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As we approach the era of online gaming, today’s top titles are becoming all the more lifelike. But why? Aren’t games designed to be a brief detachment from reality? Perhaps, in the eyes of today’s gamer, not. This obsession for realism can now be found in many, if not all, of the best selling games in the charts at this moment – be it pinpoint game physics, superb graphics and sound or real life difficulty settings, they’re all in there somewhere. But is this necessarily a good thing? When do we get to the point when things are too real?
Graphics are advancing at an alarming rate, and with stunning visuals from games such as ‘Resident Evil’, ‘Gran Turismo 3’ and ‘Onimusha 2’, gamers can enjoy an experience so atmospheric that it feels like they’re actually in the game. In fact, this ‘In The Game’ experience may not be too far off, as virtual reality entertainment research steadily progresses. We may soon have a whole, living, breathing world around us, just by putting a head set on. But are graphics now becoming a priority? Is the gaming world’s motto now ‘style over substance’?
Moving onto physics then, which are actually rather important. Even the basic stuff like gravity and light could ruin a game when not done correctly. But then again, it could ruin it by going to far too. It’s nice to have a bit of gravity to secure you, and some decent light and sound to aid the experience, but when too much is concentrated on making things just like the real world – that’s when games start becoming the opposites of their intentions. Let’s take two top racing titles as an example then, ‘Gran Turismo 3’ and ‘Burnout 2’:
Gran Turismo 3
This game has what many driving simulators now copy – ultra realism. The physics, the graphics, the cars, the leagues, the gears, the speed, the cornering – it’s all modelled and designed to perfection. However, there’s one major flaw in this game – fun. Because it’s so detailed and correct, it’s more of a substitute for real life than a game. I bought this game when I first got my PS2 and took it back within a week, as I was severely damaging my controller through pure frustration after crashing into a barrier for the umpteenth time whilst attempting a corner at speed. Sorry, but that’s not what I play or pay for.
Burnout 2:
This game has nice graphics, but it’s lacking the cars, leagues and attention to detail that ‘Gran Turismo 3’ has. But it has something more important, something it’s competitors can barely come close to touching – fun. Just clean, quick, high-octane fun. Why? Because in real life you can’t go bombing around ninety-degree corners at 150 m/ph, and people WANT to. The speed, the thrill, the chase – it has that something that most driving games don’t – it’s the ability to engage the player in what is sometimes left last on the checklist – fantastic gameplay.
And that’s why I rate ‘Burnout 2’ a superior game to ‘Gran Turismo 3’. You see, realism, in most cases, will lead to a mind numbingly boring difficulty level – which is to say hard.. very hard. That, unfortunately, is the case with the highly acclaimed ‘Gran Turismo 3’. It’s a nice idea, but because of it’s ‘real life’ challenge, the fun factor is replaced with sheer aggravation.
So to draw this to a final point then, I’m not complaining about realism – far from it. I’m just saying that there is a point when it becomes too much, and in some games such as ‘Gran Turismo 3’, that point has been well and truly crossed. I’d like to see developers taking reality in games to different levels, just as long as they keep great gameplay fixed firmly in their minds, for if they cross that line, it is no longer a game at all.
Graphics are advancing at an alarming rate, and with stunning visuals from games such as ‘Resident Evil’, ‘Gran Turismo 3’ and ‘Onimusha 2’, gamers can enjoy an experience so atmospheric that it feels like they’re actually in the game. In fact, this ‘In The Game’ experience may not be too far off, as virtual reality entertainment research steadily progresses. We may soon have a whole, living, breathing world around us, just by putting a head set on. But are graphics now becoming a priority? Is the gaming world’s motto now ‘style over substance’?
