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[AetherMage]

I have certain graphical expectations for a modern full price game. Especially 1st party stuff like Halo. That stuff is just embarrassing. I don't get the nerd rage over the details though. I would rather play something I enjoy with 8-bit graphics than something that runs at 8k & 1000 fps.

 

[teezzy]

The problem is that Series X is being marketed as the most powerful console ever... yet they dont have a single game showcasing why that's relevant.

I say this as an Xbox fanboy.

 

[10v12]

I think it's pretty natural at the beginning of a new generation, people want to see what the machines are actually capable of.

 

[DonJuanSchlong]

Taking into account that NeoGAF isn’t a person... it’s weird that here people generally embrace console over PC and spend tons of money on console and then nitpick console graphics while constantly demanding more options and performance.

It’s like... there is a platform right here that will do everything you want, sure it’s a platform geared towards enthusiasts but you are an enthusiast.

That's one thing that really blows my mind. If you want the best performance, you really only have one option. I mean, your not going to bring a bone stock beater car and expect to win races on the strip...

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

Most modern day video games are creatively bankrupt.
What else are we going to talk about which game has the least shitty gameplay?
That would be depressing!

This.

Also 60fps+ > graphical fidelity

Gameplay? Nobody here plays games, we benchmark them and discuss how good they still look with DLSS on.

 

[Maybe It's Medicine?]

goes to gaming forum, sees people excited for new gaming hardware, people talk about what new hardware can do, is confused. go put your head in the sand op, how exactly is creating this thread helping you enjoy gameplay. afterall everything but gameplay should be irrelevant right old man?

 

[reinking]

Not so much the actual graphics but the buzzwords/marketing.

 

[Maybe It's Medicine?]

I'm shocked by these poll results.

I would much rather see a game that has the visual fidelity of No Man's Sky, but borrow gameplay elements from EVE Online, World's Adrift, and Fortnite...

Than get a photorealistic Uncharted 8 that plays like the previous 7 Uncharteds.

Then get a pc and play the hundreds of games released every year that prioritize gameplay over graphics and stop buying fucking uncharted. Like holy shit. It's all talk. Don't want to acknowledge that low graphics games are far more common than uncharted level eye candy. If anything, it's the games with a heavy emphasis on graphics that is the rarity.

 

[Kssio_Aug]

I don't think a real obsession for graphics is strange at all. It's one of the aspects gamers always looked forward for improvements!

What I find strange (and this is not exclusive to NeoGAF but pretty much any videogame community) is how some people are ultra selective about graphics but just when it is to criticize the platform they chose to dislike.

I am tired of seeing people going through generations, sometimes playing on pretty weak hardware, just so in the next-gen the first thing they do is to point fingers for every concurrent game and call it "shit" because the graphics aren't as amazing as the game in their favorite platform supposedly look.

 

[Bonfires Down]

Give me the shiny!

 

[Warnen]

I’m in the middle while I do like good graphics I think performance is key, sub 60fps really hurts a game in my opinion. Ray tracing seems to be the biggest hit to that now a days. While it looks great on pc in a game like Control it really isn’t worth the frame rate loss to me on my system.

The next gen console can prob do it better since they can use it sparingly for best effect but even then most of the games will be 30fps unless you turn on a performance mode.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I find it more strange that you think its unique to NeoGaf...

I don't think it's unique to NeoGAF.

 

[pixelation]

YOU are the strange one, I mean... when you fire up a game the first thing you do is look at it.

 

[INC]

Its a gaming forum......so no

 

[Explosive Zombie]

I mean you're on a forum that has The Witcher 3 is the second best game ever based on the tournament we have going. Might even win best game ever you tell me which element of that game had more effort put into it the shiny or the gameplay I'm going to say The shiny.

 

[Nikana]

AS previous said, its not exclusive to Neogaf. I have said it many times and I still believe it that Gaf Hates Video Games. 90 percent of the trailers that fly up on any presentation are always labeled as " looks like shit" instantly. Most people want something that will blow them away visually before they ever even give it a chance.

Thats the part that I find sad. I wish more people were open about every game and actually tried them before writing them off.

 

[eyesabitdull]

It's a gaming forum.

So, yeah, graphic conversations - as annoying as it can be at times - is normal.

It's been the same since forever as I can remember.

At least here we don't actually subscribe labels to one another like my time in Gamespot forums more than a decade ago where we call Playstation users as Cows, Xbox users as Lemmings, and Manticores as...I think people who own multiplatforms? I can't recall. But it was absolutely childish and far more heated than here.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Then get a pc and play the hundreds of games released every year that prioritize gameplay over graphics and stop buying fucking uncharted. Like holy shit. It's all talk. Don't want to acknowledge that low graphics games are far more common than uncharted level eye candy. If anything, it's the games with a heavy emphasis on graphics that is the rarity.

I think you're missing the point.

I don't value a game based on its graphics, good or bad.

I value games based on the interesting choices they present the player.

Additionally, this is about what the discussion of games on enthusiast message boards revolves around, not my own purchasing and playing habits.

 

[GymWolf]

I'm shocked by these poll results.

