"Bad Graphics"
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- Опубликовано: 19 мар 2020
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Praise the mutilated world
and the gray feather a thrush lost,
and the gentle light that strays and vanishes
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Visual Media Used: Detroit: Become Human, Cyberpunk 2077, Omicron: The Nomad Soul, Dujanah, Death Stranding, Tuca & Bertie, FAITH, Far Cry 5, God of War, Halo Wars 2, Harold Halibut, Heavy Rain, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Hylics, Infini, Kingdom Hearts III, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Mundaun, Sea of Thieves, OK/Normal, Sable, Scanner Sombre, Shadow of the Colossus (2005 & 2018), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Shark Tale, Star Citizen, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, The Last of Us, The Last of Us 2, Uncharted 4, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Red Dead Redemption 2, Ode to a Moon, Off-Peak, The Norwood Suite, Tales from Off-Peak City, Mirror’s Edge
(Games in Indie Montage: Off-Peak, Harold Halibut, Dujanah, Ode to a Moon, Infini, OK Normal, Hylics, Mundaun, Sable, Faith and Scanner Sombre)
Music Used: Okami (Enter Susano, Sunsano’s Training), Doki Doki Literature Club (Main Theme), No More Heroes 2 (Sling Shot), Minnesota Fats: Pool Legend (vs. Tina), Wii (Mii Plaza), Mirror’s Edge (New Eden, Introduction), Spec Ops: The Line (The Lost Battalion), The Norwood Suite (Blue Moose Man, Norwood’s Last Disciple), Tales from Off-Peak City (introduction), World of Goo (Red Carpet Extend-O-Matic), Robocop GBA (theme)
Description Credit: Try to Praise the Mutilated World by Adam Zagajewski 
Игры
For a *full director's commentary* on this video, including ideas that didn't make it into the video, join my patreon at www.patreon.com/JacobGeller
Jacob Geller I love your channel and the way you make your videos they make me be able to binge watch all your videos for hours and I’ve spent hundreds of hours playing a little game I think is beautiful while still having simple graphics I think it’s a masterpiece I think you will too this might be insignificant to you but it would mean the world to me if you could cover legend of Zelda breath of the wild.
@@ILikeTaaacos
Llll
You can say photo realism is samey but that's where artistic direction comes in. Horizon for example is very Vibrant the world's so fucking gorgeous not because it looks realistic but it's like someone turned the saturation up a notch and built the lighting just to compliment it.
RDR2 looks insanely realistic but gritty at the same time. Regions change the color palette drastically. The blinding white of snow or the deep rich greens of the swamps and Saint Denis then to the usual model for what green nature looks like you have the rolling hills of Ambarino with mountains lining the background it's so varied. Realism isn't always a cheap substitute for artistic expression. Some just know how to blend the two.
Finally another graphics fetishist...
Thought I am alone ...🤣
Ahhh world of goo music!!! Brings me nostalgia for that gAme..
"They say graphics aren't important, but every game I've ever played had them"
Shorm Nice reference
Ahoy!
Well, i played zork and it was good...
Meanwhile the Leadwerks engine developer says graphics aren't important for games.
I’m blessed that the first comment I see is an amazing reference
The problem isn't even "graphics aren't everything", it's that we define "good graphics" as what only an AAA studio can make.
I guess it's because that's easier to quantify. It's easier to explain that this game has better graphics than that game because "4k HDR RAY TRACING 4096 GIGAZILLION POLYGONS" than "it has a more sublime blend of color palletes". We've been conditioned to judge graphics based how much detail they can process per time frame because that's how it was judged since the inception of the industry, and it was a fairly simple method back when games weren't as photorealistic as they are today. But now that studios are making deliberate stylistic choices for their games' graphics it's not so simple anymore.
@@abadenoughdude300 "Graphics" is also an immensely wide term covering basically anything to do with visuals, which usually happen to be very subjective.
Does _'Hollow Knight'_ have good graphics?
@@yu4rn Yes, yes a hundred times over. Gorgeous handcrafted, hand drawn animations, backgrounds, colors, UI and VFX that seamlessly blend together to create a unified world. Hollow Knight's visuals aren't "in your face, look at all these details", they're so subtly put together that you don't even really realize that they're graphics. Hollow Knight will age very well.
That's kind of what happens when you let people who think they are making "objective critique" take over a space. They try to enforce a commodified standard or rule book for utterly subjective ideas like any other material product. They treat media like video games like a Television or Milk.
Reminds me of the "NINTENDO HIRE THIS MAN" meme.
Imagine wanting to remove Nintendo's distinctive artstyle for the Mario series for "next-gen graphics", removing one of the landmark of the series in the process.
Mario but with human proportions
What, don’t you want to see every pore and hair on Mario’s skin? ;D
I wish nintendo was a little more liberal with their IP's
honestly me personally theres one game i really want to remove their distinctive style for a more modern look, World of warcraft, I think that would make the game very fresh and much more immersive, also theres just been so many expansions over the years shits cluttered asf, gold is in the millions, every character in existance has like 200-900 mounts they can use, ect
Theres a difference between "good" graphics and "realistic" graphics, right? Some of the most timelessly aesthetically pleasing games of all time were stylized graphics. Realistic looking games tend to date themselves as soon as the technology progresses.
Jacob: talks about globalization, neoliberalism, and international homogeneity in architecture and urban development
Everyone: but I liked detroit: become human!!!
YES!
YES!
@@woutervandermeer7495 Hitting 'em with the double "YES!"
@@hank1302 Must’ve been a RUclips glitch, because I don’t remember reacting with “YES!” twice. Anyways, I still support double YES!
@@woutervandermeer7495 As you should
Jacob: I don’t like Detroit Become Human
The entire comment section: Okay okay but consider this; Connor.
Tbh, I didn't really care about any other character other than Connor and Hank. Why couldn't we just have a buddy cop game? Their chemistry and bromance was too good!
I mean, there's a reason why he's my profile pic.
I LOVE Connor. And Kara's plot is so amazing too. But Connor stuck out more to me because don't we all love a villain to hero plot?
@leea yeah I really think that when Connor gets the chance to deviate you get more excited because you were waiting for it to happen for so long! It's kinda how I felt when Zuko (Avatar) turned. You were expecting for it to happen and when it does is such a release, because the plot has been constructing the inner conflict for so long, destroying piece by piece the stability the character lived in and showing how maybe they're not in the right side and laying ground for THIS SPECIFIC decision to happen. It's so satisfying, gosh.
@leea I can't really choose my favorite characters because I love Kara and Connor for such different reasons, but the most satisfaction I ever got in a gameplay was in DBH when 1) Connor deviates and 2) I managed to save Kara and Alice first try because I was rooting for them so much. The only character I don't particularly enjoy so much (and the weak point I think the video touched) was Markus because that human rights part was messy to say the least. I like Marcus before he deviates but after with Jericho and stuff it's... Meh. It's fine I guess.
*Watching this video in 144p, is the true way.*
*cries in throttled internet speed*
@@Cheesecannon25 tfw pause video for 2 minutes to get 1 minute of content
I forgot I was in 144p lol I thought you used a shitty recording program
Mankind. That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom, not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution, but from annihilation. We're fighting for our right to live, to exist. And should we win today, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice: We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!
Horn Crunch Stonks...
“Good” graphics go hand in hand with “cutting edge” graphics and I think that’s the issue. Make no mistake, Cutting Edge Graphics are phenomenal, but style is on a whole ‘nother level.
I was thinking something similar while playing Deus Ex Human Revolution. The visuals were mostly standard for 2013, but a small touch, a gold filter applied over everything, adds a massive amount to the vibe, and while Mankind Divided is great, the choice not to keep the gold filter makes it feel to me like a part of the atmosphere is missing, despite the incredible detail the visuals have.
exactly; with incredibly realistic graphics, at some point they're gonna look bad in comparison to games in the future that look even more realistic (i used to think Resident Evil 7 looked incredible, but things have already developed so fast and it looks relatively worse to games made more recently). games that have style would hold up forever in terms of their visuals, like Hades or TF2 or even Jet Set Radio- they _have style_
In all honesty, there are some instances where "good graphics" and "cutting edge" don't go together, but they are very rare to come across. The only real example I can think if off the top of my head has to be when simple graphics are able to show the same amount of detail as cutting edge graphics. And honestly, the only game I can thunk of right now that does that well has to be Deep Rock Galactic. It has a very simple graphic style, making the game only around 3GB to download, but it is able to have the same level if detail and atmosphere (if not a even better level) than the best AAA games with cutting edge graphics. Yes, this was just an opportunity to praise DRG, just let me gave this. (Although I am serious about DRG's artstyle being simple, but still good)
Edit: holy shit I wrote a lot of words
Undertale is a massive example of this
as much as people hate nintendo, they are the only AAA studio that pushes art direction over graphics, and it has paid off for them in spades. right now nintendo has 2 of the most gorgeous open world/semi open world games in the market with both BOTW/TOTK and xenoblade trilogy. the only other open world game i can think competes with them is gravity rush 1 and 2 and eldin ring.@@SouperPie.
