• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Will video games ever look like real life?

R

RevDM

Banned
I asked a friend this very question, and his response was simply, "no." Maybe it never will look like real life because we don't want it to, but can it? I raise this question because I was reminded of the original Mortal Kombat graphics:

imagem-mortal-kombat-1.jpg


Those characters did very much look like real life characters, but the game as a whole didn't. If we could actually create extremely life-like video games, would there be a moral/ethical issue (consider games like GTA and CoD)? Would gaming still be fun? Why should, or shouldn't this happen?
 
I sure hope not.

Why not? As things become more real perhaps things will become even stranger. Killing people so real that might as well be in CoD? Eh that's a strange thought.

Also video games are an intersting visual mediuem and I don't think we have seen enough cool art styles in games. I rather game developers create unrealistic worlds that I can't possibly see with cool and unique art. How about something influenced by French comics?
 
RevDM said:
I asked a friend this very question, and his response was simply, "no." Maybe it never will look like real life because we don't want it to, but can it? I raise this question because I was reminded of the original Mortal Kombat graphics:

imagem-mortal-kombat-1.jpg


Those characters did very much look like real life characters, but the game as a whole didn't. If we could actually create extremely life-like video games, would there be a moral/ethical issue (consider games like GTA and CoD)? Would gaming still be fun? Why should, or shouldn't this happen?
Click to expand...

They just need better camera technology so they can video capture the actors AND their environments in super high-res glory. Gaming will be more fun this way.
 
IrrelevantNotch said:
Yea, it'll eventually look life like. Yes, it will still be fun. No, we will not have make rights for non existent digital characters.
Click to expand...

I wasn't making a point that digital characters deserve rights lol. But if the game is actually life-like, that means when you shoot someone in the face it would look like you actually shot someone in the face.
 
disappeared said:
They will at some point, of course. The real question is why we're in such a race to get there as soon as possible.
Click to expand...

Probably because there are a million people out there that are willing to pay for it.
IMO, it seems like an achievable goal, but I still find myself going back to less realistic looking games simply because they are fun and provide an alternate animated reality. I think that because things can be so radically different and know one can say "that's not right" is what makes video games a lot of fun.
 
RevDM said:
I wasn't making a point that digital characters deserve rights lol. But if the game is actually life-like, that means when you shoot someone in the face it would look like you actually shot someone in the face.
Click to expand...

Well, shooting someone in the face with a gun will be fine. Now, if you shoot them with breast milk, or show any other realistic depiction of sex....then we've got problems.
 
now i want another digitised mortal kombat game. super high resolution, 60 captured frames of animation per second.
 
RevDM said:
I asked a friend this very question, and his response was simply, "no." Maybe it never will look like real life because we don't want it to, but can it? I raise this question because I was reminded of the original Mortal Kombat graphics:

http://nadave.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/imagem-mortal-kombat-1.jpg[IMG]

Those characters did very much look like real life characters, but the game as a whole didn't. If we could actually create extremely life-like video games, would there be a moral/ethical issue (consider games like GTA and CoD)? Would gaming still be fun? Why should, or shouldn't this happen?[/QUOTE]Mortal Kombat 2 is a better example of digitized graphics, because MK1's capturing of images gave them a light source that heavily conflicted with the backgrounds the characters were placed on. IIRC MK2 & 3 hand edited characters to make them look better.
Click to expand...
 
disappeared said:
They will at some point, of course. The real question is why we're in such a race to get there as soon as possible.
Click to expand...
Because then gamers around the globe can fap to their favorite videogame girl without feeling ashamed.




Well... less ashamed.
 
guest1321 said:
Probably because there are a million people out there that are willing to pay for it.
IMO, it seems like an achievable goal, but I still find myself going back to less realistic looking games simply because they are fun and provide an alternate animated reality. I think that because things can be so radically different and know one can say "that's not right" is what makes video games a lot of fun.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. This was my biggest problem with GTA4 (though a decent game). It wasn't zany enough. You were a guy going around committing crimes, but without quirky "IT'S A VIDEOGAME" vibe. It felt too real-life.
 
No.

There's never going to be enough fidelity to make something look as real as nature in front of your eyes.
 
tea_and_crumpets said:
By 2050 I bet we can have photo-realistic video games running in real time, if not before. Movies are almost there as we speak imo.
Click to expand...

picture-22.png
 
Sure it's gonna happen eventually, or at least it's gonna get lose enough that we won't know the differences. As for moral, ethical implications, it'll have the same consequences as watching an R-rated movie: you have to go into with a mature mindset (lol, gamers), but that doesn't necessarily make it bad.

What we should really be arguing is photo realism is not the end all be all. I'm in favor of using that graphics grunt towards more effort being put to more creative and visually interesting styles that aren't wholly based on animating every mole hair on your chin. It'll be like a lifelong climber who finally reaches the top of Everest. Sure you made it to the top of Everest that's awesome, but now what? Same things happens once you climb to the top of the other end of the uncanny valley. Photo-realism is in and of itself the end. But by exploring new artstyles and broadening horizons graphically there a new hills to climb. I posted a while back that this industry needs to start thinking horizontally not vertically.
 
