to be honest I'm not sure if we are agreeing or disagreeing
Quote: "
but in the end it still comes down to the quality of the models, textures and shaders"
that's my point, no matter how good a programmer you are or how good your engine is, without access to professional grade media (most dbpro users), it is an uphill battle to build player interest.
this applies equally to amatuers and hobbyists using unity, udk etc certainly, but there is a larger user base of professionals using those engines with funding to obtain professional grade media. anyway the point isn't a comparison between what a hobbyist can do in dbpro vs what a hobbyist can do in unity, it's a general statement of hobbyists not having professional grade media, and the majority of dbpro users are hobbyists.
Quote: "As for "retro or indie" there is still a huge market for games that aren't photo realistic."
agreed, i said as much
Quote: "Look at the explosive growth of Minecraft. The crappy graphics of World of Warcraft are still going strong "
these are interesting examples of 3d in which lower quality media is accepted, but it is important to look at the reasons, wow graphics were competitive to other mmos when it launched, graphics standards in general are much lower in mmo than other games due to performance needs. the question is do people still accept the same quality graphics today because they like those graphics or because of everything else wow offers and that they have invested into thier characters, and it is simply what they are used to for wow? would wow level models and textures be accepted in a new game launching in 2015? probably not.
Minecraft on the other hand, both implemented a revolutionary new gameplay which is what primarily hooked people i think regardless of graphics, as well as managing to hook 3d into the retro pixelart craze that swept through the 2d scene, but this is not easy to do. interestingly enough, if they had used slightly better graphics i don't think it would have done as well.
there is always a possibility for the other components of a game to transcend low quality graphics, but it is much harder to get people to give it a deeper look if the game literally looks 20 years old rather than looks inspired by games 20years old.
there is a valley between Minecraft or 2d retro pixel art and modern quality shaders that just feels dated and poor, and unfortunately this is where most hobbyists fall when working with 3d, its easier to climb out to one side or the other when working with 2d
