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Game Informer: " Why Xenoblade Chronicles Makes Me Want To Punch a Kitten"

Margalis

Banned
I'm just saying what I think of that particular defense. Do you have a serious question or point, or are you just trying to troll?

It's a fair question given that you honestly do not seem to know what money is, or at least how it relates to the production of video games. Yes, it's possible that Japanese people are genetically limited to producing 512x512 textures. But that's a little less likely than that higher quality assets take more time and money to produce.
 
Uncharted 3 doesn't look nearly as good as the Witcher 2 running on max settings on PC. So while Uncharted 3 is good I guess, playing it makes me want to punch a kitten.
 
Those "entitled gamers" are also known as customers. And as Chris Kluwe stated if Nintendo can't bother to even keep up to some modern standards of gaming then he will just take his "idiotic entitlement and whining and bullshit" else where.

I don't think asking for decent hardware is asking to push the envelope. I think Chris' point could have been more eloquently stated but his actual point was a fair one. The notion that caring about graphics at all makes you a "graphics whore" is such bollocks.

Errr...that is exactly what I'm talking about. The "pushing the envelope" crap cost billions of dollars for Sony and MS (it was a good strategy of attrition for MS btw) and fucked up the conventional games economy quite a bit. You want good looking games, but overall, the money that people who play games can afford and want to spend is simply not enough to support that. There are genres or franchises or individual games that sell enough but not all (or even most) of them. It's not that difficult really.


OYou can save your faux condescending pity. I'm simply saying that if underpowered hardware is a blessing/makes the game possible, then that doesn't say much for the developers. It's not a game that can't be pulled off on better hardware. So therefore it's just a case of this specific developer not being able to do it, according to this defense.


More work put into better graphics or more features etc cost more money but better developers also cost more money than worse ones. The "quality" of the developer counts too, but better developers will, in a market economy, (should) cost more than bad ones, about as much as their productivity is higher, compensating for quality, so what you actually mean is the *rate of exploitation* of the developer, not the quality. A better developer, according to your logic, is someone who is willing to work more for less. That is all your argument boils down to. What does this lead to?
 
It's a fair question given that you honestly do not seem to know what money is, or at least how it relates to the production of video games. Yes, it's possible that Japanese people are genetically limited to producing 512x512 textures. But that's a little less likely than that higher quality assets take more time and money to produce.
I never suggested anything resembling what you're describing here. I guess it must be more enjoyable to invent ridiculous arguments to argue against. If assets beyond the level of the Wii are too much for a game with a relatively high pedigree, then it exemplifies the sad state of affairs in the Japaense development scene, and that has been my point. When someone talks about how the limitations of the Wii are perfect for making this game possible, what comes to mind for me is how sad it is that that's true.
 

StevieP

Banned
Saying that using extremely dated hardware is what it takes to make an expansive game possible ignores the fact that other developers do it with current-gen graphics all the time. You're basically holding Japan to indie developer standards at this point.

Ever invested in handheld gaming? There's a reason that the DS was one of the best video game platforms of all time - right up there with the PS2 if not surpassing it.

If Skyrim looked like shit because Bethesda couldn't handle making such a large game with contemporary graphics, they'd be rightfully scolded for overreaching. If a developer can't make a large game without using 10+ year old technology, then they need to scale back their ambitions to be in line with their capabilities. .

I wouldn't use Skyrim as an example of anything to make your point.

1) its budget was vastly vastly higher in asset production and people, and the development cycle was longer as well

2) it looks far better than Xenoblade, sure, but even with hi rez texture packs and cranked PC settings it's... it's not the best looking game, to put it mildly.

3) The massive bugs, the "hey i've been in this building before" syndrome is rampant, and the "took an arrow to the knee" phenomenon perfectly exemplifies the necessary restraints put on budgeting (even with a game that expected a much higher ROI)
 

KageMaru

Member
Why does it seem like people keep on using the same tired points over and over?

Uncharted 3 doesn't look nearly as good as the Witcher 2 running on max settings on PC. So while Uncharted 3 is good I guess, playing it makes me want to punch a kitten.

What's the point in bringing up PC graphics in a discussion about console graphics?

Also the difference between the witcher 2 PC and a high end PS360 game still isn't quite as large as xenoblade and a typical current gen game.

Seriously, why are you so bothered that some people wish a game looked better?

2) it looks far better than Xenoblade, sure, but even with hi rez texture packs and cranked PC settings it's... it's not the best looking game, to put it mildly.

