Graphics DO Matter
There are a number of reasons why a game might achieve and maintain a level of popularity. That is to say, there is no one, single area of a game that can be focused upon that will guarantee financial success. There is an area, however, that can prevent a game from achieving financial success no matter how fantastic all other aspects of the game experience are: graphics. More specifically, graphical style and art direction, as well as the quality and variety of animations that take place in normal gameplay.
Bright Cel-Shaded Graphics in Fiesta Online
We hear people shout and carry on about how little they care about graphics, how much they don’t matter, and how they’d rather play a game that looks crummy, but is super fun, than play a game that’s pretty but has no substance. There’s merit to this attitude, but at the same time, it’s a little naïve. As modern gamers, even those of us who grew up in the 8-bit era and further back, we are a bit spoiled. We’ve become accustomed to a quality of presentation, and when that quality is taken away in a title, we tend to notice, and the reaction is rarely positive. The simple fact is, we want games to be pretty, smooth, have intricate animations and good voice acting. We just very often hear ourselves saying “but not at the expense of fun and replayability.” I wonder how often this attitude is truly genuine.
What do you think about the 2D Graphics in MapleStory?
Personally, I’m on the fence. On the one hand, some of the fondest memories I have as a gamer took place while playing games that were completely archaic by today’s standards. On the other, the games I still play today that are more than ten years old are the ones that have both great gameplay, and a very slick, timeless graphical style that isn’t terrible to look at, no matter what era you’re coming from. A couple of good examples? Starcraft and Fallout. Both games are 2D isometric, and yet because the art style pops, and because they’re both mixed in with great, voice-acted narrative and full-motion video, they just never seem to get old. Sure, it’s pixels, but they’re pretty pixels, and the games are just fun to look at, despite being almost thirteen years old each.
RuneScape – Lots of Content but less than stellar graphics
In MMORPGs, we see something similar going on with World of Warcraft. One of the main reasons WoW has been able to maintain popularity is because the art style is so flexible, and doesn’t show age as jarringly as something that goes for a more realistic approach. Is this to say that going for a more stylized, artsy direction in your graphics engine is better than trying to achieve super-realism? If your goal is to make a timeless classic, then yes. If your goal is to simply make a bestseller that works in the time it’s released, then it really doesn’t matter which one you choose (but the realistic, slick graphical style might be a better choice for a larger demographic). One of the reasons so many F2P MMORPG developers go with a stylized look is because it’s cheaper, can convey a sense of uniqueness in a market with a lot of competition, and it allows for a broader range of users with various levels of PC power to enjoy their title.
World of Warcraft has a unique cartoony art-style
In my opinion, the stylized approach is always better. It ages well, and when coupled with a very serious, morbid storyline or setting, it creates a really creepy contrast. For any of you oldies out there who have played Final Fantasy Tactics (a game where every character is a noseless, doll-like cherub), you might remember the game having blood (the only Final Fantasy at that time to ever show it, in fact), intrigue, despair, and all sorts of extremely disturbing themes explored, all through the use of tiny little “chibi” character models. I don’t think the experience would have been the same otherwise.
Runes of Magic uses the same art-style as WoW
What’s the point of all this? I want to know what you think, in regards to the importance of graphics in MMORPGs. Do you really notice it when a game has terrible animations or graphics? Does that drive you off? Why or why not? Do you prefer it when games shoot for a more stylistic approach, with bold colors and a pop-art feel, or do you like to see things try to achieve a realistic look? In my case, the first time I played Dungeons and Dragons Online, I was repelled by the very clunky animations and lackluster visuals. I felt bad, as I hear it’s a great game, but I just couldn’t handle how ugly it was to me. I’m a very shallow person.
By, B. Olivia
August 31, 2010
#
This is very true. I hear so many people say “Graphics don’t even matter, it’s all about the gameplay!”. Even I’ve said this before, but I realize that graphics are definitely important. For MMOs, I actually like the art-style of World of Warcraft. I like anime inspired graphics too. Realistic games like Karos Online aren’t bad either, but for some reason I prefer cartoony graphics.
September 2, 2010
#1
We all have our own tastes and what constitutes “good graphics” varies from person to person. I’m with Omer, when it comes to MMOs I really like the Anime style graphics whether be cel-shaded or stylized. Both styles are good for MMORPGs in that they can both look really good if done right, are easier for low end computers, and age well. While I do enjoy good graphics, poor graphics are NOT a reason for me to not like a game. I have a PS3, I hardly even play it. I play my PS2 and PSP a lot and the games I’m playing don’t have great graphics. They are also older too. Disgaea 3 is one of my favorite games of all time and the graphics look like they could have ran on a SNES.
