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The Future of Video Game Graphics?

Featured 30 Comments 26 Votes 2379 Views 08/02/2012 Back to Articles

...not.

vimeo.com/...

I don't know if anyone else finds this absurd, but I keep seeing this video posted everywhere. Does no one remember the Nvidia Human Head video from a few years ago? Featuring a similarly bald skinny Michael Stipe lookalike?

www.youtube.com/...

It was just as impressive then as it is now and, of course, this new one looks better, but video games (the only application for these kind of real time graphics) have not even caught up to the much older Nvidia demo yet. Hilariously if you click through to Vimeo the new demo has a discalimer: "IMPORTANT: designed to be viewed in HD at fullscreen with scaling off on a 1080p device. Be patient and wait for the movie to load before playing, it's a 1080p movie." basically their way of saying "Unless you play it in super high resolution, it looks like shit!"

Untill Sony and Microsoft stop wanking about and get a next generation of hardware going, there will be no leap forward to this level of graphical power. It'll just be "oooh that's amazing, from the thumbnail I thought he was a real person!", etc. You can copy paste the comments from any era about any tech demo/new game, and they will sound exactly the same. I remember reading the official Xbox magasine in 04-05, and they had a comparison of one of the Forza or PGR driving games with a photo of the same car in real life. We all spat and cursed and said "WHAT IS THIS DEVIL MAGIC??!?"... but it was no more impressive then. A couple of years later, those graphics were playable on consoles, and when the "wow it looks like real life" factor wore off, people went back to simply playing the game and not noticing. Even before that I recall my father when we were playing one of the space levels in Duke Nukem 3D being impressed by the "realism" of the graphics. Even in 1996 we thought that level of graphics were impressive. Imagine 2020.

I'm not saying these tech demos and graphical leaps aren't impressive, or aren't necessary... my main points here are firstly, we can wank over pretty tech demos all day if we want, nothing is going to change in video games until there's a new generation of console hardware, and secondly... no matter how well something imitates real life, there will always be something more impressive in the next few years. I can't wait for video games to reach photorealism, because then what will matter is artistic direction, not just sheer realism. That in my opinion is the point where we can say video games have really advanced.

I wrote this for my blog at: deltaqdelta.blogspot.com.au/...

-Justin

Link to us http://pc.mmgn.com/Articles/The-Future-of-Video-Game-Graphics

Article by: Delta 102Kudos 08/02/2012

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The Future of Video Game Graphics? Comments

Kudos: 18,277

abuu91

Back when the hardware on the leading platforms was updated more frequently developers had the chance to provide more frequent improvements to visuals. Devs have done rather well to stretch the current consoles as far as they have but we will not see any new technology actually get properly utilised until another wave of development platforms swing around.

09/02/2012

Kiama, NSW

Kudos: 21,084

maxiboy

I agree with this article
If gaming is going the way of looking at ugly bald guys who never open their eyes I'm gonna stop playing. [MOG] They rendered a head, so what? Hardware can do that today; try rendering 100 people in a crowd like that with proper scenery at 50fps! There's a challenge which I bet current technology like a new Quadro can also already do...... IN 3D!

I'm sorry Sony and Microsoft but you really should have future proofed your consoles better. 256MB of RAM in 2006 was already well superseded, in PCs 512MB became standard in 2004.

10/02/2012

Sydney, NSW

Kudos: 373

KyleKatarn

Props to Justin for a great article, and I agree completely. Seriously, get yer heads outta your blowholes and get the next generation here already. No amount of motion/FOUR-DEE gimmickry can postpone it.

And while we're at it, enough with the motion/FOUR-DEE gimmicky and making the PC ports suck.

13/02/2012

Rebuilding the Moldy Crow

Kudos: 773

crazeyez

Great article but I'm not so sure I agree with everything here.

Consoles are always designed to have a limited shelf life but in my opinion none of the current generation of consoles have had the full power and potential unlocked because developers simply don't know how to harness the power. Don't get me wrong, some games you think... damn it this thing needs more memory or ram but if a game is properly written within all parameters of the hardware provided and the exact parameters are known, then they should in theory write to those exact conditions to ensure the dump memory where possible or utilise the hard drive more. You also need to remember that a computer needs 1gb of ram just to get running these days. The core OS on the PS3 and Xbox don't because they aren't as bloated and don't have 100 services in the background.

I've been gaming a long time and agree with most of what has been said and I too can recall playing Duke Nukem 3D and thinking wow. But I said that about most great new games over the years and have only ever seen a few games that actually pushed the console at the time to its limits. PCs can always be pushed and are the forefront but who has the time or money to maintain a proper gaming machine that isn't just loaded. I mean seriously...

