WRUP: You think you're so pretty edition

We all like to be pretty. In fact, let's come right out and say it: we'd like to be stunning. Unfortunately, if all of us were really searingly pretty, we would probably not all hide in the house and play video games. This particular writer, for instance, is less like a butterfly and more like an unholy union between a chimpanzee and a slime from the Dragon Quest series. Reality can be so very harsh at times.

Of course, to cope with that harsh reality, we all have our favorite MMOs to play when the opportunity presents itself — such as right now, with this week's WRUP. And with the recent success of the almost-MMO Minecraft, we decided to ask everyone how important it was that his or her own games be pretty. Take a look past the cut for our responses, and let us know in the comments what you're going to be playing over the weekend!
Beau Hindman (@Beau_Hindman): I'll be playing DIGDIGDIGDIG a little bit of DIGDIGDIGDIG everything, and need to get ready to DIGDIGDIG leave for GDC. I might get DIGDIG some time to DIGDIGDIGDIGDIG play some Minecraft as well.

Brianna Royce (@nbrianna): I look back at older WRUPs and see that I am so boring... I am still having a blast in City of Heroes. I suppose I am trying to milk it dry because I just know when Cataclysm is out, my guild will take off! I recently rolled up a new tanker and wow — now I remember why I usually stick to controllers.

I don't usually think of myself as a graphics snob, since I play a lot of older games. Heck, I'm even toying with the idea of trying out the new Ultima Online boats expansion! But a game's gotta have something to counterbalance the uglies, some nugget of nostalgia or brilliant stroke of gameplay or riveting story. A gorgeous game with bad gameplay, on the other hand? I won't even give it a second glance.

Edward Marshall: I'll be playing Fallen Earth if I can find the time this weekend.

Graphics aren't too important to me. But in this day and age I expect better than ASCII at the very least.

Eliot Lefebvre: Final Fantasy XIV, naturally. I just can't get enough of Final Fantasy XIV at the moment. I'm currently on a quest to find myself some better armor and weapons, which is slow going but all the more fun for how things are presented. I'm also considering taking a little time offline to browse through my large pile of console games.

Simple graphics don't bother me, but there has to be a reason for them. Stylized graphics are a very different matter from games that just plain look bad. Of course, the line between "stylized" and "bad" is pretty blessedly subjective.

Greg Waller: I've been focusing much of my time and energy toward WAR lately, and plan to continue that trend through the weekend as I level my new zealot on Badlands through Tier 3. Regarding the bonus question: Eye candy does not a good game make. I can get along with sub-par graphics if the gameplay is superior.

Jef Reahard: I will be playing Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, specifically Rush's 2112, since I just had the pleasure of it bursting my eardrums live in Atlanta last night. Yeah, I know music games are soooo 2007, but whatever. If I can manage any MMOs, it will be my standard AoC/EQII and a small side dish of FFXIV.

Krystalle Voecks (@Krystalle): I'm reinstalling everything after upgrading my desktop, so I foresee many, many, many hours of download and install fun this weekend. Aside from that, it's more Vanguard for me and some time curled up with the old Masquerade WoD sourcebooks.

As for graphics, let's face it: we like pretty. One Shots is a testament to that. But I don't think it's the end-all-be-all of a game. Minecraft succeeds because it's fun and lets people get creative, not because it's visually stunning.

Lisa Poisso (@emused): Nosing around old WoW alts with my husband, deciding on a new class/race combo for Cataclysm. As for the graphics, I didn't think they were as important to me as they are until I revisited original EQ recently. If EverQuest's graphics were up to today's standards, I believe I'd play it again in a heartbeat — but as-is, the graphics are a big turn-off.

Patrick Mackey: I'm having some crashing issues with my desktop right now, but assuming it works, I will be playing World of Tanks. I will be putting in some time playing Champions as well; I heard through the grapevine that Demonflame is coming out on PTS Friday.

As a person who plays StarCraft II on the lowest graphics settings, I'd have to say that graphics mostly don't matter. However, Minecraft fails because things aren't visually obvious in that game. The role of visuals is to tell a player exactly what is happening in the game, and if that's unclear, the art designers have failed.