DangerStepp
Member
I'm interested in knowing how long this trend has been around and what games have been the chief perpetrators.
Falsified screen grabs that span the ages; all platforms involved. I want the cream of the crop. Post 'em up!
This was too good not to update the OP with:
Falsified screen grabs that span the ages; all platforms involved. I want the cream of the crop. Post 'em up!
This was too good not to update the OP with:
So anything that isn't a direct framebuffer grab or video capture is a bullshot, heh? I believe there are four types of bullshots:
1) The "higher-res and antialiased" in-game bullshot: Pretty much every screenshot from the PS2 era was done like this. The PS2 dev kit even has a tool to take such screenshots straight from the dev hardware. Back then direct framebuffer grabs would actually look worse than the actual game played on a CRT SDTV, so this was actually a necessity (the GC didn't have a screenshot tool, and everyone said GC games looked worse than PS2 games since most screenshots were done via capture-card). I believe these are tame and acceptable when dealing with low-resolution consoles and handhelds (480p and lower). For HD games, it shouldn't be necessary.
2) The photoshop-enhanced bullshot: Marketing will take a type #1 screenshot, and enhance it by messing with contrast, adding lens flares, blur effects, shadows and even adding models and other elements that aren't there.
3) The "we're not in Kansas anymore" bullshot: Marketing will take in-game models, bring them into 3DS MAX or another 3D modeling program and render them there with different lighting, shadows and AA levels that are impossible even on a PC.
4) The "target render" bullshot: Same as #3, but with CG-grade art assets that would be impossible on the game.
Regarding the thread title ("the greatest bullshots"), I don't think types #1 and #2 fit in here. Type #2 is still lying ("we couldn't get the colors right in-game, let's user photoshop"), but it's not outrageous enough. Types #3 and #4 are the worst offenders, because they take effort and deliberation to make.