Incoming Dumb Question….
 

What do different screen resolutions in games do? Other than sometimes making the interface larger/smaller, is there any point in playing a game at 1600 x 1200 vs. 1024 x 768?

For exampe, in G3 if I set the resolution to 1600 x 1200, everything appears the same as it does at 1024 x 768.

I've been meaning to ask this question for years. About time I jumped in the flamebath and get it over with…

Well… generally speaking, the higher the resolution, the less pixelated the game graphics. Depending on the amount of detail, it can be easier to spot a secret door, for instance.
I haven't played G3, though.

Try using a 640x480 or 800x600 resolution in G3 and compare that to 1600x1200 - if you still don't notice a difference there's something wrong with either the game, your monitor or your eyes. ;)

A higher resolution than 1024x768 or 1280x1024 usually doesn't change all that much though - other than the framerate. A high resolution with a big screen is often nice in strategy games and isometric RPGs though, as those often allow you to view a larger part of the map due to the additional screen real estate (Infinity Engine games, Pharaoh, OpenTTD, Europa Universalis, etc).

If the game support wide-screen resolution, than using it (on a monitor that supports it) will result in different portion of game world being rendered on the screen (at least that is how I understand it). If I recollect correctly, I was reading reviews of add-on boxes being able to provide one to two and one to four display conversion resulting in very wide screen and (if the game/drivers support it) in seeing much wider portion of the world. Obviously this may mean a lot for (for example) multiplayer FPS.

Thanks for all the feedback. Some good points here. I can see how on isometric games you get a wider view of the world. i will also try Kaziklubey's idea of comparing two extreme resolutions (one really low and one really high) to see if I notice differences.

it's all about field of vision

I wouldn't necessarily say it is about field of vision. It's more about the clarity of the image. The higher the resolution the sharper the image will be.

It really depends on how the game developer implement it. Actually many games will change your field of view with changes to resolution. Some will not and then it is only about sharpness of the screen.

The higher the resolution, the smaler things are.
That's why I'm trying the lowest resolution possible, because I want to see ALL of the details in the gameing world !

Unfortunately often devs decide to neglect this and program a game so that it is rather playable only with higher resolutions.

I guess my question wasn't such a 'noob' question afterall… as it seems there is a lot of 'gray' in this area.

I guess it's this inconsistency that is what makes things so confusing. for example with G3 playing at 1024 x 768 vs. 1600 x 1200 I really notice no difference in anything at all really except that some things appear a little 'crisper' at the higher resolution… but I really have to scrutinize to notice it.

Yes, I clearly remember that (as an example of different approach) Diablo II supported two resolutions (problem only after the datadisk, not sure but I somehow recollect this was added and not supported from begining).
When using the higher resolution in Diablo II, larger portion of the world was viewable.

What about those older games that use 3D glasses such as the ELSA revelator? - the visual perspective is dramatically altered, i would imagine some 'aspect' problems viewing on a widescreen for example - or may cancel-out to normal?