Moving onto physics then, which are actually rather important. Even the basic stuff like gravity and light could ruin a game when not done correctly. But then again, it could ruin it by going to far too. It’s nice to have a bit of gravity to secure you, and some decent light and sound to aid the experience, but when too much is concentrated on making things just like the real world – that’s when games start becoming the opposites of their intentions. Let’s take two top racing titles as an example then, ‘Gran Turismo 3’ and ‘Burnout 2’:
Gran Turismo 3
This game has what many driving simulators now copy – ultra realism. The physics, the graphics, the cars, the leagues, the gears, the speed, the cornering – it’s all modelled and designed to perfection. However, there’s one major flaw in this game – fun. Because it’s so detailed and correct, it’s more of a substitute for real life than a game. I bought this game when I first got my PS2 and took it back within a week, as I was severely damaging my controller through pure frustration after crashing into a barrier for the umpteenth time whilst attempting a corner at speed. Sorry, but that’s not what I play or pay for.
Burnout 2:
This game has nice graphics, but it’s lacking the cars, leagues and attention to detail that ‘Gran Turismo 3’ has. But it has something more important, something it’s competitors can barely come close to touching – fun. Just clean, quick, high-octane fun. Why? Because in real life you can’t go bombing around ninety-degree corners at 150 m/ph, and people WANT to. The speed, the thrill, the chase – it has that something that most driving games don’t – it’s the ability to engage the player in what is sometimes left last on the checklist – fantastic gameplay.
And that’s why I rate ‘Burnout 2’ a superior game to ‘Gran Turismo 3’. You see, realism, in most cases, will lead to a mind numbingly boring difficulty level – which is to say hard.. very hard. That, unfortunately, is the case with the highly acclaimed ‘Gran Turismo 3’. It’s a nice idea, but because of it’s ‘real life’ challenge, the fun factor is replaced with sheer aggravation.
So to draw this to a final point then, I’m not complaining about realism – far from it. I’m just saying that there is a point when it becomes too much, and in some games such as ‘Gran Turismo 3’, that point has been well and truly crossed. I’d like to see developers taking reality in games to different levels, just as long as they keep great gameplay fixed firmly in their minds, for if they cross that line, it is no longer a game at all.
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You make a valid point. The thing with games is, if they are too real people will not play them becuase they are too hard to do. A good example of this is Die Hard Vendetta.
If you play without Auto Aim it is near impossible to hit anyone. This will be seen as a bad point and the game will then not be played.
But do people like a challenge?
Anyway, good post!
If you play without Auto Aim it is near impossible to hit anyone. This will be seen as a bad point and the game will then not be played.
But do people like a challenge?
Anyway, good post!
nice post. If games were to realistic, and when Virtual reality arrives, will it be that hard to distinguish whether gaming is reality or vice versa?
I Hope not.
I Hope not.
As we approach the era of online gaming, today’s top titles are becoming all the more lifelike. But why? Aren’t games designed to be a brief detachment from reality? Perhaps, in the eyes of today’s gamer, not. This obsession for realism can now be found in many, if not all, of the best selling games in the charts at this moment – be it pinpoint game physics, superb graphics and sound or real life difficulty settings, they’re all in there somewhere. But is this necessarily a good thing? When do we get to the point when things are too real?
Graphics are advancing at an alarming rate, and with stunning visuals from games such as ‘Resident Evil’, ‘Gran Turismo 3’ and ‘Onimusha 2’, gamers can enjoy an experience so atmospheric that it feels like they’re actually in the game. In fact, this ‘In The Game’ experience may not be too far off, as virtual reality entertainment research steadily progresses. We may soon have a whole, living, breathing world around us, just by putting a head set on. But are graphics now becoming a priority? Is the gaming world’s motto now ‘style over substance’?
Moving onto physics then, which are actually rather important. Even the basic stuff like gravity and light could ruin a game when not done correctly. But then again, it could ruin it by going to far too. It’s nice to have a bit of gravity to secure you, and some decent light and sound to aid the experience, but when too much is concentrated on making things just like the real world – that’s when games start becoming the opposites of their intentions. Let’s take two top racing titles as an example then, ‘Gran Turismo 3’ and ‘Burnout 2’:
Gran Turismo 3
This game has what many driving simulators now copy – ultra realism. The physics, the graphics, the cars, the leagues, the gears, the speed, the cornering – it’s all modelled and designed to perfection. However, there’s one major flaw in this game – fun. Because it’s so detailed and correct, it’s more of a substitute for real life than a game. I bought this game when I first got my PS2 and took it back within a week, as I was severely damaging my controller through pure frustration after crashing into a barrier for the umpteenth time whilst attempting a corner at speed. Sorry, but that’s not what I play or pay for.
