Charlie

Visual representation (as well as gameplay) have always been limited by the technology available. While older games such as Pong used highly abstract graphics, most games today have a more literal approach to the visual representation of the player character and the environment in which it inhabits.

What is most interesting to me is how video games today with more abstract visual language largely remain limited to a very niche market and fly under the radar. It seems most gamers today prefer ultra-realistic, and perhaps easily identifiable and relatable (or as the article states, more empathetic) video game personas. The graphics of the game often seem to have a direct correlation to the gameplay - the more realistic it looks, the more realistic it plays (i.e. objects need to obey the rules of gravity, no magic). More unconvential gameplay usually comes with more unconventional graphics - and apparently, a more unconventional player-base.