Elden Ring is a great example of art direction being WAY more important than graphical fidelity. The game looks great, but if you stop and take a look at the individual textures it's nothing special. When you step back and look at the bigger picture it's STUNNING.
I vividly remember the pre release to Elden Ring. Plenty of people saying “literally PS2 graphics”, “Dark Souls DLC”, and of course “bad graphics”.
And by all accounts, as you said, people were right about that… Elden Ring next to its competitors was nothing special graphically. But by god, it was like walking through a painting anywhere you went.
@@Ignatius-ok5kvjust walk up to one of those “not good graphics “people”” in real life and just hand them a rock you pick up of the ground. While they’re distracted looking at the high definition 60fps rock, go up behind them and rotate their head 180 degrees. They won’t even know what hit em.
@@Ignatius-ok5kv how could you honestly think elden ring has bad graphics. these mfs living in the future
There are thing I like about DS1 more, but I honestly can't think of a fantasy game or MOVIE that has art direction on par with Elden Ring. The areas and enemy designs are out of this world. That there is a great action rpg in there too, I can't believe it even exists. It's like a dream.
@@cstan8345 I feel like asking if Elden Ring has good graphics is like asking if a Monet painting has good graphics, the question doesn't make any sense.
*hears the doki doki literature club music*
“aw shit, here we go again”
gives me ptsd
same here
Where is it?
@@whymakemelikegobruuh767 at the start
same
"cutting edge technology used to show pores on a sad man's skin" is an excellent way to describe the AAA industry lol - keeping it!
They have pores on the player model but most of them are releasing unfinished with shit gameplay and horrific microtransactions
@@Stupididiot67 remember, graphics departments likely have nothing to do with development. But do still blame the ceos. They want a paycheck more often than not, if they're a AAA company
"An extremely expensive way to see a flatfish" (probs misquoted) - Bill Bryson about ocean exploration
one game that’s really drawn me in with its style despite its “outdated” or “bad” graphics is Psychonauts, from all the way back in 2005. the characters can look garish, the textures muddy at times, the polygons are sparing... and yet? it still looks good to me. the world still feels immersive even if i can count the polygons in any one character model on one hand, and that comes down to design.
silhouette and color are specified to each character to really tell you something about them; i mean, that’s design 101. but the game takes it a step further by applying this to environments. the game is a series of levels that take place inside the minds of other characters, so their “mental world” has to tell you just as much about them as their appearance does, and then take it a step further.
and boy does the game deliver. differing styles, extreme angles, inventive color palettes each tailored to every level specifically for the purpose of telling you about the person whose mind you just invaded... it’s fantastic.
it’s really worth checking out for that element alone. seeing how the graphics can still hold up today is pretty fascinating, and it can tell you a LOT about communicating story through design alone.
You can tell how much that game stretched the limitations of the ps2 (at the time)
Psychonauts 2 is amazing with it's art direction as well, it's just the first game but with higher poly count and ray tracing, etc. The tricks they pull in the mental world levels are still just as mind bending, it's amazing. Definitely recommend it.
@@criticalfox1568 i think the same about the first dishonored game, the way it's stylized adds so much
The Jak and Daxter series still looks amazing to me to this day
There's a certain character and fluidity to the animation that is just fantastic!
Same with the Ratchet and Clank games
@@perryborn2777 Agreed! Last played through in on my PS2 last year and intend to do it again once I get my TV set up in my apartment.
Unless of course the PC port project suddenly also comes out with Jak 2 and 3.
Also: Rayman 2 and 3 still look amazing on the PS2 and other platforms thanks to their art direction.
"have you seen cyberpunk?"
yeah about that
Cyberpunk is gorgeous the few times it works on a beefy rig.
@@sudevsen Even on my medium tier rig, Cyberpunk 2077 looks amazing.
The hate train for cyberpunk misses the fact that it is an exceptionally phenomenal title which did not compromise its visual fidelity just to sell bigger numbers. Maybe it has glitches, and maybe some things were unpolished, but it was made for top-of-the-line home computers, and it shows. I just cannot understand the hate while playing it.
Anybody who has ever wanted to see the city from Akira in all its glory should be able to stick on a VR headset and walk around the world of cyberpunk.
What? Cyberpunk has beautiful graphics.
Yea well speaking of that. Y’all should be happy now. Sony is letting Cyberpunk come back on the 21st to PlayStation stores. Don’t ask me about further details. I just know the date from Reddit forums.
Triple A companies : look at the graphics!
Me: I just want something that can run on my pc
I used to have a JUNKER pc and it couldn't even run fallout new vegas
I just want good animations
@@pierregoerig6865 no joke pc could only run postal 2 and half life
@@giovannicervantes2053 half life 1 or 2?
@@ajemajh hl 1. Piece of trash couldn't even run tf2 let alone hl2
Honestly, the one thing between David Cage games that stays consistent with the exception of realistic graphics is hilarious cutscene that are funny for the wrong reasons.
Shaun? SHAUN?!
I found Detroit to be an incredible experience, I thought it told an interesting story with incredible visuals. Is the gameplay mediocre, yes, but you're essentially playing a movie. Play some sega cd games, that is a bad interactive movie.
@@hankglidden1463
It was a generic tone deaf story lmao. With an obtuse and poorly implemented moral message.
@@mycoolhandgiveit
Honestly I always thought I liked Detroit but I realized I just really like Connor and Hank
@@mycoolhandgiveit I'm not pretending it's a masterpiece, but I still find the characters and story compelling and mostly well done, despite some serious tonal issues
remember: graphics are temporary, art direction is forever
"Good Graphics" are art gated behind a paywall. Kinda like the Sistine Chapel.
You can look at media about them and appreciate that, but to truly experience the art for yourself requires disposable income or severe sacrifice of your quality of life.
Great way of putting it!
“Detroit Become Human is only good because of its graphics.”
well, I Can think Of aNNOther Reason
TheCheck I AM THE ANDROID SENT BY CYBERLIFE
This is a very clever comment. I approve
iConnor
It’s memeable. I liked it but I do tend to get swept up in looks, i did feel as if choices didn’t largely effect the overall storyline. Sure small changes over some characters living or completing story arcs is probably a big enough change to be considered interactive but I felt like I was watching a story and not playing it.
69 StAb wOuNdS
I don't understand why people cry about "bad graphics" I'm just annoyed every game focuses on graphics instead of something like story depth, social interaction, features and something to do overall
To quote AVGN circa the Power Glove episode, what's the most important aspect about any game? Well, being able to fucking play it!
depends on the case. I don't care about how outdated the graphic in sim-racing games like assetto corsa or iracing but I was annoyed about how bad need for speed payback looks. In another case, Im sick with just cause 4, but somehow I can tolerate outdated fallout 4.
You should play the Yakuza games , the graphics in those games are not too good but not bad either and the gameplay and storytelling is so fuggin pure that you'll love it
Mass Effect: Andromeda
True, it's like having a Lamborghini, but no engine, seats, or steering wheel.
"I want to hear something has good graphics and not even know what it means" holy fuck dude what the hell.
I've been watching your videos and your expresiveness and liberty on words is inspiring while all you're doing is talk about what you love. I don't want it to get over your head but it's incredible. Aight I'll keep binge-watching your channel, and I hope you keep bringing more :)
This is an advantage the yakuza games have, they feel decently real, but not to the point of obsession, and they're really, really, sylised, Yakuza 7 especially.
Yes! They have this sort of realism to them, but it doesn't quite go there fully? Like you said, it is stylised, though I have a hard time pointing out the exact places where it is, lol
@@mellow_mallow judgement games really nail it
I agree they have very good graphics, but they still lack in some technically.
Another thing that I hate is that hdr effect they have with shadows. And my god sometimes they tint it so excessively. Like green in yakuza 2 and blue in lost judgment.
@@sa1f43do you mean kiwami 2? the og ps2 game has fantastic color grading
"They chose realism. They chose the prestiged look."
They chose... Papyrus.
“I KNOW WHAT YOU DID!!!!!!”
*bonetrousle intensifys*
My wife and i played detroit together and had a wonderful time. We treated it as an interactive movie, not a game.
Same, whats also fun is that it realy test your own morals and gives you challange that put you in situations that are honstely hard to take the right choice
Just imagine fully immersive vr damn
Yeah same with Heavy Rain
Seriously, I was in shock hearing that people thought it was a bad game, they must have been dumb and went into it thinking it would have awesome gameplay
I went into it expecting what it was (interactive movie) and it was one of my favorite ps4 games
@@TMeek94 *Literaly goes on a rant about how that game severely misrepresented race issues*
"Nah, they must have been dumb and expected good gameplay."
"Remember when this essay was about video games?" Applies to so many video essays I have seen
I'm SO happy that someone finally talked about Cosmo D. The art direction in his games is absolutely impeccable. The nonsensically surreal yet bewildering environments and atmosphere he is able to create capture the vibe and aesthetic of a dream PERFECTLY. Even the description of Off Peak sounds like something i'd write in my dream diary!
