Importance and role of graphics in games now, and where they're headed in the future?

wittyusername

Me and a friend had an interesting discussion on the role of graphics in games earlier, and was wondering what penny arcade had to say on the matter! Do you think they will soon platuea, do you think in 30 years we will be playing games which look like this video of amazing CGI, or do you think sales will become more gameplay and non graphical content driven and less money will be spent on graphics? What does penny-arcade think?

tbloxham

That video isn't particularly impressive graphically except for the hair and motions, and when it was posted here earlier we realised that both the hair and motions are either directly captured from an actor (motions) or not CGI at all.

However graphics will always drive sales, and graphics will be photo realistic like that within perhaps 15-20 years, 5-10 years from now for looking indistinguishable when stationary, 5 more years for perfect indistinguishable motion in a controlled setting, and then 5 more for indistinguishable graphics at any scale in any setting.

I predict costs will rise for the next year or so, then games will be satisified with the level of graphics available and only introduce them once they become cheaper to implement. Graphics always help sales, and will always be a big part, however they will soon start becoming a cheaper part.