>"For a long time we were pushing up against the limits of what the computer could do,” he says. “We were trying to get the most out of the available hardware and then tap onto the players imagination to provide the rest. That was the art of game design, to provide that stimulus. You would imagine being a fighter pilot, or a pirate, or the king of a great civilisation.” Where some games are more like films, gorgeous to look at but where many of the artistic decisions have been taken for you, Meier’s games are more like novels, inviting the reader to fill in the gaps. His maxims."

Leaving the rest up to imagination is the key part IMO. Rollercoaster Tycoon, Simcity 2 & 4 (never played 3000), Warcraft II (and too some extent, III), Baldur's Gate I/II.. the graphics are just enough to tell you what's going on, and your brain fills in the rest of the details. I feel the closer graphics approach reality, and the more details their are, your brain begins to filter out those details, and notices the flaws/unpolished pixels, which ends up taking away from the immersive experience.