The uncanny valley

[John]

So i look through all these next gen shots and can't help but wonder what's up with some of it. Playing Half Life 2 on a Geforce4 has been a somewhat scarring experience already since all the black guys looked like they had been in a grave for a while. And having pixel brow Alyx flirt awkwardly with my viewport hasn't been all that pleasant either. Look into Tony Hawks face here and tell me that you want to see even more of these realistic game characters. Makes you wonder if Team Fortress 2's graphics style isn't more of a necessity instead of a nice choice. What do you think is going to happen next? More non-realistic Models? Come to think of it, the realistic rendering of rotoscope animation always looked a bit off too. There's a similar problem with ragdolls. As soon as a game character dies he literally turns into one, and the whole muscle - skeleton structure that was simulated a second ago is turned off in order to crumple up the body unrealistically.
Maybe i'm just getting into the same monologue people had when 3d games got big - as in 2d is always going to look best. Who knows. Just had to post something about it.

[Carnifex]

well,team fortress 2 is by choice,but also by necessity,because a more realistic style wouldn't have fit in with the slighty humourus theme. generally i'm gradually getting sick of the "gotta have best grafix evar!1!" line of thinking. gameplay's really getting left behind most of the time imo. that's probably why the 2d games are still the better ones in most cases;because you didn't have amazing graphics (although there are really good ones out there) you had to focus more on gameplay and story. nowadays it's like with hollywood films,all beauties and no acting behind it.
(course there are exceptions,but for most next-gen games it seems like this to me)

[flatliner]

Ever since playing GTA I've wonder about this. I mean, theres only so far you can push graphics until there just to life like. You could'nt have a realistic GTA where real looking chacters could be shot/burned/run-over/blownup/decapitated etc in a life like manner, it would'nt be ethical. Its one thing I noticed when playing Saints Row. The ragdolls added something unsettling. The way you can smash into cars and bodies come flying out the windscreen at you, or how they just fly over the top of the car then flop to the floor.

Makes you wonder how and when they will draw the line. The only way violence in video games has been able to continue is because you can argue that it is'nt real. But what when it looks and behaves realisticly?