At the recent D.I.C.E. summit, Unreal Engine creator Tim Sweeney stated that photorealistic graphics will be acheiveable in the "near future". While gamers and devs across the world gave a whooping "hurrah" from that statement, I am not so cheerful.
From a technological standpoint, photorealism has been, until the most recent console generation, considered an impossible pipe dream, a delusion even. With the steady advance of modern tech, however, this once unforseeable goal quickly is becoming reality. This begs the question, however, of what the effect on gaming photorealism will be.
Some in the industry see it as a panacea for all ills regarding graphical limitations. In some cases, this is definitely true. Games, largely shooters and some non-fantasy RPGs like Fallout, will surely benefit from advancement of this nature. Their art style already heavily relies on a realistic tinge. Battlefield 3 seems a perfect example of the common art direction these franchises share. For them, the goal is not about capturing any emotion and/or surrealist color; being true to realism is all that matters (disregarding stor, gameplay, etc). Make it seem like something one would see any day of the week.
But what, I wonder, will happen to the more stylized games. What is to become of the Bioshocks, Psychonauts, and Marios of the industry? Will their direction which aims not to capture reality but capture the themes of the work fade away in favor of the Call of Dutys of today? Many developers may very well make the switch, disregarding all that make their games art in their own respects. Color pallettes, distorted, somewhat satirical character asthetics, and surrealist beauty may very well fade away in favor of shameless, often boring, true to life realism.
In the best possible situation, the best of both worlds would be combined. Tools used to create photorealism can assist in creating these "artsy" universes, retaining both the benefits of realism with the meanings and themes behind what I can best refer to as "surrealist" titles. And as someone who loves both types, I can only hope that this will be the outcome.