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Today in the games industry realism is become much more in demand. Back on the early consoles such as Nes and Snes and Mega Drive with such games as Mario, Sonic and many more, much of the games were based on cartoons and arcade/platform game play, all simple controls which were very fun to play and still are. As the consoles began to develop, and the first 32-64 bit consoles were released games have been able to come forward in there quality, and there realism. While these consoles still gave us the likes of the Mario games and the fun plat formers, but other games like ISS, Gran Turismo and the Ace Combat series as well as many more all began to focus on realism.
This has become more in demand as years past because of many reasons. The public like these because it gives them a chance to experience something they will possible never get to do in there life such as being part of a football team, driving a racing car, or being a Spy, even part of a military squad. At the moment playing them on a console is nothing like the real thing, and a console may never be able to capture the feeling when you walk onto a pitch with 70,000 fans screaming the name of your team. But at the moment it’s the next best thing to actually being there. Another reason these have become so popular is that its fun to start to think about playing a game using physics from real life, like only being able to perform actions that the human body can perform like not being able to stand a 60 foot drop and survive. In racing games its also fun to drive a car that handles realistic and throw it into bends at 50mph and come out in first place, again something most of would not dare try or ever get to do because of the danger involved, at least if we crash on games we come to no harm. Its things like these that sell the games that pull off the realism in the game well, and with today new next gen-consoles, it has now become even more realistic.
Currently there is only one next-gen console out, which is of course the PS2, and already after a year there have been some games that have got the realism factor right, such as GT3 and many more games. There are a number of ways in which the developers use to make there games more realistic, in my mind the 3 important ones are game play, sound and graphics. These may seem obvious but many games that have tried to go down the Sim road have forgot one of them, if not two.
Many people see that graphics are what makes a game feel real or not. With the power of the consoles today things can be made to look so good and look almost real. You only have to look at the in game footage of GT3, shemue, fifa ect. All of these have graphics that are outstanding and really give a feel to the game. Graphics may not be the most important of the 3, but it is still important, gamers have come to expect great graphics now and many games often produce this, after all, if you want people to have a realistic experience you want the game to look as close to life as you possible can, and that’s what many games have done. In GT3 the cars themselves look absolutely great, there shape, shadows, every thing about them looks so real. And the courses too look great with the suns light beaming on top of your car reflecting off, and it shines through the trees leaving a trail in the air that blinds you as you drive by. In Fifa the players all look realistic, the way they move matches the real players out on the field, and with all the kits this re-enforces that feel. The stadiums too are getting much more detail so that every camera angle looks just like it would on TV, and this is the same for many games, lots of time is put into making the game look well, and as close to the subject as possible, right down to the tiniest detail. With the use of PC’s and monitor equipment too humans have been able to scan there bodies in action and then put into the game, which makes the game all that more better, and makes you believe that the character is somewhat real. Still though, as good as the graphics get, there is still that look of computer graphics that hold the game back, but this will always happen until, if ever, there is a game that can produce photo realistic graphics.
But sometimes this is where the developers mess up, they want a ‘sim’ game and so spend lots of time on the graphics, and sometimes not enough on the game play.
Where as graphics are important, the game play is even more important. No matter how good the game looks, that all does not matter if it plays poorly, and this is never more important that in a sim game. The idea that a game wants to be a sim is that it must play and act like things do in real life, there would be little point calling GT3 a sim if it was possible to take every corner perfect and never loose that first place position, or if the cars handled like a boat where the controls were not at all responsive. Also in games like MGS that too take the game to realism using stealth and having the most realistic AI ever, if those AI could never be killed, or the same with Snake then the game would be far from realism. Game play is the one factor that can decide whether the game will be a big hit or not, and there is no other better example than in ISS vs Fifa. The new Fifa tried to go for a realistic type of game play, but EA could never get that right and so the game plays worse than all previous games out there, the graphics might be good, but the game fails to deliver where it matters most. In the case of ISS, this series proved on PS1 that graphics are not everything, the graphics are the best that PS1 will ever see but nothing compared to what the PS2 can do, but what the game did have was the most realistic football game play that has ever been created. Everything about it was great, the players and the ball physics were just so realistic, and with Pro Evo having the same kind of game play but better graphics the game will get even more realistic.
