[WinMac] Darker PC graphics than Mac graphics?

Dan Schwartz(expresso[at]snip.net)
Sat, 20 Feb 1999 11:29:29 -0500

        Good morning!

        While surfing around, I stumbled across a Salon Magazine article at:

 <<http://www.salonmagazine.com/21st/feature/1998/10/21feature.html>.

        About halfway down, there was a paragraph that I'm quoting below; but
the issue merits discussion here - Mainly that games created on the Mac
and ported to the PC appear too dark. The default Mac settings are for a
gamma of 1.8, and a 9300 degree white point.

        What am I missing here?

        QUOTE FROM ORIGINAL SALON MAGAZINE ARTICLE:

>>>>

<excerpt>

Obsidian? A better effort, here. It is at least visually interesting, and
the surreal story is more engaging. But it has severe flaws, too. For one
thing, the graphics are so dark it's very difficult to see almost
anything in the game -- a fundamental problem for graphics designed on
the Mac and transported to the PC, which always displays things more
darkly. For another, the surreal nature of the game makes it difficult to
keep your bearings -- and harder to solve the puzzles, since "logic"
doesn't always apply. Never mind the fact that it was one of the few
products Rocket Science shipped before it went under -- and that Rocket
Science was notorious in the field for poor project management and
throwing too much money around.

The game cost $3 million and sold 80,000 copies -- nowhere near enough to
earn a return. But consider the context: Somewhere upwards of 2,000
interactive entertainment titles are published annually; typically,
around 100 achieve sales of 100,000 or more. Given the game's severe
flaws, 80,000 in sales is quite respectable.

The problem with Obsidian isn't that adventure gaming is dead; the
problem was that the developer threw too much money at a second-rate
product.

</excerpt><<<<<<<<

        Yours truly,

        Daniel L. Schwartz,

        Electrical Engineer.

        Dan's Macintosh Consulting

        239 Great Road

        Maple Shade, NJ 08052

        609-642-7666

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