The lights are on
Veteran Member - Level 12
One of the highlights coming out of E3 was the premiere of Unreal Engine 4 and a precious few games that admitted to using it to run next-gen graphics. As far as I know, only one of the Final Fantasy games directly stated that their graphics were designed with next-gen capacity in mind. Everyone else pretended that their game was made for "high-end PCs."
I saw some of the trailers made with the new Unreal Engine. They were impressive. You know how games usually have really cool introductory sequences with pre-rendered CGI graphics that look completely amazing? Next-gen graphics look like that, but they're not pre-rendered. That means the entire game looks photorealistic instead of just the nifty video at the opening title screen.
On the surface, this seems like a good thing. Who would have thought that they'd see genuine photorealism in video games this soon? Chalk it up to a childhood spent gaming on an ancient Game Boy Color, but when I think of video game graphics I think of classic 8-bit sprites in Super Mario Bros. The idea of games looking exactly like real life is pretty darn mind-blowing. I can't wait to complain to see some of my favorite franchises rendered in loving next-gen graphics.
There is something that worries me a little, though. How gory is the next generation going to get? Think about it. You might think you have a strong stomach for violence (after 60+ hours of Grand Theft Auto IV, I certainly do), but how much gore can you take when it looks exactly like a real person?
GTA VI will probably get banned everywhere
This might seem like a silly thing to worry about, but it is something that bothers me. Video game violence doesn't unsettle me at all. Gunning down pedestrians in GTA IV or hacking apart aliens in Dead Space is no big deal precisely because I know that it is a video game and the violence isn't real. You're not killing people, you're killing pixels. (For more musings on this topic, read ***this. It's one of the better blogs I ever wrote).
A game's graphics help remind you that it is a game and not real life. It's hard to imagine that you are killing real people in GTA when they have a grey-colored blob for a face. What worries me is that as next-gen graphics get sharper, that line between video games and reality might become a bit more... blurry.
And then there's the decency factor. Quite frankly, I don't know if I even want to see photorealistic video game violence. Can you imagine a version of Dead Space with perfect graphics? It would make a lot of gamers queasy.
Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe the next generation of game consoles won't have photorealistic graphics. Maybe violence depicted in perfect graphics won't bother me any more than violence in current-gen graphics does. If I had to make a guess, I'd bet that everyone (myself included) will get used to seeing blood and gore in perfect HD.
To be honest... I don't know if that's a good thing.
Also photo-realistic games are just begging to take a ton of flak from those worried people who think that violence in video games causes real violence. It's hard enough to defend the industry when the people look fake.
To be quite honest, this is kind of a scary thought. Just think- soon enough, games might end up like Total Recall, where you never know if it is reality or not... 0_o
it will always just be a game....remember that Dr.
all though going along with the whole argument of violence being too realistic...i can definitely see that happening in the future
gta 4 got hounded at the time of its release, i heard a story on the news once that was actually titled Grand Theft Morality?
but rockstar always rolls with those punches and end up being more popular because of it.
all and all i wouldn't worry too much
Not worried about that at all. Personally, I can't wait until we can jump out of the uncanny valley.
Not all games will be photorealistic, and developers may realize that some people may be uncomfortable with violence and gore and give you the option to tone it down. In the end, it's just a game and graphics can only get so good.
I doubt it'll be any different from violence in other media. Seeing someone get torn apart in a next-gen survival horror game will feel really shocking when we aren't used to that level of graphical detail. But eventually we'll get used to it and it'll become standard fare.
Killing someone in a video game is very different from killing someone in real life, and the difference between the two isn't just how realistic it looks.
People said this same thing when the 360 was nearing launch. You'll get used to the better graphics and move on with your life.
I have to agree with KillerRabbitsFTW on this. Even in the worst case scenario, where the violence and gore of video games have since turned into a photo realistic nightmare. Gamers will always get used to it after a certain point. I remember being blown away by some of the gore when the current generation of consoles launched. At first it might be almost too much, or seem to push things a bit too far, but eventually we all get used to it, and it becomes a everyday part of current games.
I think some games could really use better graphics. I think really realistic graphics will really help out survival/horror games. If those games looked really realistic they would scare me a lot more. I don't think I'm going to not play something because it's "too real" I would think that would be pretty cool. I don't think you're a wuss, because any game that has excessive gore is just gross.
This is something I've thought about as well. I've noticed with games like Dead Rising 2, I can mow through zombies on a chainsaw bike, while laughing like a maniac.
While shows like The Walking Dead never fail to make me cringe. It definitely is something worth thinking about.
interesting post! I remember being horrified when Splatterhouse came out. Then with Mortal Kombat and Killer Instinct. Then again with the rampages on early GTAs... Like many of the comments above I think it's something we'll all just end up being used to eventually.
No reason to think they will all be like that. I mean, we have our Gears and our Modern Warfare this gen, but what about Mario and Shadow Complex, all the games that they use these graphics to just make look great in colorful way? People said similar things concerning this gen, I am not worried.
Excellent question. Lots to think about.
hmmmmmmmmmmm. I don't really care about the graphics as much as gameplay. I want more Red Dead Redemption type open world games where we get to explore different places, both from history and imaginary made up places.
i don't see the problem. seriously, i thought that gta 4, before it came out, was going to be in the bloodiest, goriest, and most crime ridden city in the world. if i was playing god of war 2 on day one launch, and someone came to me and said, "god of war 3 will be one of the goriest games to come out next gen, and it will be an early ps3 title"... i'd be pissed. i expect the next gen silent hill games to be super gory and strange and weird. i expect there to be a manhaunt 3 that uses all of the rockstar tech, and doesn't cencore the violence. i don't think games should play it safe. video games are one of the last open forms of media. not all studios will shoot for photo realism. there will still be those who will exaggerate features and make modified looking people, or cartoon figures.