Gameplay IS the most important to me. I can forgive bad or outdated graphics. So yeah, graphics matter to me but gameplay is the most important. Now if the gameplay sucks I am less forgiving of bad graphics. No matter how good a games graphics are, they might be impressive at first but they will still get old.
September 2, 2010
#2
I agree with you Omer. I like the Anime graphics too. Didn’t mean to reply to your post with that last one lol.
August 31, 2010
#3
i actually dont care about grafics i just play fun game becouse my crappy comp cant even handle last chaos
August 31, 2010
#4
crap i relly cant say that i hate anime styled graphics
August 31, 2010
#5
Fairly off topic here but…Final Fantasy Tactics=BEST GAME EVER
September 1, 2010
#6
I don’t say that graphics DON’T matter. I just don’t complain about it.
Games like Pokemon R/S/E have great graphics, imo.
September 1, 2010
#7
Well you’re right too. I like the graphics in games like Pokemon / Harvest Moon for handhelds.
September 1, 2010
#8
Cartoony, realistic or even anime graphics..they all go with me, as long as they look good and they’re not clunky. While I somewhat hate WoW, I think its graphics are okay. RoM on the other hand is hideous, not to mention 2 races are nowhere near enough and they look alike so much. Even if the scenery looks good, I find myself more interested in the characters themselves art style and graphics, and also the variety of races and customization.
I’m ever searching for beautiful characters, wide variety of gears and in-depth back story/quests.
September 1, 2010
#9
Graphics are important IMO. But that does not mean it needs to use all of todays latest technology to be good, but rather a more stylized approach. I used to hate games like WoW because the graphics did not look realistic and it was cartoony but, after playing the game i fell in love with it, the graphics are rather nice and it can run on a older computer very nicely. I have yet to come across a game that has so much content and depth to it, but can be ran on a older computer. Other then Guild Wars that is anyway, That games landscape made my head explode. And the system requirements for GWs are extremely low. For me a game that has graphics that impress but dont make your money disappear from your wallet is nice in terms of system requirements and upgrading your computer anyway. 2 great games with very nice graphics yet very low requirements and alot of other great things.
September 1, 2010
#10
To overcome the graphics a game must have a unique (or at least) a very polished gameplay. I remember of playing Final Fantasy 7 (which had terrible graphics) and enjoying it like hell. I stil play a lot of old consoles video games and I don´t get tired because they are able to make me enhoy all they have to offer me.
September 1, 2010
#11
Heres my 2cent–
Because if its a P2P then yes,I expect and it must have a good graphics and then a good variety of in game features.
But if it is a F2P, most of the time they try to make graphics good but they come short in game play, games like Divine Souls,SUN online,Aika is an example of this. (Gender locked,lack of customization,lack of characters, Boring Grind)
Then sometimes they make the game play OK but they come short on graphic detail – Example: Runescape, Conquer Online
For 2D games, they have an advantage, since it is 2D they don’t have to pay a lot of attention to graphics as long the game play is fun-
ex-ample maplestory,wonderking,dragonica
For FPS- graphics don’t matter, as long you can have fun owning noobs its all good, i still play the old CS 1.6 ,BF1942, Operation Flashpoint:Cold War Crisis.
But if am playing in console,then games like cod4,mw2,bfbc2 is a must to have good graphics
Overall i think it is all about balance,not many games have that-in my personal opinions Perfect World games have balance between Graphics and gameplay.
The newly CBT Uncharted Waters Online is also challengingly Fun which still have acceptable graphics.
September 1, 2010
#12
haha Man, BF1942, CS, and OFP were awesome games. I still remember the quality. Battlefield was decent if you had it on highest settings. CS wasn’t entirely bad either. But man oh man, was OFP terrible in graphics compared to the other 2. It was a still a great game though. One of the best I ever played or will play.