If you ask me, the last consoles to actually be 100% pushed to the limit was the 64 and PS1. The 64 was in perfect dark. Perfect Dark you had to get the 4mb expansion pack to increase the ram of the console up to 8mb to be able to play 4 player split screen. If you didn't you could only play single player but that game ran on 4mb of ram!!!! Goldeneye ran on 4mb of ram. for the psone the limit was driver 3 and despite not being able to get out of the car and a draw distance that most kids these days would not be able to play with, that was one massive single city with no load points, kindea like GTA. both of those games used the full power of each console but both came out many, many years atfer release of the console and somewhat close to the end of the consoles life. the same could be said about the wii. mario was the best thing to come out of that and was one of the later releases from nintendo. we are now starting to see great quality games that are pushing the consoles but still not using the full power withing them.

You may say that the 4mb and old games is missing the point as the textures have advanced, but if you use the HTML language as an example. HTML4 came out early to mid 90s. It is only just now that HTML5 is becoming the standard and new techniques and rules are being applied. 20 years before realising you've used the full power of the language, time to upgrade and give us more. I'm sorry but for me, there is no way that PS3 and Xbox dev teams have 100% nailed the optimisation in a 6 - 7 year period. Remember how buggy and terrible the games on PS3 where at the begining? Its cause none of the developers knew the environment there were building in.

15/02/2012

Brisbane, Queensland

Kudos: 102

Delta

I don't think what you're saying is really contrary to my article. You used the example of Perfect Dark pushing the limits of the 64, but then mention that it required what is essentially a RAM upgrade. Plus Driver streamed into memory I'm assuming, to get the most out of the ram, which is what pretty much every game does now.

I think what I was saying between the lines is that the current generation of consoles is probably the longest in history, and it isn't going to end any time soon. 360 games IMO plateaued in graphics at about the 2009-10 point with games like Alan Wake and Uncharted 2 and all that. Sure they got better and are still getting better, but there are no more "leaps" to be made on this hardware, it simply isn't possible. I'd say Rage and Crysis 2 pushed the 360 and PS3 absolutely as far as they'll go. Not that I'm being cynical, but I don't think it's valid to say that games are going to come much further on this generation. For once we're genuinely in need of bigger and better hardware.

16/02/2012

Kudos: 87,358

Skarteh

It's basically taken this long to top Crysis. Thats the ****ed up thing for us PC gamers. Crysis 2 didn't even do it until they released the DX11/High Res texture pack. Then Battlefield 3 came along and upped the ante again. Its been like a ****ing time vacuum due to this lengthy console lifespan and the stupid thing is the hardware never stopped coming!

AMD HD7970: 3.79 TFLOPS
PS3: 2 TFLOPS
360: 1 TFLOPS

And most higher end rigs run two or more of these... And then you can add the rest of the computer to that. Where the hell is that power going [Rage]

17/02/2012

Melbourne, Victoria | Walk with me in hell

Kudos: 48,813

SONY

Consoles are holding PC gaming back.

17/02/2012

MMGN SONY PlayStation Vita club legends: Vinzor - davidhes - abuu - SONY - LMA0 - Flame_PSP - mong

Kudos: 4,088

punk

SONY said: Consoles are holding PC gaming back.

no publishers are... and some devs :P

18/02/2012

Kudos: 156

kingpanday

I just cant wait till we are playing games like games out of the movie "gamer" which was a crap movie but a cool idea.

18/02/2012

Kudos: 1,538

gammaray13

SONY said: Consoles are holding PC gaming back.

are you for real there bud or are you just trolling

21/02/2012

Crows - Best Team in the AFL

Kudos: 48,813

SONY

gammaray13 said:
SONY said: Consoles are holding PC gaming back.

are you for real there bud or are you just trolling

Sorry, twas just me trollin' :(

21/02/2012

MMGN SONY PlayStation Vita club legends: Vinzor - davidhes - abuu - SONY - LMA0 - Flame_PSP - mong

Kudos: 8,827

djrussell

The next gen consoles will be photo realistic I think... every generation gets better, but I think they're gonna go all out in the next couple of years. PS4 and Xbox 3... Nintendo will once again miss the train -- they're releasing current-gen hardware (Wii U) to a next-gen market.

21/02/2012

Kudos: 18,277

abuu91

djrussell said: The next gen consoles will be photo realistic I think... every generation gets better, but I think they're gonna go all out in the next couple of years. PS4 and Xbox 3... Nintendo will once again miss the train -- they're releasing current-gen hardware (Wii U) to a next-gen market.

I wouldn't go as far as claiming "photo realistic" but current hardware can produce images significantly better than what we see in games today.

As for the Wii U: Nintendo has a philosophy based around developing the best possible experience on better priced technology. It is fair to assume that the Wii U wouldn't be breaking massive ground on the visual department, but that's to be expected.

