Graphics or a good story?

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AuthorTopic: Graphics or a good story?
Shock Trooper
Member # 1902
Profile Homepage #0
What do you think makes a game suceed. Is its unbeleiveable graphics, its well done story, or both, in the Exile series(and Avernum) i think it was more of how good the story was than to its graphics, just cause of the fact that its story was so smart and cool, i really didn't care what the graphics looked like, I just loved the game its self. IMAGE(Spiderweb Software Boards Graphics or a good story1_files/smile.gif)

[ Thursday, November 06, 2003 11:06: Message edited by: Axerax ]

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--Axerax the Dragon Tamer--
Posts: 283 | Registered: Tuesday, September 17 2002 07:00
Shock Trooper
Member # 3605
Profile Homepage #1
It depends on what kind of game you playing. In an rpg graphics arn't that important (can help make the game better tho) but if it has a bad story it would fail completely. However if your playing a racing or shoot'em'up game graphics are all important and story is minimal or non existant. If you think about it Exile and Avernum are by no means graphical marvels but the story lines are great, and that why people play them.

[ Thursday, November 06, 2003 11:12: Message edited by: Smelly Ogre ]

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"Is that smell glandular, or do you wallow in your own filth?" - Last Words of Fredrick the Idiot
Posts: 358 | Registered: Monday, October 27 2003 08:00
Lifecrafter
Member # 3608
Profile Homepage #2
Games that have both good graphics and a plot are rare, so if I have to choose from two games..

Game 1:

Horrible plot, but darn good graphics.

Game 2:

Excellent plot. No graphics.

I choose the one with the plot. Unless it's Battlefield 1942 or something similar, that isn't supposed to have a plot.

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- The Great Mister
Posts: 972 | Registered: Tuesday, October 28 2003 08:00
Apprentice
Member # 3520
Profile #3
I don’t go for good graphics over story, you usually don’t notice good graphics because your
generally to concerned with the actions in the game world, so its always story first for me,
especially the one of homeworld (which incidently had great graphics as well)

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E=MC2 =Meaning of reletivity =meaning of life = Coke and Curry.
Posts: 23 | Registered: Sunday, October 5 2003 07:00
...b10010b...
Member # 869
Profile Homepage #4
It seems to me that one vital factor has been left out here, and that's gameplay. If a game has the best plot in the world but is mind-numbingly tedious, I won't play it. On the other hand, good gameplay can make up for a lot of flaws in other areas.
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Apprentice
Member # 3520
Profile #5
quote:
It seems to me that one vital factor has been left out here, and that's gameplay.
hate to say this but that wasn't the question, though i do agree with you on gameplay.

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Posts: 23 | Registered: Sunday, October 5 2003 07:00
Lifecrafter
Member # 3608
Profile Homepage #6
The reason why Thuryl mentioned it was because it was lefto ut, sonny.

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- The Great Mister
Posts: 972 | Registered: Tuesday, October 28 2003 08:00
Law Bringer
Member # 335
Profile Homepage #7
Graphics are not important to me. As long as they don't ruin the ambience, I really don't care. I'd rather have ASCII than stick-figures in a serious game, personally.

In a game that is supposed to have a plot, plot is everything. In games that really don't need a plot, I've sometimes been annoyed by weak bits of plot cropping up unexpectedly and ruining my fun. RPG's, of course, are always in the former category, while Tetris and clones had better always fall under the latter.

—Alorael, who has a certain gameplay threshold. No matter how good the plot, sometimes it's just too much trouble. Past that point, as long as (Plot + gameplay >= fun) the game is good.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Shock Trooper
Member # 1207
Profile #8
I don't particularly like no graphics (ie. Alorael's stick figures) and prefer at least semi-good graphics, but the way I see it, I wouldn't be here if it weren't for crap graphics, eh? IMAGE(Spiderweb Software Boards Graphics or a good story1_files/wink.gif)

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Posts: 316 | Registered: Saturday, May 25 2002 07:00
Apprentice
Member # 3643
Profile #9
A good story is everything. There are some great text adventures out there that have never made it big because they have no graphics. RPing, for instance, involves no grpahics, but many people find that fun.