Why do defenders keep assuming that people are asking for the "best looking" when it comes to graphics?
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
I always get a bit sad on the inside whenever a downright terrible and dumb article gets praise in it's comments section. Not saying I expect the Game Informer readership to be full of bright bulb and unbiased opinions, but I do suspect the comments might have been moderated somewhat.
 

Durante

Member
If you don't want the best looking why bother at all?
Because not everything is black and white. Because there's still a very relevant difference between what can be done with the exact same budget on Wii and a high-end platform -- or even a mid-end platform such as the other current consoles.

Return question, why are people working so incredibly hard to come up with half-baked strawman arguments as to why anyone asking better IQ must be either a hypocrite, have unrealistic expectations or somehow "hate" any of the companies involved? Is it that utterly inconceivable that they'd really just rather play the game with better graphics?
 
If you don't want the best looking what the hell do you want?

If you don't want the best looking why bother at all?


Holy hell....

Not every game can look like Uncharted or Gears of War and I'm fine with that and so are a lot of other people.

Super Mario Galaxy still looks great to me. A lot of that has to do with it's art style. I think Deadly Creatures still looks very good. Hell I'm one of those weirdos that thinks sprite based games still look sexy(Super Castlevania IV gives me a boner, seriously).

Some people just want something that is easy on the eyes. I'm really loving Xenoblade, the story, characters, battle system, huge open worlds but it would be nice if it looked a little better.

I'm not saying I want it with Witcher 2 type visuals, just a tad cleaner than it is. Let me be clear, I'm sure Monolith Soft did all it could considering the Wii hardware and the games budget. I'm pretty simple, all I would like is it running in 720p or hell 540P with some AA.

It's not so bad that I would write an article about it though, the writer is clearly a tool and just looking for some hits.
 

Riposte

Member
What's the point in bringing up PC graphics in a discussion about console graphics?

lol, man. I don't even know how to mock this.

Also the difference between the witcher 2 PC and a high end PS360 game still isn't quite as large as xenoblade and a typical current gen game.

Can you prove this? I've heard otherwise, especially concerning shaders tech.
 

StevieP

Banned
Holy hell....

Not every game can look like Uncharted or Gears of War and I'm fine with that and so are a lot of other people.

Super Mario Galaxy still looks great to me. A lot of that has to do with it's art style. I think Deadly Creatures still looks very good. Hell I'm one of those weirdos that thinks sprite based games still look sexy(Super Castlevania IV gives me a boner, seriously).

Some people just want something that is easy on the eyes. I'm really loving Xenoblade, the story, characters, battle system, huge open worlds but it would be nice if it looked a little better.

I'm not saying I want it with Witcher 2 type visuals, just a tad cleaner than it is. Let me be clear, I'm sure Monolith Soft did all it could considering the Wii hardware and the games budget. I'm pretty simple, all I would like is it running in 720p or hell 540P with some AA.

It's not so bad that I would write an article about it though, the writer is clearly a tool and just looking for some hits.

For those of us that wish to have that, the option exists
 

Ysiadmihi

Banned
Stupid article, but I have to admit, on my 42" plasma Xenoblade was a very hard game to look at until I switched over to Dolphin. The game looks great but the resolution kills the visuals completely. That said, I think the same of 360/PS3 games, so personally it's not just a Wii problem to me.
 
AHAH, you act as if a game with the scope of FFX and FFXII would be reasonnably be made on an HD console.

Dude, really? FFX? That game is just FFXIII with a few extra sidequests + backtracking. Yeah, no way anyone could pull that off on a ps3.

FFXII isn't that big either. It's not even one seamless world and only weapons are modeled. Dark Souls has a bigger scope in most ways.
 

KageMaru

Member
If you don't want the best looking what the hell do you want?

If you don't want the best looking why bother at all?

I don't understand what's wrong with wishing for graphics that were just competent.

lol, man. I don't even know how to mock this.

Go ahead and try to mock away. I've never understood the point in including PC and consoles in the same group. That's no different than putting consoles and handhelds in the same group, which is asinine IMO.

Can you prove this? I've heard otherwise, especially concerning shaders tech.

Yes, Witcher 2 is a DX9 game that uses DX9 tech.

"What's the point of bringing up HD graphics in a discussion about Wii graphics?"

The whole topic is about people wishing they could play Nintendo exclusives with closer to current gen graphics, why wouldn't I stay on topic.

Would it be better if I blindly defended Nintendo because some people want to take opinions to the extreme?

*golf clap*

Great contribution, will read again.
 