Never heard of the guy but it seemed really cool!
Was about to say the same! Off-peak and The Norwood Suite have both stuck with me in a way few games have and yet I've never heard someone else talk about them until this video. I would urge anyone who hasn't yet played Cosmo Ds games to go play Off-peak right now. It's totally free on Steam, you have nothing to lose but a bit of time. Time that I assure you won't be wasted.
I wish he made more games. He is a one of a kind dev. I cant find anyone else to scratch this itch.
@@T9K66 the only games that are even kinda similar to me are sludge life 1 & 2 and jazz punk, but even those are just tangentially similar, i seriously cannot wait for his next game
Me: hears doki doki literature club music
I dont like where this is going.
Me: *hears ddlc music*
**Traumatizing flashbacks intensify**
EXACTLY
my fight or flight kicked in
as soon as I heard the music the whole video immediately lost its credibility
Daniel Hernandez
Found you Daniel
The games industry's obsession with photorealism has always baffled me. Video games are fundamentally an animated medium, I wish more major studios would just embrace that (see also Disney's pointless CGI-laden "live-action" remakes)
I think what triple A developers and publishers have forgotten is that photo realism has a time and place. I don't think The Last of Us would have the same emotional impact if it was more animated, but imagine a cell shaded style for Uncharted.
To me video games are more of a film type medium like if you want a cartoony first you can go to Disney and if you want a realistic movie you can watch a live action movie
I mean some people want super realistic graphics and some people want 2-D pixel ones it’s just different types for different people
@@WizzerdGaming To ba fair there is a cel shading filter in uncharted 4
The jungle book remake was pretty good but none of the others
@@rhodopisdenile8977 I really cant agree with the notion that videogames are a type of film medium. Not just esport or other multiplayer games, there are plenty that don't necessarily rely on story or narrative to hold themselves up. There are also a lot who make full use of the gaming medium to tell stories in ways that wouldn't be possible with movies, books or other types of medium (And i don't simply refer to branch narratives titles from the likes of telltale and quantic dream).
Actually, I think the idea that games must be "interactive movies" is precisely what holds the AAA industry back and limits their potential, as well as what creates its obsession with realistic graphics. I suppose its an influence born from western movie culture.
In terms of "alternate aesthetics", I'd say The Long Dark is far and away my favorite. It's not photorealistic and the wolves are a little sparse on details, but the visual style is so indescribably amazing and fits with the game's setting perfectly. It feels like you're playing in a painting and I love it.
yes i adore it! this game is so underrated
It's one of my stylistic (and general) favourites too. The mood created by it's painterly aesthetic adds so much to it's mood.
"One building's facade is straight up full of cats!" That's good graphics actually and I demand that all games begin implementing it immediately.
Oh my god, I felt exactly the same way when I saw Spiderverse. I was studying animation, and there was always one right answer for what your animation should look like, and it was "Disney". The ultimate compliment was "Disney quality animation". There was no space for creativity or trying something new, or emoting in a different way than one of the Chipettes (I mean that, we used Jeanette for everything) and it was soul crushing and I gave up. I hope that Spiderverse allows for more creativity in animation in the future... And I hope the same is true of games.
Corporativism. They keep doing the same thing because it's lucrative, because people are already used to it and they'll keep on buying it. The people who try new stuff usually get bashed and don't go very well simply because they're not doing it the way people are used to see.
@Alvi Syahri
You're completely right.
I don’t think this is completely true as many games are praised for being different and you can’t say animation doesn’t allow for creativism. It’s purely that to make an animated movie that is different you need to pitch your idea well to someone who has money. If your not making a movie go for making RUclips videos. Those who make “new” styles aren’t really bashed because to be honest the majority of people don’t think nor give a fuck about animation and say no no no you’re doing it wrong. If it looks cool and nice it’s good if it’s not it’s not. A reason why Stop motion do pretty good. They are cool to look at and if you can get a good story behind it you are probably going to do well. Games are dependent you can find any and I mean any art type of games. Just go to steam and click Indie. You will see a fuck ton of passion projects. Many different styles and games. Creativity won’t go to big corporations for the most part because why fix it if it’s not broken. The animation style they have is doing well. So they won’t change it. Some new styles will fail. But that’s not the people who think it’s bad’s fault. That is a learning experience of what not to do next time. Animation can’t just be liked by one person to succeed. What I like may be different from what literally everyone else likes and that’s going to happen because that’s just life. You may think it’s unfair but you can’t force people to like something they don’t. TLDR: Animation can be less creative but why fix it if it’s not broken. There are plenty of games that have different art styles. Just look on steam and click Indie.
@@erasedkarma That's waaaaaaaaaay easier said than done. I mean, all the people I know who have studied animation agree that it's such a soul-crushing experience, that the industry doesn't give a shit about your original ideas or style, and that if you try to be different, well... surprise, there are thousands of people just like you who won't ever make it.
I'm currently studying animation and I can confirm in the vast majority of educational and corporate institutions there are like maybe 3 styles you're allowed to pick from- "Disney style" cgi, "calarts/steven universe style" 2D, and, if you want to pursue stop motion, there's a very narrow sort of aesthetic that big-name productions generally have in common, too. Some art schools are more restrictive with technique than others (looking at you, RCAD), but I'd say most of the time conformity is encouraged because gambling on the possibility of being the next Tim Burton is a much riskier mindset to have than "if I can conform enough to get a job as a low-level grunt-work inbetweener, I can slowly climb the ranks over time and get my ideas in later" is while building a portfolio… Which is indeed an extremely soul-crushing way to go about such a labor-intensive process as a creative. That's not to say it's fair or right, just that people are terrified of change. Breaking the mold requires not only a ridiculous amount of ambition and chutzpah, but pretty much nothing short of sacrificing your own soul in terms of just how much _time_ needs to be dedicated to tedious work.
On the bright side, there _have_ been hugely successful and uniquely styled animated feature films and TV shows, and sometimes even the entire studios for them have their own distinct stylizations- Cartoon Saloon, for example, made both _Song of the Sea_ and _the Secret of Kells,_ which are known for their medieval and Celtic inspired aesthetics. Shows like _The Amazing World of Gumball_ and, because I'm a fuckin weeb, _Madoka Magica_ go so far as to incorporate real-life filmed elements in their animation (Studio Shaft in particular has a reputation for avant-garde cinematography), and some places like Studio Bones and KyoAni are just insanely quality-focused and filled with openly passionate people. It's still incredibly hard work, but when there's passion behind it, you can really see it shine through in the finished product. Disney movies are so churned through corporate bullshit that their high quality precision has grown stale- hopefully they'll figure out they have more than enough resources to start breaking boundaries again soon, and maybe get back the heart they lost instead of gilding over the void with optics.
Something else to consider. That flag ship "photo realistic" look of each generation is the look that ages the worst. Anyone remember when Half Life 2 was considered mind blowing?
True. It's ironic that Team Fortress 2 is the only part of the Orange Box that doesn't really look its age
We're already hitting a point where that's not the case anymore, sure videogames are going to continue to look better and better and closer to reality, but I don't think anyone is every going to look back on The Last of Us 2 and mock it or think it looks terrible.
It "objectively" looks good.
@@isaiahphillip4112 You might be right but I am old enough to remember people thought the exact same thing in 2004.
the second you imagine looking back on current gen graphics as dated is the second you see them as dated imo. it's impossible to undo. you just notice everything wrong with what's happening in frame. it's a curse
@@henryhill92 well i think portal 2 has aged very well imo
Dwarf Fortress is probably the most extreme example, since it barely has any graphics and is instead 100% gameplay and depth
I came here specifically hoping for Jacob to talk about Dwarf Fortress. I want to hear him love it, not more than I do, but more articulately than I do.
i really loved Detroit: become human not because the story was amazing, not because the game looked nice but because the characters and how they developed and their paths crossed were just super interesting to me.
Choose-your-own-adventure style things don't have to be well-written to be entertaining. I think that's what it comes down to.
I didn't play it myself, but watching peoples videos where they can edit out the boring parts was sort of fun, just to see what different people picked and why.
Yes I was saying this myself when i got to that part. I like DBH because most games you just get illusion of choice but ultimately there is the same end to the game. Detroit actually had completely different paths and it makes me want to collect them all
I agree, although I think the realistic graphics added a lot to the game and made the android characters feel even more human
Hearing the DDLC theme out of nowhere almost jarrred me into a panic attack
ruclips.net/video/al1BNB8bKaE/видео.html
@@shortkyuu7390 I'm aware this was made 3 months ago but yea I had the same feeling
“This game is bad”
Everyone: “so you have chosen death”
Heisenbrrg it’s a story driven same as Until Dawn. The game is for a certain type of people. I am not one of those types of people. But that’s like me saying Minecraft bad game when I enjoy more competitive games. If you don’t like the game it’s simple. You don’t buy the game. It’s a story driven game that is basically a movie. Don’t buy it if you don’t like it. Because it was considered by the majority and will go down as a good game.
