The new generation will undoubtedly deliver better technology and even more amazing graphics.
But is it safe to assume the current consoles are maxed out? Many believe the Xbox 360 has long since hit the technological wall but the PlayStation 3 still has some life left. Probably accurate.
That being said, Dishonored developer Arkane Studios believes both consoles have more to offer and "it's not really a bottleneck." In speaking to GamingBolt , game designers Raphael Colantonio and Harvey Smith spoke about the current state of development with the "old" systems.
"Technology is not really the bottleneck, and developers have not come close to maxing out what could be done. The photo-realism graphics race eats up a lot of hardware bandwidth for what could be used for interesting, different features and styles of gameplay. That said, new hardware is always exciting."
It's always interesting to hear how designers will approach new hardware, and how they're looking to get the most out of the current machines. Dishonored is slated to drop next week and while it may not be the best-looking game you'll ever see, it still looks pretty dang good.
Related Game(s): Dishonored
I totally agree, the rush to make photo-realistic graphics seems to leave gameplay importance behind a lot of the time. There should be more variety in this day and age.
Variety ftw. Here's hoping the next gen brings more of that.
Last edited by Beamboom on 10/2/2012 1:54:36 AM
Absolutely World. I think many of us here have eluded to this. I myself have been very vocal about just how much more the PS3 has got to give.
Recently I watched through the EVE Online Fan Fest videos recorded in Iceland. I watched all the videos on the development concerning DUST514 and what has been done technically to bring it to life. What was interesting was CCP mentioned how incredibly powerful the Cell Processor is and what they can do with it.
It's all down to how you optimise the code and branch it across the SPU's. If you get it right you can do pretty much anything and still give PC's a run for their money today. When looking at what Guerrilla has done with Killzone, and how superb the graphics are in KZ3 for example, or Naughty Dog with Uncharted and The Last Of Us.
Games are games, if they are done well they don't have to be running in 1080p 60fps. It would be nice and we all want it to be so, but its not a necessity I don't think.
PS3 still has a good few years left, and longer if devs wish it so and are not lazy in learning how to get the best out of it…
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
Last edited by Qubex on 10/2/2012 2:25:41 AM
The rush to photo-realistic graphics is probably exactly the reason why next gen is upon us.
To be honest though, how much different can we get ?
Agreed guys, fundamentally we're resolution capped at 1080p this generation and next. I don't care when the graphics whores claim about 4K displays, that's not going to happen in a home near you anytime soon. For 1080p PS3 is in the ballpark in terms of what it can do, graphically games still improve with each wave. Dev comments like this make you wonder whether Sony (and perhaps even MS) might actually wait for 2014/2015 to release their new consoles.
Actually Highlander… I hope MS and Sony do wait. The games are just getting better… why introduce new tech right now, doesn't make economic sense, especially for Sony.
MGS5 look spectacularly good with the new Fox engine. The cloth dynamics looked incredible. I mean, so who cares if its not running in 1080p, it looks fine as it is. Even the shadowing problem didn't seem to be apparent, and the dynamic camera focus pulling effect look fantastic…
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
I find myself in 100% agreement with you Qubex. 🙂
What he in reality is saying is that as long as you keep the scale of your project according to the hardware you work on it becomes no bottleneck. Well… *duh*. 😀
He's right about one thing though, there's been too much of a race to mimic each other these years. That much is for sure. Everyone is trying to be everything the other successes were. That may even be an important factor why we see all this genre-blending these days (not that I mind that).
Last edited by Beamboom on 10/2/2012 1:50:58 AM
It doesn't sound like he's talking about pushing the hardware itself, technically, rather than the potential of greater gameplay and features. Otherwise, I think we've seen the best of what games can look this gen with the combination of great gameplay.
That said, I don't think we can see any major improvement to what we've seen, so next gen is needed to see any real jump in gaming. Don't get me wrong, I'm content to how it is now, probably for the next 5 years or so, especially if we can still get games like FFvsXIII (if it is what it was), MGS: GZ, and Last of Us.
isent it funny how the studios who are always saying that are the studios who are lightyears behind in technology.
i mean yea dishonoured is a open world game, so its already at a disadvantage, but its hardly up to 2012 standards tech wise!
so yea id hope they havent maxed out current systems otherwise id be searching for some half competent programmers!
I'd like to see what you programmed on the PS3.
where did i say i had?
common sense dude there are many games out there that show off what current systems can do better than dishonored.
thought that was pretty self explanatory………
Nothing you ever say can be explained by self or otherwise
Of course there's more juice to squeeze out if you are still making games in 720p.
Even though I think you can still get a little more out of the PS3, it's time to move on to the next-gen already. The graphical leaps from year to year have gotten smaller and smaller. I'm ready for some crisp DX11 high-res textures at 1080p running 60fps with V-sync enabled.
I want my PS4.
If we're seeing something as mind-blowing as The Last of Us, I say we definitely have more to see from the PS3. Yes, it's true the hardware is outdated compared to high end PCs, but when you start working with those technical limitations, you start to come up with more creative and efficient ideas.
For example, when Kojima-san was tasked with developing a war game for the MSX, he quickly realized you couldn't have more than 4 bullets on the screen at once. Seeing how that would make for a very boring war game, he worked around it by having you avoid the enemies instead of confronting them. Thus Metal Gear was born, and the foundations for the stealth genre were laid.
It seems to me that people are always focusing on getting better equipment to make their jobs easier, but I find it much more rewarding to work with what you already have.