I have noticed recently that more and more games are ditching pre-rendered cut scenes and instead use real-time cut scenes which leave much to be desired IMO. I realize it takes way more time and effort to produce a pre-rendered cut scene but I guess I have come to expect that from certain games.
Take for example Soul Calibur 2. It had an amazing pre-rendered intro so when I bought Soul Calibur 4 last night and loaded it up, I expected something equally as amazing. Instead it was a short, real time rendered intro that looked far worse than the intro of Soul Calibur 2.
The same is true for Ninja Gaiden. It has some of my favorite pre-rendered cutscenes, like the one just after you beat the big Samurai boss on a horse. Ninja Gaiden 2 has nothing but real-time cut scenes. They look good but not nearly as good as its predecessor.
The same is true for Devil May Cry 4. All cut scenes are real time.
Maybe developers feel that graphic hardware has caught up enough to where real time looks pretty close in quality to pre-rendered or maybe they have become lazy. What do you think?
Gen3r4l1ty
While I've always enjoyed the visual splendor of pre-rendered scenes, I've also felt that it broke the continuity of the visual theme. It always felt like a gyp to watch a beautiful scene involving the game's characters, then when you take control and play the game, you're left with blocky representations of what you just saw.
However, that line gets further obfuscated as technology get's better and I just keep holding out for the day when there is no visual difference.
Magnus
quote:
Originally posted by Gen3r4l1ty
While I've always enjoyed the visual splendor of pre-rendered scenes, I've also felt that it broke the continuity of the visual theme. It always felt like a gyp to watch a beautiful scene involving the game's characters, then when you take control and play the game, you're left with blocky representations of what you just saw.
However, that line gets further obfuscated as technology get's better and I just keep holding out for the day when there is no visual difference.
This is a good point. Everytime I watch a pre-rendered cutscene or intro I'm always wondering when the day will come that gameplay will look no different.
Project-K
Agreed. In-game cutscenes are probably my single biggest turnoff in regards to video game. The only kind that I like are the ones where you're witnessing scipted events but retain your 1st person perspective, because it preserves the feeling of immersion. Half life 2, bioshock, and the original crysis (not warhead) are examples of games that do this well. It also helps that these kinds of scipted events tend to be short and straight to the point.
Pre-rendered cutscenes, in addition to being highly entertaining, reinforce the impression that a game was made by devellopers who legitemately care about the quality of the product, and not just about maximizing profits while minimizing costs. Blizzard games always have the best cutscenes. Even when they have produced games that I wasn't particularly fond of (WoW + expansions), the cutscenes were always amazing. Another great example is Thief:The Dark Project, which used a very unique art style that perfectly complemented the atmosphere of the game.
For those poor souls who have not played the game
miamitranceman
I think it's mostly because the graphics are much more on par today with prerendered stuff than they used to be. Look at MGS4. To me, one of the coolest things about the game is while you do sit through a lot of cutscenes, it's a seamless transition to the actual controllable part of the game.
Sometimes I still like a good prerendered scene when it's done well though, like in God of War or Final Fantasy, which alternate between in game and prerendered.
A cool thing back in the day with the ps1 Final Fantasies was how you'd be in a prerendered static background and all of a sudden a prerendered video would kick in while you still had control of your character. Neat stuff considering the technology limitations.
Magnus
quote:
Originally posted by Project-K
Pre-rendered cutscenes, in addition to being highly entertaining, reinforce the impression that a game was made by devellopers who legitemately care about the quality of the product, and not just about maximizing profits while minimizing costs.
Well said.
CONNERMAN2000
quote:
Originally posted by Gen3r4l1ty
While I've always enjoyed the visual splendor of pre-rendered scenes, I've also felt that it broke the continuity of the visual theme.
This is precisely why I'm on the fence on this one. On the one hand, pre-rendered CG videos are usually very cool and entertaining, but at the same time, seeing all the videos use the same graphics engine as the game itself doesn't distract the whole flow of the gaming experience.
It sucks to see a wicked fight scene in a CG intro, only to find out that the game looks only half as good and you can't do any of the cool the main guy was doing in the video in the first place.
Philby
it depends on the context. playing warcraft 3, the in game scenes are great, there is no real break in the play, you have the dialogue and plot and then you keep going, it works well in that case. then you have the cgi rendered stuff, and its something to look forward to as well. if it stopped mid-mission, or in between missions with pre-rendered stuff, and you kept going between this arthas with amazing detail, and a blocky, less amazing arthas it would be a bit weird. i think pre rendered stuff is great for things like intros and endings, but in game stuff is much better imo for moving plot along and stuff like that.
