Retro realism.

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03-23-2018, 12:59 PM
Leynos

Retro realism.

Games now considered retro (pre PS3/360) That in their time looked so good to you. You thought this is it. We have hit total realism in games.

I will say it now. Not since 2008 or so do I even care about realism anymore. These days I find realism boring in games in general with exceptions. Still nice to think back to a time when I was still wowed by it and looked forward to games pushing that boundary.

I will start with one of my fave games of all time. Shenmue.

The game didn't just look real but it felt real. Like NPCs had blood types and daily routines and places the lived. You could pick up random objects and look at them. Turn the lights on and off. Open anything. Take pictures off the wall. When you pulled the light string to turn on or off a light it had realistic physics as it swayed side to side faster then slower. The weather changed at random. This blew my mind back then. At that point, it was everything I needed and wanted in a game. To this day still impressed by how detailed everything is for a game of its time.

http://i.imgur.com/KsanBao.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/7v7mE1b.jpg
03-23-2018, 01:18 PM
Tripredacus

Quote:

Originally Posted by SegataS

Games now considered retro (pre PS3/360)

https://comiczombie.files.wordpress....aceyluthor.jpg
03-23-2018, 01:24 PM
Leynos

N64 days playing All Star Baseball. Always felt the stadiums and city backdrops looked really good back then. Well now they look like typical N64 blurry shit but I still love it.

http://i.imgur.com/ZGQ5qoE.png
03-23-2018, 03:09 PM
bultje112

those n64 pics have to be emulation right?
03-23-2018, 04:10 PM
Sik

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tripredacus

https://comiczombie.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/spaceyluthor.jpg

In this particular context it makes perfect sense to have that threshold though: Beyond PS3/360 is when diminishing returns hit in full force (the most noticeable thing newer hardware brought in was higher resolution and framerates, while other improvements don't add that much, at least at first glance), so any big game is going to look "realistic" because that's what the par became for them.
03-23-2018, 07:23 PM
Metalwario64

Quote:

Originally Posted by bultje112

those n64 pics have to be emulation right?

Yeah, the resolution is too high, which exacerbates the N64's blurry textures. It's not quite as bad when in the native resolution.
03-23-2018, 07:31 PM
Leynos

Is this topic going to be a fit over semantics? Retro, classic, banana farts. I don't care what you call it. You get the idea lol
03-23-2018, 08:45 PM
WarmSignal

Yeah I'm on the side of those who say modern games made to look old school are retro, and actual old games need to be recognized with a different term. Banana farts is okay.

On the topic banana fart realism, I was totally right there with you. In the late 90s and early 2000s I was totally into realism in games. In fact, if a game wasn't realistic, then I didn't care about it. Shenmue was the epitome of realistic greatness in it's day, and probably the height of video game realism due to it's excruciating attention to detail. Other than The Sims, I can't think of a game which focused into such mundane detail. I think the fascination with creating a virtual world of that sort probably died off soon after. Though you might say the Grand Theft Auto series continues to carry that torch to some degree. Seems like fantasy has become more popular than realism again.

I remember feeling like Goldeneye 007 was a very "realistic" game back when I first played it. You had complete access to your environments, and everything seemed to serve a purpose. You drop in on a dude inside of a bathroom stall, but nevermind that he's just standing there like a statue. It's realistic! Such detail! The character models did move around and make different kinds of gestures, if your crazy enough to just watch them. It was always fun to just observe those fine details that didn't need to be in the game, it was just added "for realism".
03-23-2018, 09:30 PM
Ecco

1 Attachment(s)

I always found the Ecco series most interesting for realism, because it's simulating nature. I don't think any other series has focused so much on simulating nature.

I must have posted this article elsewhere but it's a great read, with photos showing how the 16-bit sprites were based on real fish and sea creatures, pretty accurately: http://1morecastle.com/2014/01/the-u...-ever-written/
Attachment 14032
03-23-2018, 09:32 PM
Leynos

I know it was discussed in another topic but Ecco on DC was unreal for the time. It honestly blew my damn mind.
03-24-2018, 07:03 AM
Ecco

Quote:

Originally Posted by SegataS

I know it was discussed in another topic but Ecco on DC was unreal for the time. It honestly blew my damn mind.

I agree that Ecco on DC is mind-blowing, even now, because I don't know of any other game or series that tried so hard to recreate nature, in a realistic way, while also emphasizing the beauty of nature, with all the tiniest little details: Bubbles, light reflections, shadows, realistic fish and turtles swimming around, tiny details of sand and coral covering the seafloor, etc. I don't know of any other game that even attempted something like that, despite all the years of newer consoles. (Sure there are realistic games out there, but not based completely on nature in the same way, AFAIK.)

