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[Mutinate]

When starting a Wintermute project for completion in a couple of years (2010/1), what widescreen resolution would it be best to pick to work in? 

I figure that most people inclined to play thoughtful and intelligent PC games (as opposed to, say, console-punching adolescents with the attention span of a chipmunk) will by then have 23" or 24" screens running at a native 1920x1200px.  This may be especially true of the affluent baby-boomer generation, as they increasingly retire - they can afford a large screen. 

But I also think that 1920x1080px (16:9 ratio) could be a good option, so that even if 1920x1200px (16:10 ratio) widescreen becomes the norm, those using a native 1920x1200px screen can still view - just with thin 60px black bars at top and bottom.

Or, should I play safe and assume many people will still be using 20" monitors running at 1680x1050px?

[odnorf]

Those resolutions look like an overkill to me. According to steam/valve statistics most people are still using monitors with a native resolution of 1280x1024 (19-20 inches 4:3) and I don't think this will change much in 2 years although the (bad quality) cheap 24 monitors will probably start selling more. Another thing to concern is the laptop owners. Many people use them as their main computer and the most common resolution is 1280x720. So, to conclude, the most safe bet is 1280x720 but 1680x1050 can work too if you are willing to (possible) limit your audience.

[limonaati]

Those resolutions look like an overkill to me. According to steam/valve statistics most people are still using monitors with a native resolution of 1280x1024 (19-20 inches 4:3) and I don't think this will change much in 2 years although the (bad quality) cheap 24 monitors will probably start selling more. Another thing to concern is the laptop owners. Many people use them as their main computer and the most common resolution is 1280x720. So, to conclude, the most safe bet is 1280x720 but 1680x1050 can work too if you are willing to (possible) limit your audience.

I might be wrong but I think the most common resolution with laptops is not 1280x720 but 1280x800. 1280x720 is most common resolution with HD capable tv's.

[odnorf]

@limonaati

Oops... you are right of course. That was a typo from me. Thanks for correcting it.

The resolution of HD ready TVs is usually 1366 x 768 and of some crappy plasma TVs it's 1024 x 768 (makes you wonder what they stick the HD ready label on them).

[joxer]

Please recommend me screen resolution for game (I think it will not be ready sooner than january 2011)- what resolution do you think is smartest to use? do you think 1280x1024 will be enough?

[Spellbreaker]

Use 1280x800, this is useable on all PC's and notebooks. Especially on notebooks you'll get problems with 1280x1024.

[DaFool]

I want my game to be playable on Windows netbooks, and many of them are still 1024 x 600 (I don't even want to think about the 800 x 480 ones)

So I'm torn between

1280 x 800
1024 x 640
960 x 600

This will be a fully 2D game with minimal effects, but 3D-rendered.

[Spellbreaker]

so you answered yourself. If you want to make your game playable on 1024x600 you have to use 960x600 from your list.

[Akusa]

I think most commercial adventures still use 1024x768.
Also i would not go much higher at this moment because you have still to fill the screen with graphics and higher resolutions need higher details and textures, resulting in more work.

Also personaly i would stick to a traditional 4:3 aspect ratio and not go for some strange laptop resolution because most peolpe still play on their desktop pcs and most time these monitors have bigger problems with laptop resolutions then laptops with desktop resolutions.

[Spellbreaker]

Obviously you won't be able to play a 1024x768 Game on a 1024x600 Screen.

[Akusa]

@Spellbreaker: That is true but i just said that commercial games still use 1024x768 .
I never said he should use this resolution. All i said was that i would stick to 4:3 aspect ratio (and this would be 800x600 in that case)

[Spellbreaker]

Why should he use 4:3? If the player has a 4:3 screen, WME simply adds black bars at top/bottom.

[Akusa]

Its just a simple design choice.
Do you want to have 90% of your users have black bars and 10% no black bars or do you want to have 10% of your users have black bars and 90% no black bars?
My design philosophy is: you should never offer the best experience to only your minority.

[Spellbreaker]

There were 4:3 Games that added black-bars just for design purpose, because most people like the "cinema-look" of it on 4:3 Screens. Nowadays, I say 50% of players have 16:9. All Notebooks today are 16:9, and when he releases his game in 1-2 years even more people have 16:9. So everybody who starts a project now should stick to 16:9 if it's no retro-project.

[Akusa]

Okay you have a point, the development of displays is really more toward 16:9 then 4:3 and the resolution for a new game can have this resolution.
But games with such black borders most time still use them for their menu or subtitles.