by Joseph Branch

Created on: October 26, 2009

Although graphics are an important element in many of today's computer and console games, it is the gameplay that truly makes the game worth playing.

A common error gamers make when they review the merits of a game is to treat graphics and gameplay as separate features. The reality of the matter is that graphics are merely a feature used to enhance gameplay. The level of graphic quality applied to a game that has them is governed by how much the hardware running the game can handle without diminishing gameplay as outlined in the development planning documentation.

Gameplay is about depth and immersion. It is the culmination of the various elements within that help the player escape from the real world into that of the game itself. Graphics are used to aid the player in visualizing what the game developer wants them to see. As such, graphics aren't always necessary and are, in fact, sometimes a detriment to some games.

Take, for example, Text MUD type games. MUD stands for Multi-User Dungeon and this style of computer game has been around for many years. Text MUDs use descriptive text to describe what the player sees, leaving the visual aspect to be rendered by their own imagination. Muds are virtually limitless in depth and immersion since there are no graphic limitations to what can be portrayed.

As graphics are added to a game, it becomes limited by what todays graphic capabilities are able to display. Where text uses very little resources from a computers hardware, graphics are very hardware dependant and demand a great deal of the memory and computing power the computer has to offer. The impact is quite evident when a player trys to run a graphically intensive game on an old computer. If it runs at all it will be very slow and the graphics may appear choppy. This effect makes the game unplayable and quite frustrating.

Understanding graphic limitations and finding a balance in performance with minimal impact to gameplay is what defines the role graphics will play in any given game. A well written game enhanced by mediocre graphics that run well can be much more entertaining than having a game with movie quality graphics and poor gameplay.

These challenges are more prevalent on console games than PC games due to the consoles dependence of graphics to play at all. Still, it is evident even on a console that as the game becomes more graphic the gameplay tends to become more shallow due to the sacrifices made to allow for the better view.

On PC systems you will find a wider variety of games due to the flexibility offered not only by graphic capabilities but also other game elements such as keyboards compared to gamepad controllers. Still, whether game console or PC, it is the gameplay that will make or break the success of any game.

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