To graphics or not to graphics!?

ID:45414
 
Jul 17 2008, 3:52 am
Simple question really.
Use graphics or not? The advantages/disadvantages are obvious, but I will list them anyway. (by no graphics I mean ascii graphics)

Graphics

Pros
Looks better, therefore more likely to get people playing the game
More flexibility, graphics can look like whatever I draw them like.
What you see is what you get. If it looks like a dragon then it probably is a dragon. You don't need brains to figure that much out.

Cons
Larger file sizes
Harder to use

No graphics

Pros
Small file sizes
Relatively easy to use

Cons
Doesn't look as impressive
Less flexibility, I am limited to whatever characters BYOND supports.
Requires use of imagination and brain to work things out (a D does not look like a dragon, no matter which way you look at it).

Also, examples.
With graphics the game would look like this
http://www.byond.com/members/TheMagicMan/files/sc1.png
Without it would look like this
http://www.byond.com/members/TheMagicMan/files/sc2.png

So, what would you prefer?
Jul 17 2008, 8:45 am
I can't tell if this is a serious question.
Jul 17 2008, 9:38 am
Is that The Matrix: Online? God, everyone dresses like Neo in that game...
Jul 17 2008, 10:15 am
Graphics: Makes more sense and will be more popular.

No Graphics: Enjoy your 2 players.
Jul 17 2008, 10:36 am
Graphics are always better unless you're making a text MUD.
Jul 17 2008, 4:19 pm
I should have mentioned, I am pretty lazy and don't enjoy importing 1000s of images in BYOND then naming them all.
And the game is a singe player Roguelike, so not using graphics seemed like a valid choice.

But I guess I am using graphics then.

Anyway, two more questions now.

Firstly for enemy graphics.
http://www.byond.com/members/TheMagicMan/files/ Drac01_by_Gamerage.png Like this (animated, but low detail)
http://www.byond.com/members/TheMagicMan/files/mon_260.gif Or this? (not animated, but higher detail)

Animated increases file size massively, but is much more consistant. On the downside I am lacking in these sort of graphics (but could edit and draw my own, this would be time consuming however).
Not animated has smaller file size, is less consistent and I literally have something like 600 monsters of that style I could use (and thousands more in other styles). They are also much easier to edit.

Third question. Should I do flashy attack animations?
When I use a sword attack would you prefer it did a simple slashing animation, and when I cast fireball it shoots out a hurling ball of fire followed by a glorious, massive explosion.
Or would you prefer it if basic attack animations didn't exist, and that fireball spell was just a fireball that explodes into a circle of smaller explosions just to show where the actual effect is.
First fireball explosion would be a single, large explosion, second would be a 32x32 animation displayed on each tile effected by the explosion basically.

Ups and downs are fairly obvious. Fancy animations means more work and time, larger file sizes but looks nice.
Less fancy animations means smaller file size, less work but doesn't look as nice.