man...

How has gameplay evolved?

 

[A.Romero]

I'm all about graphics. It's part of the attractive of the medium.

A game like Total War is not the same without having hundreds of characters killing each other in the field. Of course they don't have the visual fidelity and animation quality an SP adventure game has but that's the kind of place we will eventually achieve and it rocks and adds to the experience.

Does it mean that graphics are the only thing to look for in a game? Not at all but they don't negatively impact the experience either.

It's the same with sound. Can you play a game in stereo and be perfectly capable of enjoying it? Of course. Does it mean that an Atmos set up doesn't bring anything to the table? Not at all.

I like visual and sound fidelity. It will be even more important in the future for VR.

The industry is so big that there is space for all kinds of experiences... And that's awesome.

 

[Faithless83]

How has gameplay evolved?

Sorry I don't understand, since PS360 era?

 

[NinjaBoiX]

My excitement for next gen stems from the leap in CPU performance and the inherent speed of SSD. I want more consistent, interactive worlds and more robust physics, AI and organic destruction.

Yes, sharper more realistic graphics are always a bonus but as you say, I feel like they’re kind of good enough at the minute. Improvements are always nice but it’s not a “selling point” to me particularly anymore.

Give me tangible gameplay benefits and QOL improvements over shiny 4K grafix; I want near instant loads, smarter NPC’s, more believable physics, more intricate destruction, improved weather dynamics, better persistence of objects within the world, etc.

 

[Aion002]

As long as the games are fun and the art is good, I could still be playing games with PS3 graphics.

All I want from next gen is: games that I enjoy, better loadings and less online issues...


And by online I mean stuff like: Freaking Rockstar, fix those damn RDR2 MP issues...

 

[zettacroix]

I think we've hit a kind of peak in terms of graphics. Yes the fidelity goes up a bit, but honestly PS4/XBox One was just catching up to what highend PCs could do five years before that. I think the nextgen will just look like a PC from three years ago with a ~600$ graphics card in it, more or less.

I also feel myself pulled towards nostalgic graphics more and more, in the likes of rogue legacy or dead cells. Every now and then I really enjoy a graphical powerhouse, but I will certainly not be blown away by next gen graphics as I have had a highend PC for the last decade or so.

 

[INC]

I think we've hit a kind of peak in terms of graphics. Yes the fidelity goes up a bit, but honestly PS4/XBox One was just catching up to what highend PCs could do five years before that. I think the nextgen will just look like a PC from three years ago with a ~600$ graphics card in it, more or less.

I also feel myself pulled towards nostalgic graphics more and more, in the likes of rogue legacy or dead cells. Every now and then I really enjoy a graphical powerhouse, but I will certainly not be blown away by next gen graphics as I have had a highend PC for the last decade or so.

Nah, now with dlss 2.0, shit like native 4k can be put aside, and its only going to constantly scale up, we're just getting starting

 

[MiguelItUp]

I always welcome new and exciting graphics as I'm genuinely interested in big steps with graphical fidelity. That being said, I'm not controlled by graphics, never really was. Personally I feel Indie games have shown us for years that a game doesn't need to have the best graphics in the world to be a lot of fun and/or worth your time.

 

[INC]

I always welcome new and exciting graphics as I'm genuinely interested in new steps in graphical fidelity. That being said, I'm not controlled by graphics, never really was. Personally I feel Indie games have shown us for years that a game doesn't need to have the best graphics in the world to be a lot of fun and/or worth your time.

Charm and art drection goes a long way. Hell I replay broken sword every few years, and still get drawn in (pun)

 

[NickFire]

I've been gaming as long as OP has, and I am most excited for the SSD's and what we can get from new cpu's. I never would have thought 100 player battle royale was possible for current generation 6 years ago, and can't wait to see where new tech brings us. I am still excited for graphics like I have been with every launch, but I don't have a 4k TV yet, so I'm tempering my expectations because it seems both major players think next gen revolves around 4k for graphics. Sort of anyway, cause the S obviously won't focus on that.

