There are a few divisive topics that I can bring up in my columns that will be guaranteed to not only bring in the comments but light a fire to the comments section. I have learned that browser choice is a hot topic. PvP versus PvE will always cause players to erupt. Mac or PC? That topic won't finish in civil discussion.

If I need to hurt a reader's feelings, cause insults to be hurled at me, & provoke readers to accuse me of trying to bring game development -- actual game development -- to its knees, I can bring up graphics & gambling power. As in gambling rig. But I will be brave this week & describe why I prefer more primitive graphics over high-end visuals. I have been covering increasingly mobile games (including browser-based titles that can be played basically on a mobile computer or netbook), I have grown increasingly keen on definite graphical styles.

Exactly why definite graphics turn on my nerd alert is a bit hard to describe, so I thought I'd show some specific examples in lieu.RuneScape screenshot. I'd like to point to RuneScape's fire first. Yes, I mean the fire graphic that you will find while jogging around in RuneScape. Mostly I am referring to the fire that comes from torches & lamps. I am a infant of the late '70s & early '80s, so stop-motion animated holiday movies are burned in to my unconscious.