Graphics, Graphics, Graphics

Rikimaru_X · August 2004

I will try to make this as clear as possible and don't get me wrong that I'm trying to lash out at anyone cuz my (so called) Friends and other people I know have the same problem:

It's terrible how many people are blinded by graphics than gameplay. Many of you think what makes a good game is graphics (yet most don't realize that) and I already noticed it in many post in these forums. Let me give you some examples:

-EQ II fanboys (some of them) say WoW's graphics suck (and theirs nothing wrong with their opinion) but when they say that the game sucks (or EQ II will be better) because of the graphics thats a problem.

-When I showed my friend screenshots of the game The Elder Scrolls: Arena that I was going to download form the official site and the first thing that came out of his mouth was "Looks like it sucks, bad graphics". I did get kinda mad too.

-I also get mad when a person says a game will suck (or sucks) when they haven't played it yet.

-Some say RYL has bad graphics but when the spend some time with the game they start to like it and the worry abut the graphics is no more. You can look at bad/cheap graphics and still have fun playing a game.

See, a game can be compared to a cake (or a book . . . or woman but I like the cake comparison). The icing and toppings would be the graphics and extras in the game. It makes it look good. The cake itself is the gameplay. What makes the cake is the ingredients which would be the programming, AI, etc.

You can't judge a cake by how it looks, but you can by how it taste. In other words, you can't judge a game buy how good the graphics looks but you have to play it to see if the game is good.

Aww crap . . .im getting a craving for cake and we have none here

I've played some games that didn't have the graphics but had the gameplay and im trying to remember some of the recent ones. Old School graphics were the best and I still love graphic games Duke Nukem, Pocky & Rocky 2 (which owns The Legend of Zelda: 4 Swords), and Mega Man and I still buy Playstation and SNES games.

Well I got this game called Search and Destroy for PS2 by a new company thats going into the gamming industry. This was their first game and it cost 9.99 but this game was actually a great game for 10 bucks. It's Armored Core meets Tanks. It had some nice simple graphics but great gameplay.

I can go on and on about this but I believe you get my point.

JohnnyV · August 2004

I believe that unlike most people, that graphics are an essential part to a MMORPG or a RPG. A RPG is a unique niche in the gaming world, i want my experience for any RPG for that i feel like i am accomplishing something and feel like im in a whole new world. You might say i need an imagination but i mean i want an experience thats on par with an experience i have at a movie when i play a MMORPG. I believe that storyline is the most important aspect, then graphics, then gameplay. I know that ill probably be flamed for this but its just how i feel.

Alistair · August 2004

Gameplay and content always rule out graphics for me...a lot of the Korean hack and slash games LOOK nice, but had TERRIBLE gameplay and content, and little or no story at all. Content rich games will always win me over, and I have a lot of friends that are the same way. Games these days aren't innovative, or if they are they get bashed for working in something new, like warcraft 3's hero system. Content, gameplay and story> graphics...while the graphics should be immersive, they should NOT be the selling point for the game. Period.

*Turns his bottle of malt liquor upside down and pours it on the ground*

"This one's for my homies that didn't make it!"

AHH! Run away from the monster! He's going to eat us!

Socializer 80% Explorer 73% Achiever 33% Killer 13%

BigPeeler · August 2004

all i gotta add is...

graphics MATTER...

lets step away from MMORPG's and into real life here for a second...

you hear people say it all the time "looks dont matter"... you wanna know who says that? (no offense) ug... i mean... people with minor undesirable physical featues... looks DO matter...

in all honesty, if you had two people to choose from both with equall personalities HOWEVER one of them is ug... a person of lesser beauty... while the other is a freakin super model... who are you gonna pick?... honestly...

now lets take this back to EQ2 and WoW... not many people know how either of them are going to play come release, but one thing we DO know is what they're going to look like... so IMO EQ2 fanboys have all right flaming WoW for its graphics...

i'll agree that gameplay SHOULD play a bigger part in which games are considered good/bad while graphics should play the smaller role, but graphics do matter...

from all the people flaming crappy graphic games comes a new breed of flamer... flamers who flame the flamers of crappy graphic games... damn flamers...

