Coffee Talk #206: Story More Important Than Graphics?!?

Posted on August 26th, by raymond padilla in Coffee Talk, PC Gaming, Today's Specials, Videogames. 391 comments

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the latest Apple iTV rumors, seeing a chicken get its head chopped off, or your prediction for NXT season two’s winner (go Kaval!!!), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

A few days ago, Rpadholic bsukenyan made some interesting statements on the importance of story over graphics in videogames. He wrote:

This idea of “mobile gaming is about to erupt” also supports story over graphics in the classic which is more necessary debate. Story is much more important. I think there are plenty of arguments to be made in favor of story, but for the sake of this topic mobile gaming as the platform works for right now. If graphics were the only thing that made games great then we wouldn’t be having this discussion now, mobile gaming would have already erupted because the graphics are already extremely good.

While story is more important to me as a verbal entertainer and an avid reader of nerd things (comics, R.A. Salvatore, etc.), I completely disagree it’s more important than graphics in the grand scheme of things. In fact, it made me shout out a Brian Fellow, “That’s crazy!!!” Graphics are sexy. Graphics sell consoles. Casual gamers are wowed by the hottest graphics and rarely care about the latest compelling story. The vast majority of people are into visuals, whether it’s games, movies, or members of the opposite sex.

Hopefully bsukenyan forgives me for calling him out (I swear I’m not picking on you), but it’s an interesting debate (even though I know I’m right :P). What’s your stance on videogame graphics vs. story?

Coffee Talk PC Gaming Videogames

tokz_21

@smartguy

i had to go back to lunch after the ipod touch announcements, what did Jobs share about apple tv.

@n8r

what's going on with itunes 10?
N8R

@ tokz

iTunes 10 is out today with a new social network feature called Ping.

Apple TV is a box a quarter of the size it was, costs $99 bucks, streams Netflix and everything from your computer, and is pretty much 100% HD.
tokz_21

@N8R

the itunes feature seems cool. i'll download that on Friday. i can imagine the servers being overloaded for the next couple of days. As for Apple tv i have an ps3 where i can do that right now. seems like a waste of money to me.
Nightshade386

Anybody else following this story about the nutball who's trying to take over the Discovery Channel via a hostage situation today?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/01/maryland.disc…
smartguy

@tokz
No release embargo on rentals, cheap tv rents, the ability to stream media from your Mac/PC and iPad. Worth it for me.

@N8R
Will do.
Big Blak

@ Nightshade

I saw that right before I went into a meeting.
Nightshade386

I can't take anyone who says that "humanity is filth" seriously unless they've shot themselves in the head. Otherwise, they're not fully committed to their cause.

f'n crazy people….I swear this world gets nuttier every day.
tokz_21

@smartguy

.99 cent per episode tv rentals is a lot. i'd rather wait for the dvd season to come out. it's about the same price. i guess you can't stream media from a MAC to your ps3 or xbox. idlk i'm not a MAC user. which leads me to a MAC question. my friend can't updated their OS it keeps stalling out. we've disabled the screen and energy saver but it keeps stalling any ideas?
tokz_21

@nightshade

i hear ya on post 310. it reminds me of people announcing their suicides like on fb or out on a balcony. if you really wanted to do it, you would just do it. you just want to be a drama queen and get attention.

I think this post should have an asterik next to it, if it tops Coffee Talk# 124. This post might beat the 333 posts only because rpad is sick.
bsukenyan

I got sick last night which is why I have been MIA all day. They probably aren't too happy with me at work I don't think since I had to call in for this morning and will do the same for tomorrow morning.

@Tokz

I will have to look in to the new iPod touch then, I didn't even realize today was the presser until I saw a tweet from Nightshade a little while ago. I am pretty sold on a blackberry bold right now though, and if I get that then I'm not sure if I would still be as interested in the new iPod touch. I swear this phone is stirring things up for me! lol.
smartguy

@tokz
It's close to a la carte tv which I want. I will support this for that reason. I watch very little tv and if I have the choice between netflix or paying .99 I'll use netflix. If it is current and I'm interested I'll pay .99. I use medialink to stream to my ps3 but it looks bad. That is in my cave though. Our living room has my gf's Wii and 360. She's not buying xbox live to use netflix and I'm not interested in making my 360 talk to my Mac since I'm sure the decoding quality will be bad. AppleTV solves the issue. I might buy 2 of them. Living room and man cave.
Big Blak

@ FF

There may be one spot still open.
redtailman

.99 cents is too much I predict failure
bsukenyan

@Redtailmen

99 cents was also supposed to be too much for a single song purchase before from what I remember.

