One of the big things that has marked this generation of console gaming is the eternal quest for that elusive 1080p- it’s this generation’s version of ‘blast processing,’ a gimmick that ultimately amounts to nothing. Unlike previous generation, where major graphical differences like framerate or texture quality marked the difference between two versions of a multiplatform game, this generation, we’re all reduced to counting the lines and pixels on our screen- and all because ‘1080p’ has become such a marketing buzzword.
Surely developers find this frustrating too? When we got the chance to talk to Alex Preece of Big Tuna, the folks behind Battalion 1944, we decided to spring the question on him- as a developer, what is his take on the unending resolution wars? What was his take on the newfound obsession with framerates in video games?
“It’s frustrating as a developer to get blamed for bad framerate, because chances are the graphics are pretty good!” Preece said. “But if we lower the graphics to benefit the frame rate, we get flamed for having bad graphics, we can’t win! Players need to understand the job of a developer more, our community have been excellent and understanding our process in making Battalion, we just need the rest of the gaming world to follow their suit!”
What he says does make sense- game development is always a series of trade offs and compromises, especially given player expectations. The audience expects a certain level of graphical fidelity at this point- but to hit that, framerate must be sacrificed. And if a game does prioritize framerate, then the graphics must be sacrificed, like what happened with Halo 5: Guardians on the Xbox One last year.
I guess this would be one reason why upgraded consoles like the rumored PS4 Neo are ultimately a good idea.