With the new consoles having so much power, great game play is now even more possible to go along side great graphics than ever before, and looking at the games on the horizon, the games are going to be great. But there is still one more quite important factor, the sounds.
Sound can possible be put in the same category as graphics as they both are based on the presentation of the game. Often the sound determines the atmosphere of the game which is really important in many games. In football games the crowd cheering is one way to make the atmosphere just like the real thing with them constantly singing, shouting and booing at bad challenged or screaming when a great goal is scored, also its important to have good commentary here. In horror games this is where sound is very important, and games like silent hill and resident evil really pull this off well. Always there is some weird music that leaves you feeling on edge, and in this type of game this is important. Also when walking down a corridor you may here a loud bang that makes you jump, famous of the Resident Evil series, this leaves you nervous after the game which shows they have done the job well, as after all its only a computer game that has just scared you. The sound effects too are important, if the game is suppose to be real you expect the sounds to be real too. The best examples are guns in games, you expect them to sound the same, or similar to what they do in real life, or the sound of a cars engines too make the game that more believable.
One thing that use of the CD in games has made possible is voice acting on games. Resident Evil, MGS, football games and hundreds more games now all have acting using voices in there which again all adds to the realism of the game, it also saved you reading large amounts of texts and therefore keeps you interested. With out sound, it would be impossible to set any sort of atmosphere and because of that playing Resi or Silent hill may not have been as good of a experience as it was.
All of the above make sim games on console what they are, and with time they are all improved in some way. But how long will this go on for, what is the next step for this genre of realism? Ok, the next-gen consoles have yet to have there stay in the industry, and in this time period alone there will be vast improvement, but when there time is up, what next? Is the next stage photo realistic graphics? And will we see games in a different way when they look real. I mean, if they looked so real, we could easily loose games like GTA 3 and horror games because of the content, maybe the past they should stay on is to keep the games looking realistic, but make sure there is that element of computer graphics.
As is often said, time will only tell…..
The Pro
This has become more in demand as years past because of many reasons. The public like these because it gives them a chance to experience something they will possible never get to do in there life such as being part of a football team, driving a racing car, or being a Spy, even part of a military squad. At the moment playing them on a console is nothing like the real thing, and a console may never be able to capture the feeling when you walk onto a pitch with 70,000 fans screaming the name of your team. But at the moment it’s the next best thing to actually being there. Another reason these have become so popular is that its fun to start to think about playing a game using physics from real life, like only being able to perform actions that the human body can perform like not being able to stand a 60 foot drop and survive. In racing games its also fun to drive a car that handles realistic and throw it into bends at 50mph and come out in first place, again something most of would not dare try or ever get to do because of the danger involved, at least if we crash on games we come to no harm. Its things like these that sell the games that pull off the realism in the game well, and with today new next gen-consoles, it has now become even more realistic.
Currently there is only one next-gen console out, which is of course the PS2, and already after a year there have been some games that have got the realism factor right, such as GT3 and many more games. There are a number of ways in which the developers use to make there games more realistic, in my mind the 3 important ones are game play, sound and graphics. These may seem obvious but many games that have tried to go down the Sim road have forgot one of them, if not two.
Many people see that graphics are what makes a game feel real or not. With the power of the consoles today things can be made to look so good and look almost real. You only have to look at the in game footage of GT3, shemue, fifa ect. All of these have graphics that are outstanding and really give a feel to the game. Graphics may not be the most important of the 3, but it is still important, gamers have come to expect great graphics now and many games often produce this, after all, if you want people to have a realistic experience you want the game to look as close to life as you possible can, and that’s what many games have done. In GT3 the cars themselves look absolutely great, there shape, shadows, every thing about them looks so real. And the courses too look great with the suns light beaming on top of your car reflecting off, and it shines through the trees leaving a trail in the air that blinds you as you drive by. In Fifa the players all look realistic, the way they move matches the real players out on the field, and with all the kits this re-enforces that feel. The stadiums too are getting much more detail so that every camera angle looks just like it would on TV, and this is the same for many games, lots of time is put into making the game look well, and as close to the subject as possible, right down to the tiniest detail. With the use of PC’s and monitor equipment too humans have been able to scan there bodies in action and then put into the game, which makes the game all that more better, and makes you believe that the character is somewhat real. Still though, as good as the graphics get, there is still that look of computer graphics that hold the game back, but this will always happen until, if ever, there is a game that can produce photo realistic graphics.
