AnimeSuki Forum - View Single Post - Crytek CEO says Graphics are "60% of the game"

T-6000 · 2013-04-21, 16:53

The CEO of Crytech may want to...redact that statement. In my experience in the gaming industry, from a gamer's point of view, a game that focuses too much on great graphics & special effects tend to lack in gameplay. The earliest example I know of is Doom 3. People were blown away with the graphics during it's first E3 presentation. And even when it was released, it still had one of the best graphics (if not the best) for a video game at the time. But the gameplay was admittingly lacking, with half-hearted level design, repeated cliches, and gameplay that felt a bit too tame. Then there was the first Crysis. The Graphics, effects, and physics were phenomenal and arguably years head of everyone else (even Unreal Engine 3, though the engine was great at the time too) and arguably the second best) but the gameplay didn't feel too spectacular. I did like the idea of placing on different attachments onto your weapons but the guns and gunplay felt a bit.....lacking. And there is also Unreal Tournament 3. The graphics, effects, and physics were phenomenal (in some ways, almost as good as Crysis). But the gameplay just felt the same as past UT games. And many complained that it lacked gameplay modes (as well as other features) from UT2004.

The most important aspect of a game is the gameplay itself. If gameplay is lacking or even feels boring, noone will want to buy and play it no matter how good they make the graphics & engine. And any developer that says otherwise is being naive. But on the flipside of things, I also feel that some developers are pressured to put extra attention (and even divert some resources) to make the PC ports of their games the best they can. Some even digging into Direct X 10 and 11 as much as possible. I can't tell you how often I hear a PC Gamer on an online forum or a comment section that expresses disinterest in a game because the graphics look subpar or unsatisfying, and I think some developers take heart to this. And I have noticed some PC ports that focus on bringing extra attention to graphics (such as exclusive Direct X 11 graphics) tend to more often than not lack in polish (or even stability).

2013-04-21, 16:53	Link #78
T-6000 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2012	The CEO of Crytech may want to...redact that statement. In my experience in the gaming industry, from a gamer's point of view, a game that focuses too much on great graphics & special effects tend to lack in gameplay. The earliest example I know of is Doom 3. People were blown away with the graphics during it's first E3 presentation. And even when it was released, it still had one of the best graphics (if not the best) for a video game at the time. But the gameplay was admittingly lacking, with half-hearted level design, repeated cliches, and gameplay that felt a bit too tame. Then there was the first Crysis. The Graphics, effects, and physics were phenomenal and arguably years head of everyone else (even Unreal Engine 3, though the engine was great at the time too) and arguably the second best) but the gameplay didn't feel too spectacular. I did like the idea of placing on different attachments onto your weapons but the guns and gunplay felt a bit.....lacking. And there is also Unreal Tournament 3. The graphics, effects, and physics were phenomenal (in some ways, almost as good as Crysis). But the gameplay just felt the same as past UT games. And many complained that it lacked gameplay modes (as well as other features) from UT2004. The most important aspect of a game is the gameplay itself. If gameplay is lacking or even feels boring, noone will want to buy and play it no matter how good they make the graphics & engine. And any developer that says otherwise is being naive. But on the flipside of things, I also feel that some developers are pressured to put extra attention (and even divert some resources) to make the PC ports of their games the best they can. Some even digging into Direct X 10 and 11 as much as possible. I can't tell you how often I hear a PC Gamer on an online forum or a comment section that expresses disinterest in a game because the graphics look subpar or unsatisfying, and I think some developers take heart to this. And I have noticed some PC ports that focus on bringing extra attention to graphics (such as exclusive Direct X 11 graphics) tend to more often than not lack in polish (or even stability).