From Pixels to Particles: Graphics at a Glance

Game graphics' new 'standard' has been raised countless times over the years, expanding from simple 8-bit pixels to more modern, immersive environments. As an example of quick compare and contrast would be the older Mario Bros. [1] game compared to the newest Crysis game, Crysis 3 [2]. Graphics have increased in importance over the years, to the point where many companies use it as a main selling point for their title (Crysis 3 would be an example of this, since it was used shortly after as a benchmark for graphics cards). Meanwhile, there are games which prioritize graphics updates as much as releasing new content, in order to stay up to par.

Newer games published from major companies are expected to have modern graphics, and even indie games are expected to use engines with standard graphic rendering, such as Game Maker, or Unreal. With our capacity to create higher graphics with newer technology, the market releases newer graphics cards to keep up with it. Due to these newer engines, we've created particle effects, sunlight systems, shadows, among other things we were previously unable to create when thinking of earlier games.

Some companies have even gone as far as to re-release older games with newer graphics, in hopes of selling them again. Unsurprisingly, these re-releases have actually sold relatively well, despite having the same content, story, and characters in the game. One example of this would be the re-release of Halo: Combat Evolved [3]. Another would be Shadow of the Colossus [4], first revered for its amazing graphic quality when it released on the PlayStation 2 back in 2005.

Graphics have been becoming more and more important when concerning recent games, to the point where companies have developed new systems to play games in three dimensions, or even in virtual reality. It is likely that companies will continue this trend with newer games, and continually search for ways to improve the graphics of their titles to fit any of the newer systems.

Sources:
[1]Pikachu. (2011, December 3). "Super Mario Bros. full game walkthrough." Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q5uDKtI1Go
[2]Gamespot. (2012, August 9). "Crysis 3 - CryEngine3 tech trailer." Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWvgETOo5ek
[3]GodisaGeek. (2011, October 24). "Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary old vs. new comparison." Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKSA3mJqmNE
[4]IGN. (2011, August 15). "Ico & Shadow of the Colossus HD: Graphics comparison." Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2HMCknUWXw

A Preface

From the previous decade alone, video games have been constantly changing in terms of hardware, software, how we make them,  how we produce them, who the audience is, and so on. From the joystick came the controller, from the arcade station came the console, and from the simple objectives came a storyline. While these are merely a few of the changes to gaming since their early conception, there are numerous elements that comprise today's games that were either based off of, or are directly related to earlier models.

As there have been many changes to games in the past decade alone, each blog post will briefly cover one aspect that has changed. While each post could potentially span an entire essay, the goal of this blog is to quickly summarize a few key changes, as well as speculate on what could be improved upon next for potential newer games. For example, graphics have changed from 8 bit to full 3D rendering, and will likely continue to expand to virtual reality (Google: Oculus Rift).

While we can look back on these changes now and see how we've improved, it becomes harder to tell where we go from here. While major companies continue to improve the hardware and software of their consoles, game producers work to improve graphics, tell a more interesting story, and decide on new features to add to their games, in order to keep up with the demand for more impressive games. While looking back on how we've progressed from older games, we can speculate on what may come next.