Hmm. I don't want to find myself defending that it is easy. That is not my belief, either.

I don't think a lot of the complexity that goes into graphics is essential, though.

I do think top end will remain top end. However, I also think many games can be done without putting graphics rendering at the top of the budget. Axiom Verge is a recent find of mine that I feel hits this well. Thimbleweed Park is another good one here.

Which is not to say that either of those were easy. I doubt they were.