“Graphics Whore” is a term that I’ve never been comfortable with, that is, until I realized that I am one. I couldn’t give you the precise etymology behind the phrase, only that it’s rise to prominence in both game fandom and game journalism – there is a distinction, however slight it may be – coincided directly with the rise of 3D graphics in console gaming. What makes a person a graphics whore is their dismissal of games that don’t reflect the aesthetic (visual, audio, etc.) cutting edge of available technology. But in the 32-bit era, the term carried a more specific connotation, namely 2D games being inferior to 3D. This definition of graphics whore had something of a corporate background, especially in the battle between Sony and Sega; Sega’s great failure was building an overly expensive machine devoted to running 2D games and Sony took a hard line against publishing any 2D games outside of Japan. The future, as far as Sony and Nintendo were concerned, was in three dimensions. So, the term graphics whore was birthed alongside the now all too common mantra that gameplay, not graphics, is all that matters in a videogame. I used to agree. And while I don’t think that games are defined by being the prettiest and the bestest, I think that to downplay the importance of presentation is doing the medium a great disservice. It isn’t how advanced a game’s visuals are. It’s what they are.
Capcom’s two most recent releases, Bionic Commando: Rearmed and Mega Man 9, are companion pieces to illustrate the point. Both games are built on play fundamentals that literally turned twenty years-old in 2008 but they represent diametric ends of the gaming spectrum. While Mega Man 9 is a deliberate and carefully constructed exercise in twenty year-old presentation, foregoing even certain graphical and audio advancements made on the platform it’s mimicking, Bionic Commando: Rearmed is a technological powerhouse. Running on the high-end engine built to power the upcoming 3D Bionic Commando, Rearmed sports some of the most elegant HD graphics on current consoles. The two games, however, are equals in terms of completeness and quality. They are exactly what they need to be: smooth playing, but still pleasing to the eyes and ears thanks to their mutual presentations fitting the games to a t. They're a literal demonstration of gameplay being a game's chief concern and that aesthetics aren't an issue of technology, but of appropriateness and style. And so they’re benchmarks of the beginning of gaming’s new era, where mainstream gaming isn’t judged by its spectacle but by its pure quality.
Graphics whore has been redefined. Games that look terrible aren’t terrible thanks to the technology behind them. They’re shit because the effort hasn’t been put into making them what they need to be.
Related links:
Don’t Call It Retro: Mega Man 9 and Design Resurrection
Follow Up: Mega Man 9 and Design Resurrection Part 2
Mega Man 9: IT'S OUT NOW
Where I Draw the Line With Retro
Bionic Commando is Love: Bionic Commando Rearmed is Out. It Matters.