@itunes 10

is this supposed to be available today? I tried checking to see if it was available but my itunes said that 9.2.1 is the newest version.
tokz_21

@bsu

Bb OS still sucks to me. You have an ipod touch you'll see what i'm talking about. .99 cents is too much for a single song and a show but people happily pay that price so we cant do anything if the majority just accepts it.
bsukenyan

@Tokz

Oh I agree 99 cents still feels like too much, but it obviously isn't too much for people to agree to pay that amount, so that is what we are stuck with. They push the boundaries even more by charging $1.29 for singles and newer songs, etc. I would be curious to find out how much that price adjustment has affected sales, I can't remember the last thing I bought from itunes.

I didn't mind the blackberry OS at all. The ipod touch interface is very nice, and I do like it, but I could definitely see myself using the blackberry OS on a constant basis. I would like to mess around with more apps and features (like editing and saving word documents), but from as much as I messed around with a blackberry OS and android OS I definitely loved using the blackberry.
smartguy

@redtailman and tokz

99 cents is just right for someone like me. I don't pay for cable tv. There is no TV service in my house. If I watch something it is through my OTA HD antennae (football only) or I netflix it. So having the option to pay just 99 cents for a tv show if I want to see it is a good deal. Think about it, if I buy a show that comes on once per week for 99 cents I'm spending less than $5 per month on broadcast entertainment in my living room on a big screen tv. A hell of a deal compared to forking over $40 per month for channels and shows I do not want.

You also have to see that the device is useful beyond the tv rentals. Streaming of your devices, netflix without a gold sub or disc. Not too mention this could open the way for true a la carte tv. Apple might encourage competition and propose letting consumers subscribe to their channel for a fee set by the station itself. Of course asinine prices will be laughed at, but it could get real competitive here. I'm sold.
bsukenyan

@Smartguy

Now if only I could convince my fiance to not get cable next year after the wedding. I only really like a couple channels, and everything that they show I can buy on dvd or watch through netflix (illegal downloading would never be an option, HA). I would be perfectly content not paying for cable.

With a la carte television I am curious to see how much more advertising will change. Much of current advertising is sold based on appointment television being the norm, so a la carte television in cases like Netflix takes away advertisements, but things like Hulu have advertisements built in to them and could be very specific if there is a halfway decent media planner buying the spots. Advertising is a plague, so I am interested to see how it will change to adapt to this style of entertainment.
smartguy

@bsu

Dunno man. I like to subscribe to the thought that if I am paying you for a service, I don't get ads. Like HBO. Once my program starts, no ads. If Netflix felt the need to have ads on the borders while i'm searching for content, I could handle that as long as it isn't animated or pop up over the buttons I want to use. I do not want ads in my viewing though :)
http://twitter.com/Sandrock323 Sandrock323

Just stealing the 323 >_>
http://twitter.com/Sandrock323 Sandrock323

Also, I'm like the only non football fan on the site so don't worry about me not joining in on the FF.
smartguy

how clever Sandrock…

@bsu

I can't update iTunes to version 10 either.
Nightshade386

@Sandrock: it's ok, I think I'm the only one on here who wasn't following the Apple Presser as it happened. I guess everyone's got something that everyone else is into that they don't care about.
http://twitter.com/Sandrock323 Sandrock323

@Nightshade

LOL I didn't even know there was an Apple presser till I read your comment on twitter a couple hours ago.

@Smartguy

I missed the opportunity last time, but this time it was waiting on me when I got home today.
N8R

@ Smartguy or anyone else having trouble updating iTunes

I just downloaded it from Apple.com and it updated the old app instead of creating a new one.

Software update didn't work though.
bsukenyan

@N8

I added you on Ping. I downloaded itunes 10 from the website because I got tired of waiting for the update to go through.

