[In this editorial, Game Developer magazine editor in chief Brandon Sheffield calls for developers to consider whether continuing to chase high-fidelity reality is the only valid choice for games.]

Remember when the norm for a video game was a blue hedgehog that ran fast and collected rings and emeralds? Or a plumber that took mushrooms to become large, and grabbed a flower to throw fireballs? In reality they do none of those things, but in the name of a game, they make sense, inspire wonder, and create a new universe.