Graphics Don't Make a Game

A note before reading this post.  This post like everything I say on this blog is all my opinion.  You have the right to agree or disagree, but there is no reason to get angry over it.  Everybody has a different view on things, this post just shows mine.  Now with that out of the way, let's get down to business.

There was one aspect of video games that took a major leap with this generation of game consoles other than the Wii.  It was the graphics.  With the explosion of HD, game graphics got amped up.  No longer could we count polygons on a characters' face or see that keyboard in the computer room was just a flat texture.  Everything was much smoother and a little more lifelike, but something was lost in the process.  Some gamers' respect for anything that was not HD so to say.  This leap produced a whole bunch of graphics whores, people who cannot look past the superficial HD gloss on most games today.  News flash, graphics do not make a game.  Take it from somebody who still plays PS3 and Xbox 360 games on a standard definition television, the game graphics that stand out are the ones with excellent art direction.  Look at the big Nintendo games for the Wii, they did not have the technology to produce something with graphics like Gears of War, but still the graphics of Kirby's Epic Yarn or Super Mario Galaxy will age much better than Modern Warfare or Assassin's Creed.

In an area that changes so rapidly in video games these days, putting together gorgeous looking graphics might impress on first glance, but in the long run they do not mean that much when compared to the reason we buy games.  That is for the gameplay.  Just think for a moment now.  10 or 20 years from now, will you remember a game for its graphics or the great memories you had playing it?  It is most definitely the latter of the two.  So what gets me upset are the people who still to this day say that Wii is not a system because it is not HD or that PS Vita will be the best portable because it has almost PS3 quality graphics (to those people, the most popular portable game is made with 2D sprites).  In an industry where gameplay trumps all (and if that is not what you believe, why do you play games?), why do the majority of gamers still get caught up with all this superficial sugarcoated crap that they see with their eyes rather than what we experience on a mental and emotional level while playing?  Give me a game where all the art is just stick drawings or made of little dots and as long as the gameplay is fun and compelling I will most likely enjoy it, but the question is if you will?

Agree or disagree.  I would like to hear what everybody thinks about this topic in the comments below.   From reading this post, you know my thoughts.  Let's hear your thoughts and I hope you enjoyed this post.  Cheers.