Oct 19 2009
Real graphics or just eye candy
“Graphics” is a pretty generic term that can describe a wide range of “images” in a game. There is the eye candy graphics that makes the game look pretty. Kinda like a puppy dog when you want to say “oh how cuteeeee!” But cute dogs can still leave a big pile of crap on your floor. Then there are the graphics that pull the player into the game and make him/her part of the alternate reality that games try to create.
One thing is eye candy. This is how detailed the game “looks”. These are the textures on the walls, the details of the mountains, the details in the textures of the weapons, the players,,,,. Quality eye candy does not mean quality gameplay.
Then there is using graphics to improve the overall quality of the gameplay. This is done by creating an atmosphere. This can be done by adding a mountain range outside a window – as was done in the original Doom. Or creating burning building in the distance, as with Left 4 Dead. Having a quality atmosphere can help improve the game, because it pulls the player into the game.
Out of the popular PC games that have been released over the past 10 years, there are a lot that come to mind – Doom, Doom II, Ultimate Doom, Final Doom, Quake, Quake 2, Quake 3, Quake 4, Painkiller, Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike:Source, Left 4 Dead, Fortress Forever, Doom III, Team Fortress Classic.
All game have graphics, but its “how” those graphics are used that makes them important. How the graphics are used makes the difference between eye candy and creating an alternate reality. Lets take 2 games as an example – Left 4 Dead and Fortress Forever.
The developers of Left 4 Dead created an atmosphere with their graphics, while the Fortress Forever Developers built some amazing looking levels.
Fortress Forever is a free Team Fortress modification for the half-life 2 Source engine. Some of the levels have a massive amount of detail, while some of them are pretty straight forward. In this image, the cranes in the background play no real part of the game. But they do add a level of “depth” that makes the play feel that he/she is part of a bigger picture. Some of the levels have mountains in the background, while others have clouds, blue skys or industrial equipment.
Left 4 Dead is a zombie thriller action type game. Most of the levels are based in a city, where burning buildings dot the skyline. While the buildings do not actually affect the game, they create an atmosphere for the player. This type of graphic pulls the player into the game and creates and alternate reality.
While the graphics of Fortress Forever and Left 4 Dead are different, they create 2 totally different “looks” for the game. The graphics of Left 4 Dead may not be as detailed as Fortress Forever, they do an excellent job of setting the “theme” of the game.
When you take a look at a game, and say “that looks really cool”. Think about “how” the developer is using the graphics. Are they being used to create an overall “feel”, or are the graphics being used to cover up poor game play.
Just because a game “looks” good, does not mean that it is a good game.
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