September 1, 2010
#13
i realy do care about graphics.
though if the game blows and the graphics are realy nice i realy cant play the game,
like aion the game is realy nice but it just doesnt play right for me, to much grinding, and the abyss isnt what you think it is.
so does final fantasy XIV the new mmorpg, i have been playing the beta for a while now and it realy is a beautifull game but i dont like it, its to slow and i dont feel like i’m playing a mmorpg more like a rpg.
i have played wow for like 2 years and i dont think it wil work if you give wow a graphic looks of aion and FF
but well see what all comes out, cause continent of the ninth realy looks good and the gameplay looks nice, so maby it can be done ,, nice gameplay and looks.
September 2, 2010
#14
Yeah the Abyss was a major let down. I hit 25 and let my sub run out. I didn’t mind the “grind” I was pissed that I bought a PVE game with PVP as an after-thought.
September 1, 2010
#15
Of course graphics is something that you would notice – they are the way the game communicates with you ffs, but still it is better for a game to play awesome than to look awesome.
September 1, 2010
#16
Well, the graphics aren’t a problem at all for me. I can play games with Ultima Online’s graphics and still enjoy them very much (Example: UO).
September 1, 2010
#17
i like it more when the graphics can de turnt to hight en low that every 1 can play it than onlt high because nore people can play if it is low and hight
sorry englisch is not my best language ;p
September 1, 2010
#18
I like a game with good graphics because they are not just a diamond to the eye or a song for the ears but sometimes it determins how fun the game is I mean, sometimes it’s hard to understand what the heck is going on between those pixels, sometimes it can be confusing, but after a while you get used to that, unless you don’t like the game and you never experienced the fun in it, but I do tend to play graphicly tense games simply because I have an OK PC and If i can play a better looking game I tend to go for that one, but sometimes graphics that are just too pretty or too sparkly, shiny or just have too much detail like COD 4 on highest details can be rather distracting but overall I like to play a game that doesn’t hurt my eyes and when I get bored of grinding I can go and stand on the edge of some cliff and enjoy the overview
February 12, 2011
#19
I totally agree that after grinding you should be able to look somewhere nice.
September 1, 2010
#20
Graphics do matter! I hate games with crap graphics because in MMOs if it looks ugly I cannot stand looking at it even with amazing gameplay. I mean 90% of the MMOs out there look like crap, so i skip them also they are F2P meaning they are crap anyway. Look at League of Legends or Altantica online the Graphics on those games aren’t the best but the way they made it look makes me still want to play them even if they are really bad.
September 1, 2010
#21
Excuse me but if a game is f2p it doesn’t mean that
f2p: crappy gfx and crappy community
p2p: awesome gfx and awesome community
for example take LoTRO they are going f2p in less than 9 days and they still have gd gfx and believe they are gonna have a nice community with f2p for I was in the beta and it was awesome
September 1, 2010
#22
Fallout 1 and 2 were epic.
I remember once when I was arm wrestling with a Super Mutant, but lost because of my endurance, my character woke up with a ball-gag in his inventory in the Super Mutant’s house. Enough said.
Anyways, I agree with your point with how old games like Fallout and Starcraft still look pretty good despite it’s age. Same with the Diablo series.
IMO, the graphics in those games are not up to date with regular games, but the gameplay itself and the graphics which still aren’t too bad, but not super great, make the games still worth-while and give an enjoyable experience to play.
September 1, 2010
#23
Well, graphics do matter to me. IMO, having something fun to look at is part of the whole fun of a game. It doesn’t have to be crisis on it’s highest settings though. Unfortunately, my laptop can’t handle many of the better looking mmorpgs. I downloaded Martial Empires recently. The screenshots looked absolutely beautiful, but by the time I’d lowered the settings enough for it to run on my laptop, it just looked ugly. Soul Master, however, looks great, and plays great on a poor system such as mine. Sure, it might not have the most up to date graphics, but it’s still pleasing to the eye, and that’s all I really ask for.
September 1, 2010
#24
50/50 for me as far as graphics and gameplay goes. I’ll take the cake with best overall combination.