[edit] sorry i think i went in the wrong direction with this

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Games Played - Lineage, Lineage 2, Helbreath, RuneScape, EVE Online, Rubies of Eventide, Priston Tale, Tibia, RYL, Dark Eden, Savage Eden, Astonia III, Ashen Empires, El Kardian, Fung Wan Online, Project Entropia, Ultima Online, Ragnarok Online, Redmoon, Star Wars Galaxies, Thesa, Conquer Online, Deloria, Fairyland, MU Online, Legends...

Rikimaru_X · August 2004

Originally posted by BigPeeler
in all honesty, if you had two people to choose from both with equall personalities HOWEVER one of them is ug... a person of lesser beauty... while the other is a freakin super model... who are you gonna pick?... honestly...

I don't think theirs anyone with = personalities. what your kinda saying is:

should I choose the halo 2 box or the Halo 2 limited edition.

of course the limited editdition would be the pic.

Now, if theirs really two people with equal personalities (dout it) I guess i would pic . . .the . . . .one whos best in bed . . .?

Neo-Phoenix · August 2004

Originally posted by beatbox
First impression is what matters, just like in real life.

Oh no first impression is usually wrong.

I agree with you guy's graphics aren't the most important thing on a game for me. But that's an opinion. It's all what you like best there is no right or wrong.

Annekynn · August 2004

I personally have never quit a game because the graphics werent good enough. I regularily replay classics like fallout, xcom, master of orion etc because the GAMEPLAY is so superior to most of todays games that its simply pathetic if you think about it. For me graphics are only a problem if they dont adequately portray the game. If im playing a space based game, and I can clearly distinguish between ships, stars, planets, asteroids etc, thats all great. It doesnt matter if the planets are 2d sprites or 3d polygons.

When it comes to mmrpgs, while its always NICE to play a beautiful game, its never necessary. Ive never quit an mmrpg because of the graphics. I always quit because of the gameplay. When was the last time you heard someone quitting because a character had 500 polygons instead of 1500? Versus people quitting because the character was gimped/underpowered/unbalanced or the gameplay was broke/bad etc.

Gameplay is king ::::24:: . Anyone who says that WoW graphics are cartoonish or EQ2 graphics are clay like, is simply an idiot that has no idea what a GAME is all about. But alas, we live in a world where people are easily distracted/corrupted by preety colors and elven females in mini skirts and with big boobs ::::05::

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Played: AC1, DAoC, E&B, SWG
Tested: AC1, AC2, DAoC, Eve, Planetside, Rubies, Lineage 2, MU Online

el_Slacko · August 2004

Your kinda low on the posts there too. Only 4 stars? Bah, not even worth hearing.

______________________________________
Badmouthing second-rate MMORPGs since 1998
Gandalf: "JOO SHALL NOT PASS!"
Avatar from www.Squidi.net

RemyVorender · August 2004

its a combination of graphics and content that make a game good. the game could have all the race/class/skill options in the world, but if i looks like hell its hard to get into it. on the other hand if the game looks gorgeous but the content and gameplay stink (ex. SWG comes to mind) u are left with nothing but a pretty picture and not much else.

But i will say this, if the graphics are at least decent and the gameplay is great, that would beat out a awesome graphics / half-assed content game.

In this day and age of MMOs, we SHOULD expect both awesome graphics and super-deep content/gameplay. We have put up with just one or the other for far too long.

So for WoW and EQ2, take all the time u need to release it. Just please, for the love of god, make a superior gaming experience. Stop feeding us dog crap and telling us it's chocolate!

EQ: Quantis Erudite 60pal-Bristlebane
DAoC: Vrix Kobold 50skald-Percival
L2: Jorrad DE 25 Palus Knight-Kain
CoH: Funeral 23drk/drk Def-Infinity
AC2: Thex 40 Lug Sage-Thistledown
FFXI: Wrython Elv 55brd/nin-Carbuncle
SWG: Astaroth Twi CH/Pistol
Other: AC1, AO, SB, EVE, RoE, PS, FL..