Burnout 2:
This game has nice graphics, but it’s lacking the cars, leagues and attention to detail that ‘Gran Turismo 3’ has. But it has something more important, something it’s competitors can barely come close to touching – fun. Just clean, quick, high-octane fun. Why? Because in real life you can’t go bombing around ninety-degree corners at 150 m/ph, and people WANT to. The speed, the thrill, the chase – it has that something that most driving games don’t – it’s the ability to engage the player in what is sometimes left last on the checklist – fantastic gameplay.
And that’s why I rate ‘Burnout 2’ a superior game to ‘Gran Turismo 3’. You see, realism, in most cases, will lead to a mind numbingly boring difficulty level – which is to say hard.. very hard. That, unfortunately, is the case with the highly acclaimed ‘Gran Turismo 3’. It’s a nice idea, but because of it’s ‘real life’ challenge, the fun factor is replaced with sheer aggravation.
So to draw this to a final point then, I’m not complaining about realism – far from it. I’m just saying that there is a point when it becomes too much, and in some games such as ‘Gran Turismo 3’, that point has been well and truly crossed. I’d like to see developers taking reality in games to different levels, just as long as they keep great gameplay fixed firmly in their minds, for if they cross that line, it is no longer a game at all.
Graphics are advancing at an alarming rate, and with stunning visuals from games such as ‘Resident Evil’, ‘Gran Turismo 3’ and ‘Onimusha 2’, gamers can enjoy an experience so atmospheric that it feels like they’re actually in the game. In fact, this ‘In The Game’ experience may not be too far off, as virtual reality entertainment research steadily progresses. We may soon have a whole, living, breathing world around us, just by putting a head set on. But are graphics now becoming a priority? Is the gaming world’s motto now ‘style over substance’?
Moving onto physics then, which are actually rather important. Even the basic stuff like gravity and light could ruin a game when not done correctly. But then again, it could ruin it by going to far too. It’s nice to have a bit of gravity to secure you, and some decent light and sound to aid the experience, but when too much is concentrated on making things just like the real world – that’s when games start becoming the opposites of their intentions. Let’s take two top racing titles as an example then, ‘Gran Turismo 3’ and ‘Burnout 2’:
Gran Turismo 3
This game has what many driving simulators now copy – ultra realism. The physics, the graphics, the cars, the leagues, the gears, the speed, the cornering – it’s all modelled and designed to perfection. However, there’s one major flaw in this game – fun. Because it’s so detailed and correct, it’s more of a substitute for real life than a game. I bought this game when I first got my PS2 and took it back within a week, as I was severely damaging my controller through pure frustration after crashing into a barrier for the umpteenth time whilst attempting a corner at speed. Sorry, but that’s not what I play or pay for.
Burnout 2:
This game has nice graphics, but it’s lacking the cars, leagues and attention to detail that ‘Gran Turismo 3’ has. But it has something more important, something it’s competitors can barely come close to touching – fun. Just clean, quick, high-octane fun. Why? Because in real life you can’t go bombing around ninety-degree corners at 150 m/ph, and people WANT to. The speed, the thrill, the chase – it has that something that most driving games don’t – it’s the ability to engage the player in what is sometimes left last on the checklist – fantastic gameplay.
And that’s why I rate ‘Burnout 2’ a superior game to ‘Gran Turismo 3’. You see, realism, in most cases, will lead to a mind numbingly boring difficulty level – which is to say hard.. very hard. That, unfortunately, is the case with the highly acclaimed ‘Gran Turismo 3’. It’s a nice idea, but because of it’s ‘real life’ challenge, the fun factor is replaced with sheer aggravation.
So to draw this to a final point then, I’m not complaining about realism – far from it. I’m just saying that there is a point when it becomes too much, and in some games such as ‘Gran Turismo 3’, that point has been well and truly crossed. I’d like to see developers taking reality in games to different levels, just as long as they keep great gameplay fixed firmly in their minds, for if they cross that line, it is no longer a game at all.
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