"There's Nothing We Can Do Now We Couldn't 10 Years Ago": Sherif Dawoud Discusses Game Industry's Evolution

Graphic Rendering
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"Overall though, I think we’re well past the point of diminishing returns when it comes to advances in graphics in video games. There are games that were released 10+ years ago that would still look visually impressive if they were released today, namely games like The Order 1886, Assassin’s Creed Unity, and Rise of the Tomb Raider.

So yeah, I don’t think there’s anything that we can do now that we couldn’t 10 years ago. Adding extra detail or cooler lighting technology isn’t going to add much value to the player experience. I think going forward, what will set visually impressive games apart is focusing more on the basic art fundamentals like composition and color/values, and less on adding detail."

thoughts?

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We’ve hit this uncanny plateau where marginal graphical upgrades don’t really wow anymore — at least not in the way they used to. You look at The Order: 1886 or AC Unity, and yeah, they still hold up visually, even by today’s standards. That says a lot.

What’s exciting now isn’t photorealism — it’s style, art direction, and emotional impact. Games like Hades, Hi-Fi Rush, or even Pentiment prove that strong fundamentals like color theory, silhouette, and visual storytelling trump raw polygon count every time.