quote: Original post by MSW
But I have no deep burning desire to work on AAA games

That''s refreshing to see . I wonder what percentage of people here are interested in working on AAA games and what percentage aren''t.

Somehow all of this reminds me of looking for the opposite sex We are initially attracted to the exterior since all human beings recognize beauty. And deep down at our subconscious level, we equate someone who is better looking as somehow better overall. It''s been ingrained in our nature through the millenia.

But if you''re as old as I am (nearing 31) then I''m sure you''ve come across those kind of people that the Gods are envious of physically, but who lack the inner substance to be worthwhile even just as a friend. And it doesn''t take too long to figure out if they have no substance. You quickly spot these people, maybe silently thank them for being a sight for sore eyes, and find someone more worthy to invest your time in.

So as someone wisely said earlier....its all about balance. We are ingrained with the predisposition to admire the better looking thing, but perhaps that is our handicap. I remember seeing my grandfather''s toys in a box once, and trying to imagine how little wood blocks of trains could be fun....until I remembered that they were children''s toys. And a child''s greatest toy is his own imagination if it''s allowed to flourish. I believe that is something many of us have forgotten. It is why kids today are more entertained by Xboxes and PS2''s than with their own mind....because they do not need to use their own imaginations anymore...it''s been conveniently packaged for them.

This may sound incredibly harsh, especially coming from someone who wishes to be a game designer....but I think games truly are slowly poisoning us. They are robbing us of our imagination, they take away from our insight into the problems of the world, and they lack any serious artistic expression which questions what and why we do what we do. So why be a game designer? Because games can be more than they are right now. Just as TV was initially comedy spots or variety TV shows, pretty soon people caught on that you could make TV educational and people would enjoy it. I''m waiting with bated breath for this to happen.....as I believe it''s time for games to "grow up" and become more than mere entertainment. I''m waiting for the the gaming equivalent of an anime renaissance like "Nausicaa" or "Ghost in the Shell", a game that elevates the medium beyond pleasure for pleasure''s sake, and into something that makes us reflect and realize that there more to this medium than meets the eye.

Immersion is good, but I think that graphics should be seen only as a tool which helps immerse the player and allows them to exercise their imagination. Sounds contradictory? Not really....once the graphics achieve more realism, then it is what is _not_ seen that becomes interesting. This is what gameplay in many ways should be about, discovering the elements and gameplay that is alluded to or hidden.

So in a nutshell, graphics are not unimportant. It can not be ignored, but should not take away from gameplay. As another person commented, perhaps it is time we moved away from the notion of "game" and into "interactive experiences"...something I touched on in another thread. Perhaps I am a small small voice drowning out in the cacophony of the masses, but hopefully like a ripple in a pond starts out small, soon it encircles everything. There''s nothing wrong with pandering for the masses (as long as it''s morally ok), but sometimes you have to show people that another way exists before they venture out on a different path. It''s the difference between taking the beaten path, or finding a new path....whether that path leads over a cliff, or to a stunning new vista. But until you try, you never know.