Realism takes away from fun?

[xcellerate]

Not really focusing on looks, because we all like pretty shapes and colors, but mainly game play realism.

If anybody remembered playing TFC waay back when, the game was far from realistic in terms of physics. A few examples:
-you ran faster when running against a wall, you could 'run' around in circles in midair (i.e., total control of movement while airborne)
-If you were thrown at an incline fast enough you could slide up it
-bhoping was the main means of travel

there are others, but those are some main ones. The actual game play was the most balanced i have ever played in a multiplayer game. I loved it, and i play games now a days and all they strive for is realism. Well i had 100x more fun playing TFC with it's 'you run faster while running against a wall' physics, because there were so many tricks you could do.

The playing field was NOT level between expert or novice players. With enough practice you could manipulate the game's engine for your benefit and i loved it. Every gun had 100% accuracy (except for the HWguy, but his was still VERY playable).

So are games more fun when they strive for realism (like counter-strike, but not counter-strike) or when they throw realism out the window and just go for pure entertainment (like TFC, but not TFC)?

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Fun trumps realism for me. I'd much rather play Doom 2 than Rainbow Six.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Ikerous]

I want realism in areas like graphics, physics, and ai. I want everything to be photorealistic and everything should break just like it does in real life. The ai should convince me theres another human currently talking to me. Now when it comes to damage realism and gun realism, i hate it. They just aren't fun when they're realistic.

 

[Fliko]

Realistic as in... Weapons? Hell yeah! I want the real things. (Perhaps not damage wise, but, I want the right sounds, looks, and specs... I want the specs to matter to some degree too.)
Realistic as in... Idiots like Jack Thompson? Nope.
Realism is good in certain areas depending on the game.

 

[CrazyHarij]

I like it when it's realistic.I really, really love games like Rainbow Six and Operation flashpoint. It's all about the immersion and the way you have to employ real life logic instead of "ok so this guy has 50 hitpoints, now i must summon a dark magic spell and kill him off".

But arcade games are fun too at times.
Sometimes I want a game that I can just get started with easily and enjoy and not think too much, other times it's great fun to challenge my logical skills.

Usually a mixture between both is good, I mean, the GTA games for instance would lose the spirit with more realism, while I'm usually really pissed if a single headshot doesn't kill or dramatically wound the enemies in the game.

 

[Ikerous]

Haha, who remembers valve's last april fools joke? Makes me fear realistic weapons.

 

[MiccyNarc]

(like counter-strike, but not counter-strike)

I'm sick of Counter-Strike realism BS. There is nothing realistic about CS.

That being said, I prefer realism (Red Orchestra Ostfront)

 

[xcellerate]

Yea, i know CS isn't realistic, but that's what they were going for when they made the game. TFC was in no way shape or form, going for realistic combat.

 

[Reaktor4]

fun vs realism = fun vs graphics. doesnt really make sense.

 

[xcellerate]

not realism in terms of graphics!

Do you want people to only be able to jump [this] high, and trying to rocket jump = instant death, 3 shots to kill a person, if you try and rush a 'support' you're dead, 1 skilled man can't take out 3 or 4 or 5, etc.

 

[Reaktor4]

not realism in terms of graphics!

I know..
Your poll implies that realism is inherently no fun. If it had been fun vs graphics, it would be like saying graphics make a game no fun. It doesnt make sense, which was my point. I think a better question would be realism vs non-realism.

 

[Qonfused]

If realism take away from the fun, yeah, go for fun. That's what games are for.

 

[The Monkey]

And the Lord said to the shephard: "LET THERE BE PORN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

[CptStern]

I prefer realism over arcady twitch fests ..I find them boring after awhile ...I like realism in sense that if you're more than likely to be killed by a single bullet you'll be far more careful and may even use tactics/strategy ..I prefer thinking to twitching ..not that it cant exist in twitch games

 

[Ikerous]

I prefer twitching. I don't play games to think. Which is why i hate strategy games o.<

 

[Spectre01]

I prefer realistic games a lot more. I hate all the fast paced Deathmatch games.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Obviously fun has trumped realism every time, in all genres. Because, you know, Starcraft would be pretty pants if instead of just having vespene and minerals, you had hundreds of metals to micromanage, and had to wait a week or so for people to assemble one tank.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Nat Turner]

Starcraft would be pretty pants

Is this English?