@@erasedkarma That isn't what a story driven game is. Outer Wilds is a story driven game. Detroit is a shitty movie with occasional inputs.
Detroit was trash
Damm I didnt know some one has already done this comment
Heisenbrrg It’s a good game because it’s like a movie. Interactive movies lots of people like, where your choices matter, there’s genuinely good characters...almost everyone on earth liked this game...
"have you seen Cyberpunk?"
oh no
Is it fixed now?
@@eveflash733 It’s *somewhat* okay to play now
Around Skyrim level of bugs
@@eeeee6431 ah, i see
The other thing about low fidelity graphics is they make games more financially accessible. Both the price of the game and the hardware you need to run it.
Jacob: "do you see how detailed the textures are here?"
me, watching the video in 240p: *Yes.*
I’ve also noticed that a lot of these hyper realistic games lose color, it would be nice to see a more realistic game with more unrealistic colors
I'm a color theory nerd and also make little games sometimes, but don't really get what you mean. Could you elaborate on that perhaps? 🤔 Because I really want to understand what you're trying to say
You probably mean that the triple a aesthetics look so...washed out. As if it was trying to lose more and more color.
Yeah it would be nice to have more colorful titles like Zelda BotW
Doom eternal
Infamous second son
@@LegacyLoot it's so rare to see this game mentioned anywhere. My god
For me “good graphics” don’t always mean more polygons. It’d say that Deep Rock Galactic has good graphics, even though it’s low poly.
It’s all about how the graphics work with the art style and feel of the game itself.
Sometimes, “bad graphics” can actually look better/ make the game better than ultra realism.
Look at Breath of the Wild, it’s a bit cartoony but the lighting is amazing! For me, good lighting is always important. Using lighting mods in Minecraft make the experience so much more breathtaking!
Rock and stone ✊
1:28 Oh yeah, I’ve seen Cyberpunk alright
We've all did
He was talking about graphics, not anything else
Jacob: * makes in an interesting and inspiring video about different styles of graphics*
me: *looks in comments for good conversations to read*
the comments: DBH has a good story
I mean like... yeah. Through the lense of allegory it fails SPECTACULARLY but its still fun and its not like its hurting anyone so I don't see the problem.
it’s annoying
I'm still trying to find where the hell is his so "interesting and inspiring video", because it certainly isn't this crap I just watched. Starting with the clickbait for talking about "bad graphics" when he actually praizes it (when games don't need to put all of their focus solely on gOoD GRaPhICs) and then only saying how a bunch of glitching shitty games like TLOU is so "good" on it (When it actually isn't).
Besides, DBH does have a great story. Maybe his sorry for an ass was too busy trying to compare the damn graphics on it with other games that he forgot to pay attention that he wasn't playing other action fantasy games like GoW.
Lmao true, I was looking for somebody commenting about that game he was talking about in the end but everybody is discussing his opinion on DBH XD. He should have focused on his main topic more lol
@@victorrocha5755 You're going to call TLOU a shitty game but also claim DBH has a good story? You're entitled to that opinion, of course, but don't expect to be taken seriously for it. Or at least substantiate why you think a universally acclaimed game is "shit".
Also, can you actually explain what is so good about DBH's story? Most of the people in the comments section defending the game acknowledge that while the story was pretty hamfisted, some of the characters made the game pretty good, so it's quite surprising to hear you say that the story is actually good by itself. I'm fairly sure you couldn't get a sixth grader to write a more on-the-nose allegory of the civil rights movement.
My fave game series ever is Borderlands, when I tried playing it with my PC friends all they did was complain about the stylization. Like they had these expensive rigs for top end gaming and were annoyed they were playing a game that didn't use that to it's full potential. But realism style would have absolutely killed borderlands, the characters are all larger than life, the game itself is just shooting looting fun. If they'd tried to make it realistic and put too much emphasis on the grittiness it would have just fallen flat. I love a game with good graphics but when you limit yourself by acting like realism is the only way to go you lose something.
The art style is one of the best parts.
I agree, the cell-shading graphics really does help to express the overall personality of the game
I might have F2P games which they have nice graphics but if the gameplay is good then it's good enough even regardless of graphics (i had a toaster desktop with 9GB space and no better Video game graphics card), I also play retro games (Cracked only since i'm from the Philippines) 2d, DOS (Wolfenstein 3D and DOOM), and my personal favorites are Diablo 2 and the Patapon series. And to top it all of that i played free indie games (FAITH Chapter 1, Lost Constellation and Longest Night) and play console games on Emulators. (PCSX2, PPSSPP, mGBA, SNES9X)
Fortunately for you, the opposite is true now. Any game with realistic graphics isn't enough for gamers anymore, and in fact, makes some gamers inherently skeptical sometimes.
@Eva From Wall-E me too. But it’s not the standard anymore.
I hope game developers continue to have passion and soul with the games that they create. The corporate side of things kills things all too often.
This reminded me a little of an indie game I think more people should try out - a short RPGMaker game called Space Funeral whose art and music choices are like nothing else I've ever seen. The battle music is an old BBC Radiophonic Workshop tune that could be the intro to an old radio drama, areas use stuff from Ruth White to Mink DeVille, and the characters, settings and graphics look like they've been thrown through a randomiser.
It kind of all comes together with the ending (the game is short, free and fairly easy, I really recommend it), but in short Space Funeral is a rejection of the idea games - particularly RPGmaker ones - have to look a certain way to be good, and it would be better to be ugly and different than beautiful and samey
At first I was like, “I don’t see what he’s saying about Shadow of the Colossus. What’s so bad about that?”
But then I thought about it from a perspective I would understand. Silent Hill’s fog in the original PS1 was to help with a stream lined experience since it was impossible to actually load the entire world. It became a huge part of the games aesthetic and overall feeling. Imagine if they ever made a PS4 or PS5 remake (I WISH) and then just getting rid of the fog or making it less integral... would definitely hurt some of that original charm. It’s losing its style, it’s individuality, and becoming mixed into the amalgamated pile of Triple A video games. Don’t get me wrong, I ADORE Triple A video game graphics, but that doesn’t mean art should be in one direction and this one direction only. I get what you’re saying!
I think there already was a remake of Silent Hill that removed or at least heavily reduced the fog and thus screwed up the aesthetic.
@@keltzar1 Nah, there was a PS3/Xbox 360 port of SH2 and 3 that was super glitched and had less fog than the original but it wasn't intentional. They let a random company "remaster" unfinished versions of those games
The new GTA Trilogy is a perfect example of this, SA looks completely different aesthetically which takes away from the original feeling the orange misty filter once gave it.
@@jaydee9355 yup, and you can even see the full map, and thats not really good
Same deal happened with Halo CE and the anniversary. CE had alot of VERY tense areas, defined by particularly grim and dim lighting, as well as fog and such. In the anniversary, the lighting was "improved", and the fog removed. Glass which was previously cloudy, only giving a slight impression of the Flood infection forms passing underneath, suddenly became fully transparent. The Anniversary just entirely ruined the tone.
However, I would point out that we DO have evidence that such modernisations CAN work and retain tone. Halo 2 Anniversary did it almost perfectly.
There's a difference between graphics and art direction. "Graphics" is something objective that can be quantified and measured. It's game resolution and texture resolution and particle effects and how shadows are rendered and ray traced reflections. It's all those things you can tweak in the settings menu of a PC game to make a game look and run the way you want it to.
Art direction is about the artistic choices made when creating the game world. It's the color palette and what outfits the characters are wearing and the architecture of the buildings and the "set dressing" of the locations. Graphics are about fidelity. Art direction is about aesthetics.
I sometimes wonder what people mean when they say that a game is beautiful. I sometimes see that description used for grey-and brown military shooters, and I look at images and see graphics that are very high fidelity, that look realistic, but at the same time tend to be dreary and ugly, not because they're poorly done, but because they're well done. I don't play everything, so maybe my perspective is limited, but the most beautiful game I've ever played remains Bioshock Infinite. The graphics are decidedly last gen, the polygon counts low compared to modern games, and soft-body physics is all but absent, but the aesthetic beauty of the artwork still, to me outshines even my favorite of this generation, which is Horizon Zero Dawn.
Better graphics can remove some of the limitations on aesthetic appeal, meaning, make it easier for artists to make things look the way they want, but graphics in and of themselves don't make for a better looking game. Movie making technology is the best it has ever been, but one need only look at the recent 4K restoration of Lawrence of Arabia, made nearly sixty years ago, to see that improved technology doesn't mean more beautiful.
It's because now "good graphics" is synonymous to realism leaving no room for more stylized looks, take for example Disney their films are beautiful but all their newer films look like they had the same artist and don't want to deviate much in their art style, but their movies have set a precedent that all good big budget movies has to have polished looked like Disney. In fact it's what the viewers have come to expect look at the studio that produces Caroline and all their amazing films they have had diminishing returns with every new film.