21/02/2012

Kiama, NSW

Kudos: 1,538

gammaray13

@Delta I'd say Rage and Crysis 2 pushed the 360 and PS3 absolutely as far as they'll go,

mate get yourself a PS3 and a copy of Killzone 3 or Resistance 3 or Uncharted 3 and make that statement again cos if you do please go and see an eye Doctor, yeah sure Crysis 2 was ok rage was just rubbish, and i have Crysis 2 with DX11/High Res texture pack running on my PC and it still dont come close to Killzone 3 or Uncharted 3, yeah true a PC could get better than a PS3 when devs program for a $5000 pc and when people can afford such PC, but until then the PS3 will always be better, so man to say that Crysis 2 pushed the PS3 as far as it could go you couldnt be more wrong [Facepalm]

21/02/2012

Crows - Best Team in the AFL

Kudos: 87,358

Skarteh

If you think Killzone 3 and Unchartered 3 look better than Crysis 2 on DirectX11 it's you who needs to visit the optometrist. I've never been impressed by the graphics of a game on my PS3 or 360. Unless you count photo mode in Forza/GT but thats just a rendered still.

I couldn't believe UC3 got so much hype when I saw it.

21/02/2012

Melbourne, Victoria | Walk with me in hell

Kudos: 16,691

Dicky

Skarteh said: If you think Killzone 3 and Unchartered 3 look better than Crysis 2 on DirectX11 it's you who needs to visit the optometrist. I've never been impressed by the graphics of a game on my PS3 or 360. Unless you count photo mode in Forza/GT but thats just a rendered still.
I couldn't believe UC3 got so much hype when I saw it.

He doesn't have a PC, you should see his posts over on Lens of Truth. The kid is a blind PS3 fanboy through and through. He also owns/runs a game store in Adelaide if you believe everything he says... -_-

We definitely need new consoles though, it's mainly a memory limitation but new graphics cards and no 'optional hdd' for xbox would be nice.

22/02/2012

Sesame Street

Kudos: 1,538

gammaray13

Skarteh said: If you think Killzone 3 and Unchartered 3 look better than Crysis 2 on DirectX11 it's you who needs to visit the optometrist. I've never been impressed by the graphics of a game on my PS3 or 360. Unless you count photo mode in Forza/GT but thats just a rendered still.
I couldn't believe UC3 got so much hype when I saw it.

yes i do by a mile if you took the time to have a look at these games you might see for yourself, sure Crysis 2 looks pretty but where are all the little touches that Uncharted and Killzone have the animation during a game. and @Dicky do not make childish remarks about people you dont know, this is just a chat between adults little boy and no need to make out you have a PC and try and sound important cos your not, cos PC fanboy wanna be is just so sad when they make out they have one

22/02/2012

Crows - Best Team in the AFL

Kudos: 16,691

Dicky

gammaray13 said: @Dicky do not make childish remarks about people you dont know, this is just a chat between adults little boy and no need to make out you have a PC and try and sound important cos your not, cos PC fanboy wanna be is just so sad when they make out they have one

Please just stop it, you were banned once don't you know how to get along and be truthful with people?
Both @Skarteh and @Guyver know i have a PC plus many others do on this site. I have provided pics, logged into Steam regulary etc not that i need to prove anything, i believe in honesty.
I know your not an adult, i have conversed with you on other sites as well as watched you claim rediculous statements just as you do here. The game store you claim to own have never heard of you neither. Most of what you claim on this site is in your head and it annoys me, thats not including the abusive messages you have sent me here and on PSN, i think it is you who is a sad little boy.

22/02/2012

Sesame Street

Kudos: 1,538

gammaray13

there you go again @Dicky making stupid remarks just to prove how childish you really are you are so disrespectful, its must be very hard to keep up with all the lies you tell i feel very sorry for you little boy, if you need help with your sad inner self i can get something for you please try a feel better about yourself and try not to be disrespectful to others and you just might have a chance on this planet,
god be with you @Dicky and i hope to be around to see you grow up :)

23/02/2012

Crows - Best Team in the AFL

Kudos: 16,691

Dicky

@Gammaray13

What are you going on about now? -_-

23/02/2012

Sesame Street

Kudos: 102

Delta

Keep it classy MMGN.

I have all the games you mentioned Gammaray, and I still stand by what I said. Killzone looks nice, but it is mostly because it's so obscured with post processing effects. Same with Uncharted. I mentioned Rage and Crysis 2 because they do not rely solely on such techniques. What you see is what you get.

23/02/2012

Kudos: 16

p3gstudio

Look at the new generation of mobile devices, only 8 years ago we were playing on consoles that were more than ten times bigger in size with a fraction on the power. This new power unlock the creativity of artist and programmers who can not only add realism but better gameplay to their games. There are always going to be demos testing old computer graphics techniques in real time as the technology allowed it, sometimes just for the sole purpose of watching this in real time, some of this can be automatically transfered to a game because it consumes all the power all the hardware. We all get used to everything; things, places, people, etc; what today amaze us, tomorrow will be just something of the past.

