Animation Lock: Why don't you like it?

[Molly_Millions]

So, you are saying Minecraft is an non-aesthetic game?

Pixel art looks awesome when you zoom out. But zoom in and it usually looks like ass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lct1O6euqg0

[Zantetsuken]

Pixel art looks awesome when you zoom out. But zoom in and it usually looks like ass.

Like an impressionist painting by Monet?



Will you argue there is no aesthetic value in his work either?

[Molly_Millions]

Will you argue there is no aesthetic value in his work either?

It's not the same. Show me how gameplay is involved in a painting. I'm not playing a piece of art that hangs on the wall. In your example, the aesthetic qualities are similar yes but in a piece of art that hangs on a wall the aesthetic qualities are what makes up the total value of the work.

So are you saying that gameplay holds no value?

[Zantetsuken]

Gameplay is very important,

But Final Fantasy is a series built on Aesthetics. It's what draws players into the franchise and keeps them coming back.

Ideally they should be of equal weight, but I think when push comes to shove, aesthetics trump gameplay in core FF game design at SE.

[Molly_Millions]

Gameplay is very important,

But Final Fantasy is a series built on Aesthetics. It's what draws players into the franchise and keeps them coming back.

Ideally they should be of equal weight, but I think when push comes to shove, aesthetics trump gameplay in FF game design at SE.

They look great sure, but if the gameplay wasn't there the series wouldn't have lasted as long as it has. A game can look fantastic, but if the gameplay sucks, the game sucks.

[Zantetsuken]

They look great sure, but if the gameplay wasn't there the series wouldn't have lasted as long as it has. A game can look fantastic, but if the gameplay sucks, the game sucks.

It's not a zero-sum game.

But at the end of the day, when faced with a difficult decision (esp in RPGs), the gameplay should be altered to fit the aesthetic, not the other way around.

Obviously this doesn't apply to other genres like puzzle games, arcade style shooters, action games, etc..

[SkyeWindbinder]

I have to say, that I agree with Zantetsuken on this one. In a Final Fantasy game, the object is to draw the player into the world of the game and the many things in it. That's ow Final Fantasy games have worked for a long while. When playing, you're not really thinking about the buttons you're pushing to make your character move. You're usually thinking "HOLY CRAP! Did you see that cool summon?" and "Wow, this city is beautiful". The storyline is also an extremely important factor. I think gameplay comes in at a third on the importance chart.

[Molly_Millions]

If you guys are correct, why do you think the launch of this game went so badly? 1.0 looked fantastic by almost all accounts. If aesthetics are everything, what was the problem?

[SkyeWindbinder]

If you guys are correct, why do you think the launch of this game went so badly? 1.0 looked fantastic by almost all accounts.

Oh, a number of reasons. Bad gameplay, bad questing system, not really a lot of content, the levelling system was awful as well... Still doesn't change the fact that aesthetics are extremely important in a Final Fantasy game. It only proves a game can't run solely on looks. However, a Final Fantasy game with good gameplay that's extremely ugly will also do just as badly.

[Firon]

Gameplay is very important,

But Final Fantasy is a series built on Aesthetics. It's what draws players into the franchise and keeps them coming back.

Ideally they should be of equal weight, but I think when push comes to shove, aesthetics trump gameplay in core FF game design at SE.

Have to disagree the gameplay has always been one of the strong points for FF more than the aesthetics. Aesthetics did not become a huge issue till FF 8-9 cause back then before the whole world started playing FF 7 people loved the games for story and gameplay.