Game end Joy

I think the realism that games aspire to is best understood in terms of simulation rather than representation i.e. the replacement of the real rather than an interpretation of it - and the computer is in the end the ultimate tool for simulation. In this light, game visuals almost inevitably set themselves up for a fall since, as soon as the initial excitement of the improved renderings dissipates, we quickly become aware of the many and varied ways in which they fail to match the reality - the edges are too sharp, pixels too smeary, shapes intersecting. Given the implicit goal, disappointment is almost inevitable. This is particularly true of realistic characters and environments but can apply equally to simulated cartoon styling.

You've suggested that the computer is limited by the factors that make it interesting - can you enlarge on that?

I'd love to see the whole business of character creation reconceived and the current approach dispensed with entirely if only to give control of shape back to animators. In 3D production, whether real-time or offline, responsibility for silhouette and shape has been orphaned, devolving to a combination of modeller, technical artist and coder. However, given the tools that are now available to artists on the computer (Z-brush, mudbox and the like) it is at least possible to conceive of an alternative approach in which shape plays centre stage.