A Dark Cave – Minimalistic Graphics in the Age of AI Slop

Almost a year ago I started building A Dark Cave, a dark text-based browser game.

The game intentionally avoids visuals and embraces minimalism.

I use only text, symbols, and sounds to create atmosphere and spark the player's imagination.

From time to time, I think about adding graphics to my game, since it is one of the most common requests I get from players.

I even made a post about what I call the AI Slop Temptation: https://www.reddit.com/r/incremental_games/comments/1tcs8ou/...

From the comments, it seems that players prefer no graphics at all over AI-generated graphics, at least when they can recognize them as AI-generated.

In my opinion, the growing abundance of easily available polished graphics means games will soon need main differentiators beyond visuals alone.

Maybe it will be storytelling, atmosphere, creating emotions, personalization, nostalgia, or the ability to leave space for the player's imagination.

When it becomes easy for every game to look good, what will be the things that actually make games great?

What do you think?

Also, I am grateful for any feedback about my game!