AMD GPU Head Says DirectX Is Crippling PC Gaming
A few days ago Richard Huddy, the head of AMDs GPU developer relations, made a statement about the functionality of APIs (application programing interfaces) and how they might be killing PC gaming. The crux of the argument being that APIs are helpful when making a cross platform game, but not very helpful if you want to make something really interesting on a PC. He states:
“We often have at least ten times as much horsepower as an Xbox 360 or a PS3 in a high-end graphics card, yet it’s very clear that the games don’t look ten times as good. To a significant extent, that’s because, one way or another, for good reasons and bad – mostly good, DirectX is getting in the way.”
The idea of playing the same game on multiple platforms is one that both consumers and game companies can appreciate. You play the game on whatever system you have. Developers and publishers make more money because there’s no excuse of “I can’t get this game because I don’t have the right kind of system”. It sounds peachy keen, right?
Read more about Richard Huddy’s proposed problem after the break.
When have you ever played a console game as complex as World of Warcraft? According to Huddy, you haven’t due to hardware limitations. This is why cross-platforming sucks for the PC. What you end up with is games made mostly for the console, then ported over, giving us things like DC Universe that are fun to play but severely hobbled by the limitations of preset button controls and lower end graphics. Even Portal 2 is being made in the cross platforming graven image of a console over a PC game.
This brings into question exactly what is keeping PC gaming from being the go to platform in gaming innovation. Huddy says the problem is the lack of freedom for programmers to get to the lower level code. Without the guiding hand of APIs, however, we’re stuck with the old problem of having to make sure every possible hardware set works. Huddy claims DirectX is the big problem in this equation, despite the fact that modern gaming wouldn’t exist without it. Anyone remember having to select a soundcard from a list, and if it wasn’t on the list, too bad? I sure as hell do.
What about the most innovative games in recent history? Little Big Planet, Geometry Wars, Braid, Shadow of the Colossus and Stacking are all console games. Though Portal, World of Goo, Psychonaughts, Minecraft, and Amnesia seemed work just fine with the supposed limitations of the PC. Some of them might not be the prettiest, but they all have unique graphics and concepts that weren’t hindered at all by a the limitations of an API.
So, are APIs really the problem here? Richard is part of AMD, who have their own ties to OpenGL, the biggest competitor to DirectX. Is he trying to use his fame and supposed expertise to badmouth the competition? Is he dissatisfied that the technology his company makes isn’t being used to it’s full gaming potential? Or is it a legitimate concern that PC games could be better off, coming from his inner gamer? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think is keeping the PC from being bigger and better than the console.
Why are DirectX and OpenGL necessary to begin with?
because saving a few buck or a little time is more important than quality these days
With them the programmer doesn’t have to worry about what graphics card the user has.
Unless we somehow remove the necessity of profits, i don’t think console and PC gaming will ever be separated
I’m pretty sure directx isn’t the problem, it’s time and budget coupled with zero risk. Devs could totally take advantage of the PC’s power if those big fat obstructions weren’t in the way. What multi platform publisher today would spend the extra money to have a PC unique version that would blow the console version away?
Wait…Why can’t a PC programmer just ignore directX? That was never clearly explained…somebody want to help me?
Aren’t you right? They can use a different engine if they wanted too…I dont get it.
Probably to save money.
DirectX isn’t an engine. It’s an API to allow for interaction with the user’s hardware.
and yet again we see that quality is a thing of the past.
DirectX is a set of universal APIs that form an abstraction layer between the Audio & Video drivers (among other things) on Windows PCs.
OpenGL is another similar system that aims for consistency on various OS platforms (Linux, Mac, Win, etc.)
Before these two systems were created, each and every game that wanted to utilize advance hardware features in video and audio cards, had to write it’s own built in drivers. Different cards had different features, so a game would have to duplicate code so the game would be compatible with many different cards. It was a nightmare. So in actuality, DirectX and OpenGL are major advances. They create a unified API layer between the fancy hardware and the applications that want to access them. The importance of this cannot be over stressed.
So all that being said, I don’t think the quality of PC games is affected by what framework a development team uses.
I think the issue is when a dev team decides to make a cross-platform game, they sometimes code to the lowest common denominator (that being Xbox 360, for instance) because ALL the technical features available on Xbox 360 are ALSO available on the PC. The reverse is not true, the PC has many functions/features not present on the Xbox. So…the PC version seems a bit lackluster because the game isn’t using all the bells and whistles available to it.
