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Comment by dkersten | Hacker News Reader

> > more detail doesn't make a game better

> Have you played red dead redemption 2? The detail elevates the game to one of the greatest masterpieces of all time.

Absolutely. Graphics do have their place, but most games don’t need to be that extreme level of detail. For one, I played RDR2 on a stock PS4 and the level of detail and immersion was incredible, despite the hardware already being underpowered by the time RDR2 was released. Ie you can achieve the level of immersion and masterpiece without pushing the limits of graphics.

And the most successful game ever is still minecraft.

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As someone that first played it on a PS4 and then again recently on a maxed out PC, I can confidently say the immersion was superior on the better machine. In fact, I was salty that I first experienced it on such a gimped device.

Yeah, I have a bit of regret first playing the Witness on an hd520 then PS4 then rtx2060 :/.

I have the exact opposite experience when I get to play a game again with better graphics. It's like I get to experience it all over again, which is great

Good for you if have the time to replay the same game with different graphics. I don't, which sucks and which is why I'd rather play if first with best graphics.

Yes, RDR2 is closer to a simulation than a game, and fidelity matters.

Rockstar knows their community. They spent around $1 in marketing for every $1 spent on the development of the game itself, totalling around $500mil, and the game paid for itself opening weekend with over $700mil in sales.

The studio has managed to master this sort of high-fidelity development while fully recuperating all costs, and fostering an incredibly loyal fan base. (Personal data point; replayed every single Rockstar title last year)

You cannot criticize such a company for delivering high-fidelity projects and pushing the edge. (You can criticize their working environment, however)

And without such companies blazing ahead, we wouldn't be currently undergoing a revolutionary phase in tech history as we explore the power of massively-parallel, computationally-intensive AI algorithms.

Superior, sure. I’m not saying that better graphics aren’t, well, better.

But I am saying that it’s unnecessary for a deep immersive experience. I was equally immersed 20 years ago playing Gothic and Oblivion as I am playing recent games, graphically speaking. IMHO the differences only become apparent if you play the same game with different visuals, as you did playing RDR2 on PS4 and again on PC.

It’s also worth remembering that the vast majority of players also don’t have access to a maxed out PC.

> I was equally immersed 20 years ago playing Gothic and Oblivion as I am playing recent games, graphically speaking.

But you wouldn't be immersed on Gothic now. By playing gothic you set a new bar for yourself and that's how the industry works. Audiences everywhere get more and more sophisticated so much so that what worked back then won't work today and what works today won't work tomorrow. Can't wait until the time RDR2 becomes an "old" game with shitty graphics.

No video game has made it to the other side of the uncanny Valley. That's the trouble with realism.

There is one coming out I think called Unrecorded which to me looks quiet uncanny and close to actual body cam footage / realism. It's in dev anyways.

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