A Brief History of (Video Game) Graphics
Posted by Rampant Coyote on November 24, 2014
These are fun to watch as either a gamer or as a game developer, this is a five-part series of short videos explaining the major revolutions / trends / milestones in video game graphics over the years. From vector graphics to bloom effects, it’s a pretty entertaining little set of videos. For us old-school fans, it’s just awesome seeing classic games that we remember so well as being representative of the effects touted here.
I had something of a belated self-discovery when watching these videos. There were a few arcade games that I remember friends gushing over that I just didn’t “get.” I tried playing them many times to see what everyone else thought was so awesome, but in at least one case (Turbo), the game left me cold. In another (Moon Patrol), I thought the game was reasonably well-executed and fun to play, but I didn’t get its popularity. Watching the videos, I note that both games were pioneering in graphical effects.
So it would seem that my being less impressed by graphics than by gameplay has been with me for a long time. That’s hardly 100% – I can get wowed by the shiny just like anybody else, and probably hold more nostalgia than I should for the original Unreal than I should for that very reason. And hey, I dug lens flares that overwhelmed 3D games in the 1990s (the “light bloom effect” of that era). But I was also one of the minority of people who thought Quake was something of a failure next to Duke Nukem 3D. While being less impressive technologically, I thought Duke had far more interesting weaponry and tools for the player (and certainly a more interesting, um, attitude). And I was never a big fan of bloom effects.
As a game developer, unfortunately, this means I’ve got a blind spot for graphics, and I need help in that department. I can get so focused on gameplay that I don’t always recognize the line between “acceptable” and “unacceptable” on the visual front. Even as an indies with retro-style graphics, there can be a huge difference in quality. If you actually play (or watch a video of) Thomas was Alone, you can see there is some real artistry in the animation and presentation of the game even in such minimalist graphics.
Filed Under: Art - Comments: 2 Comments to Read
ottomobiehl said,
Good find. I love stuff like this!
Cuthalion said,
Just finished watching these after following the link from this post! Very interesting series. It helped emphasize for me the transitions and changes we’ve gone through.