Bethesda: People Who Say Graphics "Don't Matter" Are Usually Lying

[John Funk]

Bethesda: People Who Say Graphics "Don't Matter" Are Usually Lying

Some gamers may pooh-pooh good graphics, but Bethesda's Pete Hines thinks they're integral to immersion.

You've probably seen a scene very much like this one message boards and gaming forums all over the place: Gorgeous screenshots from Game X are leaked, but then someone chimes in as a naysayer. "Why do game companies keep wasting time on graphics," they say, "Graphics don't matter at all."

Bethesda's VP of marketing Pete Hines thinks those people are full of it. "There's a lot of people who say graphics don't matter," Hines said in the most recent OXM Podcast [http://www.oxm.co.uk/26494/the-oxm-podcast-bethesdas-pete-hines/]. "To them I usually say 'you're lying.'"

Graphics can make or break whether people are interested in a game, said Hines. "[People] will look at a screenshot and make a snap decision: 'that looks awesome,' or 'I'm not interested.' So if you can make something look amazing just at first glance, it's so much easier to get them."

Graphics aren't just a marketing point either, said Hines - they can aid in a sense of immersion in a fictional world. Naturally, he plugged his company's upcoming Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, saying that Bethesda was "looking for the best sense of immersion you can get." A word of advice, Pete: Mudcrabs aren't very immersive.

Judging from last month's in-game trailer [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/108009-First-Skyrim-Trailer-Shows-Off-In-Game-Hotness], Skyrim is rocking the visuals quite nicely.

(Via CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/293916/news/bethesda-if-you-say-graphics-dont-matter-youre-probably-lying/])

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[Sylvius the Mad]

For games wherein the player controls a single character from a first-person or over-the-shoulder third-person perspective, I can see why graphics matter.

But that's because those games create immersion by putting you in the place of the character. You experience what the character experiences, so the game is better at eliciting a response from the player the more immersive the environment is.

But not all games are like that. A turn-based strategy game like Alpha Centauri does not suffer for its poor graphics. An isometric party-based RPG does not suffer for its poor graphics. Because the way those games engage the players are different. Those games engage the player not through immersion, but through decision-making. And in those games, graphics don't matter as much.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

I'll say they matter...

They aren't everything, but a good art style goes a long way.

Braid and LIMBO wouldn't be remotely as well-received if they weren't so darn pretty, with art styles that merge seamlessly with the atmosphere and gameplay.

 

[Buizel91]

Graphics do matter, but should not be the main priority to buy a game...

I mean hell the graphics were great in Farcry 2...i just wish i could say the same about the rest the game.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

I'd take gameplay and fun over graphics any day, but good graphics are nice...

 

[Booze Zombie]

Rogue-likes, Minecraft and an entire movement of creative game design on a low-budget may disagree with you there, Pete Moneybags.

BTW, denial is usually the first symptom of an issue, Pete, my boy...

 

[Popido]

For me its the sounds and music.

I appreciate good coding over graphics anytime.

 

[TheAmazingHobo]

"There´s a lot of people who make sweeping and somewhat insulting generalisations about other peoples viewpoints and arguments." I said in a recent thread "To them I usually say ´you´re a prick´."

 

[Diablo2000]

Graphics are not all... But they matter a little.

 

[Cameron Wright]

I hate bringing up Minecraft, but it's pretty evident that graphics don't matter (as long as you have good gameplay).

 

[teh_Canape]

Rogue-likes, Minecraft and an entire movement of creative game design on a low-budget may disagree with you there, Pete Moneybags.

that's because the graphics of those games are actually built around the gameplay style

you see, the gameplay of Minecraft would not work if it had high res graphics instead of pixel styled objects, which make easier the whole building thing

graphics are important, like it or not

bad graphics usually tend to disrupt the gameplay

 

[Dogstile]

No offense mate, but I still play medieval 2. Graphics mean bugger all if its not enjoyable to play

 

[(whitty name here)]

Its not that graphics don't matter, but you shouldn't be banking everything into your visual, just to have the game suck because you decided it was accpetable to make a 6 hour campaign and fill the rest with multiplayer.

Yes its nice that I don't have a black square for a gun. Do you know what else is nice?
Being able to pay 60-80 dollars and play longer than just one night.

 

[DasDestroyer]

Graphics do matter, but if I had to choose between a mediocre game with awesome graphics and a amazing game with crappy graphics, I'd choose the latter.

 

[Qitz]

It's not that they don't matter, it's that a game is not fun based solely on its Graphics.

You can have great graphics but without a compelling story, gameplay, characters, ECT... then the game will flop.

 

[Booze Zombie]

that's because the graphics of those games are actually built around the gameplay style

you see, the gameplay of Minecraft would not work if it had high res graphics instead of pixel styled objects, which make easier the whole building thing

graphics are important, like it or not

bad graphics usually tend to disrupt the gameplay

It does help when a game is strong in all aspects, but when it can't be, I think the first thing to go should be graphics, if you're looking to save money.

 

[the_tramp]

Whilst I don't think that graphics play an integral part of my enjoyment of a game, it is nice to look at something that's been designed and built well. I think Pete Hines has gotten the wrong end of the stick from comments, it's not so much that people don't care about graphics, it's that it's not *all* that they care about.

That being said, I wholeheartedly agree with his statement that people make snap decisions about games based upon graphics. Remember when the first trailer for Goldeneye for the Wii came out? We were swamped with 'the graphics look crap' comments.

 

[Jadak]

Nobody really means that they "don't matter", just that they're meaningless if that's the only aspect of the game being given proper attention.

Obviously, the prettier the game can be, the better, but if it's gorgeous horrible game, it's still horrible.

 

[Irridium]

No, graphics don't matter that much. Art style does.

There's a difference.