Elder Scrolls Online Screenshots Fail To Impress

[Soviet Heavy]

SO the first pair of screenshots for ESO have come out. Surprise, it's another cartoony graphics version of a universe.

Spoiler

Now, I know that in order for MMOs to gain large audiences, they need to lower the visuals for less powerful computers, but I am so sick of the cartoony graphics that are embedded in the genre. Age of Conan or Lord of the Rings Online manage to have quite decent visuals that don't rely on cartoonish proportions and manage to convey the atmosphere of their respective universes quite well despite the requisite graphical downgrade.

But for stuff like The Old Republic or Elder Scrolls Online, the visual design just clashes with the atmosphere trying to be conveyed. The Old Republic deals with some pretty dark stuff at times, and considering where the earlier KOTOR games went with their stories, it is jarring to say the least. It wasn't helped by the Blur Studio Old Republic trailers presenting a wildly different and much more interesting looking representation of the time period toying with what we could expect.

But that's my two cents. Do you like the visuals? I know it's still early in the game development, but a little variety from Cartoonism would be nice.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I hate the visuals. Not because they're cartoonish or stylized, but because they *strikingly* bland from an art direction standpoint.

 

[repeating integers]

I hate the visuals. Not because they're cartoonish or stylized, but because they *strikingly* bland from an art direction standpoint.

That's an oxymoron if I ever saw one. But you're right, it looks... like wallpaper. Figuratively.

 

[Jynthor]

I hate the visuals. Not because they're cartoonish or stylized, but because they *strikingly* bland from an art direction standpoint.

This.
It has no character at all. it's so bland and generic. It looks like some shitty game you can pick up for a few bucks in a "get this shit out of my store" box.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

That's an oxymoron if I ever saw one. But you're right, it looks... like wallpaper. Figuratively.

Heh. I suppose so, although I maintain that you can be struck by just HOW bland something is.

Like, "This porridge is so bland, it's amazing how bland it is."

 

[Promethax]

How about we see more than one screenshot before we judge the game's entire art style.

 

[SajuukKhar]

MY opinion is meh........... graphics have never bothered me.

The gameplay elements listed in the GI article are almost directly ripped from guild Wars 2 so.......... it will, for the most part at least, not play like every WoW clone MMO.

 

[Jaeke]

I have that issue and let me say: That screenshot is NOTHING like the rest, I have no idea why they decided to use that particular one for the helm.

I'm not very interested in the game but seriously, the visuals are pretty damn impressive for an MMO in the other screens.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

How about we see more than one screenshot before we judge the game's entire art style.

How about "It is impossible to make our own conclusions if people like you keep telling us that it isn't indicative of the final product"?

What are we supposed to do, other than judge what we're given. It looks like shit, and if that's the image they wanted us to see, it fails to impress.

 

[fozzy360]

How about we see more than one screenshot before we judge the game's entire art style.

Good thing we have an entire article's worth of pictures, am I right?

So far, it looks...alright. Nothing really there to fire me up. In all honesty, I'm kind of tired of seeing the high fantasy genre being the one thing that most MMOs tend to use. It's never been a genre I've particularly enjoyed.

You know what would be cool? A open world multiplayer type Elder Scrolls game. Something more akin to GTA's online free roam instead of an MMO.

 

[Don Savik]

Is it me or does the texture quality look like shit? I know mmos have to be sub-par compared to other games but this is just.....bleh. Looks like ps3 launch title quality.

Also, HUGE problem. That could pass as a screenshot for Rift or LOTRO or DDO. Nothing about the style tells me its Elder Scrolls. In fact, I probably wouldn't have even guessed that if you didn't tell me.

 

[Esotera]

Remember that those are both hideously compressed jpegs & this game is still very much in active development.

But yeah, I don't think I'd have played this game anyway. These screenshots don't really look that good, if it hadn't been a legit announcement then I'd be certain this was a troll.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

But that's my two cents. Do you like the visuals? I know it's still early in the game development, but a little variety from Warcraft Cartoonism would be nice.

I don't play these kind of games, but all I have to say is this, I hate WOW's graphics. Completely shit. So yeah, TES is better in the visual department.

 

[The Madman]

If you had shown me just those screenshots without context there's absolutely no way I would know it had anything to do with Elder Scrolls. That's a pretty big problem right there. It's got no visual identity at all and even less resemblance to the franchise it's supposed to be a part of.

Beyond that I know little and care even less after learning what little I did. Pity as an Elder Scrolls MMO could have been pretty amazing if only they'd been willing to try and do something different.

 

[evilneko]

What the fuck?

You're joking, right? You just posted screenshots of the next WoW expansion or some shit, right?

Because that's seriously what I thought when I looked at them. "Damn, WoW's scenery sure has changed but their character models sure haven't!"

 

[pure.Wasted]

I hate the visuals. Not because they're cartoonish or stylized, but because they *strikingly* bland from an art direction standpoint.

Isn't that the TES trademark, though? I haven't played Skyrim, but I also haven't seen anything to indicate it having more personality than Oblivion (which had the personality of a lump of dirt).

 

[Serving UpSmiles]

How about we see more than one screenshot before we judge the game's entire art style.

A picture is worth a thousand words, how many screenshots of borderlands would you need to figure out the art style?

 

[BathorysGraveland]

I was hoping for an art style such as Morrowind or Skyrim uses. It would make sense, and it would separate itself visually from the rest of the MMO pack, and I would have quickly made it my first MMO to play. Unfortunately, they felt the need to make it look like pretty much ALL the rest - an art style I intensely dislike. Eh, oh well.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

I've never been into MMOs anyway, except Runescape which I played years ago