Realism

Jackie Haystack · Spy Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 165

In games just to clarify on the point, what's your view on it?

The reason I'm asking is I recently got my first 'realistic' game in the form of Arma 2. Now, I am not going to lie, a part of my hates this game completely, all my brain screams that it's wrong and doesn't give me the cheap thrills of it's competitors in the shooter market. But, in spite of this, I love it to death in a small way.

It's hard, very, very hard, aiming is overly sensitive so if you panic you die, enemies automaticly seek to reduce their profile to you when they spot you, a single bullet with have you crying to a medic. I have spent the past two hours doing the first mission, I still haven't done it. Five restarts on an early part before it finally clicked.

I can't kill everyone. That was the simple rule, I realy couldn't, the aiming was too hard, the trooper you play has realistic everything, so if I charged, I died. Upon that realisation I got the furthest since following my squad on a slow but sure path through the town and setting up an airstrikes co-ordinates before heading to my extraction point. There has being no ott explosions, I'd only killed two hostiles (having aimed for twenty seconds for just as many metres to kill them at), no spraying bullets and to be frank, nothing which I would normally associate as FUN but as mentioned I have a special spot in my heart for it now.

So, what's your take on hyper realism? And also, what sort of games do you prefer to be hyper realistic?
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JamesG · Co-Administrator Joined: 28 Jul 2009 Posts: 14

I'd like to claim I enjoy realism in such things, but honestly, one of my favourite FPS games is Half-Life 2, in which a theoretical physicist carries around an arsenal (Two handguns, two machine guns, one shotgun, one crossbow, one frickin' BAZOOKA, five grenades, a crowbar and Gravity Gun. Not forgetting the unlimited bugbait) with him and singehandedly wipes out much of the Combine army, and gets through at least 5 conversations without actually speaking.

So I suppose it's a balance. I believe the primary role of a game is to be just that - a game, which implies fun and entertainment. Beyond that it becomes less a game and more a simulator.

Now, here's where I'd draw a few lines with realism. It has to be somewhat believable. I shall forever despise the Final Fantasy series for its lack of logic and sense in regards to 'gunblades'. I thought huge four foot cleavers were bad, but the inherent impracticality of the gunblade just makes me go into an enormous rant like this one. But then, I could just be biased because I find Anime-style stuff so unbelievable and formulaic anyway.

So - Games must be fun, not just simulators. However they must have an element of logic and realism in them. Half-Life 2's premise of the player being the most dangerous physicist alive is fun, but the world is very realistic. It has normal citizens, for once, the settings are detailed very well, and is one of the few games I have played where the player does not start with a gun, and in fact is able to solely crowbar his way through some levels. I remember being completely amazed by the detail the first time I played. Plus, the storyline makes sense, the characters speak, look and act like human beings.
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Jackie Haystack · Spy Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 165

Yes Half life 2 is god like in every way. With regards to those enviroments I have so, so much respect for the intellegence behind both their design and realisation. The design makes use of alot of effects such as colour highlighting and other such acts (go through the comments if you own orange box, very intresting) And as for realisation, well, lets just say I've tried the Hammer creator (from source SDK) which they used. It's easy to access but stil.... wow/

And yeah, I like FF on occassions and I don't mind the ott stuff as well as realism, it is as you say, a matter of fun and waht you count as fun.
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Sade · Rogue Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 63

In terms of graphics, I lean towards realistic styles over, say, cartoony styles. However I do not like the kind of realistic gameplay you've described.
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Jackie Haystack · Spy Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 165

Ah Kk, just thought I'd clarify that I'm talking about gameplay not graphics.
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JustinG · Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 1:22 pm Post subject:

I enjoy realism, and yet I enjoy nonrealism.

Some games, like Ghost Recon (yes, the original) are strategy-based action games, and rely on the careful planning of one bullet rather than a maniacal charge ala Jedi Outcast.

I play an unrealistic space game - Freelancer. It's so very unrealistic, but I still love it.
Same goes with the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King game. Unrealistic, oodles of fun.

And then there's bridges between realism and nonrealism.
There's strategic action games like Assassin's Creed (which I love to pieces) that are sort of realistic, and yet they aren't. (I wish that game was harder. The boss fights just consisted of many men being thrown at you, not harder opponents. And adding beggars and maniacs does not constitute as making it harder in a healthy way.) And there's the games like Medal of Honour: Airborne that are sort of stuck in the middle. (Maybe leaning towards silliness.)

And I play more realistic games, like Ghost Recons or Splinter Cells, etc...
(I'm not sure if Real Time Strategy counts as realistic or not...

I don't have a preference beween realism and nonrealism, I suppose.
It just has to be done correctly and well. Like James said - Final Fantasy.... No.
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Jackie Haystack · Spy Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 165

as a point, I'm pretty sure a few of you could have put in some games as your answer on the poll.

An' ghost recon andvance warfighter 2 was good, first game of that type I'd played really and it stunned me with the balance between strategy and all out assault.
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JustinG · Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 1:34 pm Post subject:

Yes, warfighter was good, though it was a little less realistic than the first.
(Read: I didn't like the helicopter duel, among other things...)
But it was good fun through and through.
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Indrick151 · Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 1:42 pm Post subject:

I like the real and the ridiculous. My only big bugbear comes into play with RTS games, where they have a whole base built up in area and you jst churn units out on a battlefield. It just makes me confused, because it doesn't show "real time strategy" it shows "real time micromanagement".

I also like games that aren’t realistic a little more, more so because they give me a sense that I (the protagonist in the game) have a greater measure of control over the world and have power to change things (even when all I do is follow a preset set of directions) because to me a good game makes me feel empowered, allowing me to be free of some or all of the limitations of real life. And as I pointed out with my bugbear issue of RTS games, being a master micromanager does not empower me, it bogs me down in what real life makes me do at school.
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Jackie Haystack · Spy Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 165

Yeah RTS's in general are one of my least faveourite games (with the exception of World In Conflict) and that is why most people liek unrealistic, it's the power boost, the escapism.
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Indrick151 · Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 1:57 pm Post subject:

Yeah, but I'm turning away from it in favour of D&D and other things around a tabletop, because no matter how realistic a game gets it's still a lonely thing (and multiplayer doesn't really count to me because it's still done on your own at a computer)
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Jackie Haystack · Spy Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 165

Gaming is brilliant at school it's very social we do split screen.
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Indrick151 · Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 2:07 pm Post subject:

yes well at our school the tech department is either too incompetent (crashes computers left right and centre) or is like big brother monitoring the whole system for anyone playing games of any kind, or stuff...
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Leonal · Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 2:14 pm Post subject:

Realism in Video Games? Meh only in some games most of my favourite games aren't even closed to being tagged as real these games would be Unreal Tournament, Team Fortress 2, Pokemon, etc. But some realism games are good like COD and Battlefield...

Jackie Haystack · Spy Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 165

(that be why I bring my x-box in Indrick)

And yeah I know what you mean... though COD is not realistic. Don't even say that. It's not realistic in anyway at all.
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