DIYGames eyecandy piece

<A href="http://www.diygames.com/">Do It Yourself Games</a> has a little <A href="http://www.diygames.com/index.php?p=444&more=1">editorial</a> about graphics in independent games versus commercial ones. Here's a bit of it:

<blockquote>When reviewing an old school independent game, should we cut it some slack vis-à-vis its commercial competition because the funds simply aren’t there for a lot of these independent developers? You look at old school games like Geneforge 2 and Dominions 2 and imagine all old school games could go head to head with the best commercial stuff out there. Then you crack open something like Morrowind or Rise of Nations and see what a developer can do with money - usually a lot more. Graphics and sound are not just frills; they are crucial to a mind-blowing gaming experience.</blockquote>

Crucial? I logged about two and a half weeks playing <A href="http://www.morrowind.com">Morrowind</a>. I beat <A href="http://www.spidweb.com/geneforge/index.html">Geneforge</a> three times which took about a month and a half. Graphics will only keep you entertained for a little while if that's all the game has going for it.

 

Then again, imo, MW is not a good example of great graphics as I'm sure Geneforeg has better graphics than that disgusting game.

 

MW's graphics are competent, but the main problem, IMO, are the bad textures and overly stiff animations.

 

So, in the opinion of Do it Yourself Games, you shouldn't do it yourself, because you won't have the money?
Interesting...

Oh, and RP: the lack of actual content hurts it more.

 

Yes i know, but we were discussing graphics

 

Don't forget the faces. UGH. It's unbearable without the mods.

 

This person is full of shit with his graphics comments. Is he actually saying that Morrowind beats Geneforge as a game because of it's graphics??

That's like saying Independence Day is a better movie than Citizen Kane, Psycho, Casablanca, or similar classics because of the special effects. Both are enjoyable, with totally different parts of the brain, but "better"??

Honestly, being as I am a part of both the film and game communities, it strikes me how much the gaming press needs to grow.

 

I've had mind blowing experiences without all the frills of purty graphix.

People like that make me sick. I bet he never even played any of those indie games all the way through because the graphics were too offensive to him. Bah.

 

Speaking for myself, my distaste of Avernum has nothing to do with its graphics; but to do with its very simple game play that spits on all that is turn base combat and role-playing.

 

What? Avernum is a blast. Simple, yes, but it's still a challenge and a hell of a lot of fun.

 

I do find poor graphics to be distracting at first, while good graphics at first keep me playing a game even if I don't really like it. But it wears off after like ten hours, by which I don't really care for the graphics anymore.

 

maybe we should ask ourselves how can help these games with less budget reach the media in the same way the big u$s games do, i havent heard about most of the games you talk about in this forum before i found codex.

we could start organizing mass mailings to those "game of the year" awards, im sure we could beat those 3000 something votes to kotor if we tried, appearing on those sites would really help the independent game's sales, its everything about how much you spent on publicity nowadays anyway, enter the matrix is a GREAT example, shitty game that sells like hot bread because of the publicity

 

It won't succeed. And it wouldn't change the fact that KotOR would still be far more popular. And hell, let it be. I just want those independent producers to make games so I can play them. Don't let us pretend that Geneforge should be more popular than KotOR; just like I don't feel Eco should be selling more copies of his books then Rowling.

You could do no publicity for the Matrix game, and it would still sell like fresh cakes.

 

i KNOW that they wont be as popular as kotor, but at least ppl will know they exist, have you heard how even bad publicity is better than none at all ?

and the movie is publicity allready

 

Most games are marketed to shitheads who actually believe Independence Day is better then Citizen Kane. Thats why every KotOR review mentions that the faces are synced with the voices, where to me it makes the game look like a bad foreign B-movie using a bad B-movie plot.

 

I thought Morrowind's graphics were ass. Everything was blurry as hell and clunky. I cannot believe someone would say GeneForge fails out just because of graphics, but then again there's alot of morons in the world.

 

Um...

What's all this talk about graphics!?

One of the best game series I have ever played has been Darkness Falls (by Mythic), the sequel in particular, Darkness Fall: the Crusade.
The only graphics I got to look at were health/fatigue/power bars, a picture of my ugly demonic character, and a vague map. The rest was all TEXT baby. Not only was the hack n slash action a rush, the RPG elements were sweet, but it was all about the PvP. Invading other player realms was the most fun I've ever had in any game to date. The moment that boat hit shore, my heart would jump, and off I'd go with a group of my gruesome comrades, 2 nasty blades in my hands, hiding, sneaking, hitting anything that moved. What a rush! The only downfall was that eventually Mythic got all wealthy and stopped supporting it's ROOTS... Stick to your roots you fools. DFC could have been so much better had it had any sort of support/upkeep. Piss on you Mythic.

And for the swine whom can't live without seeing graphics, go read a friggin' book.

 

Re: Um...

Hah? Don't you mean Go watch friggin' TV?

 

Graphics and sound are not just frills; they are crucial to a mind-blowing gaming experience.

A mind-blowing experience . . . . he obviously uses the term 'mind' loosely. Maybe what passes for his definition of mind.[/i][/quote]

 

The graphics in Wasteland has put me off and I still have trouble playing more into the game then the first town (the inventory system, random bugs, and lame beggining monsters don't help). In some ways I would have prefered a first-person tile based game (like many other dungeon crawlers back then), with some protraits. Wasteland's graphics just felt too detached and simple.

But sprites like Doom, Fallout, or JA2 are still a blast today because of good animation and combat. Arcanum's combat feels poor because most creatures just fall over to the side. I felt my guy in JA2 or Fallout had more style then Morrowind because they had cool animations.

 

Re: Um...

Hey now, DAoC r0x0r and it's pretty much the same thing. And Darkness Falls is in it! Woo! (Yes only as a dungeon, though)

 

This kinda reminds me of the only thing I fear if Bloodlines sells well. If it does, it might give Troika the wrong idea on what type of games they should make. Let's face it, HL2 engine, state of the art graphics and gameplay based on action. ToEE failed to succed on the market although it had those elements. Troika is still looking for that title that would make them some *serious* dough. And if Bloodlines cuts it... It would really be a shame to see more of such games from them.

 

I disagree, I think ToEE did fairly well on the market. Lets just say TB games made in 18 months with a recycled storyline do not sell better then that.

 

i think toee got enough "attention" for them to try again

 

My only real problem with Wasteland's graphics today are that all the buildings in the towns look exactly alike, so it's impossible to find the shops, doctor offices, and important places without hitting every single building in the town.