I would much rather see a game that has the visual fidelity of No Man's Sky, but borrow gameplay elements from EVE Online, World's Adrift, and Fortnite...

Than get a photorealistic Uncharted 8 that plays like the previous 7 Uncharteds.

I take better graphics over games copying fortnite every day of the week tbh.

 

[Zog]

Well I'm certainly not paying $500.00 for a new console just to have everything look the same.

No, you are going to pay $500 for a new console to play remasters.

 

[martino]

i like both and i can like games opting to push more one , the other or both.
Context also matter imo in how you judge a game.

 

[ViolentP]

I am more weirded out by the usage of the word "graphics" when discussing the level of quality of a game's visuals. Reminds me of when people used to refer to any console as a "Nintendo".

 

[Breakage]

Was the obsession with frame rates, resolution, graphical tricks, etc. basically everything that Digital Foundry covers a thing back in the PS2 era? I wasn't on NeoGAF (or on any gaming website) back then.

 

[Danjin44]

Based most topics we get here, you can easily consider this place sister site to Digital Foundry. People here talk faaaaar more about graphics and tech rather than actual games and game design.

 

[Myths]

I think interesting, new gameplay design is exponentially more important to a games worth than visual fidelity. I legitimately view a games value by it's ability to give me, as a player, interesting choices.

For sure, I selected the "middle" option. I'm in between factors but there's a reason why a game like Chrono Trigger has consistently sat at the top of the hill for me. For the time at its release, it did cause and effect in such a way where it did matter.

 

[Michael Hawk]

Much like other posters said, there's nothing strange about detail-oriented people caring about details. In fact, it would be super odd if people here had zero care for how games look.

Also, people did notice how equally abysmal the gameplay in Halo Infinite looked -- specifically the ho-humness of the grappling hook, level design, and enemy encounters. The reason there was significantly more attention paid to the graphics is because Microsoft had done a tremendous amount of blabbering about power this and graphics that. And with Halo being their flagship console franchise, well, they had to make sure that all that power talk was realized in their main thing. Add in the fact that they (Microsoft and not 343) used and still use CGI and bullshot demonstrations to present their games, it made sense why people were genuinely shocked at how bad Infinite looked -- doubly-so within the context of the Series X being, allegedly, a more powerful console.

Finally, if you think the attention on graphics is strange then I'm guessing you weren't on messageboards during the PS3-ERA. That was probably the strangest, funniest, and just downright most absurd generation of gaming ever.

 

[synchronicity]

Absolutely yes. The investment by many in the picking of the smallest of nits always blows me away. No judgment - we all like what we like, but I don't get it at all.

Sure I can see many of the differences people point out too, but it's utterly irrelevant in almost every case to my enjoyment of a piece of software or hardware.

 

[regawdless]

We are on the brink of a new generation, new very powerful GPUs just released and will be released shortly, new CPUs are on the horyzen.

Of course there is a focus on tech now. It's exciting.

 

[Night.Ninja]

Majority of the users on here don't actually play games.

 

[JLB]

Graphics are by rule less important that gameplay unless it affects it.
In example, Rainbow Six Siege has a phenomenal gameplay, but due to screen tearing is almost unplayable, at least for me on consoles.

In a more broad answer to your post, some times its a troll / extreme biased thing. Same person that got concerned for 720p at Xbox One launch and found 900p vs 1080p a deal breaker, then relativizes graphical improvements of Xbox One X over PS4 Pro to now think that Yakuza at 900p on the S is a herecy. Works the other way around too.

 

[TheDreadLord]

The ssd obsession is even stranger.

 

[Deleted member 801069]

Why are visuals such a prevalent talking point here?

because this is a gaming forum...?

 

[Belmonte]

It is easier to talk about graphics than gameplay. Sometimes people find the game fun but can't point why, at least not enough for a in deep conversation about mechanics.

And some people are more tech enthusiasts than gaming enthusiasts. Which is not a problem btw.

 

[Ultra Violento]

That's not just gaf, that's society as a whole.
We always judge by appearance first.

 

[Aidah]

Ideally, I want both together. Something that looks great and plays amazingly. However, being technically advanced isn't a requirement to looking visually pleasing, nor does it guarantee it.

Anyway, all you need is a video to talk graphics, gameplay you have to actually play the game to really discuss it. Graphics are also more objective, the technical part. Something like DF just try to give you facts for the most part. Consoles aren't even out yet to play them. I do also see gameplay discussion and opinion sharing for games already released, a lot of it.

Look at the game of the generation grand final, BotW isn't really pushing graphical boundaries.

 

[turtlepowa]

I find the sales figures obsession even more strange.

How dare you? My favorite company sold much more toasters than yours, and guess what: My toast tastes much better!

 

[MaestroMike]

Seems like a lot of people care about resolution and playing at a high FPS which is needed to enjoy a fast-paced game even if visual fidelity is sacrificed. I noticed a lot of people being fine at a lower resolution as well if they can jack up the FPS many members care about gameplay for their favorite genres.

But the ones that favor slower paced games probably favor graphics more and don't mind playing at a lower frame rate if it means higher visual fidelity.

