Resolution vs Effects (Gaming)

by Cody Miller , Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Saturday, June 30, 2018, 13:41 (2345 days ago) @ Revenant1988

Hey remember when I said 4K was a waste because you could get better looking games at 1080p? That instead of rendering 4x the pixels you could use better effects on the ones that you have with all that extra GPU power?

The Switch port of Wolfenstein New Colossus runs at a low resolution, often down to 640 x 360, but opted to keep all the effects and stuff from the other versions. The result? Well according to Digital Foundry:

"It's the best looking handheld shooter we've ever seen"

#morefxfewerpixels #4KButnotToday

I know there is a vocal subset of gamers that like to jerk-off to how good a game looks, the resolution, effects blah blah blah.

I am not one of them.

As long as the game is FUN and runs smoothly for what it is, it doesn't have to look hyper realistic etc.

Graphics are not separate from fun. You interface with a game almost exclusively through audio and visual means. What’s more ‘fun’ : exploring a gorgeous detailed world? Or a world that looks like Quake 1? What’s more fun, killing an enemy with a cool explosion with great particle effects, or just having a crappy explosion sprite?

Graphics are part of the fun in a real way. So you should absolutely care how your game looks. Also please point to where I said I want hyper realism, because I never said that.