What's with all the bloom video effects in modern gaming?

[crazydean]

Alright, so years ago, I always assumed that the bloom effect was used as a way to cover poor textures. Mostly used as a cheat for old hardware, like the fog in early 3D gaming found on the N64 and Jaguar.

Last year, I bought a Wii U and played Wind Waker HD. I loved the game, but the bloom effects were just nasty. Since the game is set on the ocean, the screen is constantly filled with bright, blurry light. However, as I've been watching videos for modern games, it's become a bit of an eyesore for me. It just seems to be everywhere now due to an artistic decision by the developer.

Personally, I think it looks like garbage and actually takes away from the immersive capabilities of a game. I assume some people like it since it keeps making its way into games. What do you guys think about this?

[Necromancer]

I voted for everything in moderation.  It's not pretty, per se, but it doesn't bother me when used sparingly.

[Gredler]

It's a overused emulation of a natural occurrence. It was a way to fake blurring and other effects, a cheap effect that has been overused and will probably continue to be until more real time screen space effects are affordable on the gpu side.

[geise]

It's ok when used with lighting interiors.  Think of it as the new age lens flare.

[Gentlegamer]

[MrBroadway]

Where's the option for us anti-modern gaming crowd?

[780racer]

Offtopic/On topic. What really annoys me to no end. The motion blur in games. Mass effect had it so bad that I HAD to turn that crap off. Totally ruins the game for me if I cant disable it. Makes the game feel muggy, and unclear.

[SignOfZeta]

I don't know since I rarely play modern games, but I do hate all this shit when used excessively in movies.

Every era has its "look"s but most new movies are just the most incredibly vibrant HD as all get out saturated to hell and crisp as f*ck shit possible. As in, when you look away from the screen not even real life is as brilliant. I think once filmmakers back off and go back to normal these many of these movies are going to look extremely dated. I'm not just talking about superhero crap but even typical love stories and legal dramas and stuff. Extreme microscopic detail is almost never desirable.

[Arkhan]

Bloom artificially makes it look fancy.

and by fancy, I mean, it makes it look like when you have a tube TV that's going bad.