---And I still haven't found what I'm looking for---

diegolink · August 2004

Graphics DONT matter if the gameplay is great and solid.

Example (n´ shut up u fckn flamers)

UO= gameplay, graphics

L2= gameplay, good graphics

AC= gameplay, graphics (may change by the ToD expansion)

Horizons= gameplay, graphics

If gameplay fails in the game, then the graphics DO matter.

Also, its good to see a Gameplay/Graphics balance.

You cant judge a mmorpg by its graphics (maybe WoW will have better gameplay than EQ2, who knows?)

PS= people saying "WoW sucks cuz EQ2 has better graphics" are fckn idiots

BTW= Im both EQ2 and WoW fan

Vengi · August 2004

Gameplay is always king...even Game Features are secondary, having loads of Races, spells and Items does not really help a game if the they are not Fun to play/use.

In the end you play a game for Fun not to look at pretty pics, and you play a MMORPG to meet and play with people so a good chat system is a must

Xzaro · August 2004

Community is the most important thing in a MMO for me.

_______________________________________________

You could play as an indian or human

Vengi · August 2004

Originally posted by Xzaro
Community is the most important thing in a MMO for me.

_______________________________________________

But you need a Decent game to play with while chatting, and to chat about

Then again Planetarion was mostly "played" in IRC channels

------------------------------------------------------------

Vengi

LvL 32 Wiz on Dragon Server
LvL 23 Wiz on server 4 EI Korean Beta

http://www.totalformat.com/Guides/LOM3/guide/ this is the unofficial guide to mir3

http://www.totalformat.com/Mir3/siege.avi (right click and save) This is an ingame movie of the siege of Sabuk Wall (a Guild owned castle).

TianFeng · August 2004

For me, graphics are important, and with MMORPGs, they can really help the games immersion. That said, I agree with the masses in that the content and gameplay is what really makes or breaks a game

I have never heard of wasteland, but its downloading now

Alistair · August 2004

Originally posted by Vengi
Gameplay is always king...even Game Features are secondary, having loads of Races, spells and Items does not really help a game if the they are not Fun to play/use.
In the end you play a game for Fun not to look at pretty pics, and you play a MMORPG to meet and play with people so a good chat system is a must

I agree partially with this. Some games have great communities, though, but aren't worth my time to play. They CAN go hand in hand, but if the game is amazingly brilliant, and I have the chance to not interact with people too much, I'll still play the game. If the game mechanics suck, I won't waste my time if the community is the most amazing one I've ever been a part of.

AHH! Run away from the monster! He's going to eat us!

Socializer 80% Explorer 73% Achiever 33% Killer 13%

Vengi · August 2004

Then again a really bad Community can ruin a great game

It's important to have at least a few friends ingame to make a MMORPG fun.

Isn't it stange that Mordor 1 isn't free yet, was my first RPG game, if not for that game I would never of got into MMORPGs....sorry the site that had wasteland got me to think about my old offline RPGs..

Ohh beware of popups on that site.

diegolink · August 2004

Things a MMORPG must have:

Solid Gameplay

Good community (doesnt matter if the community is BIG or small, example= AO has 40k suscribers, but it has a friendly community)

Decent graphics (admit it, UO has GREAT 2D graphics, but crappy 3D graphics)

Fast and helpful Customer Service (you are paying 10-15 bucks monthly and not good CS???? SOE and NC are the worst in this area)

Music (who doesnt like music?)

and finally but one of the most important features...........HaVe FuN!!!!!!!

RCCrash · August 2004

The graphics need to be good enough to suspend disbelief. For me that means 3d even if it is EQ's mega-low poly models. I need to be able to look around.

Donny S Alumbaugh

BigPeeler · August 2004

okay i think we all just gotta admit there is no RIGHT answer for this one... it goes both ways depending on who you talk to...

graphics bring them in...

gameplay keeps them there...

