I feel this is something to be mentioned. I don't want this game to be realistic. Not what so ever. I want this game to be BELIEVABLE. There is a difference, as realism is the process of making something as close to lifelike as possible. I know some people prefer this sort of style, but not me, not in large doses.
Believability, on the other hand, is an extension to realistic, believing a place that potentially cannot be real... is. So when I see parks in Planet Coaster, despite the cartoon guests and saturated colors, I see parks as real places, even though I know they are fake.
And for this to occur, realism is essential. In order for a coaster to feel real, it needs to ride realistically, and function realistically, because that is what you find in real life. The designs of rides need to be realistic. Guest proportions need to be realistic skeleton wise, and dress realistically, but they don't have to be realistic. AC units on buildings, realistic.
Making something believable is the act of making something unreal seem real. The reason I'm posting this is because I want people to use realistic less, and use believable more. Realism is for details, like the bolts of coaster cars. Realism is for the physics of a ride. Realism is essential, but it should not be all that is seen.
I guess the fear with not using realism, and pounding it into developers is that we may end up with something outlandish, that cannot exist in real life, because elements that need to be realistic to add immersion are styalized. Like Theme Park and Theme Park World are very stylized, and so what you play is not at all like a real park, but more like an unvisitable fantasy. It's cool, well designed, but not something most can immerse themselves into.
Believability needs realism, but as an option, it can have stylized abstract ideas. The graphics can be bright and colorful, the guests can look something from an animated movie, the rides can have twists to them, as long as maintaining their original designs, and still be believable. Realism has no character, but believability can. As long as realism as the foundation is not forgotten, character and style can be added and still appeal to the majority of audiences, exception to those who hate character.
So it's not realism vs believability, it's realistic foundations with character built on top, creating a believable experience that is also fun.
TL;DR: Use the term believable more, it's more encompassing to other fun ideals, but you can use the term realism when you want strictly realism. Style is fun, but it doesn't make a believable foundation, where as realism is rock solid, but doesn't make a fun product.
Frontier us doing a perfect job striking that balance. I may be overanalyzing the use of adjectives, but word choice has impact.
Believability, on the other hand, is an extension to realistic, believing a place that potentially cannot be real... is. So when I see parks in Planet Coaster, despite the cartoon guests and saturated colors, I see parks as real places, even though I know they are fake.
And for this to occur, realism is essential. In order for a coaster to feel real, it needs to ride realistically, and function realistically, because that is what you find in real life. The designs of rides need to be realistic. Guest proportions need to be realistic skeleton wise, and dress realistically, but they don't have to be realistic. AC units on buildings, realistic.
Making something believable is the act of making something unreal seem real. The reason I'm posting this is because I want people to use realistic less, and use believable more. Realism is for details, like the bolts of coaster cars. Realism is for the physics of a ride. Realism is essential, but it should not be all that is seen.
I guess the fear with not using realism, and pounding it into developers is that we may end up with something outlandish, that cannot exist in real life, because elements that need to be realistic to add immersion are styalized. Like Theme Park and Theme Park World are very stylized, and so what you play is not at all like a real park, but more like an unvisitable fantasy. It's cool, well designed, but not something most can immerse themselves into.
Believability needs realism, but as an option, it can have stylized abstract ideas. The graphics can be bright and colorful, the guests can look something from an animated movie, the rides can have twists to them, as long as maintaining their original designs, and still be believable. Realism has no character, but believability can. As long as realism as the foundation is not forgotten, character and style can be added and still appeal to the majority of audiences, exception to those who hate character.
So it's not realism vs believability, it's realistic foundations with character built on top, creating a believable experience that is also fun.
TL;DR: Use the term believable more, it's more encompassing to other fun ideals, but you can use the term realism when you want strictly realism. Style is fun, but it doesn't make a believable foundation, where as realism is rock solid, but doesn't make a fun product.
Frontier us doing a perfect job striking that balance. I may be overanalyzing the use of adjectives, but word choice has impact.