I think this is a good example with Sonic Forces
The game is pretty great in terms of graphics, but has pretty bland art direction. That’s why it annoys me when people say “Oh Sonic Unleashed from 2008 has better graphics than a game from 2017” No, Sonic Unleashed has great art direction, but only some parts of the graphics are impressive for a PS3 and 360, and the other parts are blurry, low fps, or blocky.
Bruh this ain't an exam dont start writing essays
@@lifebegoinontho516 If the world of art doesn't interest you enough to read a few paragraphs of text, to see people's pov on the way that game developers are heading, why are you on this video?
Breath of The Wild is one of the best examples this generation, it's on underpowered hardware, and not photorealistic at all, and yet it's still a stunning game
It's genuinely kind of silly how excited I got seeing someone talk about Cosmo D's work like!!! I love those games so much, it feels like a well lived in painting that you can just...walk through and take part in!
god I fucking love how smoothly this guy connects interesting game or movie or book stuff into well thought out leftist politics and perfectly made arguments and somehow DOESN'T depart from his original point. this man a big bean, and I thoroughly appreciate it.
Video: *Starts*
Jacob: *begins talking about how he loves graphics*
Me: “tHAtS DdlC MuSIc”
Just Monika
*DDLC war flashbacks*
Exactly!
*flashbacks to sayori hanging*
yah man, i was searching for a comment talking about that.
15:40
*frantically gets out google doc titled, "games to play later"*
It's still not out! But his first two games are awesome. You can play thru them both in an evening, and they're both free.
Haha, "later"...
as a massive cosmo d fan id like you to know that when i first heard his music playing and a scene from off peak on the screen i slowly leaned forward in my seat, and then once you said "let's talk about cosmo d" i literally clapped
As cool as the graphics are in my generation, I always love going back and playing the games my parents played, specialty OG Doom. I feel like the graphics of Doom still looks good to this day
I will say that of all the ultra-realistic AAA games, Death Stranding does manage to pull off a unique aesthetic.
For sure, and I really do love that game.
@@JacobGeller fantastic video, by the way! I'm definetly going to check out Cosmo D.
Dreams tops all but thats not "realistic". Tbh, art, stylistic/animated or real-like - it can be "triple A" as its said.
How so? Looks the same to me.
Ben βen I havent played it, but from the videos Ive watched, that game stands out visually due to how much work has been put into the detail of the ground below your feet. few games go to such lengths painstakingly modeling the terrain.
Going for full realism looks good in the moment but having a good, unique, style looks good forever, no matter how technology improves. I started to realize this back with the first Katamari Damacy game.
I don't know how much further technology can go when it comes to depicting realism for the AAA look but I think I would have said that about a decade ago too. Actually, if we do reach a critical mass of realism at some point in the future, then the only way for games to impress and stand out visually in press conferences might be to experiment.
yeah I think Wind Waker is another good example of a style that still looks gorgeous to this day, so funny to think that a lot of people whined about it when it was initially released
I was about to say. ~*Cutting edge realism*~ is beautiful as long as it's cutting edge and then it's laughably blocky, but style is beautiful forever. My usual example is Call of Duty 2 and Okami, which came out around the same time, as did Shadow of the Colossus. COD2's graphics were good for the time, but noticeably rougher now, while Okami's inkbrush style still looks pretty cool, and you've heard enough about SOTC.
Yep. RE5 looked sooooo amazingly photorealistic.
Or every Uncharted game.
And every tear those get more bland and more dull. Meanwhile a more stylized game like Dishonored will always look good.
@@Hjernespreng You keep forgetting that the first Unreal Tournament was an epitome of realism in 3D graphics back then, and now it's considered warm and fuzzy retro 3D, now it looks like it is stylised. The very same will happen to modern realistic looking games too. The notion that stylised games will look good no matter what and realistic looking games won't look good after a couple of years is not entirely true. It's just that novelty of the technology masks the lack or existence of a good art style, and good art style can exist with a realistic looking game. You mentioned Resident Evil 5, and for me this game looks absolutely gorgeous, mainly because of the game's art style. And many stylised games I cannot enjoy, simply because I don't like the art style, not because it doesn't have enough tris or the textures are not high resolution enough
yeah, just look at the over decade old game, Team Fortress 2.
those graphics will stand the test of time
4:40 I liked it :(
Love this video! I know it's 'old' by now but as a professional 3D game artist working at a bigger company I can say that we'd also want to make something really different, but it usually comes down to being too difficult and risky to have 30 plus artists working toward one abstract vision. It's a lot easier for all the artists if an Art Director says "Look at real life, that's the goal" and a lot easier for publishers to understand and accept said vision. Though not impossible I think it takes a special kind of art team and a ton of pre-production concepting to be able to nail a non-realism styled AAA game.
As in animation buff, this video speaks to me so well. I really want more high profile productions in the animation industry to break past from generic styles, like with Spiderverse, or Midnight Gospel, or Primal.
Oh god, I love Midnight Gospel so frickin much
@@Madhatter1781 right it's actually so good
yes i feel the same way! i would much rather have cool stylized animation/graphics in media than just "whoa this looks just like a real person!" i can go outside and see real people. what i can't see is a funky looking octopus man
Primal is honestly amazing. if you like animation and don’t mind violence go watch it
Photorealism and "good graphics" are also a, well, a class issue, laughable as that sounds. But the harder triple A titles push to fancy cutting edge rendering, the smaller the number of people who can afford to play them.
I live in an area where the only internet options come with strict monthly bandwidth caps. I'm also in a financial situation where I'm stuck with an older PC that I can't afford to upgrade. Most triple A titles, I can't afford to even DOWNLOAD, because the size of them would eat my entire family's internet allowance for a month. And if I did download them, I couldn't play them, because my graphics card is old and cheap and couldn't handle it.
Certain WoW players like to gripe about how "ugly" WoW is. I live in mortal terror of the day blizzard listens to them. Because the day WoW gets prettied up is the day I can't play any more.
You’re right but that isn’t a class issue
InkAndSatin Damn, sometimes we really take our lives for granite. Don't even think of things like this until someone points it out to you
low budget indies are also shut out from good graphics
@@EggEnjoyer Yeah, for sure. Pretty-looking AAA titles are almost a status symbol in a sense, and a certain luxury for those who have the hardware to run it; only those with the most powerful hardware-and subsequently the money-are given the opportunity to experience the game the way it is intended to be experienced. So in that sense, it really is a matter of an economic show of power to be able to see the cutting edge of tech. On an unrelated note, "for granite" is "for granted," and I used to think it was that until I saw it written out.
@@EggEnjoyer *granted, not granite.
I really liked Detroit: Become Human. I think it takes what they did to the walking dead & brought it to an experience that felt more cinematic. I think a narrative genre that those two games are in really benefit from having a graphical fidelity so that it really does feel like you’re playing an interactive movie. A game like Detroit may benefit more on Netflix like they did with Black Mirror or when they put Minecraft Story Mode on the service but I don’t think the game itself is bad. I think it’s a genre that has yet to have its moment that hardcore gamers really enjoy. Maybe it needs to be done with someone with a stronger sense of storytelling than David Cage but I think Detroit was a step in the right direction in the evolution of that genre & beautiful graphics may be a big part of that.
It's this reason why I love the Zelda series tbh. Like not solely because of the varying art styles of course, but still, the frankly impressive amount of artistic variation in Zelda games is really fun and interesting and it's something I love a lot and think more franchises should totally do.
I love detroit become human for the characters. I wish they'd opted out of the world changing mega plot they had going and instead just given us some androids and humans budding with each other
If you haven't, you should watch real humans/ akta manniskore(?) (the northern european show, not the remake). It's like 90% daily family life around robots.
that's because most of the inter-character banter was just the VAs doing improv, and not written by David Cage's team.
I think if the whole game were just about the two cops, there’d be a much more likable story there. Certainly a less cringeworthy one. But then I’m also of the opinion that the best thing about Detroit is its gameplay-showing off how all the choices branch and aren’t just smoke and mirrors is the actual most interesting thing about it!
I have a love-hate relationship with David Cage's games. I love the interactive movie feel his games have, but I really dislike how pretentious he gets in EVERY. DAMN. GAME he makes. Fahrenheit and Beyond: Two Souls made it very clear for me that his stories are just hard to take seriously. Heavy Rain could be a very interesting drama if Cage just didn't want to be edgy every other chapter in it.
The thing is, I'm still gonna buy his games. Because he's almost the only one who's dedicated enough to make a properly branching story with consequences for its closure (Beyond was a massive and offensive exception to that). Most games (Beyond included) take you through a linear path with some branches which lead back to the same line ten minutes later, and then in the end they offer you just a couple of endings with obvious conditions and then sprinkle in some very minor consequences of your past choices to give you the illusion that your ending was unique.
Cage, however, likes to play with variables, with proper branches that don't immediately return to their previous path, and that was the appeal of Detroit for me. The comedically massive scale the story took on by the end once again stopped me from taking it as seriously as he obviously wanted us to, but I still appreciated that my playthrough was truly unique, and that by discussing it with my friends, we all had our own story to tell.