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Don't ask the Oracle unless you're willing to get the slurred drunken truth.
Posts: 24 | Registered: Monday, November 3 2003 08:00
Post Navel Trauma ^_^
Member # 67
Profile Homepage #10
Graphics and story are not important.

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Posts: 1798 | Registered: Thursday, October 4 2001 07:00
Guardian
Member # 3521
Profile #11
I would say that I place the greatest importance on gameplay and interface. If, when I try out a new game, I find it impossible to understand how to play it or learn its ridiculously complex controls, I will most probably drop it like a hot brick. And any game that is annoying or frustrating to play is not likely to last awfully long on my hard drive.

As for graphics and storyline, I usually need at least a modicum of each in a game for it to be enjoyable for me. I am a highly aesthetic person, and find good graphics to be enough to endear me to some games. However, I despise games that use complex camera angle views and force me to search frantically just to find my party or army. In my book, great graphics are a big plus as long as they do not subtract from gameplay.

A strong storyline is an absolute necessity in games which do not have murderously good gameplay and graphics. An engrossing storyline is the backbone of any Spidweb game. Take away the storylines of games like Avernum and Nethergate, and the games would be unplayable.

However, I do not believe that an RPG needs a strong storyline to be an excellent game. Case in point: Diablo. That game had the simplest of linear plots, and minimal dialogue to boot. The entire "point" of the game was to hack through as many monsters as one could, while accumulating equipment and experience in the process. But you know what? It worked. The game was just pure, unadulterated fun, and it was phenomenal gameplay which made it that way. The combat was smooth and seamless, real time combat at its best. The balance in the game was impeccable, the monsters were fierce, and the spells were many, varied, and inventive. It was a joy to play, even with its shortcomings in storyline.

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Stughalf

"Let a man find himself, in distinction from others, on top of two wheels with a chain - at least in a poor country like Russia - and his vanity begins to swell out like his tires. In America it takes an automobile to produce this effect." - Leon Trotsky
Posts: 1798 | Registered: Sunday, October 5 2003 07:00
Erudite*
Member # 3042
Profile #12
I think a good story is much more important than good graphics, though it's good to have both.

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Posts: 402 | Registered: Thursday, May 29 2003 07:00
Law Bringer
Member # 335
Profile Homepage #13
Diablo II is the great-grandchild of Rogue, Nethack, and Angband. And you know what? Aside from online multiplayer, I prefer the ancient ASCII games.

—Alorael, who must admit that he's influenced by the lack of loading times, and the fact that he cheats death outrageously. Angband without cheating in the beginning is Angband with an unhealthy dose of frustration.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Babelicious
Member # 3149
Profile Homepage #14
It's all about gameplay. There's a reason River City Ransom is one of the best games ever, and it isn't graphics or plot.

[ Thursday, November 06, 2003 20:58: Message edited by: Conspiracy Duck ]

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You are my precious thing
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Posts: 999 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Shaper
Member # 496
Profile #15
So much consensus makes for odd 'debate'.Who on SW is going to argue graphix over plot anyway?
Posts: 2333 | Registered: Monday, January 7 2002 08:00
Shaper
Member # 22
Profile #16
I'm gonna speak out against the crowd - I really just can't stand ASCII games. Games have to have a graphic quality of Exile or above for me to be willing to play them - I'm fine with bad graphics as long as they don't detract from the game, in which ASCII graphics clearly do.

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KazeArctica: "Imagine...wangs everywhere...and tentacles. Nothing but wangs and tentacles! And no pants!"
Posts: 2862 | Registered: Tuesday, October 2 2001 07:00
Guardian
Member # 3521
Profile #17
As I mentioned learlier, I also require the graphics to be up to a certain (admittedly low) standard for me to enjoy the game. But I certainly enjoy many games which are stronger graphically than plotwise, like Diablo, which was a graphical breakthrough when it first came out, but doesn't have much for plot.