We will eventually have the technology to do so. I think once we reach that point, the real question will be whether or not it's worth the time and effort and money to model completely lifelike characters and environments.
 
Log4Girlz said:
This is not true.
Click to expand...

how could both of us ever know ? its just my guess.

Sure, you can program tree leaves to move in a certain way, but would it look as random as the real thing ? Could you be fooled by it ?

Ive never been fooled by CGI, and i dont think its because the current state of computer generated images.
 
They're going to have to improve animation as much as they have to improve pure polygon pushing power, if not more. I think that's where the real problems will arise when trying to make games look lifelike.
 
jsnepo said:
In still pictures, games could look life like. In motion, I doubt it. Animation shouldn't be forgotten.
Click to expand...

This is what I'm thinking. Yeah, technology is damn near limitless so of course someday something like this will happen, but not in the near future. They could probably make a killer still image but natural animation is the bigger hurdle.
 
Something about we've already done it.

pitfighter.gif

I remember thinking how lifelike I thought Tekken 1 on PlayStation was, so don't listen to me.
 
KevinCow said:
We will eventually have the technology to do so. I think once we reach that point, the real question will be whether or not it's worth the time and effort and money to model completely lifelike characters and environments.
Click to expand...

You neglect to consider that procedural programming and design could advance to the point where little work would need to be done. For example, some kind of 3D scanning, or just a series of photos, and a computer figures out all the modelling. *shrugs* could happen.
 
Yes, eventually. I can't seem to find the article/video I am recalling (I think it was a coder for nVidia or something), but an established programmer said the generation after this next one (PS5) will be approaching photo-realism. It won't be absolute photo-realism, but it'll be close. I mean just look at BF3, the animations, the lighting -- we are getting there slowly but surely.
 
At the rate PC technology is moving, it will most likely hit very close to photorealism in another decade. You're going to have a huge problem with diminishing returns at some point and it just won't be worth it anymore. This is especially true for the uncanny valley problem, where people might actually back down from the super realistic stuff. After you hit that plateau you're going to be looking at improving resolution and framerate, especially for VR-based applications where you're likely going to be rendering at a very high resolution in 3D.
 
Yes, unfortunately, but hopefully developers won't look sight of what really makes a game look great:
orange and teal. Absolutely everywhere. You know it to be true.
 
Lets tackle animation first. Most games have horrible animation.
 
Rahxephon91 said:
I sure hope not.

Why not? As things become more real perhaps things will become even stranger. Killing people so real that might as well be in CoD? Eh that's a strange thought.
Click to expand...
That's an interesting thought, because I've found myself a bit disturbed by the blood and violence in Bad Company 2. The game's graphics are really good and one of the most photorealistic we have at the moment... If games keep heading in this direction I may have to stop playing shooters. There's definitely a big difference between truly realistic violence and gore, and violence and gore as represented in most games so far. If the violence in games keeps getting closer to real life violence, I wonder how people will interpret it. It's an interesting problem.
 
Izayoi said:
EA needs to license out that animation engine being using by BF3.
Click to expand...
I actually would love it if ILM or some effects house rendered a scene with incredible detail but ps1 era character animation. Just to see what it would look like.
 
Zeal said:
Hahaha. No.
Click to expand...

I know you think hating on Avatar makes you look cool(it doesn't), but its visual effects are nothing short of amazing, and it does look convincingly photoreal at times. The effect is increased tenfold in motion.

neytiri_beautiful_warrior_in_avatar-wide.jpg


That said, vidjagamez are a long ass way from reaching that quality, and frankly I'm not sure if the industry can sustain the kind of budgets required for this level of asset creation quality.
 
tea_and_crumpets said:
Avatar looks near photo realistic. The jungles and Navii look pretty much real

EDIT:

http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/zz32ac6c34.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]

Imaginary characters can't look realistic, simply because they are not real!

The reason they look "real" is because we don't have a reference in the real world for it, whatever they make would look "right", let them model a human face so you can quickly see how far they are from getting it actually right.
Click to expand...
 
I hope not, I play video games to escape reality not play in one.

The technology is there, but it just costs money. If you look at VFX movies alot of the stuff can look photo realistic (like Rango in some shots . . . SOME) But its just a question of money, if they have all the money in the world they can produce real life looking stuff, but if they don;t they have to find a happy medium and stylize it.

EIther way I dont want this to ever happen, I like my virtual worlds.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Video Game Characters That Look Like You
2
53
782
Team Skoda replied
What would a video game crash even look like today?
42
498
simpatico replied
Mona Kimura, real-life Chun Li
2
53
405
EekTheKat replied
Roblox Will Get a DLSS 5-Like AI Based Video Supersampler
4
144
Draugoth replied
  • Poll
Do You Like The New Look Of Star Fox?
2 3
145
353
John Bilbo replied
Top Bottom