#1 What happen when 3D technology reaches stagnation?
Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 9:22 am
Today, 3D tech is still advancing. Most prominent games today are still made (and sold) due to its 3D-showcase capability (Quake III, Doom 3, etc), and while gameplay is not entirely dead, it seems that today graphic is more important as selling factor.
Now take a brief look at the "good old days"; the era of 320x200, low-res VGA graphic. Yes, there are still artistic differences between games, and there are still games that were more beautiful than others like Wing Commander (the original) and Flashback, but still, the difference is not that much. So during that era, gameplay got the more emphasizes, because they need excellent gameplay to differentiate themselves.
Today, it seems that things like pixel shader and HDR is making more difference than gameplay (some FPS are better than others, but basically they are still FPS). But what will happen when 3D technology reaches stagnation?
I imagine that almost every PC games will look the same. Yes, the graphic artists will make difference (as they did during early 90s), but on basic level, they will look the same due technological constraints; every game will have HDR or pixel shader or such other things.
Then, it will be the time for more emphasizes on gameplay again, like what we had on early 90s. Why? Because they need something to make the game stands out of the crowd.
Imagine if every games has Doom3 graphic, or HL2 graphic, and the graphic tech doesn't advance further (at least not much) due to stagnation. Then every games will look the same, and 3D graphic will be something more like commodity. Then games will need something as differentiating point.
I guess (and hope) that would be the gameplay.
Note to Ace: Ace, what I exactly mean by "gameplay" is not the one according to the masses, but to hardcore gamers like us. I don't care if the "gameplay" of a Quake clone can satisfy the Joe Mainstream; what I really mean is deep and engrossing gameplay. Gameplay which is like that of early 90s era, which I guess I already described on other previous threads here
Now take a brief look at the "good old days"; the era of 320x200, low-res VGA graphic. Yes, there are still artistic differences between games, and there are still games that were more beautiful than others like Wing Commander (the original) and Flashback, but still, the difference is not that much. So during that era, gameplay got the more emphasizes, because they need excellent gameplay to differentiate themselves.
Today, it seems that things like pixel shader and HDR is making more difference than gameplay (some FPS are better than others, but basically they are still FPS). But what will happen when 3D technology reaches stagnation?
I imagine that almost every PC games will look the same. Yes, the graphic artists will make difference (as they did during early 90s), but on basic level, they will look the same due technological constraints; every game will have HDR or pixel shader or such other things.
Then, it will be the time for more emphasizes on gameplay again, like what we had on early 90s. Why? Because they need something to make the game stands out of the crowd.
Imagine if every games has Doom3 graphic, or HL2 graphic, and the graphic tech doesn't advance further (at least not much) due to stagnation. Then every games will look the same, and 3D graphic will be something more like commodity. Then games will need something as differentiating point.
I guess (and hope) that would be the gameplay.
Note to Ace: Ace, what I exactly mean by "gameplay" is not the one according to the masses, but to hardcore gamers like us. I don't care if the "gameplay" of a Quake clone can satisfy the Joe Mainstream; what I really mean is deep and engrossing gameplay. Gameplay which is like that of early 90s era, which I guess I already described on other previous threads here