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

[Jessta]

In my own opinion they are a fourth of a good game, the other 3/4ths of what make a good game are story, gameplay and soundtrack. Saying that a good fourth of the game is pointless is stupid and those who say that should go back and try playing the first mario game then try playing mario on the Wii and tell me which they had more fun with, or better yet, play Final fantasy one, the one for the NES and then play final fantasy one for the psp.... I couldn't get knee deep into the one for the NES, I stopped playing after fifteen minutes and had a terrible head ache, the one on the PSP on the other hand I played for eight hours straight and still returned to do all those secondary achievement things the next day.
Saying graphics don't matter for video games is like saying grammar doesn't matter when writing a book in my own opinion.

 

[Super Toast]

If graphics matter, then why do Bethesda games look like such shit?

Have you seen the Skyrim trailer?

OT: I agree. Graphics aren't the most important thing, but they're in the top five. Some games like Minecraft and Dwarf Fortress get a pass on this, but I sure as hell wouldn't be buying Skyrim if it looked the same as Oblivion.

 

[SanguineSymphony]

What people tend to mean when they say "graphics don't matter" is "REALISTIC graphics don't matter"

Minecraft has "good" graphics, "good" and "realistic" need to stop being interchanged.
Realistic graphics are a huge waste of time for most games by the way, more stylized graphics are easier/cheaper to produce AND they tend to look far superior.

You're confusing Technology for Technique. No one is saying Technique (Artistry) isn't a must. Its the Technological backing that doesn't matter quite as much.

 

[Sutter Cane]

It matters to a degree, but not for the best graphics. Rather the visuals that build the right atmosphere for the game.

Like Team Fortress 2. It's deliberately a little cartoony, but it works for the game. If it looked photo-realistic, it wouldn't work.

I feel like games with photo-realistic visuals take themselves too seriously, and developers are the same. As if it doesn't matter how it plays, as long as it's shiny enough for the magpie masses to swarm over.

Oh, and this from the guys who recently shat out New Vegas? ***** please.

Technically that was obsidian

 

[A Pious Cultist]

"Graphics don't matter, here's a picture of a game with great, but outdated, graphics to prove my point!"

No one is saying every game has to be crysis, but if a game looks like shit it won't sell. Or maybe I've magically imagined all those complaints about homefront's visuals.

At no point did Peter here say:

Graphics matter more than gameplay. Oh and let me be clear, I mean graphics at a technical level, I'm not talking about style or direction here. A game with good graphics is a good game that will sell well. Games with less technically impressive, but well directed, graphics can never ever see a single copy or my claim is invalidated.

What he said was:

Graphics matter to people.

... which they do. Otherwise no one would ever complain about them, which they do.

 

[Thedarkness77]

When it comes too making a game graphics are the last thing that I would worry about.

 

[A Free Man]

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

I honestly don't like this excuse. When you think about it just because the graphics are not totally realistic doesn't make them bad. I actually love the graphics of minecraft and think they are really good. Similarly you could argue that the graphics of a cartoon game do not detract from the game because despite being unrealistic it is still visually appealing. The problem is when developers aim to make a game realistic but use graphics that fail to immerse you in the world.

As for immersion the whole point is that it makes you feel that you really are within the world despite the differences between it and real life. Therefore I think mudcrabs are completely immersive as they make up a core part of the world, they are an animal and they have a natural habitat within the world. Just because it is obviously not real doesn't make it less immersive.

 

[Velocirapture07]

Mud Crabs are the heart and soul of an Elder Scrolls game... I wish you to withdraw your disingenuous accusations about Mud Crabs, post haste!

I don't know if it's been said but.... "I've met Mudcrabs more fearsome than you!"

Anyway. I kind of agree with what he's saying. Graphics are important, but they're not everything. If something has great graphics though I'm more likely to take notice.

 

[sunsetspawn]

People who say graphics "Don't Matter" don't understand that behind every game studio there are soulless corporate asshats who are only concerned with the bottom line. These "suits" have focus-grouped the shit out of game sales, and have come to the conclusion that to your average dickhead, great graphics are the bees knees. Remember, great graphics are important for the same reason that The Jersey Shore is so popular: they both motivate large amounts of lemmings to part with their money. Sooooooo, we vote with our money. I don't purchase anything unless I've been able to thoroughly test it, OR, the last game the studio produced was top quality. Well, actually, there is a third option. Sometimes a game has received praise that rings through time, and in those rare cases I make a blind purchase. See, I just got Deus Ex and Gothic 2 this year, and they're freaking fantastic. If you haven't played these games I highly recommend them and they will prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Pete Hines is a tosser.

 

[Requx]

Its dependant on the type of game, dont pimp pac-man please. Also why are they talking about immersion, I'm pretty sure real life crashes way less than FO.

 

[kickyourass]

WHile I wouldn't go so far as to say they're lying when someone says "Graphics don't matter", I'll definitely say that their wrong. Before you play something you're gonna have to look at it, and unless your game play is so perfect that it can practically raise the dead with it's magnificence, few people are going to play a game if it's actively unpleasant to look at (With the exception of a horror title or the like).

 

[Quaidis]

Yeah right, tell that to the tons upon tons of people playing Minecraft.

It's nice to Have graphics, as without them gaming would be hard, but to spend so much time focusing on them to the point that the rest of the game suffers from redundancy (such as plot and game play), it's not necessary.

After all, I didn't buy a game to watch a painting. I don't care how pretty the painting is. I want to play the game.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

There is no doubt that graphics add to a game, I doubt that anyone here would take a game with worse graphics over one that's better. In fact the first thing I thought when I saw the 2nd skyrim trailer was how much better the graphics were. Even though, I could care less about good graphics if the art is crap. I'd take good art direction and mediocre graphics any day over good graphics and mediocre art direction.

 

[lotanerve]

Do Graphics matter?

The answer is....a little graphics goes a long way.

The reason is because, the ability for the gamer to be able to suspend disbelief on the account of good gameplay. Games with poor or mediocre graphics still get played years after their release. The star example of that is Counter-Strike. While the game had good graphics on it's release, you can't argue it's shown its age. Yet it's the most popular FPS played today...11 years later.

An earlier post touched on graphics being a big part of immersion. Graphics though, is only part of the immersion factor. Sound effects is often underrated. Something as simple as snow crumping underfoot makes a big effort to "take you there". Hearing PA announcements when playing Dead Space 2 eerily haunted me, as I checked corners for necromorphs. Even voice-acting can make create a better immersion by avoiding being overly campy.

To return to the point of graphics, let me end on this...Anyone play an old game, or better yet, an old game on an old system because of the nostalgia of how great that game was? I sure you have...so my point is made.

 

[Dana22]

If the graphics are integral to immersion, then you are doing it wrong. Most of the ASCII games offer better immersion then some 3D HD titles.

 

[Lekonua]

Graphics DO matter, but they should never be the main selling point of a game. If they work with the atmosphere and gameplay, then they're "good" graphics.

Being photorealistic shouldn't be the main point unless the entire game is supposed to be ultra-realistic.

 

[TehCookie]

When I say graphics don't matter, I mean photo realistic graphics. It still has to have a clean and pleasant looking art style that matches the tone of the game. Besides I prefer lower quality graphics so I can imagine the rest the way I want to.

 

[RaikuFA]

Well Pete Hines I say youre lying about this game being good just because of its graphics.