September 1, 2010
#25
I for one do notice a game with or without good graphics, but it doesn’t decide my whole opinion of a game. I remember playing rune scape for many months. Then I got bored. Everything was a grind fest and reaching level 70 in woodcutting was my biggest achievement. Combat, which is my favorite part of games, is boring. It doesn’t bother me extremely that all of us look the same. What bothers me is that all of us fight the same. Sure, one animation for three to four skills is irritating. In these moments, graphics play a role in combat. Why, most skills that share the same animation are the same skill, except better. This is a problem, but because of my own beliefs. I believe a persons strength should not lie in one particular skill, but the use of many distinct skills. Having been in taekowndo, I don’t see my opponent just standing there and taking my hits. I see them moving and utilizing more then just the same punch. A persons strength is i their ability to adapt to a situation, but enough on that. With graphics being a major part of games, from animations to landscapes and even characters; I prefer a more animated and unhuman feel. If I want real graphics, I’ll go outside for a walk rather then just go outside to drive to work. By making games realistic, devs restrict themselves creatively. By making games more imaginative, the possibilities are endless. Sure, some ideas will stick better then others. Some may even influence a newer and more imaginative game. I like the graphics of maple stories, wonder king, and dragonica. I find the gameplay very repetitive, so i don’t play them often. Now, GW went with more realistic graphics, but the game play was enjoyable. So, now I barely play it, just like maple stories. So far, I continue to jump mmorpgs to find a perfect balance of the two.
September 1, 2010
#26
I prefer Free to play games that have extrodinarily graphics that’ll make pay to play games run and hide in shame.
September 1, 2010
#27
well i dont care how good or bad it is longs its not over borad bad like Runescape, other than that ill give it a shot
September 1, 2010
#28
it dose matter a bit it depends on the game its one of the first things you see
but some games do get away with it maplestory not the best of graphics but the game it self makes up for them games like rune scape all so get away with it really bad graphics but they get away with it
September 2, 2010
#29
why does it take so long to download runs of magic! i been downloading it for 3 days now DX
September 2, 2010
#30
Graphics most certainly matter. What most people usually mean when they say that graphics don’t matter is that they don’t need ultra realistic graphics that cause the pc to catch on fire. The important part is presentation.
I still play mega drive games to this day, but not all of them, only the ones that “aged well”. What does “aged well” mean? It means the game features a graphical style that’s pleasing to the eyes. It might be 2D, it might be horribly pixelated, but it still looks good.
September 2, 2010
#31
it’s really true… the graphics can matter sometimes, but just remember, what if all games graphics are so high that you can’t even meet the minimum requirements???
people like you can think just because the graphics are bad on a game doesn’t mean the game sucks!
why over 10 million people play WoW? GAMEPLAY!
why people play A.V.A. for?GAMEPLAY (and theres no hackers)
why did sooo many people think roblox sucks big t!ts? CHILDISH GAMEPLAY!
seriously. this is just an opinion, but gameplay usually matters.
think… it’s all about gameplay. try the 10 day free trial and see what i mean… or make a poll about this.
don’t even expect a game that has realistic graphics, you WoW haters think it suks just becasue of GRAPHICS????? WTF ARE YOU!!!
P.S. i don’t play WoW, i just found it intresting. they even support voice chat… i guess.
September 3, 2010
#32
While MMO developers go with a less realistic style, they really don’t take full advantage of it. Trying to identify the majority of MMORPGs solely by screenshot without their HUDs displayed would be very difficult; no MMO besides Love even has a really out-there art style.
September 3, 2010
#33
Imo, what matters the most is the graphics of the ui. It needs to be simple and userfriendly, not cluttered and ugly. Ofc the gameplay itself is the most important part of the game.
September 4, 2010
#34
defently its about the gameplay however it does need a good well thought out system/element’s to make it succesfull, i do understand though also the importance of graphics as well but couldent care to much about it since a game is about you playing the game and your not here to be wow’ed staring at your screen like your watching a movie or something, also latley i think theres to many graphic’s over gameplay game’s going on for also aside from online games systems like ps3 or xbox mass producing a large amount of bad games,
September 4, 2010
#35
For me graphics do matter, but what what I want to see even more than cool graphics
are smooth animations. I wouldn’t mind playing those MMOs with loli style characters (which I personally dislike), if their animations were fabulous.
I hate those 8 directions movement with instant turning behaviour. I mean where is the transition? The smooth movement when you start/stop running and turn around.
Is it really that hard to accomplish smooth and fluent animations?
I don’t care about fluent animations in 2D styled games though
Another thing I REALLY HATE is when your running animation looks like you’re sprinting 30mp/h, but the actual speed is like uber slow. Did gras and dust turn to ice or what? Seriously….
September 5, 2010
#36
In a nutshell: Graphics are all about two things:
- Immersion
and
- First Impression.
Because gameplay, history role and whatnot Is what speaks louder, If you know what I mean.