Then some members are unreasonable, but probably don't know any better want high visual fidelity, high fps and high resolution. Fast-paced action games that need high fps should be given some slack in the visual fidelity department.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

because this is a gaming forum...?

But why not talk that focuses on game mechanics instead?

 

[Kev Kev]

I hate it but what hell would gaming side be if it didn’t have all the bickering and screaming matches?

 

[RayHell]

GAF has
Unboxing experience obsession
Console size obsession
TFlops obsession
GPU features obsession
Pixel count obsession
FPS obsession
Digital Foundry obsession
Unboxing obsession
but not so much about gameplay.

 

[Iorv3th]

It's easy to discuss graphics of a game you can see but not play. How do you discuss gameplay of new games that aren't out yet? That is usually found in the OT's for those games.

 

[lock2k]

I don't find it strange because it's a dedicated forum to the hobby. Personally, I don't have it, I'll game on any screen, play games from any gen, etc. But I completely understand it.

 

[Stilton Disco]

I just love everything about games. How they're made, the tech behind them, the graphics, gameplay, the character and level designs, the actors behind those characters, the writers, the gameplay, the secrets, the comparisons between systems, the industry at large and the comparative successes and failures both critically and commercial.

Gaming is just the best!

 

[JackMcGunns]

It has always been a thing amongst gamers, and not just Neogaf.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

It is what it is. There was a 13 sentinels thread for its 5 minutes of fame, the CS4 thread died ignominiously and you have to dive deep into the archives to see anything about Robotics;notes.

But what do I know? I'm clearly not an "enthusiast".

 

[johntown]

I am obsessed with graphics but not over bad gameplay. I don't care how incredible the game looks, if the gameplay in not good I have no interest.

I would think most people who obsess over graphics are mainly PC gamers too.

 

[Slings and Arrows]

I know I'm the odd man out here, but I wanted to see just how alone I actually was. It seems like the hot threads are almost always about graphics in some way.

The story of Halo Infinite is Craig, and not the uninspired 8 minute gameplay we saw in July. Gameplay that, IMO, could have largely been replicated on the OG 2001 XBox...

We're talking about RDNA 1.5 vs RDNA 2.5, VRS, and the frame rates + resolutions of PS4/XBO games on next gen consoles...

Ray Tracing!...

Digital Foundary is a household name on NeoGAF and their job is literally to tell us differences that the naked eye can't see...

A gussied up PS3 game is the "killer app" of the next gen launches...

Why are visuals such a prevalent talking point here? Is it because there's typically a clear winner/loser when it comes to these topics or is it because we legitimately value high fidelity graphics over the other aspects of game design?

Why isn't discussion framed around Sid Meier's philosophy?

This is what happens when you turn an art medium in to a corporate enterprise. Marketing becomes king, so marketing buzzwords are used to sell shite to suckers.

People praise this gen for it's output but IMO it's been the worst console generation i've lived through (started gaming on the Mega Drive) in terms of gaming innovation.

Don't get me wrong, VR, Gamepass and the Elite pad are all great and i believe VR will be amazing this gen, but the games output, apart from a few games, has been abysmal.

We haven't seen even half of the innovation we saw from every previous generation. There has been very few 'wow' moments and I won't remember 90% of the this generation come 2022 and beyond.

Looping back to marketing; this is another reason why most casual gamers believe visuals = good game, because visuals are the easiest thing to Market. That's catalysed by the 'dumbing down' of games over the last decade, so that mechanics are now easier and more accessible.

At this point, my only hope for the gaming industry is either a reset or for VR to take off with the niche market for the next few years.

What's worse than all of that, is how the PC industry has been treated. Notice that the PCMR are mainly concerned with "my PC plays console games at the best resolution/framerate/etc". That's because their platform is innovatively dead. All they rely on now is scraps from consoles and port begging. I can't fault them though, i would be the same if the last 'exclusive' (a game designed to push the best of the best hardware) came to my platform 15 years ago.

 

[Fitzchiv]

Because a decent chunk of those on this forum aren't here to discuss games for the sake of enjoyment and debate; they're here because it's a vehicle for their ego. It's the equivalent to supporting a football team, or political party. In other words, it's just their particular way to wave their cyber wang.

And when it comes to games, and the equipment that runs them, the best metric of performance since year dot has been "graphics".

 

[Lanrutcon]

Graphics have been a talking point since I was at school and you could adjust the detail on your cars in the first Need for Speed, dude. Acting like it's a GAF thing is pretty naïve.

 

[Rat Rage]

Gameplay-wise next gen hasn't shown much so far. So what else are people gonna talk about? I'm sure, though, many people don't give a fuck about graphics anymore.

I've been a long time gamer and can tell you, never has a next gen launch been less hype for me than this one. It's downright boring. Graphics have lost their "wow-factor" long ago. What's left is mega-corporations spending hundreds of millions on cinematic experiences, which IMHO just looks boring, and console manufacturers fully embracing them with this stupid 4K/SSD/"look, look, zomg! RAY-TRACING" talk.

Console power talk? Get the fuck outta here! That was truly relevant 2005 the last time I think.