Login:  Password:   Remember?  
Show Quick Gamelist
Games:397  Guilds:2,001
Members:1,143,553  Online:0
Guests:0  Posts:3,117,222
Recent forum postsRSS
Active threads
Cloud view
List all forums
General Forums
Developers Corner General Discussion
Popular Game Forums
Click a status to find game forum
Game Forums
Click a letter to find game forum

MMORPG.com Discussion Forums

General Discussion

General Discussion 

The Pub at MMORPG.COM  » Graphics: Cartoony or Realistic.

3 Pages 1 2 3 » Search
58 posts found
RetroMonster

Novice Member

Joined: 2/26/09
Posts: 280

The World Is Going To Hell and I'm Taking The Bus.

 
3/06/09 1:26:09 PM#1

 I prefer REALISTIC. Listen to what this guy has to say about the both of e'm:

 

 

 

There are two fundamental graphic styles in most MMORPG games and they are Realistic and Cartoony. Some of the most popular free to play games today are anime inspired and thus fit into the cartoony model. Games like Maple Story and Scions of Fate have millions of players worldwide and one of their most attractive features is their graphic style. Even popular Western pay to play games like World of Warcraft benefit from the cartoony style.

Realistic graphics are generally pursued by Western developers though they are becoming more common in Asia too. Voyage Century is a clear example of Asian developers taking an interest in realistic graphic styles. Published by IGG, Voyage Century has markedly different graphics than other more traditionally Asian IGG games such as Zu Online and Tales of Pirates.

The FPS genre has long been dominated by realistic styled games. Shooters are considered to be on the leading edge in terms of graphical capabilities and it often takes other genres years to catch up. Even in theMMO field, games like War Rock, Soldier Front, and GunZ are all realistic styled. Recently, however, many developers have seen the wisdom of trying something new. A good example is the new game under development by DICE, Battlefield Heroes. Known for their historically themed Battlefield series, DICE has decided to offer a free to play, third person shooter withcartoony graphics that draw inspiration from Team Fortress 2.

As a personal preference, I tend to favor cartoony graphics. These games tend have lower system requirements yet can still look impressive. Most realistic games limit their audience by setting their system requirements too high which I feel is one of the reasons for the general decline of PC gaming in relation to consoles. My preference does change depending on what genre we're talking about. ForRTS games I like realistic graphics over cartoony graphics.

Do you have a preference when it comes to graphic styles? Is it genre specific or game specific? Please share your thoughts with me by leaving a comment below!

 

MY COMMENT:

Realistic.
Nobody today likes cartoony stuff unless your at a young age and very immature. Although some adults may Dig that look, most adults don't. Image EVE ONLINE being cartoony, it would suck. Even though the game isn't just about graphics, it wouldn't be the same. Therfore things should be realistic, at least if they want hits for their game.
I understand it's not all about graphics but in some cases it is. Graphics is a big part of the world today andcartoony is out dated. Realistic will be made fun of in the future, but for now, its the thing.

How do you like YOUR Graphics?

Cartoony
Realistic
Pixel
(login to vote)
Mrbloodworth

Hard Core Member

Joined: 3/20/05
Posts: 4908

"pleasantly paralyzed"

3/06/09 1:32:31 PM#2

To many people confuse "Cartoony" with stylized.

----------
"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me

"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123

"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.

How are you?" -Me

Xiaoki

Advanced Member

Joined: 3/07/04
Posts: 936

3/06/09 2:54:38 PM#3


Originally posted by RetroMonster
Nobody today likes cartoony stuff unless your at a young age and very immature. Although some adults may Dig that look, most adults don't. Image EVE ONLINE being cartoony, it would suck. Even though the game isn't just about graphics, it wouldn't be the same. Therfore things should be realistic, at least if they want hits for their game.
I understand it's not all about graphics but in some cases it is. Graphics is a big part of the world today andcartoony is out dated. Realistic will be made fun of in the future, but for now, its the thing.


This has got to be some of the most horrible generalizations made on this board in a while and that is quite a feat.

Your use of absolutes in the most subjective aspect of a visual based entertainment medium speaks volumes of your hubris and your ignorance.

Mannish

Hard Core Member

Joined: 9/03/08
Posts: 890

Everything is not for everybody.

3/06/09 2:55:56 PM#4

I dont like Cartoony or Realistic.

Abrahmm

Apprentice Member

Joined: 12/01/05
Posts: 2401

3/06/09 2:59:11 PM#5
Originally posted by Mrbloodworth

To many people confuse "Cartoony" with stylized.

 

Too many developers think "stylized" means cartoony, as most "stylized" graphics look cartoony.

Frankly I don't like either and always prefer realistic.

