faetal on 19/12/2015 at 01:10
The tech plateau can be a good thing. The studios designing those engiens have done so for big AAA games, but a lot of them, like UE4 can be licensed by smaller studios and independent devs, meaning that some of the riskier stuff can have some seriously good production values for not much extra cost or effort - leaving a lot more chance for one of these games to hit that sweet spot of everything being just right.
EvaUnit02 on 19/12/2015 at 03:59
Quote Posted by GMDX Dev
but I still have a lot of love for Tenchu. It is a shame it died a horrible, typical modern death.
Did you play Tenchu 4: Shadow Assassins for Wii? Aside from the shite Red Steel-esque boss fights and analogue stick aiming for projectiles (because yes, let's NOT use the 1:1 pixel precision aiming offered by the Wii wand :rolleyes:), it's actually pretty bloody good IMO.
Jason Moyer on 19/12/2015 at 05:45
Quote Posted by icemann
I for one loved those games
You also liked the NES version of Dragon's Lair. :(
GMDX Dev on 19/12/2015 at 05:54
Quote Posted by EvaUnit02
Did you play Tenchu 4: Shadow Assassins for Wii? Aside from the shite Red Steel-esque boss fights and analogue stick aiming for projectiles (because yes, let's NOT use the 1:1 pixel precision aiming offered by the Wii wand :rolleyes:), it's actually pretty bloody good IMO.
Missed that one, may check it out. Reviews are mixed and gameplay sounds dumbed down some, but people still have positive things to say about it such as a lack of cheap tactics available (no more poison rice bowl) so it may be worth a try.
icemann on 19/12/2015 at 07:42
Quote Posted by Jason Moyer
You also liked the NES version of Dragon's Lair. :(
No I liked the AVGN episode on it which inspired me to do a remake of it.
The original game is horrible. I like to think that my remake of it was a vast improvement but I'll let the community decide on that.
I chose the game due to it being so bad. The intention being to turn something bad into something good.
heywood on 19/12/2015 at 14:43
Quote Posted by faetal
The tech plateau can be a good thing. The studios designing those engiens have done so for big AAA games, but a lot of them, like UE4 can be licensed by smaller studios and independent devs, meaning that some of the riskier stuff can have some seriously good production values for not much extra cost or effort - leaving a lot more chance for one of these games to hit that sweet spot of everything being just right.
Yes I agree that the engine tech available to small studios and indies is more mature, easier to use, and closer to the leading edge than ever before. Thanks largely to Tim Sweeney. That is a good side effect.
In theory, the tech plateau should have also helped to control the development costs of big AAA titles. Since the big studios no longer have to invest so much into the development and support of engines and tools, that should have resulted in more game content and possibly more risk taking. Or in the case of Bethsoft RPGs, better writing. In some cases, it may have. But in general, AAA game budgets have remained high and the resources have been put into making them more cinematic.
faetal on 19/12/2015 at 15:16
I've noticed a plateau of late with regard to technical beauty. Can't put my finger on exactly when, but I can't remember the last time a game's graphics or sound made think WOW in terms of there being large step up. All of the highly produced stuff for the last 2-3 years seem to be within a standard deviation of each other looks-wise.
Hopefully this means that more effort can be ploughed into gameplay, plot etc...
Sulphur on 19/12/2015 at 16:34
We are basically in the era of diminishing returns. Considering the most pimped out graphical effects these days are screen space reflections and physically based rendering, we're essentially pushing towards realism over pure oomph. Part of this is because the tech is no longer restricted like back in the PS2 days with GTA characters featuring paddles for hands. Today's level of hardware and tech enables developers to make games look ridiculously close to playable CG movies at this point, which is brilliant, because all things being equal, the real differentiator now is artistic direction.
Having said that, have you played some of the more visually incredible games released lately? I've been playing hours and hours of Batman: Arkham Knight, and it pulls out some tricks that really made me go, 'oh, wow' at points. The art direction isn't terribly unique, but the overall presentation, with the lighting and animation and the ridiculously detailed city to zip through from one end to another with nary a loading screen in sight (apart from the initial load) is impressive. And yet, Alien: Isolation is the game that leaves the strongest visual impact on me, because it has art direction that is absolutely masterful in tandem with incredibly well-engineered technology. I could wax poetic about the lighting model or the particle effects, but the key point is it recreates Alien's artistic direction so well it feels like you're playing a long-lost sequel to the original movie.
faetal on 19/12/2015 at 16:59
It's cool because most of the recent advances in graphical tech have been reality based, so things like lights, shadows, reflections, occlusion, changes in dynamic range etc...
The code is written, the wheel is invented.