September 5, 2010
#37
Actually… i thought Dungeons and dragons online looked pretty impressive
September 5, 2010
#38
I’m sorry but I disagree, I play 2D games all the time and I don’t care as long as it’s fun, this article has not changed my opinion. people care too much about graphics if you ask me.
September 6, 2010
#39
Well, me as a minecraft gamer, proofs that graphics dont matter.
the game looks like it was made out of paper. but the gameplay is so good!
September 7, 2010
#40
Your “minecraft” game can be compared as one you thought It had awesome grafics In the past and, right now, It doesn’t look awesome as before.
That, or you don’t have age 20 ~ 26.
September 7, 2010
#41
Gustova M
True, i am 16.
September 6, 2010
#42
Me personally I can’t play a game with bad graphics, sure lets say that the game is super fun but the graphics look like dirt, bad graphics simply don’t appeal to me, I get turned off of games that have bad graphics.
September 7, 2010
#43
graphics does matter and i just thinking that pokemon emerald (16 mb on my psp ) is way better and addictive with interesting gameplay than ff crisis core (1.6 gb on my psp)
September 9, 2010
#44
I play mmo’s mostly because of gameplay, but i also care about graphics. WoW graphics sucks in 2010+ (it sucks even more with monthly fee)… they really look like those old disney games, but about gameplay i dont know much about it cus i only played the trial. I prefer 3D MMOs… 2D games only in gba or Mario games.
So, great game for me needs Awsome Graphics (with cool animations) + Addicting Gameplay (+ cool players and GMs)
Conclusion: Graphics do matter, but a game is not only about this.
September 9, 2010
#45
in my opinion graphics matter but the breakdown is like 20% graphics and 80% gameplay, but for people like you and me 20% can be a huge difference. Right now I’m in love with grand fantasia, mostly do to the gamepay
September 11, 2010
#46
Well, to me, it’s gameplay before graphics. If it’s fun and doesn’t make me angry within two hours, the ugliness of the graphics will dull a bit in my head. For example, I played Wizards101 last night and thought the female characters looked horribly warped. But the battle system was reasonably interesting and I managed to play it for the rest of the night until an instance where I had to take down three monsters in a row and died put me off.
September 12, 2010
#47
I HATE Fiesta graphics. One of the reasons is the black outline its so annoying!!!! idk y….. Just like in The legend of Zelda Phantom hourglass. I’d prefer detailed nice 2D graphics then blocky or 3D graphics (unless they look nice).
September 12, 2010
#48
For me, the Game has to have Fluid animations to be pretty. I really don’t care about 2D or 3D… or 2.5D. When the Animations look like Crap and choppy, I can’t get myself into it for very long.
Best example would be Trickster Online. The Graphics are everything but beautiful, but the Animations of each Monster and Char are just lovely D:
When I look at other 2D/2.5D Games like NosTale or Luminary, it’s like getting Eyecancer x_x even though the Overall Graphics of both Games are better than Trickster offers.
If the Gameplay feels great, I can even withstand choppy Animations/ugly Graphics. I havn’t had a Game like this for Ages now, though. On the other hand, I can’t play a Game for very long with awesome Graphics, but shit Gameplay. lol
September 14, 2010
#49
I wouldn’t say that graphics matter. I would say that the style of it matters more.
Ragnarok is for sure a good example. It obviously couldn’t compete with WoW or Today’s modern mmorpgs like Vindictus, But the style and the flow of it went so well that it was very enjoyable for me to play. ( of course with the other characteristics. like no choppiness, awesome communities, etc. )
As much as I never liked anime inspired games, Lunia got me playing for months because of its gameplay and pvp that required skill. I hated the gender locks. I hated the lag even on low, but it was great because the storyline was decent, (translations were horrible thought =[ ) and the gameplay was unique than any other game. ( and also because it reminded me so much of survival project. )
IMO, I believe that everyone revolves around the first mmo that got them really hooked. We search around for those characteristics only to find there are those differences that stop us from playing.
October 25, 2010
#50
Ragnarok online somewhat comes to mind on the low graphics/good gameplay spectrum.
February 3, 2011
#51
Im gonna go all out 1 sided and say, I lUV ANIME INSPIRED ^^ but i also love chibi styled, AND i also lov anime realistic looking graphics, examples of all these types in order are mabinogi, maplestory, and vindictus, and yes im aware there all nexon but their first to come to mind
.