Tried: LotR, CoH, AoC, WAR, Jumpgate Classic
Played: SWG, Guild Wars, WoW
Playing: Eve Online, Counter-strike
Loved: Star Wars Galaxies
Waiting for: Earthrise, Guild Wars 2, anything sandbox.

shae

Apprentice Member

Joined: 5/06/05
Posts: 2459

"Don''t take life seriously because you can''t come out of it alive."

- Warren Miller

3/06/09 3:14:37 PM#6

As with any game I play I want the graphics to properly represent and bolster the world in which I am playing.

In other words if I'm playing WAR or WoW I expect the graphics to properly represent the Intelectual Property they are based on. If I'm playing a realistic shooter a la Raibow (Etc.) I expect good realistic graphics that bring me into that experience.

In my opinion there is a time and place for "graphic types". Recently Left 4 Dead (PC and 360 Version) I provided proof to this affect, the graphics are on topic and right for the feeling of the game but are not really the best graphics ever released.

Reklaw

Elite Member

Joined: 1/07/06
Posts: 3305

Freedom is the will to be responsible to ourselves.

3/06/09 3:20:51 PM#7

To me, it has to have a mature look.

Lets take I game I happen to enjoy, sorry currently no mmorpg, other then some I am not aloud to speak of freely, there is GTA4, in a sense atleast to me it's the most realistic open world game I have ever played in way of looks, on the other hand even in high detail Rockstar always manage to have a distinct style to it, which is good in my opinion, but which lets it slide slighty towards a more cartoonish look in a mature way. This a a look I really would love seeing in a MMORPG one day.

Graphic looks that are to cartoony, that for some reason I have outgrown, not due to age, wel perhaps might play a part, but also due to already been there sort of and ready for the new, for example WOW was fun for a while, but at a certain time I just could look at what I saw, on one hand I really like the artstyle of WOW, on the other hand I started to play the game merly for it's feature's instead of what I was used to playing MMORPG's, which is living the life of my character <<<<GAMERSTYLE!!

------------------------------------------------------------
YOU do not need to agree with me as I am only SHARING my own opinion which can be different from yours. Thanks to forums we can share our opinions and discus them.

Mrbloodworth

Hard Core Member

Joined: 3/20/05
Posts: 4908

"pleasantly paralyzed"

3/06/09 3:23:43 PM#8
Originally posted by Abrahmm
Originally posted by Mrbloodworth

To many people confuse "Cartoony" with stylized.

 

Too many developers think "stylized" means cartoony, as most "stylized" graphics look cartoony.

Frankly I don't like either and always prefer realistic.


All of your "Realistic" Graphics are stylized. Realistic, stylized, and cartoon are different things, even you are confused.

Next, you will say Anime are cartoons.

 

----------
"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me

"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123

"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.

How are you?" -Me

Raztor

Advanced Member

Joined: 12/19/06
Posts: 666

EQ-WoW raider
EvE Trader

3/06/09 3:31:45 PM#9
Originally posted by RetroMonster

Nobody today likes cartoony stuff unless your at a young age and very immature. 

 

What a load of bs. Stopped reading there. 

Fritz123

Novice Member

Joined: 4/13/06
Posts: 14

3/06/09 3:32:38 PM#10

Realistic with a bit of a twist. Aion/ Guild Wars = yes. WoW= no.

Abrahmm

Apprentice Member

Joined: 12/01/05
Posts: 2401

3/06/09 3:41:33 PM#11
Originally posted by Mrbloodworth
Originally posted by Abrahmm
Originally posted by Mrbloodworth

To many people confuse "Cartoony" with stylized.

 

Too many developers think "stylized" means cartoony, as most "stylized" graphics look cartoony.

Frankly I don't like either and always prefer realistic.


All of your "Realistic" Graphics are stylized. Realistic, stylized, and cartoon are different things, even you are confused.

Next, you will say Anime are cartoons.

 

You seem to be the one that is confused. Realistic graphics are realistically stylized, as in they are stylized to look realistic, while cartoony graphics are stylized to look cartoony.

The major problem is developers make crappy looking, cartoony graphics, and then slap the word "Stylized" on it as an excuse. They really should just come out and say "We made these graphics look stupid so that Aunt Sally and her Pentium II Packard Bell can play our game".

As for Anime, they look like cartoons to me. Frankly I don't really care as I find anime to be extremely lame.

Tried: LotR, CoH, AoC, WAR, Jumpgate Classic
Played: SWG, Guild Wars, WoW
Playing: Eve Online, Counter-strike
Loved: Star Wars Galaxies
Waiting for: Earthrise, Guild Wars 2, anything sandbox.