Also, I liked the old icon better. Definitely was not expecting to see a new icon this time around.
bsukenyan

@Ray

I haven't looked into it since I read this, but I believe the camera is also very small compared to the one they put in the iPhone.
- http://rpad.tv raymond padilla
  
  @bsukenyan Yeah, the sensor is small and super low res. Megapixels aren't everything, but we're talking less than one here. This Chinese phone I'm using is better than that (it's essentially a Chinese burner).
bsukenyan

@Ray

I would agree, megapixles aren't everything, but I would think that they could put something a little bigger inside than less than 1 megapixel. I'm pretty sure my 2 year old phone has more than that.
Nightshade386

He's alive!!!
Iceman

@Nightshade;

You took the words right out of my mouth.

Hope you're feeling better, Mr. Padilla. This place isn't the same without you.

Also, mold is starting to grow on everything in your refrigerator. Anybody want to start a penicillin manufacturing plant?

@Smartguy;

Do you know if I can I stream ANYTHING on my MacBook through the new Apple TV and have it show up on my TV screen?

-M
redtailman

So another oil rig blew up… thoughts anybody?
N8R

@ Iceman

Absolutely you can. All of your movies, music, and photos.

However, you can also get a $20 application called Connect360 and stream all the same stuff show up on your tv.

Now, if I misread the "ANYTHING" part… As in you want to use your tv as a monitor over the network…. Than no, but there are other ways to do exactly that as well.
N8R

@ Ray

For real, get better soon. We wish you the best.

And for future reference, we don't need reviews on the taste of Chinese children's toys. It may seem like a good idea, but the health risks just aren't worth it.
Nightshade386

@redtailman: Yeah, my thoughts are that if we don't stop drilling for oil in this country and find a viable alternative, this shit's gonna keep on happening.
tokz_21

i agree, nightshade.
Arguello

@Ray

Hope you feel better soon.
smartguy

@N8R
I find you lose a lot of quality streaming with 3rd party apps.
Iceman

@N8;

You misread correctly. I did intend to use my TV as a monitor to use over my wireless network. If I can't use Apple TV to do that, what do you recommend?

Also, did you make any crazy weapons in Dead Rising 2? The only other one I made (besides the nail bat) is the I.E.D. which is a propane tank with nails. I want to combine other weapons, but I need some suggestions.

@Oil Rig;

I haven't heard anything about this yet (news link, anyone?), but considering I'm a very tiny part of the "oil industry", I would probably be biased in any discussion pertaining to oil, refined oil products, and the energy future of this country.

-M
smartguy

Need nuclear….solar is a pipe dream unless we want to get rid of Air conditioning. No way
Nightshade386

Actually, we have mostly solar energy here in AZ. And the AC works just fine. There really isn't one solution, it's going to have to be piecemeal and dependent on the part of the country. Solar won't work in Maine, but it works fins in AZ, NM, etc.
smartguy

@Nightshade
How much power does Az get from solar?
Nightshade386

@Smartguy: Quite a bit actually. We have solar arrays in different parts of the valley. We actually have enough that we sell some overflow energy to other states.
N8R

@ Smartguy

I don't know, my videos tuen out fine and the music is what I use it for the most. It comes out really well.

@ Iceman

I just know it can be done. Google it.

As for DR2:C0… I made quite a few. My favorite so far is the electric rake. It's a battery (in an alley across from the hardware store) and a rake (in the hardware store. It's pretty cool.

Newspapers and whiskey makes molotovs. A shotgun and a pitchfork males a boomstick. A power drill and a bucket makes the drill bucket. And I think that's all I found so far besides the 2 you mentioned. I was gonna mess with it more when I get home today.
N8R

@ Iceman
http://www.ramelectronics.net/audiovideo/htpc-med…
Big Blak

@ Ray

Get well soon

@ Oil Rig

I have not heard about this yet.
Nightshade386

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_gulf_rig_explosion

That's the link to the story (since someone asked for it earlier).
smartguy

@nightshade
I read about the 1900 acre solar plant. It is rated for 70k homes. Pretty large footprint for a power plant.
Nightshade386

@Smartguy: Yeah. Between the solar and the wind energy out here, they're hoping to have most of the Phoenix area using 100% sustainable energy by 2025, and the rest of the state should follow suit over time.

Obviously that's not an answer for everyone though. Most parts of the country don't get 300+ days of direct sunshine every year.
Nightshade386

Kotaku is reporting that GameStop is pulling Medal of honor from all of it's stores located on military bases due to the inclusion of playable Taliban.
tokz_21

@nightshade

that's lame!

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Coffee Talk #206: Story More Important Than Graphics?!?

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