Photo-Realistic Quandary. - Trevor Rain Blog -
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Photo-Realistic Quandary.

There was a recent news article that explained the attempt a new engine (luminous) that would not only lower the price of future game development but create photo-realistic environments that depict life-like features in shocking detail and clarity. This could be good or bad depending on your preference and overall ideal of what a game should be. We know that increasing graphics is an inevitability for the gaming industry that only wants to improve upon itself over and over again. The thing that we need to ask ourselves is when should it stop, or if it should solve whatsoever as we come closer and closer to a new generation of gaming. To be blunt with my own answer I had to say there is a point to which we should stop when fantasy blends in with reality. I'll hope the clarify my meaning as as I go on with the blog.

Let's talk about the word" photo-realism" itself. This would imply that it's copying off the actual world as we know it; The very thought of seems redundant. For us to get an actual photo-realistic picture all you have to do is go outside in see with our eyes. The world outside has so much natural beauty for us that seems unneeded for us to actually re-create it picture by picture. What is the point to create photo-realistic virtual reality we have our own reality that we can create her own and cheaper with only the cost the gas (for the time being). Being the personal photographer myself I trained my self to see the beauty in the world and the wonder that we can see in it. There just seems to be no point at all besides maybe bit cheaper games that they spoke of.


BOOM! Photo-realism!


Another thought is substituting reality for the actual one we live in each and everyday experience emotion in. The idea of a substituting our own reality with a virtual one with all of our needs met and fantasies realized has actually inspired several core novels from the idea. It itself is one metaphorical faith that can actually talk about the ethics of such treatment, but that is a blog for another day. It seems games would become less of a story in a way to connect with an audience as an art-form, and more about the personal fantasy of each and every person. Of course we all know what kind of fantasy we would love (the picture below). Sure this may increase our enjoyment but would also mean the death of any kind creativity that would come with gaming itself.


The Expected Fantasy


With the one example of where photo-realistic graphics would actually get in the experience of the game. Grand Theft Auto 4  for instance, is meant to be a romp with a killer who can do any sort of task while knowing your own actions are not real; What if it was? Car crashes himself would be to graphically real to truly enjoy as murder simulation becomes more and more real and acts of violence become way too much of an experience that we would see in life. Sure we all get some sort of sadistic glee in kicking down the door in a video-game and shooting up the room but we see that it is an illusion of itself and does not look real. If you have photo-realistic graphics this becomes something more than just a simulation in almost like doing the actual act. This in itself is a scary thought.


What kind of person would I if I did not tell the about of the other story. There is one game where it seems like it would be better off to have for realistic graphics and that would be Silent Hill. These games are meant for plea for immersion while giving you a character you can relate with who, in becoming in more relation to us, have our trust in him that way feel closer to him because he looks real. Life in itself is scary, along with so many other things that life offers, so photo-realistic graphics would almost guarantee us total immersion and suspense not knowing when the next time we have to evacuate bowels because we been so scared will come. Of course this would be the only effective medium of conveying this engine as it is simply meant to scare us.


What do you think? Should photo-realism be a core concept in every game-play or is it a redundant system and we should stay with the graphic system things are progressing to now? 

(Wrote this using voice dictation so sorry if it's weird in some-way)