Photorealistic Graphics

Now, everyone take a look at this article here: Link

Alright, let's get started. I'll get my stance out of the way immediately; video games do not need real-life, photorealistic graphics in order to to expand into new genres and explore human emotions. I have been gaming the vast majority of my life and have seen the good, the bad, and ugly. I can't remember the first game I ever played, but I do remember the moments I truly felt something. The first time I cried for sadness, happiness, just dropped the controller and stared.

Final Fantasy VII: When the game first came out, I watched my sister play through Aerith's death scene. That was the first, and one of two times, that I cried at a video game.

Final Fantasy IX: The second game I cried for. All the emotions I felt from finishing such a beautiful game, I cried tears of happiness at the end credits.

Fatal Frame: All of them, but especially the ending of the second game. I sat in silence, feeling all kinds of emotions.

Shadows of the Colossus: Similar to Fatal Frame. The beauty of the game had me speechless.

Journey: Made me feel things I hadn't felt in a while, and took my breath away.

Not a single one of these games had 'photorealistic' graphics. In fact, especially in the case of FFVII, FFIX, and Journey, the graphics were downright cartoonish. Yet the beauty of the games and the story itself was what got to me. Also, not a single game on that list is an action or shooter title. The first two are RPGs, Fatal Frame is horror, Shadows is Adventure, and Journey is... something (another adventure?).

Nowadays video game graphics are capable of this:

And this:

But we are also capable of these:

Both have the capability for doing great things. For invoking emotions in us. This is the power of games, but that power lies not in the graphics. The power to invoke a response, to explore genres and emotions, is not limited to whether or not a game is photorealistic or not. Action and shooters are NOT the only genres we can have, nor are they the only ones we've ever had. I think that Notch, the creator of Minecraft, said it best in that article:

"No, Christoph, you LIMIT the number of new genres if you focus on photorealism. I had way more emotions playing Proteus than I ever did playing any 2K game. Also, Futurama has made me feel sad more than most sad movies can. The Sting, Jurrasic Bark, Luck of the Fryish. Photorealistic? No."

Do we need photorealism to explore genres and emotions in video gaming? Absolutely not. Can it be helpful, and are there games suited for it? Of course. But never presume that a game has to be photorealistic in order to be a beautiful game we love to play.

For further discussion, though it's mostly on the difference between graphics and aesthetics, have a look at this video by Extra Credits.

Thanks everyone! 
Scarlet