Game Design Theory: Advancement In Tech And Future Of Gaming

[MakerOfGames]

Here is a "deep" thought about gaming:

I was just looking at screens by Tabulanis(great work!) and have been watching the game industry very closey for a long time. I have noticed that games have come along way and polygon counts are reaching insane numbers. This next genreation of home consoles proves that HL2 and DOOM3 graphics are now standard. The PC market is slightly behind the consoles now because we do not yet have the triple or more processors, but the screens are still high quality. Also home consoles have to be able to display 4x the normal poly counts for multiplayer making graphics pretty much on par with PCs, but still have better CPU power. How much longer do you think we indies will have to wait before we can forget about counting polygons and texture sizes? The game industry seems like it is already there with the PS3(KILLZONE2 is the best example of its graphics I have seen). From what I heard, and do not have any facts to back it up, is that the PS3 has 7 core processors @ 4.2Ghz and runs all its games at 120 FPS.

So how long will it take to forget these tech specs.? Or will that time ever come? Will our special effects, physics and scripting stress even the most powerful CPU for the next 20+ years?

I want to hear your thoughts and opinions about this topic.

[Alek]

I'll tightly hold to opinion I've already expressed: it's the idea that makes the game. Polygon count and sophisticated physics systems won't compensate for lack of ideas. That's why games written back in 1989, like "Hidden agenda", still work, while most of the hyped contemporary productions are doomed to be forgotten within several years. Technology's changing, good ideas work always. Period.

[MakerOfGames]

I beleive the same thing, ideas do make the game. However I have found myself caught up in tech specs and polycounts and forgettting about my gameplay ideas. Without worrying about poly count our ideas cant be hindered.

[GD1]

no matter what the Sony guys say, all PS3 games will not run at exactly 120fps. framerate is determined by what's on screen, what the engine has to work at. different engines handle things in different ways and different games are better at culling geometry than others. it's all in the way it's made, no two games will run exactly the same.

The kill.zone demo you saw (actually kill.zone 3) was a pre-rendered techdemo. Even if the PS3 was capable of that, it's nowhere near complete enough to run a game, much less replace the high-powered pc's being used as dev kits.

In the end, it's not how high-poly a scene is that matters it's how high-poly you make it look. If you look at HL2, most of the hallways were just rectangular boxes, just like Half-Life 1. the only difference was the pretty effects. Tabulanis is doing a great job. his screens remind of Metroid Prime, and yet they're running at a good framerate in a 6-7 year old engine. So what it really boils down to is not the technology, but your ability to use it and use it well.

[ardentcrest]

I Maybe off the point a little but great to good graphics and great to good fps not a great to good game they make.

When I need to paly a great to good game, I pull out my old spectrum 128k+3 or my 48k.

NOW THERE WERE SOME GOOD THOUGHT OUT GAMES..

(long live the Z80)

p.s. It's no joke, give me Jet Set Willy over the Master Chief any day....

[MakerOfGames]

Graphics arn't everything but they are the big guns of games these days. The best games have the best of both worlds. Metroid Prime cashed in big here, great graphics and gameplay to match. If the industry keeps gameplay as a priority and with the advancement in graphics we will be playing true virtual reality with high def and surround sound. I cant wait for that but I must say, the industry needs to look at the olden days. The N64 games I own never get old. The only reason I dont play with them anymore is not because that the graphics are poor but that I have played them so much that I have exhasuted all play possibilities. I must have logged at least 150 hours on each of those games. Ah memories...