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[TekunoRobby]

Thanks to EvilAvatar I found this video on Gamespot. It's an excellent peice about the thoughts of three designers on the state of graphics in the industry.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/uruonlineagesbeyondmyst/media.html?gcst=nvidia_panel.asx

Hosted by the California History Museum and nVidia, GameSpot's Vince Broady moderates a panel discussion titled "Graphics: Then & Now" which features Will Wright, Jordan Mechner and Rand Miller as speakers. Take a look at the 50-minute length panel in this exclusive GameSpot Live special feature.

While Gamespot Complete members get to download the 1.17 gig video, regular visitors can stream it and watch the ~48 minute video in it's entirety.

I really enjoyed it and it's a fantastic look inside the minds of industry legends such as Will Wright (Sim City), Jordan Mechner (Prince of Persia), Rand Miller (Myst). While the beginning 5 minutes or so is really a waste (basic Gamespot history and general explanation) it really picks up after the introductions. If you have the time, please watch it! I think it shouldn't be missed by anyone, especially those who are unfamiliar with these developers.

 

[dskillzhtown]

For those without Gamestop Complete, G4TechTV has a segment about this on 'Pulse' this week. Good stuff and you definitely see how people are going in different directions as far as graphics go.

 

[way more]

I really liked how Will Wright was more intrested in cartoonish graphics and cell-shading because they gave the author more methods of expression and feedback. He really wasn't that concerned with photo-realism.

 

[sprsk]

Will Wright is a cool guy with some interesting ideas. But I don't really agree with his theories on how much of the game should be up to the user. To be honest i dont think users have enough of an attention span to do half of what he expects of them. I do agree that photorealism isnt the pinnacle of graphics though.

A couple points im kinda sad to see they never mentioned is that no one talked about animation and quality of animation as a graphics tool, and how graphics these days seem really just an after thought. A lot of this discussion was basically game design talk and not alot of graphics talk. When it comes to game design it makes me sad more people point to wolfenstien than they do say gunstar heroes. While i think wolfenstein was a breakthrough for a new type of design, few games realize the perfection and preciseness of the games functions like gunstar heroes or even something like GTA3.

 

[GigaDrive]

I do not want photorealism in games. I just want CG-ish graphics that are not too realistic. I want more fantasy themes and styles.

 

[Hournda]

Can anyone sum up what was on the video? I'm interesting in what they had to say.

 

[sprsk]

Can anyone sum up what was on the video? I'm interesting in what they had to say.

mmm

Basically it was 3 guys talking about their theorys about game design. There was no overall theme or anything as the guys had pretty varied thoughts on the subject. Graphics and graphic theory didnt get discussed as much as it should have, it was more game theory. They said some obvious things about how photorealism isnt the pinnacle of graphics and little else(on the subject of graphics).

Personally i think they interviewed the wrong people. These guys are mathmaticians, not visual artists. I mean hell will wright was talking about wanting to make a game where all visuals are generated by algorythms. It seems a little silly to me, but hey whatever.

 

[cuccoo]

the discussion gets better toward the end. more people need to watch this.

bump

 

[LakeEarth]

Best part is at the end, when one fatass gives them a standing ovation, yet no one else does.