Hello, my pretty.
So I'm getting a fancy (okay, it's not top-of-the-line anymore) new (okay, secondhand) Radeon 9800 Pro video card. If Half-Life 2 looks this good with a pathetic GeForce 2 Pro - and I swear it does look great - I can't even imagine how much a GOOD card working with Half-Life 2 might blow my mind and leave me collecting my brain off the floor for the next week.
I hate to sound like a graphics whore, but I've been thinking about this more.
People always like to say that graphics don't matter as long as the gameplay is excellent. While that's true, still, it's becoming progressively harder and harder to ignore bad graphics in this era... because graphics are starting to meld with gameplay in a way that was unexpected, I think.
Take, for example, Half-Life 2. The game is stunningly realistic at times, not just due to the sharp quality of the textures and detailed models, but because of the insanely lifelike characters and physics. Plus add to this the fact that you can pick up nearly anything in the game that's not pinned down (going from, initially, lightweight stuff to heavy stuff to ridiculously heavy stuff by the end of the game) and the physics system becomes more than just a pretty feature because it's essential to the gameplay. And if pop-up is a problem (which, unfortunately it is on my card) - does that constitute a graphics problem, or a gameplay problem? There were several instances, at least, where I didn't even know certain objects were available until I came within close proximity of them and they appeared.
The fact that I cannot decide whether pop-up is a graphics or gameplay problem proves my point, I think. And while pop-up could be detrimental in gameplay before, this problem seems to have been alleviated with the power of consoles today and more conservative programming.
So is this just a fault of Half-Life 2 and programmers biting off more than they can chew?
I'm not sure, but I'm getting a new video card and I'm not angry at Valve. So I suppose that means something. Graphics and gameplay, and even sound, have all entered *almost* an equal playing field as far as immersion is concerned. And if we can't be immersed, what's the point of playing games?
Am I somewhat right, or way off target?
I hate to sound like a graphics whore, but I've been thinking about this more.
People always like to say that graphics don't matter as long as the gameplay is excellent. While that's true, still, it's becoming progressively harder and harder to ignore bad graphics in this era... because graphics are starting to meld with gameplay in a way that was unexpected, I think.
Take, for example, Half-Life 2. The game is stunningly realistic at times, not just due to the sharp quality of the textures and detailed models, but because of the insanely lifelike characters and physics. Plus add to this the fact that you can pick up nearly anything in the game that's not pinned down (going from, initially, lightweight stuff to heavy stuff to ridiculously heavy stuff by the end of the game) and the physics system becomes more than just a pretty feature because it's essential to the gameplay. And if pop-up is a problem (which, unfortunately it is on my card) - does that constitute a graphics problem, or a gameplay problem? There were several instances, at least, where I didn't even know certain objects were available until I came within close proximity of them and they appeared.
The fact that I cannot decide whether pop-up is a graphics or gameplay problem proves my point, I think. And while pop-up could be detrimental in gameplay before, this problem seems to have been alleviated with the power of consoles today and more conservative programming.
So is this just a fault of Half-Life 2 and programmers biting off more than they can chew?
I'm not sure, but I'm getting a new video card and I'm not angry at Valve. So I suppose that means something. Graphics and gameplay, and even sound, have all entered *almost* an equal playing field as far as immersion is concerned. And if we can't be immersed, what's the point of playing games?
Am I somewhat right, or way off target?
posted by Toupee @ 1:38 PM
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