8 Default Settings In Video Games That Drove You MAD

Developers are constantly striving to make their games look more "realistic" and "cinematic," to make it appear as though the game's camera contains all the physical artefacts and imperfections you'd expect from a real camera lens.

And so, over the last 15-or-so years, there's been a serious uptick in default post-processing effects like motion blur and chromatic aberration, no matter that many, many gamers absolutely hate them.

Though some will concede that motion blur can help smooth out an image at lower framerates like 30fps, it's more widely loathed at 60fps and above, where it feels like an ugly visual smear that simply lets players see less of the game world in any moment.

And then there's chromatic aberration - an attempt to replicate the colour fringing effect which is present in real camera lenses. 

However, many find it visually unappealing and for others it's a genuine accessibility issue, where the fringing can cause eye strain and headaches.

Ultimately motion blur and chromatic aberration are enabled in most games by default, under the guise of delivering a richer, more movie-like image. 

And yet, these are video games - straining to find parity with the physical properties of film feels like a misstep. Otherwise we'd all be stuck playing games at 23.976fps, right?