@@DetectiveOlivaw Yeah, the branching story blew my fucking mind with how many options it had
[laughs in PC that cannot run any game if it doesn't look like a NES game]
Me too dog.
Same
@skorn uh
anyone remember Jazz Punk? I miss the hell out of that game and it's iconic graphics
"This game has a really unique story and is super artistic"
*Describes the plot of the Lego Movie*
Holy moly.
I personally enjoyed the story of Detroit Become Human a lot
The Woody Variety Channel which is your right. I enjoyed some of it, and overall had a good experience. But Im also humble enough to understand where the criticism comes from . It is a very black and white approach on civil rights movements and good vs evil that I can understand why it can be insulting or silly. The “good guy” robots were too good with maybe a silly flaw here and there, and the “bad guy” humans were over the top evil. Humanity and story telling is so much more than that. Maybe watch some expositions on it and hear people explain their criticism more than me, and even if you dont agree perhaps you can understand their position more.
Yea tho it felt very hurried towards the end
@@notatrollll Yea but the first deviant we ever met was an evil one
@@notatrollll Yeah, I don't get the criticism, and I've been hoping for someone to explain it a little more. Some of the people are kind of over the top, but in some ways it feels kind of realistic. I live in Australia, where things like the Cronulla Riots have happened, where people started attacking and brutalizing Australians of Middle Eastern descent. All over the world people attack and kill people who look different or have different ideologies, in a rather shocking case a woman was run over in a rally at Charlottesville for protesting in a rally against Neo Nazi's and Klu Klux Klan sympathisers. A documentary of the rally showed that the some of (emphasis on some of) the Far Right protests were armed to the teeth with shotguns, magnums, knives, one in an interview showing off the weapons he was hiding in his coat with a disturbing sense of pride, even smiling and laughing when describing blowing someone's head off with his shotgun (luckily, no one but the driver acted out on this), they claimed it (bringing weapons) was for self defense, saying that the other side pushed them to it, even though the other protests showed no signs of aggression.
And this isn't because people are evil (as bad as all this may seem), it's because humans are the meanest kind of monkey, one that bullies, brutalizes and even kills other monkeys because they have a funny face. A lack of understanding and sympathy can always lead to violence. Humans generally like to categorise things into distinct boxes, and use one idea to describe everything in that box. It's how we understand the world, but when applied to something as complex as a culture, it can lead to things like stereotyping, and misunderstandings. In that way, how we think of people is through the stories they tell about them. If you spent a lot of time on Facebook after Donald Trump sent the order to kill that guy in Iran, you can see that same philosophy. The far right people were saying that all Iranians are terrorists. Their justification for Donald Trump not passing it through Congress, was that there were people of Middle Eastern descent on Congress, and that therefore they are in league with the Iranian government (and therefore with terrorists, again because of people's tendencies to oversimplify things), even though they were born in America and have sworn allegiance to America.
Now this may all seem unrelated, but the reason I bring it up is I feel that this is what Detroit: Become Human is trying to convey. In it, when you play as Markus, all your actions can affect the public image of androids. It's your to maintain this whenever you do make choices on how to move ahead. And this fits in with what I was talking about before. We simplify people into distinct boxes, and the most notable actions of someone in this box is the label we put on it. This is also something the player may feel when moving forward in the game. They may feel a disconnect between the human characters, and feel only like they are the opposing force of the game. But the game goes out of its way to remind you this is not the case. There are times when you can make decisions, mostly as Kara, where you can do things like start an armed robbery and steal a family's only way out of Detroit, even though like you they are only trying to escape the impending danger for the benefit of their child. Even the main opposing force at the end isn't shown to be fully evil. At the end, when trying to escape to Canada, Kara and Alice get caught by a border security guard as being androids. But here there are two things that can happen. The guard will look off to the TV that is playing the news on what Markus is doing in the final stand scene. If you chose in that scene that you would kill people, then he sends you off to be liquidated. But if you didn't, then he hides the result that showed you to be an android and let's you pass. Again, this points to the whole idea of things like people and cultures being oversimplified into one idea.
@@notatrollll The whole idea the game seems to be conveying is that people aren't naturally bad, but that if we let our emotions get in the way of rational thinking and empathising, then we are prone to succumb to our base instincts of attacking everything that looks different. This is brought up in the game itself, where the two characters Conner and Hank discover that what is turning the androids into deviants is a bug that breaks a balance put in that prevents them from feeling emotion. Hank points out that this must be why they are killing people, as emotions screw everything up. It's not saying that emotions are bad, as Conner showing empathy toward other androids, and Hanks own empathy toward androids, is what gets Hank to trust Conner, and the androids gaining the ability to feel emotions is shown as an inherently good thing throughout the game. But what I think it is saying is that we shouldn't let our emotions immediately rule our opinions on subjects, but that we should learn more about those subjects, especially in the cases when there are humans involved. And that in the cases where there are humans involved, we should use our emotions as a tool to better understand the experiences of those people, in order to better understand the people better, and understand their thoughts and why they came to do what they did. This is also something brought up in the game, when Carl gets Markus to paint, he tells him to instead of just painting what he sees, to paint ideas, and to think abstractly. So the message I feel is more that we need to use our ability to learn and analyse the world logically in tandem with our emotions to gain a better understanding of the world.
And if you use this and apply it to the story it can help you understand the characters a little more and even help you get a better ending. For example the character Tod may at first seem like human trash, but if you look deeper you can begin to empathise with him, or if not understand his actions a little better. If you look around the house as Kara in the chapter Stormy Night, you can find a family photo that can show you what made him the way he is. His wife left him and took their daughter with him (possibly because of his addiction to Red Ice, which causes people to become violent), and he bought an android to replace her. He's in denial about this, trying to pretend that Alice is his real daughter, and this is the cause of his anger towards Kara. Despite him trying to pretend Alice is his real daughter, he knows she is not, and having an android around the house continually reminds him of the fact that Alice is an Android, which is why he doesn't want her around, although keeps her, maybe because she makes Alice happy, but mostly because of his addiction, he is unable to take care of himself. And so, when he is on drugs, he loses his inhibitions and acts out on his desire and destroys Kara (I say destroys because he can later bring her back to the store to be repaired), and in one rather disturbing ending, which you can get if you screw up enough, kills Alice too. But in these moments we can also see him break down, and start crying, apologising to Alice, and admitting his faults (throughout the rest of the game he blames everyone else for what happens, like insisting his wife ran away because she left him for someone else). And you can use this knowledge later in the game to reason with him and get a better ending. If you don't kill Todd in Stormy Night, when you are escaping to Canada he spots you and calls security. If you didn't find the photo the only option is to act hostile, but if you found it you have a second option, which is to reason with him, using what you learned. When you do this he calls the guards, breaks down crying, apologises and admits his faults, and wishes you good luck. Then Alice goes up to hug Todd, and tells him she forgives him, although you can stop her from hugging him. This was a pretty powerful moment in the story, because this character that you always saw as human trash or just evil is shown to have more character than that. He's really just a broken man, who ruined his own life with drugs. And while the player may not be able to forgive him like Alice does, they will at least be able to understand him a little more and why he did what he did.
This is an extreme example, where a character that can be seen as an antagonist is given a redemption ark. But there are plenty of other cases where better understanding of characters can help you in the game, like if you look around Hanks house as Conner you can find the reason he hates Androids is because an Android did botched surgery on his son, Cole, which killed him. Although in this you don't use this information to reason with him, you use it to convince him you are the real Conner. A well, there is no clear singular villain in the story. As I said the guard at security disobeys orders and lets Kara go, meaning he doesn't want the androids to be destroyed. The Army people are only following orders. The only thing in the story that could play the part of an antagonist is Cyber Life, but that's not a person, it's a company, and the closest thing we get as a face to Cyber Life is the woman Conner sees in his virtual headspace. I feel like Cyber Life is more of a symbol of oppression more than anything. We don't see anyone from the company making decisions, we don't even see any of the CEO's. And the characters that do make decisions that drastically affect the story are either the protagonists or President Warren, and even though Warren orders the androids to be destroyed, and is the one ordering the US Army to attack the androids, throughout the game she is never really the bad guy, the player even gets to play as her for a bit. You can sympathise with her, because she's just doing her job, and trying to eliminate any potential threat, and doing what the majority of the public want, which is why the public image statistic is important. Ultimately, if you kiss North or sing in front of the army, she will order them to stand down. The only character I can think of that fits all the roles of being the bad guy is Zlatko.
But again, since a lot of people are saying what you are saying, I know I must be missing something, or just reading into this too much, but I really think Detroit: Become Human gets a bad wrap that it doesn't entirely deserve.
It seems like you're talking about Art Design rather that Bad Graphics.
I'd say he uses the term bad graphics because what he's saying is "good graphics" has a narrow definition these days of a single art design style, which in turn means anything that doesn't fit that design is looked at as inferior or undesirable by AAA game studios
yea that bothered me expecting acually bad graphics instead of AAA vs one guy
@@VrMurdoll hence the quotation marks around bad graphics. he's not saying they are bad.