KageMaru

Member
There is no point.

No, there's a point. Some people are just missing or ignoring it.

To be fair, the writer of the article probably didn't help by how he expressed his opinion. Seems like some people automatically went into the defense, which limited progression of the discussion.
 
Because not everything is black and white. Because there's still a very relevant difference between what can be done with the exact same budget on Wii and a high-end platform -- or even a mid-end platform such as the other current consoles.

Return question, why are people working so incredibly hard to come up with half-baked strawman arguments as to why anyone asking better IQ must be either a hypocrite, have unrealistic expectations or somehow "hate" any of the companies involved? Is it that utterly inconceivable that they'd really just rather play the game with better graphics?

There's nothing wrong with wishing a game could have better graphics, as long as there's a healthy sense of perspective. I mean, one can be disappointed with the graphics of Wii games such as Xenoblade, yet understand the circumstances. Accusing the developers of being lazy and/or inefficient is incredibly shortsighted, and yes, entitled. Let's face it, this generation has been a cluster f-bomb to developers.
 

ZAK

Member
Go ahead and try to mock away. I've never understood the point in including PC and consoles in the same group. That's no different than putting consoles and handhelds in the same group, which is asinine IMO.

...

The whole topic is about people wishing they could play Nintendo exclusives with closer to current gen graphics, why wouldn't I stay on topic.

Would it be better if I blindly defended Nintendo because some people want to take opinions to the extreme?
Maybe Wii and HD consoles should be in "different groups," too? Maybe that's where these differences of opinion are coming from. Maybe to some people, wishing Xenoblade had the graphical prowess of something outside its "group" is "asinine."

Taken to extremes, of course, we could place every individual kind of hardware into its own group and then never have to think about comparing anything. I'm not even so sure this is a bad thing.

The issue is that the border lines sometimes seem to be drawn strangely. In this case, it's saying that Wii graphics are unacceptable because of what other consoles can do, yet not saying that those consoles themselves are unacceptable because of what PC's can do. It makes it sound like a post-facto rationalization, wherein one claims to want the best graphics, but is suspiciously willing to settle on less-than-best as long as this choice is inclusive of certain companies' hardware and not others'. Another example would be people who claim that Wii graphics are "good enough" and anything else is just pointlessly going past diminishing returns, while bristling at the suggestion that the industry should never have advanced past the SNES or something. Their preferences oddly single out the Wii as the perfect console, which is so coincidental that it seems like what's really happening is they're inventing reasons to prefer the thing.

Around here it seems to be the utmost sin to claim to like something for "objective" reasons which instead seem to point to preferences for certain companies or IP's or other "irrelevant" factors.
 

Mxrz

Member
If the graphics didn't matter, so many of its fans wouldn't be hyping Dolphin. The game would've been more appealing off the wii. 720p and aa, wouldn't cost any more. Bringing PC graphics, handhelds, uncharted, etc. into it is just dick measuring levels of defensiveness. No one cares, and its not really relevant to the original complaint. Whats wrong with you?

They have a Wii-U now, and Nintendo owns the developers, so I'm sure they'll make something more bearable. Maybe they'll even try a cheap HD port of their own. Then you too can be a graphics whore when you finally realize how awful the original looked.
 

StevieP

Banned
Maybe Wii and HD consoles should be in "different groups," too? Maybe that's where these differences of opinion are coming from. Maybe to some people, wishing Xenoblade had the graphical prowess of something outside its "group" is "asinine."

Taken to extremes, of could, we could place every individual kind of hardware into its own group and then never have to think about comparing anything. I'm not even so sure this is a bad thing.

The issue is that the border lines sometimes seem to be drawn strangely. In this case, it's saying that Wii graphics are unacceptable because of what other consoles can do, yet not saying that those consoles themselves are unacceptable because of what PC's can do. It makes it sound like a post-facto rationalization, wherein one claims to want the best graphics, but are suspiciously willing to settle on less-than-best as long as this choice is inclusive of certain companies' hardware and not others'. Another example would be people who claim that Wii graphics are "good enough" and anything else is just pointlessly going past diminishing returns, while bristling at the suggestion that the industry should never have advanced past the SNES or something. Their preferences oddly single out the Wii as the perfect console, which is so coincidental that it seems like what's really happening is they're inventing reasons to prefer the thing.

Around here it seems to be the utmost sin to claim to like something for "objective" reasons which instead seem to point to preferences for certain companies or IP's or other "irrelevant" factors.

Put it much better than I could, but the golf clap is reserved for this post.
 
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