26/02/2012

Kudos: 13,805

Foetoid

"I can't wait for video games to reach photorealism, because then what will matter is artistic direction, not just sheer realism. That in my opinion is the point where we can say video games have really advanced."

Sooo, do you own a Wii? That console can't rely on gorgeous HD graphics, just artistic direction. Which is why games like Metroid Prime Trilogy, Skyward Sword, Kirbys Epic Yarn and Xenoblade (just to name a few) look better than a lot of games on the HD consoles not because of the resolution, but the artistic direction is just beautiful.

29/02/2012

Sunshine Coast

Kudos: 13,805

Foetoid

gammaray13 said: @Delta I'd say Rage and Crysis 2 pushed the 360 and PS3 absolutely as far as they'll go,
mate get yourself a PS3 and a copy of Killzone 3 or Resistance 3 or Uncharted 3 and make that statement again cos if you do please go and see an eye Doctor, yeah sure Crysis 2 was ok rage was just rubbish, and i have Crysis 2 with DX11/High Res texture pack running on my PC and it still dont come close to Killzone 3 or Uncharted 3, yeah true a PC could get better than a PS3 when devs program for a $5000 pc and when people can afford such PC, but until then the PS3 will always be better, so man to say that Crysis 2 pushed the PS3 as far as it could go you couldnt be more wrong

Yeah Ps3 graphics are definitely on-par with PC graphics. Right?

Get the Adobe Flash Player to see this video.

[Facepalm]

Consoles were maxed out ages ago and anything the PC has done in the last 2 years or so easily looks better than anything on Ps3. I'm not saying Killzone or Uncharted look awful, in fact they look amazing, but to say we need a $5000 PC to make PC graphics look better than a PS3 is just sooo ignorant. I can build a PC for $1200 that will play any PC game in Full HD with AA, with a gorgeous 1080p 24" Lcd, and look noticeably better than anything the Ps3 has ever done. The Ps3 doesn't even run games in native 1080p, in fact i think between the 360 and Ps3 there is barely a dozen games between the two running 1080p native, and those games lack AA and have ridiculously bad effects and shadows.

That being said, i'm really looking forward to an even playing field with the WiiU, Ps4 and "Nextbox" pulling 1080p native on every single game for the system :D

As for the video above, i highly recommend watching it in youtube, maxed resolution, in full-screen. Shows the significant graphical differences between all 3 versions (and even shows that yet again, multiplatform games look better on 360).

29/02/2012

Sunshine Coast

Kudos: 382

Gaminggirl

@ Foetoid Your video above means nothing when a game is made for the 360 and ported over. If they made a game for all 3 without porting the 360 would be put to shame.

29/02/2012

Adelaide Crows

Kudos: 5,976

NinjaBoy

Writing an essay on Serious games. Referenced this new tech as a way for advancement. :P

29/02/2012

The wonderful world of sarcasm...

Kudos: 13,805

Foetoid

Gaminggirl said: @ Foetoid Your video above means nothing when a game is made for the 360 and ported over. If they made a game for all 3 without porting the 360 would be put to shame.

Games made from the ground-up for Ps3 only barely out-do the 360 graphically. The 360 having a much stronger graphics chip than the Ps3 brings the difference between then down to the tiniest margin, and both consoles have very very few native 1080p games (Ps3 numbers only 22 games in 1080p out of 750 total). But either way, the video above was meant to show 'gammaray13' that his comments were ridiculous, not show off the fact the 360 version looks better. I can run skyrim maxed out on a $1200 computer, and that includes the Full HD screen.

02/03/2012

Sunshine Coast

Kudos: 382

Gaminggirl

@ Foetoid Ok i see where your coming from but as a person owning all 3 current consoles please do not tell me that there is not much difference between a 360 game and a ps3 exclusive game. if you think this you must not own a ps3 or in fairy would lol :P

And yes im sure a great computer does great graphics but im yet to see a pc run uncharted or killzone or resistence just to name a few. and when you reply to this please do not say crysis 2 besuase it does not come close. All my opinion though.

02/03/2012

Adelaide Crows

Kudos: 1,538

gammaray13

@foetoid but to say we need a $5000 PC to make PC graphics look better than a PS3 is just sooo ignorant. I can build a PC for $1200 that will play any PC game in Full HD with AA, with a gorgeous 1080p 24" Lcd, and look noticeably better than anything the Ps3 has ever done
SHOW ME

05/03/2012

Crows - Best Team in the AFL

Kudos: 1,538

gammaray13

stickskills.com/... now here is something the makers of heavy rain are doing running real time on PS3 now tell me this looks like shit

09/03/2012

Crows - Best Team in the AFL