The graphics we are graced with today are almost nothing like they were in the early 2000's, with 4k resolutions at rock solid 30-frames or more per second on the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, yet, is game design really all that much improved? Are the worlds we are looking at and enjoying the sharpness of really all that more believable from a design standpoint than they were ten or fifteen years ago?
Sure worlds are bigger and games do objectively take more of our time to complete, but it also seems like, for the last ten years or so, while graphics, fidelity, frame-rates and resolutions have steadily been climbing towards higher and higher peaks, level design has indeed stagnated in comparison. If not at a complete plateau, then it's at least fair to say the improvements have slowed down in recent years.
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