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Games Played - Lineage, Lineage 2, Helbreath, RuneScape, EVE Online, Rubies of Eventide, Priston Tale, Tibia, RYL, Dark Eden, Savage Eden, Astonia III, Ashen Empires, El Kardian, Fung Wan Online, Project Entropia, Ultima Online, Ragnarok Online, Redmoon, Star Wars Galaxies, Thesa, Conquer Online, Deloria, Fairyland, MU Online, Legends...

Rikimaru_X · August 2004

Originally posted by beatbox

Originally posted by el_Slacko
Your kinda low on the posts there too. Only 4 stars? Bah, not even worth hearing.

______________________________________
Badmouthing second-rate MMORPGs since 1998
Gandalf: "JOO SHALL NOT PASS!"
Avatar from www.Squidi.net

Lmao , had 5 stars , they come and go, btw , i have a full time job , a girlfriend , a life , unlike you.

LMAO, hey thanks for taking care of that for me beatbox. I was going to say somthing similar.

Rikimaru_X · August 2004

Originally posted by BigPeeler
okay i think we all just gotta admit there is no RIGHT answer for this one... it goes both ways depending on who you talk to...

graphics bring them in...

gameplay keeps them there...

___________________________________

I think i understand what you mean there.

dirtymex · August 2004

I'll always say that gameplay is the most important part of a game (gameplay including community in MMO's)

BUT graphics DO matter. No way about it.

Someone already mentioned, but a little less coherantly, that Graphics, especially in MMO's lead to an Immersion within the world.

I'm EQ2 fanboy and from what i've seen of cities, i'm just orgasiming on what it's going to be like to play it and be in that kind of world. However, i've played DAoC, WOW graphics are a step up from DAoC and they still react well, i've had a look and though in my opinion not as impressive as EQ2, the Idea of seeing a Tree of Ancient Lore walking across a City is Amazing, just graphically looking at it makes you really feel like your a Night Elf in Warcraft 3 (a game i play regularly).

So, I'll just say it bluntly, GRAPHICS DO MATTER, deciding factor in games often come down how graphics hold up, in some cases how battles look. I'm an old EQ player, I tried to get a friend to play, but he didn't like the way the graphics representation of battles took place, thus ended in a /quit forever. Most of us wouldn't do that, but he's actually a better representation of an MMO punter (he's a long time DAoC player)

sidebuster · August 2004

What all you little newblets don't know about gaming is, that ever aspect plays an equal role in an attraction and being able to stay in a game. like that one guy said, Graphics and gameplay will draw you in, and the same will keep you playing.

DeadmanInc · August 2004

amen

r1tual · August 2004

Im not that picky about graphics although I like them good.

EQ2 has good graphics. EQ2 has bad game design and mechanics (No PvP) which make it bad.

Wow has ugly graphics but a decent all aroun game design. It inludes PvP and PvE and quests etc.

In this comparison I would pick WoW over EQ2. Although I would love to have EQ2 with both PvE and PvP.

Other games like Eve Online have awesome graphics. They have PvP. THey have PvE. They have economics. They have tradeskills. THey have quests (missions). They have player housing (space outposts, coming in next update). They have mining. They have a whole open end game that lets you create 1000 of players megacorporations or you can solo.

There is no game that compares to Eve Online right now. SOme games have nice graphics but lack game content or design. Some games have awesome fun games but dont have any artistic talent.

Also in your ocmparison with the cake. I dont like Vanilla cake with chocalate frosting. I only like vanilla caka with vanilla frosting. So yeah the frosting does make a difference. But so does the cake.

vrtldave · August 2004

*NOTE before reading this understand I did not read all the posts in full detail and just skimmed them, mostly because I am lazy, so what I am going to say might have been already posted.... its kinda like how people choose a girl... if a girl asks what you are looking for in a girl you say personality(content), but really you first eyeball it for its "hotness"(or what ever you like to call it)(hotness=graphics)... if the hotness intrestes you will check it out to see how she is(trial, etc.)... but if she is to annyoing(grind) or to dumb(lack of content) you move on... now with the girls you passed by the first time because they werent as pretty as the first girl(lower graphic games) you come to them and see how they work out.... I hope I am not the only one that can make this connection, and yes it is sad I did make the connection, also if anyone offended by this please tell me and I will delete post...

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