Good graphics?

[Odaisé Gaelach]

I was playing Gears of War a few days ago. Nothing special, just a quick two-player game. The game's good fun, but I couldn't help feeling disappointed by the graphics.

Yes, they were very nice and sharp, the detail was exquisite, but the colours were... well, there was really only one - grey. I know it's meant to be a warzone, but surely there has to be some colour somewhere.

Then I play Morrowind. I can't help but love the colours I see. It's a bright day. The sunlight is a soft, orange colour. The sky is blue and the grass is green. The only real grey is in the rocks around the path. For me, I'd rather look at Morrowind than Gears of War.

What constitutes as good graphics for you? Is it inch-perfect detail, pretty lighting or rich colours?

[JKTrix]

If you were playing Gears, you should have some kind of access to Oblivion. Looks way better than Morrowind.

As for your question, 'all of the above' would probably be my answer. It really does depend on the style of the game, though. If Gears of War suddenly burst into a flowery meadow with a fluffy bunny dancing through it, it would have ruined the experience for me. There are some areas later in the campaign that feature more colours that produce some pretty amazing lighting effects, but you're right it is mostly shades of grey.

[Gnostic Yevon]

I like lots of detail, but it needs to be colorful. It needs to be somewhat stylish as well. I loved the graphics of FFX and FF12, as well as Okami. I don't like the graphics of most post-appocalyptic scifi games. Making everything a nondescript battleship grey is fuggly, besides making it hard to tell one area or person from another.

[Erdrick Holmes]

Well, I personally don't care for graphics that much. As long as the sprites/models look like what they're supposed to be (like I can tell if it's a dog just from looking at it) then they work.

The only time I feel a game needs really good graphics is if it's a psychological horror game, like Silent Hill, Siren, or Rule of the Rose.

[Odaisé Gaelach]

If you were playing Gears, you should have some kind of access to Oblivion. Looks way better than Morrowind.

Way ahead of ya! I choose Morrowind instead because, though Morrowind is dated, I think that it has better graphics than Gears of War.

[Yew-Yevon]

Half Life 2 has lots of color. And good graphics for xbox1.

[Erdrick Holmes]

If you were playing Gears, you should have some kind of access to Oblivion. Looks way better than Morrowind.

Way ahead of ya! I choose Morrowind instead because, though Morrowind is dated, I think that it has better graphics than Gears of War.

... please tell me you mean Oblivion rather than Morrowind. Saying Morrowind is graphically supirior to Gears of War is like saying Super Mario Bros ias graphically superior to Tekken.

[MecaKane]

Gears of War has better graphics, Morrowind has better art direction is the word you're looking for.

[Odaisé Gaelach]

... please tell me you mean Oblivion rather than Morrowind. Saying Morrowind is graphically supirior to Gears of War is like saying Super Mario Bros ias graphically superior to Tekken.

Gears of War has better graphics, Morrowind has better art direction is the word you're looking for.

That sounds good. Okay, Gears of War has the better graphics, but Morrowind has the better art direction. Ultimately, I think that Morrowind looks better than Gears of War - because it's got colour.

[Tavrobel]

If the game actually needs graphics, such as a sports or FPS or fighting, then a combination of all three. There are some games that can pull off the monochromatic look (grey or otherwise), but I would prefer bright and varied colors. That and if the game doesn't need you to adjust your color settings on the TV, you should be fine.

[NorthernChaosGod]

Gears of War would totally have been FUBAR'd had there been more than just gray.

And playing on a 70-something inch screen in HD is bliss.

[Vivisteiner]

For me, its all about artistic direction. The use of the graphics engine is very important. Environments with beautiful / atmospheric designs, can more than make up for less good graphics.

[Slothy]

Frankly, you may feel Morrowind has better art direction, but I feel the art direction in GoW perfectly suits it.

For the answer to your question, I'll say all three. Whichever style best suits the mood and atmosphere the developers seek is what should be used. Bright, vibrant colours are nice, but they don't suit all games.

[oddler]

Godchrist, give me details. I can look at pretty colors (yes, no U) and nice lighting all day but they mean nothing without what they're accenting.

[Dr Aum]

As usual, VGCats has already condensed my opinion into a witty comic.

It is here.

EDIT: Very funny filter. Despite some silly loon thinking that the above series isn't funny, it's still useful to illustrate my point.

EDIT2: Someone must hate the comic that I'm trying to link to, since the link doesn't even work. Just in case there's some sort of bizarre rule about banning people who link to it, I'll just say that today Kotaku has featured the comic that I'm trying to link to.