Sorry, I'm actually curious about all those things, but I'll try to refine my question.
The storyline & graphics debate is hugely subjective which is why i said in the first line "For me," because the post reflects my views on what pulls ME into a game.
Also, there's a big difference between a book and a game. Books are intended to be purely storyline driven. Like you said there are no graphics, Where as a game is intended to have graphics these days. My stance is if theirs going to be graphics, they might as well be as good as I can get them.
Now in regards to my initial question, I guess I technically had two questions.
The first being, in your own opinion (subjective), what was the best graphics you've ever seen in an A8 game (native or 3rd party).
The second question being more along the lines of what you said,
You're also asking technical questions - should this topic be about techniques to achieve a certain level of graphical fidelity, effects and - of course - how to do all this fast?
That's exactly what I'm looking for. Things such as, how do you get subtle chips and cracks in the rock walls, realistic sun reflections off of rock, realistic looking water that moves, cloth (ex: shirt and pants) that looks and acts real on a player, etc. and what is the best way to go about duplicating these results.
Once again, these are things that really pull a game together and make it enjoyable FOR ME.
While things like gameplay mechanics, animation, and the storyline really drive how the game is played and turns out, the world the game is in and how it looks is what gives the player a sense of urge or leisure or panic or comfort.
I mean seriously, nothing says move your ass like the ground crumbling into nothingness behind you.
I hope I clarified what I was asking.
