Realistic Graphics: Realistically Achievable

We’ve all noticed the direction big budget games are going in, bigger, better and more realistic graphics. AAA Games seem to have entered a phase where the more realistic you can make a game look, the better the game will be, and there is nothing wrong with this view point. You really can’t deny that recent blockbuster games like The Witcher: Wild Hunt and Batman Arkham Knight aren’t graphically amazing but when you really think about it, is it really possible to achieve perfectly or near perfect realistic graphics in games?

Honestly I don’t think it’ll be possible. Just looking at the system requirements for the a fore mentioned games and already the games industry have hit a problem. You already need a very high-tech computer to run them on, and a lot of people can’t afford to buy a computer good enough to run these games (or buy new parts for their computer) or have no need for a new computer. Already the graphic requirements for the game has limited the potential customer base for the game and no real need to state that this is very bad for the publisher and developer ( The Witcher 3 had a budget off $15m, GTAV had one of $265m) every dollar counts. With this trend this can only get worse in this respect.

So we’ve already hit the point of needing expensive hardware and software just to play some of these games but there is a bigger (and more likely to happen) problem. The Uncanny Valley is a term used for the emphatic level people feel toward inanimate human constructs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEikGKDVsCc

The Uncanny Valley is just the tip of the iceberg when talking about humans recognizing something as not being real and this is demonstrated really well by virtual constructs. Watch any of these videos and they will look to be very realistic                 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjHiC0mt4Ts  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAZIvyAJfeM

However, show this to enough people and you’ll start to get reactions where they will immediately become skeptical and doubt that it’s a real person (and not just because when you ask them “is this real” they think “well of course not, because you’re asking”). There are parts of our brain that are dedicated to identifying threats and recognizing faces, and these are dedicated to our survival. When they see virtual constructs they instantly know something is up and begin to make you doubt. You begin to examine things more closely and look at things in a critical view.

Pair the functions of our brain with the graphical requirements that we’ll need to run games with “Realistic Graphics” and I don’t think it’ll be possible (or wise) for games to reach this point.

Although, when it comes to environmental graphics things like Alison Road (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__i_LoRKhJ0) are already real….well who knows.