Common Options #

Resolution #

Expected Feature – Arguably one of the most important settings to provide (at least for those playing on a computer), resolution allows the player to correctly configure the game for their display OR in the event that the game is too taxing for their GPU, select a smaller resolution that provides a better frame rate. The most common resolution is 1920x1080, but some monitors may supported much larger resolutions (such as retina, 2k, 4k, 8k, and ultra wide displays).

Display Mode #

Expected Feature – Right next to resolution for players on computer is is display mode. Display mode usually consists of at least “Fullscreen” or “Windowed” options, but may sometimes contains a third “Windowed Fullscreen” setting. Fullscreen is usually the recommended setting for games and should be the default. Additionally, it’s important to note that some engines will cap the game’s FPS in either windowed modes to the monitor’s refresh rate.

Vertical Sync (VSync) #

Gamma #

Field of View #

This setting really only applies to first-person shooters in most cases. That being said, offering this as an option can help a number of players with various cognitive or visual impairments. In the case of motion sickness, the FOV that the game is rendered in can have a major effect on your player’s ability to play and enjoy the game without getting nauseous.

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Anti-Aliasing #

Presets #

Video settings often provide presets for some, or all, of the video settings that a game has to offer. These allow players to quickly tailor settings based on a description and recommendation by the game’s developer.

A common naming example might be “Low”, “Medium”, “High”, and then a top tier setting such as “Very High” or “Ultra”. This top tier setting may even receive a kitschy name, like in Unreal Tournament where the best graphics setting was “Unreal”.