@@ckannan90 no he didn't talk about bad graphics thats my issue
There's a reason he used this choice of words
I remember having a Braille-based PDA device back in 2005 and even I was surprised to find a link to the interactive fiction archive. I was able to pull quite a few of my sighted friends into the interesting world of the more well written titles. CGI and flashy Blender models will never replace or have the longevity of good writing because the majority I have one generation will dismiss the ostensibly outdated graphics of the last.
This is the most video essay-y video essay I’ve ever watched
Games mentioned in the climax:
- Off-Peak
- Harold Halibut
- Dujanah
- Ode to a Moon
- Infini
- OK/Normal
- Hylics
- Mundaun
- Sable
- Faith
- Scanner Sombre
good man
I consider myself very well versed in indie games and I've only heard of 5 of these
Thank. You.
Which one is the one that appears as he says show me something new?
First time in a long time a RUclips video had anything that could be called a climax
You and HeavyEyed keep proving me correct on my pet theory: The deeper one gets into game analysis, the more it starts to become glorified architectural theory
Another one: Adam Milliard "The Architect of Gaming"
You've eloquently and effectively put what I've been thinking for ages now. Thanky.
I think it's pretty inevitable that studios will have to start diversifying their looks, and get into some originality. Once photorealism becomes passé, what else is left?
So glad you're discussing Cosmo D. Love that dude. His music and former band are so good too. Such a creative.
The comparison of graphics to city architecture is god damn *genius* my guy.
And then the usage of mirrors Edge With it😍
I Genuinely enjoyed the story in Detroit Become Human. Connor and Kara are really well written and I appreciate how your decisions GENUINELY affect the ending. (Looking at you telltale)
Yeah, the overall plot was a bit contrived but the characters were a lot of fun.
Yeah, it really isn’t so much about the story and so much more about seeing the characters grow and interact. That’s the real appeal of D:BH
Yeah. I love the game. But everyone who talks about it says it's "hot garbage" and "God-awful". I don't get it.
Same! People say Kara story is weak, but dont they realize that if anything similar happened we would be in her place? I mean, Damn, they reproduced one of the saddest moments of humanity and made You play it
@WillFanofMany I don't know what that is.
As an artist working in the industry this really hit close to home.
I love creating realistic art, but man what would i give to do something different, to be able to experiment with styles that tell a story, that make for a more coherent and intense experience without that being a stain on my portfolio not worth talking about in the long run.
Add to that that our engines and our tools and our way of teaching people game art jobs is fundamentally focussed on this realism. It's so heavily engraved in how we market and make games, that it can be really hard to see an out from it
I have watched this video so many times and it's still endlessly rewatchable.
The best Jacob Geller content is when his literary analysis suddenly becomes slam poetry
Arachnofiend that’s what I write
I actually really liked Detroit Become Human because of the story.
me too :'0
The story was actually subpar at best.
Doiteain not really, when you couple in the fact that a basic story is actually something you can tamper with your own choices.
with that in mind, a basic story becomes phenomenal because you’ll always know it’s YOUR version of the story. And not just a story you’re just watching.
Same :/ i found it a pretty cool story? Simple, but not bad. The characters felt real enough and I felt that my choices mattered
Yeah the story was really good, the only criticism I have are a couple of god awful parts like the Alice reveal.
been binging your videos ever since i found you this morning - I feel infinitely inspired, it's made me really deeply think and ponder, thank you
Only discovered you recently, so I'm going back through your older videos, and I gotta say: your choice of backing tracks is impeccable.
I like Detroit apart from its graphics. I can absolutely see where Jacob is coming from, the game's story obviously wasn't the best since I can't recollect more than 2 or 3 key moments, but I praise the characters. That's what I will always remember, the characters and their personalities. Their desires, their motivations, what made them THEM.
Damn you played the whole game and remember two parts? You must be brain dead
@@TMeek94 :)
:)
Lol what... i can basically remember all three story arcs and about 75% of their internal variants. How can you not think of 2 or 3 scenes?
*spoilers*
.
.
.
Like here ill rattle off a few moments from the top of my head:
kara finding Alice's drawing/escaping the house;
Finding jericho;
Breaking into that facility where you get spotted by an android and can choose to kill the man or hide;
Messing that up and getting rolled by dogs and drones;
Connor running across the rooftops or across the road. The numerous times hank was like "dammit Connor";
Hanks house. Finding him passed out;
The first crime scene;
Zlatkos house;
The creepy dude who came up with the ai and going to his house;
The strip club and tracie;
Luthers sacrifice (RIP);
The assault on Jericho;
The Jerrys...
same bro! the story leaves much to desire, but even the extremely underdeveloped characters inspire a lot of love. (except for north. we don't talk about north.)
You know, as far as ways to get people to keep paying attention during the sponsor adrun in a video go, filling it all with adorable cat and dog home video footage is a real good one!
And I have had a preference for ''bad graphics'' for a long time now myself - both because they are almost always more visually distinctive and as such memorable, but also because it meant my old potato of a laptop had a chance in hell of running the darn game at all! I have a new, much more graphically powerful laptop now, but I think the preference for graphical style over fidelity isn't going to change so easily.
subprogram32 Here here. I love my PS4 and being completely immersed in the views of Sekiro, but some of the most interesting styles and music have come from the titles I've played on my laptop: Hollow Knight, Okami, Crypt of the Necrodancer...
@@veggiedragon1000 And heck, even Sekiro still runs under a more distinctive visual asthetic than the AAA games listed here.
@@jatsko3113 Yes, I recognise you as well!
Reminds me of when I got Monster Hunter World after getting interested in some of the older titles.
While I enjoyed World, I feel the jump between old and new lost something in the visual presentation. The land feels less vibrant, the visual effects more subdued. I wouldn't go so far to call it dull, but it's definitely not up to par with previous titles.
The most obvious example are the criticisms people have of the weapon designs in World compared to the classic entries. (I hear Iceborne has helped ease some of the issues, but I stopped keeping up with the game over a year ago.)
TLDR my point is a strong and interesting visual design makes far more difference than graphical fidelity. Doesn't matter if you can count the hairs on a dudes head if the hairstyle is boring.
PS. Also the load times and kinda iffy framerate on world bummed me out too. Aesthetic and Smoothness always come before fidelity in my eyes. Why games can't run at a constant 60 fps on consoles these days I'll never understand.
subprogram32 So it does. I'm not usually one for shoot em ups and triple A titles anyway, though. I hail from a childhood of mascot platformers... Which often also had a very distinctive style that makes them still kind of classic when something attempting realism back then looks hilariously dated now.
This video is to other video game commentary videos on youtube, what indie game design is to repetitive AAA game design. You nailed it, and I never even thought about all the ideas you laid out here. Great stuff!
I was listening to this when painting, and as soon as I heard Hylics every neuron in my brain activated at once.
I think you should look at Hylics 2 and the fascinating mix of complexity vs simplicity in it, as it feels like a godlike refinement of the original. Hell, I might make a video about it myself.
Detroit: Become Human might be hot garbage but that hasn’t stopped my goblin brain from enjoying it more than I should have.
I honestly don't understand why everyone hates it. I don't get it. Everyone who talks about it says it's awful, it's "hot garbage", it's a mess, it's "making the world worse due to it's very existence", it's whatever.
Why do I seem to be the only one who loves the game?? It's kind of depressing when everyone says that the game you love - for its graphics, its characters, yes, its story, everything - is just God-awful and should never have been made. That it's the worst game ever and whatever else people say about it.
I don't understand.
@@Chris_Cross same man! I love the game 😭 it really feels like some ppl just hate David Cage for no reason. Or like they've watched some well known reviewer and have build their opinion on that instead of actual gameplay by playing it themselves or watching a let's play 🤷♂️
@@Chris_Cross maybe look into some videos explaining people's problems with it? besides the people just saying they hate it 'cause everyone else is, there's people with legit reasons why they think it's garbage. Mother's Basement did a video on one reason I think? called "Detroit: Become Human - The Worst Civil Rights Allegory"
there's absolutely nothing wrong with liking it, though, it's got its good parts (like Connor and Hank)
hot garbage makes it sound thoroughly awful? that would make it unenjoyable, no?
We‘re all entitled to our own opinion, so I literally don’t give a shit if influencers say “oh it’s shit”. For me, it’s the only real interactive game that exists (If i didn’t forget smth). Sure, there’s Heavy Rain, but it isn’t as interactive as id like it to be. Ig there’s also The Walking Dead, but you get the point.
In my personal and humble ‘cough’ opinion, Detroit Become Human is a damn good game
THANK YOU for taking this feeling i’ve had for a LONG TIME NOW and taking it and articulating in that terrific way you do so many ideas i can never quite put words to-that comparison of triple a games to the increasing homogeneity of modern cities and gentrification? that’s it!! that’s the feeling!! i talk to my friends about the strengths of indie creators in just about every media so much i’m sure i’ve started to sound insufferably pretentious but like... this is it. the possibilities and the art and the things that are new and different and thought-provoking in ways we just don’t get to see on the triple a level.... i just wanna see it, man. gosh.