I wanted to post a link to a nice article I've read, which listed other games which are similar to the Ecco series, but I'm not finding the article right now (on Caverns of Hope).
03-24-2018, 06:10 PM
cleeg

Endless Ocean and its sequel for the Wii look pretty nice too.
03-24-2018, 06:18 PM
Mega Drive Bowlsey

Well the original Ecco the Dolphin blew me away on the Mega Drive when I was a kid. It was like a glimpse into actual nature, but the two games that knocked my socks off in terms of realism in games were Shenmue on the Dreamcast and LA Noire on the Xbox 360. Both games just wowed me, they really did.
03-24-2018, 06:19 PM
Leynos

Yeah, Endless Ocean is great.
03-24-2018, 06:29 PM
NeoZeedeater

The character animations in Flashback really impressed me for their realism. And I liked how European-made side scrollers often had more realistic guns where you wouldn't see the bullets (Alien 3, The Terminator).
03-25-2018, 02:40 AM
Leynos

http://i.imgur.com/33hwajg.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/0ErQ24z.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/fzLTtbA.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/IRNV0bL.jpg

MSR was mind-blowing on Dreamcast. I know I say that a lot but I genuinely was floored with Dreamcast graphics capability in 1998-1999.
03-25-2018, 11:20 AM
Soulis

Grand Turismo on PS1 was the first game that made me think "this looks so real". The lighting and color choices were on point. Before that, Porsche Challenge came close but not quite there. I think racing games in general was the first genre where near-photorealism was achieved.
03-27-2018, 03:33 PM
Ecco

I found that article I was looking for, listing games that are similar to the Ecco series:
http://web8.orcaserver.de/ecco/stori..._ecco_fans.php

Endless Ocean looks great, and it seems the best of the list. However I keep getting the impression that it's basically a scuba-diving sim (so maybe a little boring?)...

Also Ecco on DC seems to stand out more for small details like sunlight shining into the water, and very detailed surfaces... But it's hard to tell from YT videos if my impressions are accurate about that.
03-27-2018, 04:47 PM
Leynos

Endless Ocean is basically a diving game but it has a lot to discover. Even some really cool shipwrecks. And to the soothing sound of Hayley Westenra makes a really calming experience. You can add your own songs so if you want to dive to Metalica you can.

Since Ecco deals with Aliens, one game that is great that deals with some sci-fi is Abzu. It's similar to Journey but underwater. Great game.
03-27-2018, 04:48 PM
Blades

Quote:

Originally Posted by SegataS

Since Ecco deals with Aliens, one game that is great that deals with some sci-fi is Abzu. It's similar to Journey but underwater. Great game.

Abzu is discount Ecco. It's super short.
03-27-2018, 05:00 PM
Leynos

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blades

Abzu is discount Ecco. It's super short.

Abzu is great and yes it's short, again from the same talent as Journey. Games like that are rarely very long. Doesn't matter. Still good. It's not discount Ecco but even if it was, certainly better than SEGA's current efforts on the Ecco series.
03-27-2018, 05:03 PM
Blades

Quote:

Originally Posted by SegataS

Abzu is great and yes it's short, again from the same talent as Journey. Games like that are rarely very long. Doesn't matter. Still good. It's not discount Ecco but even if it was, certainly better than SEGA's current efforts on the Ecco series.

Ok, you're right I was too harsh. Abzu is good.
03-27-2018, 06:51 PM
Ecco

Quote:

Originally Posted by SegataS

Abzu is great and yes it's short, again from the same talent as Journey. Games like that are rarely very long. Doesn't matter. Still good. It's not discount Ecco but even if it was, certainly better than SEGA's current efforts on the Ecco series.

"SEGA's current efforts on the Ecco series" only refers to Ecco on Dreamcast, right? It's literally the last Ecco game ever made...
03-27-2018, 07:28 PM
Leynos

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ecco

"SEGA's current efforts on the Ecco series" only refers to Ecco on Dreamcast, right? It's literally the last Ecco game ever made...

No, current efforts as they have given none like nearly every classic series of theirs not named Sonic.
03-27-2018, 08:10 PM
Qjimbo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soulis

Grand Turismo on PS1 was the first game that made me think "this looks so real". The lighting and color choices were on point. Before that, Porsche Challenge came close but not quite there. I think racing games in general was the first genre where near-photorealism was achieved.

Agreed. While not a racing game I'd add the original Crash Bandicoot on the PlayStation as well - both games had graphics that really pushed the capabilities of the PlayStation and contributed to the prevailing feeling at the time that it had better graphics than the Saturn / N64.