‘It may be unnecessary – even too much’: Have violent video games like Grand Theft Auto 6 become too realistic?

“Gameplay is a holistic experience that includes graphics, player power, animation, sound, fun and spatial design – it’s the coming together in compelling, well-integrated ways that I think captures the player’s interest. Not just the graphics alone.” However, it’s also easy to understand why some gamers may feel somewhat overwhelmed by the recent graphical leaps of big-budget games, says Tracy Fullerton, professor and director of the Game Innovation Lab at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.

“Sometimes I want to play with characters that look like real sports stars. Isn’t there some kind of magic in that?” “But,” she explains [blockbuster] Gaming has also created a cycle of greater and greater expectations for players about graphics technology that is very different and has a very different price tag attached to it. Sometimes this increased level of [visuals] It feels like magic, and sometimes it feels unnecessary, perhaps too much.

Rashid Abudida, the Palestinian developer of the upcoming indie game Dreams on a Pillow, worries that games like GTA 6 will create a moment in which violence in games becomes uncomfortably close to real-life acts of terrorism, war, and murder. “I think we already live in a very dark and chaotic world,” he explains, “and in that context, it seems even more troubling to develop games that are primarily about realistic killings.”

He believes that the games should “finally end.” [be] About fun, engaging the player and keeping them in a “state of flow” – a meditative frame of mind that he says “can be achieved using very simple, even basic, technology. What really makes the difference is creativity in game design, not visual fidelity. Realism can be a powerful tool for increasing immersion, but it is not the goal in itself.”

In fact, over recent years, there have been signs that gamers care less about graphical fidelity and more about unique Lo-Fi art styles. Big-budget game studios (including Electronic Arts) have suffered from mass redundancies, and have often struggled to finish or release their blockbuster games: GTA 6, for example, arriving 14 years after GTA 5. Indie game studios, by contrast, have thrived, releasing innovative games that are not defined by vibrant graphics and have an uninterrupted streak with the 8- and 16-bit eras of 2D gaming.