Caltrops - Gamerasutra





	[quote name="Fussbett"][quote name="Jerry Whorebach"]Still, I'm not entirely sure which part you're disagreeing with: the notion that limited animation becomes more jarring as graphical fidelity increases, or the possibility that a developer who invests a lot of resources in elaborate animations is going to want to show you them, often to the detriment of gameplay?[/quote] Sure, if you start out by setting a low bar with simple graphics, you lower the expectations for things like music, effects, and animation (<a href="http://www.kongregate.com/games/keybol/pretentious-game" target="pre">while simultaneously raising the expectations for ART</a>). But then your next sentence blames animation itself for a developer's misuse of it, and we're back in the 90s again, wondering if newer techniques can ever recapture the magic of the old days when things were better. Also, there is a spot for animation between Mega Man and Alien Hominid, and there might even be spots <i>beside</i> them -- entire art styles outside of "flat hand drawn cartoons" (theoretical only at this point). There are even games that aren't action platformers, like the subject of MM's ire, an Arkanoid RPG. WizOrb is actually a good supporter of my argument because it looks great (despite what MM says) and it gets there by actually using a million frames of a animation for every little sprite. [/quote]