It’s just so funny that people are so willingly to mock World of Warcraft in terms of graphics when in fact World of Warcraft looks way better than most other more modern MMO when it comes to looks and art style and gameplay and design structure.
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Any thread that starts with “its funny…” is worth grabbing popcorn for.
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WoW’s design is the best in the business. I think people are conflating the quality with the design. Yes, WoW is lower-poly than other MMOs but that’s why more people can play it. If devs decided to rebuild WoW assets in Unreal Engine, players would need super gaming computers to even be able to run the game.
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I absolutely love the cartoon-y, old graphics. Not even kidding.
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We should make like a tree and blur…
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People mock it because they don’t get the reasoning behind it.
A gaming company won’t be selling their high def product to someone on a potato but Blizzard will.
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Eh.
WoW’s art style keeps it from feeling hopelessly outdated, but I don’t think it goes so far as to take it into “looks way better than everything else” territory. I don’t think most things in WoW look particularly “good”. Just, “not bad”.
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I think the reason a lot of people mock it is because it had been around for so long. Games that survive that long usually make their graphics better. Blizzard has as well, just not to the extent that other games do.
I also think another part of it is they just don’t want to do the work of building it in a different engine.
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Actual good take
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Frankly my only issue with the graphics is blizzards insistence on making a bunch of gear that is just painted on. They do some beautiful work when they make gear with 3D assets, wish they’d commit to it.
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I love the simplistic look of WoW’s graphics. Especially the newer graphics - it’s clean, not crazy detailed, easy on the eyes.
Graphics in GW2 and FFXIV bug me.
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The more modern graphics in WoW are great, and I love them; e.g., modern zones and higher res transmog pieces.
It gets a little cringey for me though when I see trees that look like something out of a popup book, or players skimping around in transmog so old it looks like they’re wearing a wet clingy tissue that ink leaked out on.
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I wouldn’t call it “best” as opposed to saying they just have their own style. It’s like saying apples are better than oranges when they both have their perks.
I don’t know why people continue to associate using UE with a “super computer”. I’ve seen games with equal or lower spec requirements, cartoony games, and even mobile games running on UE4.
They could still keep it in-house, they just need to continue giving their engine major overhauls.
They need to be consistent with the textures for every model, not just the newer stuff.
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Well, first off, that’s totally subjective. Secondly, there are players from several classes and races who have been BEGGING for updates to their visuals and animations, for years now.
Shamans would kill for a new Lightning Bolt visual, as well as updates to totems. They’ve also been calling for a visual change to Ascendance for a while as well. Personally, I wouldn’t mind Shocks getting an update. They don’t need to make the screen shake, but a touch up and elemental after effect would be nice.
Paladins have been asking for visual changes for a good while. Some feel that there are effects just look odd (Blade of Justice has fans and haters), or just old / bland (Consecration, many heal effects and animations).
Monk visuals in WoW are passable, but they kind of pale in comparison to virtually any other martial art based class or game character. Some of you can hate it all you want, but the Monk buffs AND attack animations in FFXIV are damned slick, whether or not spell effects are turned on or off:
From 6:49 to 7:33
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Most will agree with you. Some will not. Keep in mind there are people who actually get mad that blades of grass do not look realistic in games
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WoW has really found its own aesthetic and I think it is a good one. Anyone who says it is a bad looking game is just cherry picking and haven’t traveled the beautiful world it has to offer.
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Well… some of the old zones do look pretty damn bad. Like the nelf starter zone? It could use a face lift.
But for the most part I agree with you. WoW looks good to me.
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I agree. Exodar comes to mind… as well.
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WoW’s unique design, storytelling and direction allows it to stand out among those that have come and gone or still in the market.
I feel some of the original artists and Devs were primarily Don Bluth fans, based on the storytelling and art style leans towards being inspired by his works.
You know, the guy that scarred, scared and brought more emotional feelings to a single generation of kids via; Secret of NIMH, Land Before Time, An American Tale, All Dogs Go to Heaven, or arcade junkies Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace (so many damn quarters!)
"If you don’t show the darkness, you don’t appreciate the light. If it weren’t for December no one would appreciate May. It’s just important that you see both sides of that. As far as a happy ending…when you walk out of the theatre there’s [got to be] something that you have that you get to take home. What did it teach me? Am I a better person for having watched it?
Why do we seclude children from the dark? Kids are smarter than we give them credit for, they understand emotions. Their entire life is based only on emotional discoveries. A child will cry when shown someone died, but at the end of that journey a that same child will cherish the light and the happy ending. Our reward from allowing children to experiance this? They will be able to tell you the story years to decades later verbatim cause it held that much of an emotional impact in their lives."
This is can and is part of the graphics, the former look and the current look. Cartoonish, now when applied to the content of WoW’s quests, primary story and the characters’ dialogue through all the areas of the world, everything actually fits neatly.
If WoW had ESO’s or even FFXIV’s graphics, while using Blizzard’s storytelling format, the game would have died a decade ago, cause it wouldn’t mix.
Graphics and Storytelling go hand-to-hand. Not matter how cheesy, poor, or other. It has to compliment each other. This is why Cinematics look the way they do. Why the in game cuts are stylized to match the in game feel.
One can take a still shot of ESO, FFXIV, GW2 and WoW and a primary character and show them to any random people who do not play MMORPGs nor or possibly heard of them, and WoW will be easily identified versus the other three. This is a marketing choice made wisely through design.
Those who laugh cause WoW is either too cartoonish, or “looks dated” often can’t defend why the games they play often appear dated and in poorer quality in a few months, or maybe a year or two, while WoW has stood the literal test of time. There are players and forum posters who started WoW not even in their teens yet, playing WoW who now have families of their own.
This is the direction to push for, and their art and dev teams have already proven time and time again they can give these visuals.
Also, sadly comparing WoW to FFXIV isn’t equal. Yes they are both the same Genre. Though, again, it is all on the Design and storytelling between the two, and anyone can tell they are vastly different games and styles. As well wanting or suggesting something equal to FFXIV visuals wouldn’t work in WoW. Utilize what WoW has. There has already been countless times from the in-game cuts that already uses the game’s engine to allow for the much needed improved visuals.
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I mean you’re just straight up wrong when you compare the actual graphical quality to a more modern MMO but WoW gets around it by intentionally keeping themselves away from this arena same reason why Nintendo doesn’t try and get into the hardware matchups against the likes of Playstation and Xbox. Never is Nintendo going to win that fight.