View source for Ideas and Thoughts: Choose Your Own Resolution


28-Jan-98

And no, I don't mean some &quot;interactive movie&quot;, ala Choose Your Own Adventure books... I mean resolution as in graphics, and then some. &nbsp;In any case, it made a snazzy title.

Wouldn't it be nice to personalize the graphics in a game? &nbsp;I don't mean the 64DD type of personalizing, with your own face, etc. &nbsp;I mean making the graphics go as you'd like them to go. &nbsp;Envision an Option screen, with the choice Graphics. &nbsp;Within you could alter the way graphics are done in the game. &nbsp;Perhaps you hate fog, so you'd lower that, and extend the horizon. &nbsp;Perhaps you're more concerned with smooth animation, so you'd make sure it gave a favorable frame rate.

Of course, we'd LIKE to see all things at the max, wouldn't we? &nbsp;But this just isn't possible. &nbsp;So when you'd make something higher with one of the choices, but would be more than the system could handle, the rest would all lower an equal %. &nbsp;So you would have to work at it to get it just right for you.

About the resolution, I've heard that higher resolutions take more RAM. &nbsp;I don't know any specifics on this, but if whatever game this was also made to take advantage of the extra 4 MB RAM that will be included with the 64DD if there (which I think is a good idea at any rate), it'd make it that much easier. &nbsp;Otherwise the higher resolution options would mean a higher penalty in other areas...

But there should be things other than the frame rate, resolution, polygonal model detail, fog/horizon, and those kinds of things. &nbsp;What do I mean? &nbsp;Well, for instance, there's a code for FIFA '98 that removes the stadium, which in turn improves the frame rate quite a bit. &nbsp;So you could remove some of the extra things like that, and end up with the rest of it being better if you so pleased. &nbsp;It's all about choice, eh?

But mightn't this make newer games less graphic-wise? &nbsp;I mean, it'd have the same options and all, and you could get them to look the same, right? &nbsp;But they wouldn't. &nbsp;The way newer games have better graphics is they learn better ways to program and basically make games for the system, right? &nbsp;Well, it'd be like that. &nbsp;What do I mean? &nbsp;Well, remember when I said once one of the choices got too high, the others would go down accordingly? &nbsp;Well, for a better programmed game, the others wouldn't have to go down as soon, see what I'm saying? &nbsp;Well, I guess that's about all I have to say for you to see for now. &nbsp;'Cept, of course, for the fact that right below this is a picture semi-illustrating my idea. &nbsp;You can see how there's a sliding bar for most of the things, but below is where you can turn some things on/off, and as you can see, for this I've decided to play without the optional rocks and birds.

[[Joshua J. Slone|Joshua Slone]] has never danced with the devil in the pale moonlight.