Jonathan Blow: The Witness Currently Uses 5GB of PS4 RAM
Would rather let the RAM handle big assets, rather than optimise.
Indie developer Jonathan Blow has revealed that, in its current state, PS4 adventure game The Witness is using 5GB of the next-gen console's 8GB RAM.
This kicked off a rather interesting technical debate - the difference between optimisation and using the raw power of a system to its limits in order to focus on deeper gameplay experiences. Blow revealed that he has decided to take the latter option.
"For those asking: 8GB [GDDR5 - PS4 spec] seems like a lot if you are used to consoles with 512MB [RAM], but it really isn't that much for, say, a modern PC," he wrote on Twitter. The entire exchange with fans was captured on NeoGAF.
"More RAM means developers spend less time in contortions to make the game run on the machine, more time making the actual game good," he continued. In response to a comment about optimisation, Blow added, "It's not about 'unoptimized,' it's about how much of a pain it is to stream big assets. It is smart to avoid that if possible."
This kicked off a rather interesting technical debate - the difference between optimisation and using the raw power of a system to its limits in order to focus on deeper gameplay experiences. Blow revealed that he has decided to take the latter option.
"For those asking: 8GB [GDDR5 - PS4 spec] seems like a lot if you are used to consoles with 512MB [RAM], but it really isn't that much for, say, a modern PC," he wrote on Twitter. The entire exchange with fans was captured on NeoGAF.
"More RAM means developers spend less time in contortions to make the game run on the machine, more time making the actual game good," he continued. In response to a comment about optimisation, Blow added, "It's not about 'unoptimized,' it's about how much of a pain it is to stream big assets. It is smart to avoid that if possible."
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