General Discussion

So which is it? Do you like a game that pushes the boundaries of realism? Or do you like a game that is stylized, that looks like it popped out of a book, cartoon, concept art, or painting? Both have their pros and cons. So feel free to answer, give a reason why, and discuss.

i tend to like both, but if i had to choose one or the other? id choose more realistic graphics. realistic graphics tend to be harder, and more unforgiving. but if done right can improve the immersion factor a player feels. age of conan is an example of nicely done realistic graphics.

 frankly it comes down to a  combination of texture work quality/clarity/resolution, animation quality, particle system. lighting, and how the character fits within the environment. you can have realistic texture work but if the way the environment is displayed is not realistic or designed well it can feel artifical and unruly on a design level. 

Stylistic graphics developers tend to have more freedom when it comes to textures, animating,  environmental design etc. WoW is a example of stylistic graphics done well, along with nicely done environmental design.

developers have to not only worry about polygon count, texture clarity/quality/resolution, but also animation quality e.g. keyframing, MoCap. lighting quality,  but more importantly design alot of people dont realize the amount of work that goes into designing a level, zone or a given area. sorry went off in a rant :P

I prefer photo realistic, or I can live with somewhat stylized graphic, but not too cartoony or plastic looking. I guess its about the over all look and how the art style fit the theme. And as someone mentioned, its about more than just poly count and art style. Animations and character customization have a lot to do with if it is going to look good in the end.

could care less.  After you're in a game for 15 mins you won't realize what kind and how good or bad they are.

Originally posted by purewitz

So which is it. Do you like a game that pushes the boundaries of realism? Or do you like a game that is stylized, that looks like it popped out of a book, cartoon, concept art, or painting? Both have their pros and cons. So feel free to answer, give a reason why, and discuss.

I like Oblivion style graphics but I like WoW style too. It doesn't matter as long as they are done good.
 

Stylised, but not overly. I like the way Blizz is going with Diablo 3 - that would be my idea of a perfect balance.

With current technology, ultra-realistic graphics come across stale and stiff and a lot of the character models look more like grotesque waxwork dummies (AoC, Oblivion).

Actually, I like both as long as they are well done.

I prefer stylistic

It takes FAR more effort and resources to make realistic graphics look good. And I dont just mean on a technical level, I also mean on a aesthetic level.

The graphics in AoC while very good technically takes a very hefty computer to run well and the characters come off as very ugly(mainly because of art direction and the Uncanny Valley).

Both.

But not stylistic if it's too cartoony, like WoW, or if the characters look like little girls with big girl size breasts and saucers for eyes.

For an MMOG I happily sacrifice lifelike graphics for performance and gameplay. Certain MMOG developers put too much into looks, and could benefit in the long run from moving some of that budget to designing, programming and testing performance, game system and features.