Image Credit: Alienware on Unsplash
On X, a certain user passionately said, “Most people don’t know the difference between game frame rates, 30fps and 60fps.” This claim has sparked a heated debate among overseas users, with many opinions ranging from counterarguments to those in agreement.
Image Credit: Alienware on Unsplash
Claim that a frame rate of 30fps is sufficient
Frame rate (fps) is an indicator of how many images are drawn on the game screen per second. For example, at 30fps, the screen updates 30 times per second, and at 60fps, it updates twice as many times. If the update frequency is high, the player will feel that the images are smooth; if the update frequency is too low, the experience will be described as “jerky” or “picture-show”. It tends to be particularly important in action games where the screen moves rapidly, and is a top priority indicator in genres such as competitive FPS games.
Regarding the frame rate, one overseas user emphasized that “Most users don’t know the difference between 30fps and 60fps,” and it has received a lot of attention.The same userX post“The statement that you can’t play 30fps games” is the worst trend,” he said, stating that 95% of users would not be able to tell the difference between 30fps and 60fps without someone telling them. . The argument would be that games that run at 30fps are receiving unfairly low ratings for that reason alone, and that there is almost no difference between 30fps/60fps.
Image Credit: Florian Olivo on Unsplash
The above-mentioned “Argument that 30fps is sufficient for games” has received a great response with over 2,300 replies and over 1,500 shares as of this writing. For example, there are those who agree with the original poster, saying, “I certainly don’t know the difference between 30fps and 60fps,” and conversely, there are those who say, “30fps games are impossible in modern times.” Among the two opinions, the one that stands out the most is that “I can clearly see the difference between 30fps and 60fps.”
Big difference between 30fps and 60fps
In fact, there is a considerable difference in rendering between 30fps and 60fps. While you can only grasp it intuitively when playing the game, it’s obvious when you compare it. You can also check it on your device.Blur Busters provides information on high refresh rate monitors and rendering-related technologies.test pageHere you can see a comparison of rendering at frame rates of 15/30/60fps and higher.
Although this is based on personal vision, you should be able to see that 60fps is more clearly rendered than 30fps. Although this test works on both PC and mobile, please note that you will need a monitor that supports drawing at 60Hz or higher and a compatible browser.
Also, it was attached to the post that started it.community notesshows the tendency that “viewers prefer higher frame rates in videos (even if they don’t know which frame rate is higher)”paper“High frame rates in games improve player performance, leading to improved playability and enjoyment.”Experimental resultis introduced. Combined with the results of these studies, it can be said that the difference between 30fps and 60fps is easy to understand.
However, there are masterpieces even at 30fps.
Multiple users also commented, “Although the difference between 30fps and 60fps is obvious, 30fps doesn’t mean the work is boring.” Although the gaming experience is smoother with a higher frame rate, “games that are fun even at 30fps are still fun”, which I think I partially agree with the original poster.
As a notable example of such a fun game running at 30fps, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a masterpiece with a meta score of 96 (out of 100) and a user score of 8.4 (out of 10) on Metacritic. . On the other hand, media verification has revealed that although the game is an action game, it can run at a maximum of 30fps (see related article).
In addition, action games such as “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” and “Kirby’s Discovery” are often seen in games that seem to use 30fps by design but have received high praise. This proves that statements such as “I can’t play 30fps games” are too extreme.
Also, although this is a special case, there is an example of the open world game “Sable” intentionally adopting 30fps for the sake of presentation (see related article). The maximum fps for a game is probably decided based on the performance of the game console and the experience you want to give the player. It’s true that 60fps provides a smoother experience, but it can be said to be fine as long as the player doesn’t mind it too much. Although this may be obvious, the important thing is whether or not the game is interesting. However, if the frame rate is a factor in the enjoyment of a work, such a debate is likely to arise.
