E3 2016 is almost here and while that means a ton of potential excitements, it’s also likely going to mean a bunch of demos and gameplay videos that might, well, stretch the truth a little. You know what we’re talking about – presentations where the visuals showcased can’t possibly be in real time and when the game is finally out, criticisms of “downgrade” get thrown around.
That being said, Crytek technical director Rok Erjavec did offer a different take on the whole phenomenon. Speaking to DSO Gaming, Erjavec was asked about his opinion on games being downgraded from their E3/GDC showcases and whether developer’s should display games that aren’t possible even on high-end rigs.
Erjavec stated, “I think in many cases, the criticism is misplaced. Trade-show demos are often carefully crafted experiences where a highly-polished single area is shown during the demo. It’s easy to blame hardware-targets when the final game isn’t quite the same – but what you are shown is a 15-minute part of the game that was built in three to six months.
“Meanwhile, the rest of the game’s 10+ hours are built over something in the range of 12 to 24 months. In many cases there was no downgrade as such – just the reality of producing much more content over what effectively amounts to (much) less time.”
That being said, he’s not a fan of showcases like this in general. “I do find gameplay showcases that aren’t running on actual hardware targets or are entirely pre-recorded a bit pointless, since games are fundamentally about interactive experiences.”
What do you think, especially with so many showcases set for E3? Let us know in the comments.