 

[Beerdude26]

Obviously fun has trumped realism every time, in all genres. Because, you know, Starcraft would be pretty pants if instead of just having vespene and minerals, you had hundreds of metals to micromanage, and had to wait a week or so for people to assemble one tank.

-Angry Lawyer

But you would be biting off your nails/arms when you finally send it to battle.

I can already imagine it online:
"OMFG! Zerg rush after 3 days? HAX"

EDIT:

Is this English?

Yes.

 

[xcellerate]

...i thought people would understand that when i said realism, and when companies make games trying to be realistic we aren't talking about spending hundreds of millions of dollars and weeks of assembly to produce a tank or three.

Battlefield 2 is trying to be realistic.
Unreal Tournament is not trying to be realistic.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Actually, you're not talking about realism. You're talking about twitch FPS games versus slow-paces FPS games.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Nat Turner]

pants (comparative more pants, superlative most pants)

(UK) (slang) Of inferior quality.
Your mobile is pants — why don't you get one like mine?

Ohh, more of that UK slang. Gotcha.

 

[Teta_Bonita]

sometimes realism=fun

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Pants, in the English sense, means "underwear". If a game is compared to underwear, it's not very good, is it?

Unless we're talking about lacy undergarments. But we're not. We're talking about old, sweaty Y-fronts.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[CptStern]

I prefer twitching. I don't play games to think. Which is why i hate strategy games o.<

twitch gaming is fun for a limited amount of time ..after awhile it just becomes monotonous

 

[Sulkdodds]

Why is there no option for both? If realism detracts from fun, then obviously that's bad. But sometimes realism is fun: Operation Flashpoint being a perfect example. I love both BF2 and UT2k4. Both are near opposite ends of the spectrum and both are incredibly fun with a lot of room for skill. I don't think realism in games is necessarily bad or necessarily good.

 

[Jack_Karverboy]

I vote fun. I mean, I like realistic graphics but its fun when the physics are really corny

 

[Razor]

I would love a game that had full realism and not bothered about making it fun as it's something i would enjoy playingm, but i also like games that are just fun and not designed about being realistic i.e. counterstrike.

 

[madog]

I like gore (You can tell by my avatar) and realism. To me that is fun. $4D1$71(?

 

[Uriel]

Realistic Graphics are grand!

Id rather play HL2DM then Raven Shield anyday. And wtf is up with BF2 falling damage? Thats not realistic.

 

[Venmoch]

Realism's OK.

As long as its not realism for realisms sake.

 

[nutcrackr]

I've not played a realistic game that's been fun, but there haven't been many that really aim at being realistic. And thus I conclude that realism will never be fun for me.

 

[CyberPitz]

Gimme quake 3 over Rainbow Six...getting shot twice and dying..yeah..**** that.

 

[The Mullinator]

Often making the game fun results in realism. Games where the sneaking aspect is what makes it fun for instance require that you have very low health and that you are easy to kill. That just happens to be a realistic thing as well.

Sometimes games that are hyper-realistic are fun because you view it as a simulation of something that you could do in real life but never will. However it is a novelty that in recent years is being overdone. It is good to have a few games like that but don't make so many for crying out loud.

 

[JNightshade]

If you ask me, it doesn't have to be a one-or-the-other sort of thing. If you do a game right, you can have both. That said, there must be a limit to realism. I mean, if you actually capture the essence of war in a game, it'll suck- who wants to have a game ruin them, both mentally and physically, for the rest of their lives?

 

[Sulkdodds]

who wants to have a game ruin them, both mentally and physically, for the rest of their lives?

Actually, that would be pretty awesome.