Comments on: The High Def Illusion

By: Jesper

Jesper — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 13:34:09 +0000

nzagalo,

I think you are right that screen size is important here. But I also think the content matters: HD makes more of a difference for landscapes and vistas than for running around in hallways…

By: nzagalo

nzagalo — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 09:07:17 +0000

I’ve played half of Uncharted 2 in a standard TV 32′ (720×576) and the second half in a HD TV 40′ (1280×720 the resolution of the game, not the TV) and it makes a HUGE HUGE difference.

However if you try to see HD content in a screen below 32′ you won’t notice any difference.

best

By: Jesper

Jesper — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:47:57 +0000

I guess it doesn’t take size into consideration – to some extent we are likely to place ourselves closer to a small TV. It would be nice to see some data on this as well.

By: Clayton Hughes

Clayton Hughes — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:42:35 +0000

Does this take the size of the TV into consideration? On a large enough TV, I think the difference is extremely evident. I remember being floored the first time I saw football in HD. You could see everything on the field and the names on the jerseys and so much more that gets lost or blurred in standard definition.

By: Jesper

Jesper — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:26:30 +0000

Matthew and Dominic – you touch on something I noticed: that 2D elements such as text seem to the ones most in need of hi-def. Perhaps high definition loses some of its advantages when things move in 3D?

Rasmus – here’s a crazy theory: perhaps the lack of advanced shaders give Wii graphics a pleasant “flatness”? Couldn’t the lack of amazing lightning effects be seen as something that makes the wii less intimidating? (Just a theory.)

By: Rasmus Keldorff

Rasmus Keldorff — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:31:20 +0000

The reason for the whole HD discussion is the console not mentioned here — the Wii. The perceived problem is that it doesn’t run in HD; but the real problem is that the Wii hardware isn’t up to snuff. With more triangle, full modern shader support, and excellent anti-aliasing, I doubt that anyone would really care whether it was HD or not.

By: Zhou Xuanming

Zhou Xuanming — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:14:16 +0000

When I first started development on the Wii, I was shocked to realize that 640 X 480 is the standard resolution for all Wii games. Apparently, most Wii games “squeeze” their image, so that when they stretch across widescreen HDTV screens, they would appear “normal”.

Personally, I have never noticed the low resolution on the Wii, I’ve always thought it was high definition until I started developing on it. Shame on me.

By: Dominic

Dominic — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:26:03 +0000

I remember squinting at Dead Rising’s cellphone messages for a while, and then realizing that my eyes were more precious than the experience it could possibly offer. I also like this image from an in-depth criticism of Mass Effect’s interface:
I’m attempting some HTML, but in case it doesn’t work, it’s here: http://gamedesignreviews.com/reviews/mass-effect-massive-interface-fail-part-ii/
top of the page.

By: Matthew Hughes

Matthew Hughes — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:46:36 +0000

Perhaps most users do not notice on games designed to display well on 480/standard resolution, but when 2D elements are designed (especially text) with the higher resolutions in mind, it is easy for the graphics designer to tell that their artwork is now blurry or the text unreadable. In fact, the text issue is one that I’ve seen in a few commercially available 360 games. I stopped using a standard resolution TV for this reason and switched to a 23″ LCD monitor.

Just my 2c, I’d say that most properly designed games are fine under 480, but when people don’t bother to think about their text color/size/weight on 480, it is painful.