The technical director for Criterion (Burnout Paradise) wants to put a stop to a persistent cliché in development: The idea that some game or project is maxing out a console’s capabilities.
Such a claim is “proof that you’re not the best,” Richard Parr said to Eurogamer. “It means you’re out of ideas.”
The line of reasoning – those who are truly pushing the boundaries of game development are discovering more and different things to do, not finding their options limited and shrinking. I agree. The capabilities of a console can be measured objectively in, say, polygons, framerate, etc. But the totality of a game experience? How do you honestly get to a point where you say “Well, that game is right at the limit”?
Criterion senior engineer Alex Fry chimed in: “You always find new ways to do things, the constraints lift. Not just with a new console generation but with every game you do. … The constraints go away because you learn. While it’s nice to say you’ve maxed something out, there’s not really any point.”
Criterion: Nobody’s Maxed Out a PS3/360 [Eurogamer]