This exactly
(I like your pfp btw)
ye me too man
Off Peak was really interesting, I loved how surreal and intimate it felt
What a wonderful video essay, thank you for sharing.
*"It's kind of hard for me to imagine that this game would have anywhere near the same level of status, level of support, amount of money behind it if it didn't look so much like what a AAA industry-leading game is supposed to look like. I think that we just inherently give it the benefit of the doubt."*
Weird. Because lots of people didn't give The Order 1886 "the benefit of the doubt" even though it had amazing graphics.
I really don't think looks instantly appeal to players. Especially people who've played video games for a long time, does not matter if 1 important thing is great. The whole package matters. Of course there are ppl who simply enjoy animated/stylized or high detail stuff more.
@@cyanprince00 there's this train of thought that goes:
Good graphics=lots of money=approval=quality
there's always that hope that the studios aren't out of touch and actually put something amazing out, because why would they spend so much money on something bad?
and then you get disappointed enough times to not belive it anymore
What? The Order was marketed as a system seller, everybody was excited to buy it. It only flopped after it came out and people realized it was mostly just a movie with little replayability.
@@billbill6094 No it wasn't..its made by a pretty small dev that nobody really knew. Sure the concept, name, looks were being marketed. But how else would they promote a brand new IP being Ready at Dawn's 1st big AAA title. It would've received better with a lower price but thats all in the past now. Maybe they'll make a sequel, given a chance.
Plenty ppl enjoyed it for what it is, especially when it was caught on sale many times.
@@cyanprince00 yes, it was. Apparently I'm the only one who remembers back 5 years, but Playstation's goal was to prove it's own graphical capabilities with that game, which is why a 5 year old game from a relatively unknown developer at the time still graphically rivals games today.
www.well-played.com.au/the-order-1886-still-polarising-four-years-later/
techarx.com/the-order-1886-review-disappointment-list-grows-further/
www.inquisitr.com/1859327/playstation-4-marketing-of-the-order-1886-shows-disconnect-with-gamers
whatculture.com/gaming/the-order-1886-10-reasons-its-a-huge-disappointment?page=1
Detroit: Become Human isn't really that much of a game, Its more of a Interactive Movie
My personal opinion of Detroit: Become Human is that its a lot of fun to see the different endings and The game does not focus on gameplay but way more on Character Development and The choices You have
Heavy Rain had the same level of hype back in the day. Now hardly anyone thinks of it as not cheesy, or dated game design. Detroit will be the same way
Exactly. These haters will be forgotten soon.
@@lukethelegend9705 I think you misread my comment. I said hardly anyone nowadays thinks of it as *not* cheesy.
I was agreeing with Geller.
Expendable Indigo oh. Well in that case, your opinion will also be forgotten soon. Heavy rain is still loved by millions, and Detroit is even better regarded. I can see why you may think that it’s cheesy and bad game design, but honestly, nobody cares.
@@lukethelegend9705 there are a lot of close minded sheeples who want to bring back videogames to the supposed Golden age of Arcade games when graphics and premise design narratives are not essential inside a fun little Capitalistic exploitative gambling videogame product because those people are blind sheeples.
Oh my god. These videos are truly a thought-inducing blessing. Excellent.
So, I stumbled over this again. I have watched it before shortly after you have released it but it still holds up.
I'll tell you why I like DBH, and it's not for the graphics (although they are fantastic). It's not even strictly for the story. It's for how the story is told. And unlike almost every 'choice' based game out there, consequences follow your actions. Your decisions have an effect on the game itself. You can literally kill off the main characters (and get a secret ending by doing so) before the story even unfolds. Missing a QTE can change the flow of an action sequence entirely. The time it takes you to do something effects the outcome of your story just as much as finding objects and clues in the environment can. THAT'S why I like DBH.
The story...? It's okay. Honestly, I'd prefer a whole buddy cop game around just Hank and Connor. Each character's story had interesting parts, though I felt Marcus' was actually the weakest. It is very diminutive in its themes at times, but the world-building itself was great. (There's a lot of great stuff in those magazines that I found fascinating, especially because they stem from topics we're starting to broach today, making them feel more realistic.) For me, it was just the storytelling mechanics I'd kill to see more of. That's why it's ranked so highly in my book. Just the sheer effort it takes to actually give players a choice (even if that choice is 'do nothing') is phenomenal. I'd love to see more games try it.
yeah, same here. i'm really not a fan of detroit's story but i always find myself watching playthroughs of it because that style of game, and how different people get different endings on their first playthrough fascinates me. if you're looking for more games in that style, i'd recommend until dawn. its got a good story in my opinion and i'd highly recommend it if you can handle horror games.
P S EXACTLY !!!!!!
I second this.
@P S
Something tells me you would love The Witcher 3.
Thank you. While I do believe that markus' story could've been executed in a better way, I still think it's unfair towards the game to just reduce its success to "well if it weren't for the graphics it wouldn't have become popular". It's got likeable characters, the story's told in an interesting way, and, most importantly, there's SO MANY CHOICES, the replay value is so high it's incredible
This is what went through my mind when I tried explaining Undertale's graphics to someone. Even though the sprites and such could've been a bit better, the simplicity lends itself ridiculously well to the story. I like to think that Undertale would've looked more like Deltarune if Toby had as much money and people working on the game as he does with Deltarune now.
You introduced me to Cosmo D and i am so grateful. Those games are amazing, can't wait to see what else he has in store.
That was a surreal feeling getting and ad that has Jacob in it before his video
“It’s a pretty good time to like graphics”
that won’t age well
Why
Cus it's always the best time it has ever been to like graphics. A decade from now, these graphics will look so dated it's not even funny
@@iurigrang yeah im not a graphics person but true is that graphics are a 1st impression,if u rlly enjoy a game u will forget about the graphics even if they re good or bad
*BADUM PSST*
@Irritable Down syndrome Look at Fallout 76, Rust, hell Apex Legends graphics to me look like dogshit
a note, from a game artist:
graphics are not the same as aesthetics
graphics are subservient to aesthetics
the strange "bad graphics" of the game you showcased was built with an engine (Unity) with the same graphical capabilities as the AAA games of it's era. Much of it's clashing art and visuals come from using and retrofitting marketplace assets and free content. Yes this looks awful, but it's also done to great effect as this is the goal of the game and the ideal of what it wants to be. Unlike many indie games that look bad, this game appears to want to look like a deep-fried meme on purpose, and that clear vision is what makes it good.
If you want to see a game that achieves the "alternative" "stylized" "not realistic" aesthetics of an indie developer with a AAA budget, I recommend Ori and the Will of the Wisps.
Worth noting that Into the Spiderverse is a film that uses technology ("graphics") that far surpasses any animated films prior to it's creation, to the great effect of capturing an aesthetic that is only achievable with an enormous team of extremely skilled artists, animators, and engineers. More animation will look like this in the future because not only is the tech getting better, but so are the people who make the art. We're in another Renascence, and this is a wonderful time to be a fan of animation and games.
I love your comment
@Zwenk Wiel whether or not some of the methods are new does not diminish the fact that it took an army of extremely skilled artists to pull it off. This look is not "indie" by any means
Excellent comment, I felt the creator should have been more precise in their terminology. People have been praising the aesthetic styles of Nintendo games for a long time, but he only seemed to offer a pitiable acknowledgement. Yes, maybe there are indie games with intriguing and experimental aesthetic choices, but they almost never align with the dominant genres and mechanics of AAA games. Also, you're alive, congrats. /)
Thank you so much for making this comment! I feel like what makes a game look "good" hasn't that much to do with how good the graphics are but how effective the art direction is
@Brupcat this is literally the point I was making, that the perception of what we call bad graphics is actually aesthetics as the result of art direction, based on graphical limitations. Cosmo D's aesthetics are quite memetic in vision and quality, deliberately steeped in absurdity, but they are not the result of art direction dictated by graphical limitations, as the engine it's made in (Unity) is a fully capable AAA engine that can produce high fidelity visuals. It's aesthetic is deliberately bad and strange in spite of graphical capabilities. This is a perfect example of how graphics are subservient to aesthetics. Perhaps calling it a deep fried meme was wrong, I personally find it to be ugly in charming way.
Shadow of the Colossus and it's remake, in my opinion, both achieve the same goal they were setting out to do with the technology available at the time. The original uses photo-sourced textures (heavily edited) for it's environments and tries to have a gritty, worn, and old aesthetic to every surface. One could say it was trying to be realistic (albeit fantastical and exaggerated) in it's aesthetics to the best of it's ability. I'd argue that the remake is a complete faithful realization of the original vision of the game, and is what it would have looked like if it was shipped in this era. If you don't agree, The Last Guardian (2016) achieved a similar aesthetic and supposedly exists in the same universe.
The condescension is uncalled for and inapplicable to this conversation.
This may be one of your best vids that ive seen. Very astute correlations!!