 

[Stuart360]

I think part of the problem is that we are already at that point, with curent gen, where we already have high polgon characters and environments, already get high resolution textures, already get post processing effects and stuff like tessalation etc.
Its getting harder and harder to show major differencces. Its like them comparisons where you will see a statue using 10k polys, and a statue using a mil polys, and they look the same, etc.
I think ray tracing could have a major effetc on graphics, when we get to that point, next gen console will be doing it here and there.
I mean someone mentioned AVATAR earlier, well that film took an average of 47 hours per frame to render. Yeah we are still a long way from movie level graphics, and its probably movie level graphics that will be that huge jump people want.

 

[kingpotato]

Granted, I still game on a Samsng HDTV from 2011. I have that calibrated to an inch and it serves me well, and I know HDR and OLED exist. Again, I like improving technology but there’s not enough out there to really make me want to upgrade.

As you say yourself, things like higher resolutions (be they native 4K or not), HDR and OLED panels exist. And they are something that you really have to appreciate in person to see the benefit. They may not seem important to you, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't be important to many.

Well, on a personal level, HDR is the greatest thing since sliced bread - when implemented properly, and you need a good TV too ("HDR compatible" really doesn't mean much). But when it's done right, it's outright transformative.

I updated to a high end LG OLED set two years ago and the difference with quality HDR blew my mind. Anyone who downplays the impact is ignorant, blind or in denial. I try to tell my friends they need to invest in a quality set instead of only focusing on bigger, but you really do need to experience it to fully understand. I still find myself commenting on the quality of the picture two years later. Absolutely stellar upgrade.

 

[Ulysses 31]

I always welcome new and exciting graphics as I'm genuinely interested in big steps with graphical fidelity. That being said, I'm not controlled by graphics, never really was. Personally I feel Indie games have shown us for years that a game doesn't need to have the best graphics in the world to be a lot of fun and/or worth your time.

I'd say Nintendo shows that even better.

 

[MiguelItUp]

I'd say Nintendo shows that even better.

Agreed, it was just a top of the head example.

 

[kiphalfton]

The other day I was watching Avatar and I thought "if these were the graphics of a next gen game, would I be amazed?". And my answer was no : /

However, today I felt amazed for a sequence of the last Call of Duty campaign, so I think it depends more of the use of the graphics rather than the quality.

Well yeah, it's a cartoon.

 

[Abear21]

This gens consoles were tapped out early, devs still made incredible looking games, I can’t imagine how they’ll look at the end of next gen.

4K, better FPS, and Ray Tracing aside—I’m really excited and hoping for other improvements, like better physics, better AI, really intricate and detailed worlds, et cetera next gen. I guess that stuff is more gameplay related.

Most worlds now have limited interior spaces and no real destructive environments. I expect improvements in these area’s to become a trend next gen as many of the details and objects in today’s games aren’t really interactive.

 

[T8SC]

The pinnacle of graphics was making Lara Crofts boobs round.

 

[Wunray]

Geez man, have you played FF7 Remake?

Yeah, some real bad texture work going on there. Don't get me started on some of those png backgrounds. Like I said the graphics technology will keep advancing until we get to the point where we have real time games that look like cgi movies today, actually before that we have to render hair properly first too much aliasing on the hair.

 

[ColonialRaptor]

Personally I would be okay with a small update in graphics fidelity for the next gen with ray tracing, more happening on screen, better lighting and then having devs put all their efforts into interactivity, AI (tlou2 feels much more replayable because the ai is so good) , physics and destruction. These sandbox things are what makes games truly fun in my opinion.

 

[ACESHIGH]

Honestly I think that the current gen consoles still have some more life on them. Can we go further in graphics and production values? Of course, but I don't think it's going to make a significant difference.

Look at the great looking and playing games Nintendo is putting out with mediocre hardware. I hope there's a focus on games with smaller scopes going forward: The current AAA model is unsustainable, look how much time we have to wait for a new Batman game, a new GTA or a new Final Fantasy. It's getting out of control.

The only thing I'd love going forward is a focus on CLEAN IQ without having to resort into running games at 4k native. You can have the most technically advanced game ever but if it's a shimmering mess, all that effort goes down the drain. Give me solid IQ in 1080p any day like Alien Isolation with the TAA mod.