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Minecraft rebooted the graphics arms race

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Minecraft ahhh

Despite our (maybe not so) bizarre fascination with 1080p and frame rates, we can all agree that there’s a lot more to games than just how they look. Some of the best games from the past years didn’t make use of any high end graphics, but rather relied on excellent gameplay to make us all go gaga. Brenda Romero points to Minecraft as a cause.

Speaking at the DICE summit, veteran game developer Brenda Romero explains Minecraft as sparking a change in the industry – not just for indies, but for AAA studios as well.

Minecraft was the reboot of the graphics arms race – it literally reset projects. There were massive projects in the works that got rebooted entirely because of Minecraft. Gameplay matters. What’s happening in the player’s head matters. Minecraft at least in my experience is just shockingly unprecedented.

She went on to point out the studios taking smaller bets alongside their AAA releases. While she didn’t mention Ubisoft by name, of course I thought of Valiant Hearts and Child of Light which were both small scale projects that became easily successful for the gaming giant. I believe they were actually the best Ubisoft games of last year.

Behind the scenes I’m also seeing companies taking lots of smaller bets in the one to five million dollar range, which is still a large amount but nothing compared to a AAA title. I’m seeing game publishers taking lots of smaller bets, knowing that maybe of these 10 bets one is going to pan out. That’s happening now. People look at things like say, Minecraft, like FTL, and you can potentially have the same return on investment.

Games like Minecraft, Valiant Hearts and FTL prove that making a successful game isn’t all about the big budgets and the insane graphics. If you give players some excellent core gameplay and perhaps a compelling or unique story, they will love the experience even if the graphics aren’t based on photo realism. I just wish that AAA studios could learn this lesson for more than their AAA games. If you’re worrying more about graphics than about core gameplay, your game will feel bland, even if it’s gorgeous.

Last Updated: February 18, 2015

30 Comments

  1. Rock789

    February 18, 2015 at 08:08

    “If you’re worrying more about graphics than about core gameplay, your game will feel bland, even if it’s gorgeous.”

    – Preach it sister!! Totally agree. Gameplay and story matter – and I mean MATTER! ‘Bout time the big studios remember that…

    Reply

    • veggiesaurus ZA

      February 18, 2015 at 08:39

      Is it just a coincidence that there’s a banner advert for the order 1886 right below for line?

      Reply

    • z1n

      February 18, 2015 at 10:46

      B…but EA said our games were too hard. They must be easier. They must hold our hand through every moment. We are not allowed to figure out games by ourselves any more. We must pay by microtransaction and download DRM and never be forced to think while playing a game again.

      Oh no wait that’s just sarcasm…

      Reply

  2. Admiral Chief

    February 18, 2015 at 08:08

    FTL!!!!!!!!!

    Also, you forgot TWA!

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      February 18, 2015 at 08:14

      FTL is such a good game!

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief

        February 18, 2015 at 08:44

        I’m barely trying to contain myself NOT to start playing that amazing game again…

        Reply

        • Norm

          February 18, 2015 at 09:31

          And failing?

          Reply

    • Axon1988

      February 18, 2015 at 12:13

      Space Pirates and zombies?

      Reply

  3. Umar

    February 18, 2015 at 08:09

    Where’s Admiral??
    Edit: Oh, I see he popped up already 😛

    Reply

  4. Hammersteyn

    February 18, 2015 at 08:13

    “If you’re worrying more about graphics than about core gameplay, your game will feel bland, even if it’s gorgeous.”
    The advert for The Order 1886 appears just below this line LOL!

    Reply

  5. Hammersteyn

    February 18, 2015 at 08:17

    Started playing Swapper Monday. A simple puzzle game that has a nice learning curve. I for one am happy that I bought the Indiestation

    Reply

    • Umar

      February 18, 2015 at 08:17

      Fucking love Swapper. I love that its a puzzle game with a story.

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        February 18, 2015 at 08:18

        I’m always like, one more room. just one more.

        Reply

        • Umar

          February 18, 2015 at 08:22

          EXACTLY the same. Loves it.hmm mm mm, too lekker.

          Reply

          • Hammersteyn

            February 18, 2015 at 08:25

            XD

    • Rock789

      February 18, 2015 at 08:55

      Awesome game that! And as you say – lot of “just 1 more room” happening when you wanna switch off and go to bed…

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        February 18, 2015 at 09:15

        Wanted to play GTA online but an hour later I was still playing swapper

        Reply

  6. Blood Emperor Trevor

    February 18, 2015 at 08:21

    Yes everyone, let’s not judge a book by its cover.

    Wow, that was quite pithy. We should make that a popular saying.

    Reply

  7. RinceThis

    February 18, 2015 at 08:32

    Still need to play Minecraft 0_O

    Reply

  8. Lukas De Kock

    February 18, 2015 at 08:32

    For those of us void of imagination, graphics are more important than story or gameplay.

    Reply

  9. Raptor Rants A Lot:Original #7

    February 18, 2015 at 09:22

    Graphics make not the game

    Reply

    • Tosh "Did he just say that?"

      February 18, 2015 at 09:41

      That’s what she said? O_o

      Reply

      • Raptor Rants A Lot:Original #7

        February 18, 2015 at 09:43

        … Nah. That one was stretching it a bit

        Reply

        • Tosh "Did he just say that?"

          February 18, 2015 at 09:43

          Not what she said.

          Reply

          • Raptor Rants A Lot:Original #7

            February 18, 2015 at 09:45

            lol. better 🙂

  10. Mikey

    February 18, 2015 at 14:04

    The beautiful thing about Minecraft is that the graphics aren’t so important. What’s more important is the possibilities that Minecraft holds. It’s helping kids learn how to code and more. That was the purpose of Microsoft purchasing Minecraft. If Interested you can read up more about all the possibilities here, http://gearcraft.us/the-future-of-minecraft/. But more over, Minecraft will always be a popular choice because of the many reasons why people play the game. You can use it to explore, create, or even just socialize. I love Minecraft!

    Reply

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