But sometimes this is where the developers mess up, they want a ‘sim’ game and so spend lots of time on the graphics, and sometimes not enough on the game play.
Where as graphics are important, the game play is even more important. No matter how good the game looks, that all does not matter if it plays poorly, and this is never more important that in a sim game. The idea that a game wants to be a sim is that it must play and act like things do in real life, there would be little point calling GT3 a sim if it was possible to take every corner perfect and never loose that first place position, or if the cars handled like a boat where the controls were not at all responsive. Also in games like MGS that too take the game to realism using stealth and having the most realistic AI ever, if those AI could never be killed, or the same with Snake then the game would be far from realism. Game play is the one factor that can decide whether the game will be a big hit or not, and there is no other better example than in ISS vs Fifa. The new Fifa tried to go for a realistic type of game play, but EA could never get that right and so the game plays worse than all previous games out there, the graphics might be good, but the game fails to deliver where it matters most. In the case of ISS, this series proved on PS1 that graphics are not everything, the graphics are the best that PS1 will ever see but nothing compared to what the PS2 can do, but what the game did have was the most realistic football game play that has ever been created. Everything about it was great, the players and the ball physics were just so realistic, and with Pro Evo having the same kind of game play but better graphics the game will get even more realistic.
With the new consoles having so much power, great game play is now even more possible to go along side great graphics than ever before, and looking at the games on the horizon, the games are going to be great. But there is still one more quite important factor, the sounds.
Sound can possible be put in the same category as graphics as they both are based on the presentation of the game. Often the sound determines the atmosphere of the game which is really important in many games. In football games the crowd cheering is one way to make the atmosphere just like the real thing with them constantly singing, shouting and booing at bad challenged or screaming when a great goal is scored, also its important to have good commentary here. In horror games this is where sound is very important, and games like silent hill and resident evil really pull this off well. Always there is some weird music that leaves you feeling on edge, and in this type of game this is important. Also when walking down a corridor you may here a loud bang that makes you jump, famous of the Resident Evil series, this leaves you nervous after the game which shows they have done the job well, as after all its only a computer game that has just scared you. The sound effects too are important, if the game is suppose to be real you expect the sounds to be real too. The best examples are guns in games, you expect them to sound the same, or similar to what they do in real life, or the sound of a cars engines too make the game that more believable.
One thing that use of the CD in games has made possible is voice acting on games. Resident Evil, MGS, football games and hundreds more games now all have acting using voices in there which again all adds to the realism of the game, it also saved you reading large amounts of texts and therefore keeps you interested. With out sound, it would be impossible to set any sort of atmosphere and because of that playing Resi or Silent hill may not have been as good of a experience as it was.
All of the above make sim games on console what they are, and with time they are all improved in some way. But how long will this go on for, what is the next step for this genre of realism? Ok, the next-gen consoles have yet to have there stay in the industry, and in this time period alone there will be vast improvement, but when there time is up, what next? Is the next stage photo realistic graphics? And will we see games in a different way when they look real. I mean, if they looked so real, we could easily loose games like GTA 3 and horror games because of the content, maybe the past they should stay on is to keep the games looking realistic, but make sure there is that element of computer graphics.
As is often said, time will only tell…..
The Pro
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What meeting would that be?
Well done mate....Thats 3-3 now...I will have to win again and go in front again
Congrats on the win Pro! Great Post!
Cheers!!
well done u deserved it :)
I would just like to thank everyone who read this.
And say that I WON GAD!! :D
And say that I WON GAD!! :D
kingklik wrote:
> Damn, I think I broke my mouse wheel scrolling through that lot!
Ah well, the
> read made it worth it. ;)
Cheers. Appreciate that you read it...unlike some.
And big_show, instead of spamming the topic just dont bother posting in it.
ok?
> Damn, I think I broke my mouse wheel scrolling through that lot!
Ah well, the
> read made it worth it. ;)
Cheers. Appreciate that you read it...unlike some.
And big_show, instead of spamming the topic just dont bother posting in it.
ok?
Damn, I think I broke my mouse wheel scrolling through that lot!
Ah well, the read made it worth it. ;)
Ah well, the read made it worth it. ;)
Page: