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

[Carlston]

Making a beautiful world is one thing.

As I said before if you make a game to short and suck but hey you can see the zits on the guys face develop and pop in real time...


I can sure as hell do without that and see the budget of script writing and game flow fatten up.

 

[Bonecrusher]

I think arguing as "graphics dont matter gameplay does" is just to prove being a "old school" gamer.

I am an old school gamer too, I want my game to have a solid gameplay.

But this is not leads to "graphics are not important" issue.
graphics are indeed important for me.

Graphics of a game has two category:
1) Technical
2) Artistic

A game should have both of them.
For example Half-Life 2 was great, because it both cared graphics and gameplay.

I can say "Technical graphics don't matter"
Some game developers only focus technical graphics. They pump up the textures, polygons, resolution, but they skip the artistic graphics.

Some of the screenshots from Skyrim shows, the artistic graphics will be very good.
I hope so.

 

[Ian Caronia]

That's a stupid generalization from Bethesda. It's no where NEAR as stupid as "JRPGs are not RPGs" - Bioware (who also said Call of Duty was an RPG because you "put points into things").

The first response to this thread is right, but I'll add: Graphics do not matter to many people unless they are paying 60+ for said game. I paid 40 for Persona 4, and look at those graphics.
Also look at all the fantastic reviews it got.

If I pay 60+ for a game that is from a big name developer and backed by a big name publisher, I expect high-end graphics (big name publishers who are in the red are excluded from this rule). Lesser publishers I can let slide since, as is obvious, they don't have the financial backing the bigger ones do. J/ WRPGs, MMORPGs, and free-roam games also get a pass because of the man hours and content needed just to put that kind of game together.

So, in reality, it matter but in genre and pricing related senses. Bethesda, you haven't yet, but don't stard slagging off people's ideals over gaming and pouncing on everyone because you're making a seemingly incredible title. Just look at EA and Bioware and realize how shit things can go for you PR wise. Keep it shut until Skyrim has broken selling records, and for added measure keep it shut even then so you don't turn fans off the DLC you'll be promoting after the release.

 

[Shadowkire]

Graphics do matter to some extent, I have played many games till I was on the verge of losing interest in them only to find my enthusiasm slightly restored when I pumped up the graphics settings.

In more concise terms: graphics matter for a game that isn't fantastic. Examples include Minecraft and Dwarf Fortress, terrible graphics but I keep coming back to them after a week long vacation with a $60 title.

 

[Glaive_21842]

Graphics matter. A LOT!

...but not in the photo-realistic omg-look-at-my-high-resolution-textures way. For example, Shadow of the Colossus was, and still, is a graphical powerhouse of a game that STILL looks better than a lot of modern dribble. Hell, even Ico, which was released only a year after the PS2, still looks better than most modern games. THE GAME IS 10 YEARS OLD AND IT STILL LOOKS DAMN AMAZING! This is the power of art design.

Oh, and for all the people bringing up Minecraft as a counter argument, here's a news flash...Minecraft looks good! Once again, its not a graphical workhorse, but it makes an appealing statement with its blocky art direction and the ability to build pretty much whatever you damn well please.

TL;DR
Gameplay+ writing + graphics = game quality
Art*5 + power = graphics

 

[Ghengis John]

The fact that Hines just doesn't get what people mean when they say this says a lot.

 

[Windthor]

I like being able to see, but I don't need so much detail that you can zoom in with a sniper scope and see the nosehairs twitching as a random mook breathes through his nostrils. Yes, graphics matter, but not when that's all that's being put into a game.

 

[Solid Reece]

I still play FFVII and look at the grapics. To me story and gampeplay are the most importants

 

[RAMBO22]

The quality of graphics absolutely "matters" in a game.

Better graphics=greater immersion in game play experience, one feels as if they are a constituent of the gaming environment if a game has superb graphics.

Greater immersion (generally)=a greater playing experience, as the more one feels they are "part" of a game, the more "fun" the game is to him/her.

 

[ZephrC]

Well, the optimist in me says "YAY! Skyrim will be pretty!"

The cynic says "Well, crap. They blew their whole budget on graphics and now we're gonna be stuck with a SquareEnix game or some crap."

However, the realist says "No shit Sherlock. Very few people are actually dumb enough to believe that graphics don't matter at all. What they usually really mean when they say that is that graphics are more important for that initial sales push than they are for the overall quality of the product, and so the people responsible for making games tend to prioritize their limited time and resources toward graphics over other things way more than I think they should and I really wish they'd knock it off sometimes. That's really not soundbite ready though, so it get shortened to graphics don't matter."

 

[GodofCider]

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.

Then what makes an ambient game? Of which I adore.

 

[ChupathingyX]

Art style is more important. Okami is a good example, imagine if that game looked like real life.

Also I have a feeling based on this that Bethesda are going to try too hard on the graphics and other things will fall short.

Also what is he talking about immersion? Oblivion had some of the worst immersion.

Pyschic Guards?
Mudcrabs?
Merchants and stolen items?
Fast travel?
Weird NPC conversations?

 

[Shycte]

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

Some games just never grow old.....¨'

OT: Well, if it looks like shit it can ruin a whole lot, but the graphics doesn't have to be the most realistic for it to not look shit. Like Medieval 2 for for example.

 

[Afoxi]

It's not a lie if they actually believe what they're saying.

PS - it's the art style/direction that matters IMHO.

 

[haddaway234]

Graphics are not the only thing, but ugly graphics can really ruin a game in terms of atmosphere and even story (good animation/facial expressions go a long way) and will just make it an eyesore, making it less enjoyable to play.

 

[nik3daz]

Graphics don't matter insofar as graphical power. The art direction is the most important element of a game's graphics. Nowadays all the most popular FPSes have similar visual design. What happened to quirky, novel FPS graphics like those in No One Lives Forever? (Oh, Portal also has novel visual design. Hooray for Portal!)

 

[darkdraconus]

"There's a lot of people who say graphics don't matter," Hines said in the most recent OXM Podcast. "To them I usually say 'you're lying.'"

I'd respond "No. The graphics really don't matter. If the gameplay's terrible, but the graphics are beyond amazing, no on one will want to play it because of the terrible gameplay."

 

[Jelly ^.^]

Well, my peasant computer is a piece of shit. I stll find Medieval Total War and the original Shogun, and even Daggerfall immersive, so shut up Bethesda.

 

[Uszi]

Considering I just got done with a mad spree of Counterstrike 1.6, I don't feel like I'm lying when I say that graphics don't matter.