Another (and I think more prevalent issue IMHO) is that when the PC version is being ported from the Xbox code, sometimes not enough time is spent rethinking the control schema. It is extremely disappointing to PC gamers when they cannot remap control keys, or are limited to 4 or 6 key bindings, or so forth.
Recently, the very cool game Bulletstorm came out and more than a few PC gamers expressed frustration in the forums at the lack of a jump option. In this instance, I am unsure if the lack of jump was due to a hasty port, or instead, a specific game design choice.
(Sorry for the long rambling comment. It’s a bit difficult to edit within this small window.)
Its so funny
Its AMD thats complaining because the games arnt made optimized for them because there driver FUCKING SUCK
they deserve it
They have great hardware but garbage drivers that crash regularly and arnt very efficient
You’re a dumb piece of shit
Idk wtf you are talking about obviously you are doing something wrong
what would be the difference between cross platforming, and “cross video carding” or what have you?
As a PC gamer I really hate the trend of optimizing games for consoles and porting them to PCs almost as an afterthought. Because of this we get stupid crap in PC games like:
– Loading screens, due to limitations of console memory and other hardware. (If optimized for PC properly a game can have no loading screens when switching areas).
– Autoaim in shooter games, because console controllers will never be as accurate as a computer mouse.
– Completely dumbed down controls and interface (just check something like Neverwinter Nights which as made for PC, vs Dragon Age which was made for consoles – they didn’t even implement proper quickbars for DA. Or System Shock 2 for PC versus some console dumbed down game like Bioshock).
Ha. Why then buy a top end video card if games won’t use it? Wait, that’s why AMD cares.
Truth be told, the number of people with the hardware strong enough to run a high end game is not very high, thus making sales low and probably not profitable. Lets face it, game industry is a marketing field as any other industry. Developers need to make money, and publisher want even more money. But here is what the real problem can be found. Too many people want a good looking game rather than a fun one. They ignore gameplay, replay value, length, and go straight to the store to buy the game with the best rendered out scenes which are not even done in engine.
Now saying that minecraft has limitation to only run on a pc is total bs. My 3g phone can probably run that game without any hitching. All your rendering are blocks for crying out laud. I have PoP Warrior within on my phone, with the same graphics quality as the ps2 or xbox.
The problem with games today dont lie on graphics limitations, it lies with the fact that very few games now a days give you great playability. Fun factor is something left to luck.
If you want this to change, support indi companies who develop fun games rather than massively budgeted ones that give you the same old thing over and over again.
directx started as a way to get to the metal and bypass windows, since the main the man responsible for creating it used to say at conventions, we all know windows sucks for games. he was eventually fired, even though what he was saying was true.
his name is Alex St John, and along with Craig Eisler and Eric Engstrum created the original directx. he admits it was a way to make the PC platform take out the console industry. the original codename for it was the Manhattan project, which caused somewhat of a furor. closed system built by the lowest bidder.
look at nintendo, those guys still code directly on to the chip and deal with what gets into RAM and why, as well as many other issues like playability and input devices, then everyone else follows along.
oh yea how many companies that make the software make the box? i wonder if directx 10 can even run on the xbox.
The DirectX API and the Xbox are both the property of Microsoft. The Xbox was designed by Microsoft to be a competing game system compatible with their new API ( hence the “X” in “Xbox” .)
It it my understanding that the 360 uses DirectX 9. The sole reason that DirectX 10 or 11 is not supported is simply because the hardware is not capable.
PC Gaming as we know it is dying, not because of the DirectX API. It’s dying because the PC as we know it is dying.
I’m confused. The article starts off saying something like “When have you ever played a console game as complex as WoW?” then goes on to talk about how PC game looks like crap because cross-platforming them brings them DOWN to the consoles’ level. The connection to why DirectX is to blame for any of this is never made, then all of a sudden we’re supposed to be angry that DirectX is holding back PC gaming? What? I guess I just don’t get this article at all, but the way it’s written, it sounds like consoles are holding back PC gaming, not DirectX.
I think that the consoles trying to run comparable games to PC is somewhat idiotic, because of this promlem. Yeah, they’re trying to make money, but if you can’t make a good product to sell why bother selling it?