Josher

Elite Member

Joined: 7/25/03
Posts: 1414

3/06/09 4:10:02 PM#12

The art syle just needs to fit the game and tone.  I dont' prefer one over the other.  I like them all because I'm an artist;)

If the game is depicting realistic events and expects me to take it serious, then it needs to look realistic.  It wouldn't make sense to see rabits or mice with no pants talking about serious economic and social issues.  It also wouldn't make sense to watch a realistic looking adult, bouncing around like superman, talking like a 6 years old.  It has to make sense.  Its part of the reason Anime for the most part comes off as absurd.  Teenage fem looking boys, that kind of look like girls that sound like 40 year olds, yet have the resonsibility of the world on their shoulders, YET have the maturity of 8 year olds with ADD, who have talking animal pets that are supposed to be wise and all knowing, and all of this is to be taken seriously...so many contridicting concepts jumbled together.  Not all Anime is like that, but it sure makes up a big chunk of it=)

I prefer stylized art thats animated well.   Very few videogames ever move well enough to fool me into thinking their realistic.  Motion capture isn't enough.  Normally the more realistic it is, the more wooden and robotic  the faces are, which just makes the game look that much worse.

For example, WOW and WAR look far better to me the AOC does, because I'm not looking at a still frame.  In motion, AOC comes of as stiff and more FAKE than the latter.  WHile playing WOW or WAR I never needed to accept  it as realistic because it wasn't trying to be.  It didn't need it to fool me.  ANy game that tries to be realistic has to convince me its real and thats a very very difficult thing to do.

Valentina

Advanced Member

Joined: 5/28/06
Posts: 855

They told me I'd never survive, but survive was my middle name.

3/06/09 4:12:38 PM#13

I perfer somewhere in the middle. I like my games to look and feel like games. I also think you can do more with a balance between the two, and it also seems like it's much less taxing on the majority of systems.

Playing: Age of Conan, Aion: Tower of Eternity.


Waiting For: Guild Wars 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer

Punk999

Novice Member

Joined: 10/26/04
Posts: 453

Why do you read this?

3/06/09 4:35:30 PM#14
Originally posted by Raztor
Originally posted by RetroMonster

Nobody today likes cartoony stuff unless your at a young age and very immature. 

 

What a load of bs. Stopped reading there. 

 

.

XImpalerX

Novice Member

Joined: 2/15/07
Posts: 490

"As you think, so shall you become"

3/06/09 4:35:49 PM#15

  I appreciate games with great styles under both categories. I grew up with the original NES, so "cartoony was normal, even when they were trying to be "realistic" it still was  cartoony realistic.

   I would say the newer generation of games, maybe whos first console was a PS2, may be jaded by cartoony graphics. i can name plenty of great games that fit both categories, that are enjoyed by any age range.

  

Cynthe

Novice Member

Joined: 5/22/06
Posts: 1379

Dreamer, dream me a gift.

3/06/09 4:43:02 PM#16
Originally posted by RetroMonster

 

MY COMMENT:

Realistic.
Nobody today likes cartoony stuff unless your at a young age and very immature. Although some adults may Dig that look, most adults don't.

 

That statement itself is immature. It depends on the audience yes but mostly it depends on the theme and overall style you are going for. Theme is most important.

Champions is seriously stylized and has that comic feel but it certainly still looks pretty cool to a number of people and I bet most of them are older then you.

(,,,)=^__^=(,,,)
~ Dream Bytes Blog & Vlog ~ Gamer DNA ~

paulscott

Elite Member

Joined: 12/04/05
Posts: 5412

If you walk far enough you will meet yourself

3/06/09 5:07:45 PM#17

Most of the time I could care less since you will not notice the graphics at all after playing for 15 mins, this even holds true for me in text/browser games.  

____

However when I do have to choose between two completely identical games I'd probably go for the one that was "cartoonier" just because everything you can interact with is more defined and you can tell where stuff starts and ends better.  

I also utterly hate games that have only have the color "D  I  R  T" in them, then after that forcing a bit of realism out of their art by applying a stupid post effect and render filter.

Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it.
--Brian Kernighan

Syri

Novice Member

Joined: 8/05/04
Posts: 210

3/06/09 5:55:05 PM#18

Saying that nobody likes the anime/cartoon style is a bit, no, a HECK of a generalisation. There are a lot of people who like all kinds of styles, and you can't possibly claim to know all of them. Even from previous discussions on these forums over graphics, you can find that a lot of people like all different kinds of graphical styles.

Personally, the graphical style isn't a big issue, as long as the game plays right, and has the right community and "feel" to it, it can use any graphic style going. I have to admit though that I find it hard to get into any of the 2D/semi-3D games though, I guess it's the fact that they just don't convey the same level of imersion.

