Are Games Becoming Too Real Or Not Real Enough?

Is too much realism in gaming a good or a bad thing?

[FlameHawk]

It depends on what the gamer likes. That is why there isn't just 1 game. There are a bunch of games for every gamer.

[Freak of Nature]

I think that we will always see artists strive to get as close to real as possible, it's a wide scope from people who like realism the most to people who like to get as far from realism the most...Even a mix of sci-fi realistic looking art.

Different styles in different games are always good, diverse choices, are always a good thing. With the new gen around the corner I think even more realism will be sought in characters and environments.

I personally want to see realistic toons, caricatures come to life, creations that you just don't see walking around in everyday life... Worlds that are quirky and stylish, creative and unique to our World, something fresh and give us an escape from the norm...

[ALLWRONG]

It doesn't matter to me if they look real or not.

[NeXXXuS]

Should be renamed: "Are gamers becoming too picky?"

[Hicken]

How "real" a game is only matters in certain genres. Sims, for example, need to be as real as possible. They can never be too real.

Whether or not a game is "too real" or "not real enough," though, ultimately winds up being the impression of each individual.

Me? It's a case-by-case basis. I don't want realism in my fantasy RPGs, for example. Not too much, anyway. But I definitely want realism in my sim racers.

That's just me, though.

[GribbleGrunger]

Quite a broad question there...

[Rashonality]

realism as literal meaning isn't important, what's important is A.I

imagine a game with a huge Fantasy\Real World\Alternate Universe where NPCs can think for them selves, react with what's happening around them, their actions are motivated by their believe what in their world from religions chemistry and even physics....

that's the future of gaming my dear, that's what developers should work towards....

[mastershredder]

That is why we have definitions. Simulation and videogame.
Last time I checked, (overall) it has not changed. Even though some think it has, they are vastley different in their design purpose. What you do with it is something else. I recall many a-times turning FA18 stike hornet into into an arcade like experience with in game modifiers, but as a whole it was a simulaton engine so it was still laced with tedius tasks just to get up in the air, stay in the air and land. Also, sims don't have to look real, they have to react 'real'. In simulation it's all about action and concequence. In video games, there is room to alter, remove and/or exaggerate those actions and concequences.

Let's not re-define what already is.

[tgcorke]

I was about to submit this one, I'm glad to see thumbACTIVE is getting some exposure.