There are logic frames and drawn frames to consider. FPS is not all about the visual.
I know others have addressed this, but I wanted to throw in my 2 cents as well.
One of the biggest mistakes I've seen people make is to look at FPS, only acknowledging the drawn FPS, not thinking of the logical frames per second as well.
By default, these are linked in GameMaker to occur together, so 30 FPS means 30 logical frames per second and 30 drawn frames per second.
- LOGIC -
I personally like to have 60+ logical frames in most cases, just for tighter input response. I once created a 'blind FPS input response test' project which allowed me to test movement to see if there truly was a difference or if it was all in my head. When viewing the results, I was actually able to feel and discern a tighter response on 60 FPS. It's definitely on the subtle side, but it's amazing how much it impacts the game feel - it just feels better.
If your game is action-based, you'll likely want 60+ logical FPS, but with a board game or something, it'd probably be a waste, well, depending on your animation needs (i.e. since drawn FPS cannot exceed the game speed, you may need to set the logic speed higher, purely for the purpose of making your visuals smooth).
- DRAWN -
Virtually every monitor on the market today will draw at least 60 FPS. The human eye is incredible though. It can see way more than 60 FPS. Those facts seem like plenty of reason to favor at least going with 60 FPS, if not more.
But now, while it is a correct statement in the overall intended meaning when saying the human eye can see much faster than 60 FPS, it's also a faulty statement, as eyes don't work in terms of FPS. Rather than explain it myself, I'll use the work of those before me:
Another key factor in the drawing aspect is 'animation'. Based on your animation style and needs, you may or may not need to draw at 60 FPS. If you put blur in your movements, you may be able to get away with far lower FPS. If you're making a program which has almost no animated aspects, you probably don't need anywhere near 60 FPS.
One other important factor to consider is varying monitor refresh rates - it's not like we all have 60 Hz refresh rates. It can suck when you have your game run at 60 FPS which looks so nice and smooth on a 60 Hz monitor, but then someone has a 75 Hz refresh rate or something and the game just isn't smooth for them.
This is a reason why it's good to consider letting the user set the game's refresh rate, but depending on your code for movements and animation, it may require some serious reworking and perhaps the annoying implementation of delta time usage.
- THE POINT -
> Never forget to consider both logical and drawn aspects of FPS.
> Your game and what it will be played on is what ultimately determines what FPS you need. 60 FPS is not a one-size-fits-all.
I am starting to lean forward the ideal of trying to make my game as low rate as possible as long as the graphics aesthetics let me and make them higher only as a personal preference in case the gameplay really demands it.
do you agree?
I do agree. That'd be an optimized experience. Low enough to not diminish the product's intended experience, and not too high as to be wasteful, demanding higher specs for no reason.
also I was wondering : do higher framerates make my final game size bigger?
As
@Rayek said, It'll only be bigger if you need to add more content to achieve the desired experience. Simply changing the framerate of a project alone won't change the size.