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

[dragongit]

I agree that good graphics can make a good game. But they don't need to be state of the art. Somtimes if they can create a style of its own it can become timeless. Look at Team Fortress2. I'm sure you could make it look prettier by today's standards, but its vivid, colorful, and the characters have a style of their own that doesn't need anything more. I mean even look at Psychonauts! That game is old generation, and you can see graphical shortcomings, but it still has a style that can last ages on its own merits.

You can tell in some games when they cut corners and make it look worse then you know that generation of systems is capable of... I'm looking at you Deadly Premonition. I never played the game but unskippable's intro was enough.

Overall, it doesn't matter if you make the game as realistic as possible, but if you can make it look presentable, and if you can go that extra mile to make it original, thats what matters.

 

[mb16]

ok for all you here saying graphics don't matter. Go to a game you play and turn all the settings down to the minimum and keep it like that. now tell me which would you get more immersed in

Spoiler: this?

Spoiler: or this?

 

[Quiet Stranger]

To me graphics only matter when the game REALLY needs it, like Limbo or some artistic game or RPG (Like Dragon Age 2) if they made FPSeseses with the graphics of Goldeneye (64) I'd still play them

 

[TheSolemnHypnotic]

Graphics matter to an extent. I just like looking back and saying "wow, those were great for their time". It's nice when a game's look ages well.

 

[antipunt]

I think Bethesda's two 'opposing groups' are talking past each other. I don't think anyone's doubting that graphics matter. Prettiness always help. Great art design helps.

But I think most people are complaining that if 'graphics is ALL you're focused on primarily', we have a problem. If you can get awesome graphics, awesome story, gameplay, whatever, that's so great it's too good to be true. But if you put everything into making it shiny, and it has a *****y story and isn't all that fun to play, we'd rather you adjust those sliders a bit.

 

[A Pious Cultist]

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...

Yes, yes it is. If call of duty had Minecraft graphics it would not have sold. Simple as.

 

[Verkula]

Its why i play Megaman 9 and 10 on PS3, after God of War 3. Because graphics matter. Right.

 

[Scars Unseen]

When I say that graphics don't matter, what I mean is that advanced, and thus expensive, graphical technology is not important. Good art direction can make old tech look good, and bad art direction can make a large graphics budget pointless. Graphics certainly aren't important enough to take away the time and money needed to make a good, relatively bug free gameplay experience.

 

[FalloutJack]

I don't buy it. Yes, graphics are very nice indeed and if you can get good graphics, then kudos, but it's still not everything. I'm an old-schooler. Know what I like as much as Fallout 3? Chrono Trigger. Bam! Suddenly Bethesda hasn't got a leg to stand on.

 

[lacktheknack]

This is true. Think of how many strategy lovers have passed Dwarf Fortress with nary a second glance.

 

[The Sane]

Ok, so Graphics matter to some people. But those people are shallow and ignorant if they can't enjoy the (hopefully) good gameplay. Graphics have reached the point where it all looks pretty good without having to go cutting edge. So anyone who says, "bad graphics, must be shit", loses all my respect and should rightfully be assaulted with a "Graphics don't matter" lecture.

Also.. the term "Immersion" is very ambiguous. Yes, graphics can aid someones immersion, but so can anything else for any number of reasons. It all depends on what each person expects from the game. Something unexpected can easily break immersion, but having a consistent cartoon style in something like borderlands does not necessarily make it any less imersive than Skyrim will be. Put a high detail character from Crysis in the middle of it though and every players mind will be pulled out of the game and go "WTF?".


Being consistent is much more important than being shiny.

 

[Canid117]

They matter...


Gameplay and story just matter more.

 

[Icehearted]

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

Well put. Dependent on the nature of the game, graphics can be pretty integral to the experience. I find it strange that Pete Hines is commenting on this though, since generally when I buy a game from Bethesda one of the first thing's I'm doing are looking up graphics mods to spruce things up. This isn't to say that Fallout 3 had poor graphics, but the difference between modded and unmodded are stark.

Eager to see what they do with Skyrim in the coming years.

 

[The Naked Emperor]

I don't get the "graphics don't matter" argument. Games (aside from MUDs) are inherently graphical; they're a key part of the experience and discounting them altogether is, quite frankly, stupid.

However, there are many ways to create immersion and near photo-realism is only one. People cite Minecraft in defense of "graphics don't matter." I'd counter that by saying the graphics may suck from a technical standpoint but they have a charm which gives the game a unique feel and atmosphere.

The same can be said of classics which we still play today. Mario World still looks fantastic and it wouldn't have the same feel if it were given a makeover. Yes, far more impressive things can be done with 2D platformers, some of which was accomplished back on the SNES hardware (DKC, Yoshi's Island), but it is what it is in part because of how it looks.

The look of most games today actually turns me off. When I'm playing something like Mass Effect I have to work really hard to get past the horrifying plastic people. In my opinion the best games are stylized so that even if they maintain a high degree of realism they utilize the imagination which is this medium's biggest strength.

 

[nipsen]

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

Unless they, for some cosmic happenstance Bethesda never will understand, are actually able to write a good story. Then nice graphics is an extra on top.

 

[SanguineSymphony]

They matter to a degree... I prefer to play Ducktales (NES) to most Modern games. What I care about most in my VGs is Gameplay and Art-Design/Style. You can have the best graphics in the world but if your game still looks generic I don't give a fuck about it.

 

[Vetala]

holy!!! did i just saw sylvius the mad