WoW Moviewatch: Are WoW graphics bad?
by Michael Gray 
May 3rd 2010 at 12:00PM
I know Wowcrendor is addressing an entirely different subject, but I still can't watch this video without thinking of the upcoming Cataclysm. Most of us are obviously excited about the new content in the expansion, and the daily screenshots of the shattered zones are very exciting. But I'm already feeling a little nostalgic about my years of history in the existing world, and Wowcrendor's video highlights some of my favorite places. The change will be awesome, but I will be wistful when I watch this video after all the destruction.
Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.Filed under: WoW Moviewatch
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Nick S May 3rd 2010 12:10PM
WoW's graphics were designed to age well, and it's working. There are games out there with higher polygon counts, but WoW's artists have done an excellent job in establishing a style for the game that looks good without those things.
Elmouth May 3rd 2010 12:16PM
There are also games out there with end of the line graphics yet they're complete failures.
People that hate WoW will just bicker at anything they can, and the easiest one are its graphics.
While they do age well, I personally wouldn't care if they didn't, the cartoonish style is Warcraft's bread and butter since Wc3 and I wouldn't have it any other way.
A realistic WoW wouldn't be WoW. It just wouldn't feel right at all.
pyro_818 May 3rd 2010 12:36PM
I certainly agree with Elmouth. WoW (and the entire Warcraft series, really) has always been a little tongue-in-cheek; the graphics are a part of that, and I personally wouldn't want them to move too far away from the cartoony feel.
Elleyna May 3rd 2010 12:45PM
When people say that they want better graphics, I don't think most are saying they necessarily want realistic graphics. The artists/developers could definitely make more HD graphics while still keeping the style that they currently use (which I love and feel is perfect for this game).
Avan May 3rd 2010 12:52PM
Realistic graphics do not age well. As computer hardware evolves, "realistic" graphics become more and more dated. A game that strives to look realistic today will be outdated by next year!
A failing point in realistic graphics, why they don't age well, and why they always look a bit... off is something very simple: Faces. We see them every day, we're hardwired to recognize faces. We know when a face looks wrong, when it isn't real. It's very hard for artists to capture a face properly. There are a lot of subtleties in the nose that are disregarded. It's hard to capture emotion in a facial expression. There are a lot of things about the face that just don't transition well into digital. So then as hardware improves, you'll be able to notice all these failings on old graphics much easier.
Stylizing graphics like WoW's? You can tell that it's a face, and because you're not being tricked into thinking that what you're seeing is supposed to be real, we disregard the lack of all those subtle details. The only problem WoW faces going forward is the disparity between old player models (humans) compared to new player models (worgblins).
Decrypt May 3rd 2010 1:16PM
You have to consider that higher polygon counts means that higher end hardware would be necessary to take advantage. If half of the WoW player base use old hardware and have to turn down graphic settings, the higher end graphics are not fully appreciated by a good chunk of the player base anyway.
In that, the graphics were a happy medium for all players. Those with less than stellar hardware did not feel like they were missing any part of the game they could enjoy with better hardware.
Darkrose May 3rd 2010 2:56PM
@Avan: Your approach on a rendered face being slightly off shows a lot of similarities with the so-called 'Uncanny valley' For those interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley.
Artificial May 3rd 2010 4:36PM
@Decrypt: It's true that better graphics require better hardware, but you can go too far the other direction. The fact is that WoW today still doesn't have as high quality of textures or appearance as Guild Wars had five years ago, and I ran GW just fine (albeit at a somewhat lower FPS rate) on the GeForce 440 MX I had at the time. So, updating WoW's graphics to at least that level would be adequately supported on graphics cards you can't even buy in bargain bins anymore, they're so old.
WoW badly needs updated graphics, and it can be done while still running just fine on the absolute low end of hardware available today.
Nick S May 3rd 2010 5:21PM
WoW and GW take two entirely different approaches to managing framerates. WoW by limiting polys and texture sizes, GW by limiting onscreen models and dynamic environment detail.
brian May 3rd 2010 8:22PM
Wow graphics are timeless the same way mario is designed. It has its own style, and looks rather good for what its trying to do.
That said, some of the newer models either have better polygon counts, better meshing, better base models, or all of the above. So, while WoW graphics are still pretty good, the older models at least could use a slight update. Just to keep up with their own curve.
Elleyna May 3rd 2010 12:12PM
Personally I feel they need to be updated. I love what they're doing with the water effects in Cataclysm, but a lot of models (especially older ones) could use some updating. Armor models are pretty good, why can't character models match that amount of detail (besides BE and Draenei, they're both fairly detailed)?
Vitos May 3rd 2010 12:59PM
If you look at the female forsaken in a recent Screenshot of the Day (I think yesterday's) she looks considerably smoother and more detailed than they currently look.
Hollow Leviathan May 3rd 2010 6:32PM
Exactly this. I don't think anyone is seriously questioning the art style of wow, but even some of the trees featured in this video as a counter example are only more proof of a need for higher resolution, and less sprites. Power Word Shield is a 2 dimentional sprite, but the ! and ? over quest giver-heads are 3D rendered? What's up with that?
The thing I want are sharper, higher resolution textures, higher-polygon counts on models, and more lighting effects, shadows, reflection, that sort of thing.
And of course more optimized code. Wow should run much faster than it does at every level of detail.
Dah May 4th 2010 1:53PM
Ya, wow players here are biased imo.
One of the major reasons my gf won't even consider wow is because of how bad the graphics are.
I mean, for me, it makes sense that they have outdated graphics since it has a lot of content, but for potentially newer players, it's often a glaring flaw.
Marix May 3rd 2010 12:12PM
An excellent and quite original movie, one of the few WoW movie's that I will sit and watch to the end.
Shylv May 3rd 2010 8:42PM
Yes.
A bit sentimental for WoWcrendor... But I love it!
Brendan May 3rd 2010 12:13PM
I wouldn't say WoW's graphics are bad, but there isn't a single player character in that game for a reason. The original races almost without exception look terrible, especially the orcs and humans.
Brendan May 3rd 2010 1:27PM
Uh, meant to say in that video. Typing is fun.
Baba May 3rd 2010 12:13PM
Nice video, but I didn't think it really addresses the issue.
Like any piece of art, the further back you stand (too a point obviously ^^) the better it looks. The reason people say that WoW is outdated is because of the things like rocky areas having jagged, 10 degree acute angles on them, waterfalls being just a 2D screen and humans all spawning from one, horrific car crash.
WoW has some of the best skies though, /sigh....
(cutaia) May 3rd 2010 12:20PM
"WoW has some of the best skies though"
Quite right. While taking my orphan to Auchindon, a random person remarked, "Wow...I never really looked up here. The sky is cool." Of course, I swung my caamera up to see the clouds swirling above us. It was pretty awesome.
Other favorites of mine are Nagrand and the Pit of Saron.