------------------------------
Currently playing: Lord of the Rings Online (EU)

former player of: Dark age of Camelot, Everquest 2, Guild Wars, Star Wars Galaxies, WoW, Warhammer online

Consensus

Hard Core Member

Joined: 3/22/07
Posts: 1598

Darkfall: the golden turd.

3/06/09 5:59:04 PM#19

Cell shaded drawn look but realistic (not jacked up proportions)

Raston

Apprentice Member

Joined: 9/19/06
Posts: 434

3/06/09 6:08:15 PM#20

Personally, I'll take cartoony over plastic wars anyday...  The problem with the "realistic" graphics groups all the animations I've seen tend to look like the avatars are running around with sticks up their asses.  They look like animated barbie and ken dolls for the most part.

I'll take a animeish EQ2 over the 'realistic' AoC any day of the week (even if they had the exact same gameplay/company behind them to remove the other issues besides graphics)

As for the comment about no adults liking cartoons, I believe you are incorrect in your generalization and preceeded to show the entire MMORPG community how mature you really were with your attitude anyways.

ThePreventer

Novice Member

Joined: 2/10/09
Posts: 93

3/06/09 6:14:08 PM#21
Originally posted by Xiaoki

 


Originally posted by RetroMonster
Nobody today likes cartoony stuff unless your at a young age and very immature. Although some adults may Dig that look, most adults don't. Image EVE ONLINE being cartoony, it would suck. Even though the game isn't just about graphics, it wouldn't be the same. Therfore things should be realistic, at least if they want hits for their game.
I understand it's not all about graphics but in some cases it is. Graphics is a big part of the world today andcartoony is out dated. Realistic will be made fun of in the future, but for now, its the thing.


This has got to be some of the most horrible generalizations made on this board in a while and that is quite a feat.

 

Your use of absolutes in the most subjective aspect of a visual based entertainment medium speaks volumes of your hubris and your ignorance.


 

/agreed

my take: i prefer cartoony graphics such as WoW's because when im playing an MMO i play it to escape the real world and have fun. If it looks realistic it reminds me of the real world which isnt what an MMO should be doing. But i dont play games based on graphics i play based on gameplay.

Arndur

Elite Member

Joined: 4/26/07
Posts: 2025

BOOMER SOONER

3/06/09 6:34:30 PM#22
Originally posted by Cynthe
Originally posted by RetroMonster

 

MY COMMENT:

Realistic.
Nobody today likes cartoony stuff unless your at a young age and very immature. Although some adults may Dig that look, most adults don't.

 

That statement itself is immature. It depends on the audience yes but mostly it depends on the theme and overall style you are going for. Theme is most important.

Champions is seriously stylized and has that comic feel but it certainly still looks pretty cool to a number of people and I bet most of them are older then you.

Yep, that statement was pretty stupid. It all depends on the game, imo champs and DCO I wouldn't care for the cartoonish look. STO I want realistic graphics.

Anyways most of the time idc, a good amount of years of gaming on a crappy computer has made me learn to put gameplay WAY ahead of graphics.

Hold on Snow Leopard, imma let you finish, but Windows had one of the best operating systems of all time.

If the Powerball lottery was like Lotro, nobody would win for 2 years, and then everyone in Nebraska would win on the same day.
And then Nebraska would get nerfed.-pinkwood lotro fourms

AMD 4800 2.4ghz-3GB RAM 533mhz-EVGA 9500GT 512mb-320gb HD

HYPERI0N

Hard Core Member

Joined: 1/26/08
Posts: 1739

3/06/09 6:50:23 PM#23

I prefer all 3 as long as they are consistant in there style and quality.

Elikal

Elite Member

Joined: 2/09/06
Posts: 2575

No compromise, even in the face of Armageddon.

3/06/09 6:55:38 PM#24

They dont have to be photo-realistic, but I dont like cartoony or overly stylized. Cartoony usually means simplified, and I prefer my characters toony. Even more so with landscapes.

I found the LOTRO landscape a good example. Its not photorealism, but believable and not cartoony like WOW.

As to characters... no MMO has REALLY made it very good so far. Maybe take the character creation from Sims 2 as example; I like them alright. LOTRO toons looks kinda soulless, same goes to VG toons.

I want as much detail as computers can handle.

Securion

Apprentice Member

Joined: 12/10/08
Posts: 174

3/06/09 7:02:07 PM#25

Our kids really love WoW and its graphics, but me and the wife preferes games with more realistic graphics. Like Crysis, EVE, Lotro, Mass Effect, etc.

Just feels like we both have outgrown cartoons at the age of 36, and i dont think we would play one even if the game would "rock" in every way... :P Immersion is too important of a factor for us both.

 

 

3 Pages 1 2 3 » Search