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Stughalf

"Let a man find himself, in distinction from others, on top of two wheels with a chain - at least in a poor country like Russia - and his vanity begins to swell out like his tires. In America it takes an automobile to produce this effect." - Leon Trotsky
Posts: 1798 | Registered: Sunday, October 5 2003 07:00
Babelicious
Member # 3149
Profile Homepage #18
I'd rate plot below graphics. I'd say it's something like:

Gameplay = 10
Graphics = 5
Plot = 0 to -1

[ Friday, November 07, 2003 10:59: Message edited by: Conspiracy Duck ]

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You are my precious thing
Thing of speed and beauty,
You are my precious thing
As long as you remain beneath me
-- Big Black
Posts: 999 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #19
I prefer plot over graphics, because it allows me to feel elitist. IMAGE(Spiderweb Software Boards Graphics or a good story1_files/tongue.gif) Smarter than all the masses who can't grasp a complex plot anyway. A way of boosting your ego you see. IMAGE(Spiderweb Software Boards Graphics or a good story1_files/biggrin.gif)

Btw, I think ASCII actually doesn't detract from a game as much as poor graphics. If I had to choose, I'd prefer ASCII code to Exile graphics, because Exile-quality graphics aren't all that good and certainly sometimes interfere with gameplay (such as when several monsters have the same graphic, like Ur-Basilisk/Basilisk, Drake Lord/Dragon, etc.). In ASCII, all monsters are color-coded, allowing you to distinguish between hundreds of monsters with one glimpse. IMAGE(Spiderweb Software Boards Graphics or a good story1_files/biggrin.gif)

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Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Babelicious
Member # 3149
Profile Homepage #20
You've obviously never played a Roguelike on a VT100 terminal. No ANSI color there, no sir!

The ambiguity between different sorts of basilisks, etc. can be rather handily resolved with the "Look" command.

I like Exile's graphics a lot. I wish SW hadn't downgraded them while making Avernum.



Just testing.

[ Wednesday, November 12, 2003 19:00: Message edited by: Conspiracy Duck ]

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You are my precious thing
Thing of speed and beauty,
You are my precious thing
As long as you remain beneath me
-- Big Black
Posts: 999 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Shaper
Member # 73
Profile #21
It depends what kind of game it is, really. If it's an RPG, it usually needs a good plot for me to play it. However, there's a game for PS2 called EverGrace which, although the plots (two games in one) are extremely linear and lack any replay value, the graphics, gameplay, and equipment system are great. I just wish they had proofread a bit more.
For games that aren't RPGs, gameplay, then graphics.

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Posts: 2957 | Registered: Thursday, October 4 2001 07:00
Agent
Member # 27
Profile #22
Let us take a second to look over the Resident Evil games. Awesome graphics, the best I have ever seen. Unfortunatly the game severly lacks gameplay because you are not able to change the camera angle around. So, almost always, a zombie will attack you from your blind spot and you will have to shoot your few bullets in random directions, hoping to hit the zombie, wasting ever single precious piece of ammo you hold. The plots of those games were complete and utter ****.
But then you can't have games focus completely on plot either. They become so attached to the storyline, that you have no free movement of your own, making the game suck.
I would rather have gameplay than great graphics, or a great plot. Soul Calibur II is a perfect example. Decent graphics, no plot whatsoever (Seriously, the plot was worse than Mortal Kombat's), but it is fun because the gameplay is soooooo freaking awesome. Then you have games like Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Calibur (If you have an N64, then you must rent or buy this game, if you can find it) with crapy graphics (For the system) and alot of story and I mean alot. But it doesn't get involved so much that you cant choose your own direction. The gameplay rocks.
For the original question, if I had to choose one it would be... plot. Only because with great graphics and no plot the game has no meaning whatsoever (Except for Soul Calibur 2). Atleast the plot will keep you going for more story.

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Posts: 1233 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Triad Mage
Member # 7
Profile Homepage #23
Look at Escape Velocity - it didn't have a great plot, it didn't have great graphics, but it's still one of the most fun games to play.

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Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00
Shaper
Member # 73
Profile #24
You really feel that way about Resident Evil? I thought the plot was excellent, especially the second one. You just need to find it. As for the camera angles, they did that on purpose. It makes it more challenging. Also, if there's a zombie in your blind spot, chances are you can run away from it anyway. You aren't supposed to kill everything.
Speaking of camera angles, you know what would be great?
A second-person shooter! Seriously, think about it! A shooter game where the character is always facing the camera! What do you guys think? IMAGE(Spiderweb Software Boards Graphics or a good story1_files/tongue.gif)

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My BoE graphics archive is finally getting started! Yay! I hope you like my graphics.My BoE Graphics
An absurdly fun Flash game- Refridgerator Raid!
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