I hate to say it, but it's true, and constructive criticism's good in art anyway...but yeah, Bethesda artists, especially with characters, could use some work with anatomy and proportions.

Though, there was a huge increase between Morrowind's characters and Oblivion's in terms of proportions, so I feel confident that Skyrim should look good. Anybody know if they got different artists? I can tell a huge difference in concept art between the two games.

In any event, I want it to look as realistic as possible. Artsy should be left for games like fable and borderlands. I've never felt that the Elder Scrolls fit with a "cartoony" look.

I'm all for artsy as long as it's done in a way that looks like it could be real.

Photorealistic as possible.

this

If you try too hard to make it realistic and fail, it looks worse than a well thought-out "artsy" design.
So, if they can pull it off, realistic is fine.

For those who plan on playing with dated PC's and consoles at least a hybrid of artsy and realistic is your best bet. Going for realistic graphics on dated tech generally looks terrible. Id rather have something like Oblivion. Slightly sytleized but still realistic to a degree. Helps the game age better too.

Thats correct, but i refer to artsy as something that gives more atmosphere and feeling to the game without sacrifising any horsepower available

I would lean towards photorealistic, while some games, I would say, have used more stylized graphics to great effect, for most games, I tend to prefer slightly more realistic graphics over more cartoonish ones, and I would say the Elder Scrolls is one of those games. But when I say realistic, I mean only in the style of graphics. For example, human characters should look like real people, they shouldn't have absurd proportions and what not, but the graphic designs don't necessarily need to be realistic. I would like something like Morrowind, a style that looks plausible, but with designs that still have a fantasy-ish look to them.



I would not say that really qualifies as what Shivering Isles is portraying is things that don't exist in real life at all. It might not entirely qualify as "realisitic", but this is not because of being incredably stylized, but simply because it depicts a setting that is very different from real life. I can't speak for Halo Reach, though, as I've never played a Halo game before.



It is true that more stylized graphics tend to not look as ugly, when they become dated, as a whole, as more realistic ones. But considering that Bethesda has always tried to make games that are, at the time of release, considered quite graphically impressive, I'm not sure if Bethesda is too concerned with that.

This, but I do want fantastic things being in the game (Mushroom towers, anyone? (Clearly not in Skyrim, but they were awesome in Morrowind).

definitely, but i believe it wont happen on that game, when they ll take the story on more southern territories i believe that things will get really crazy

I'm definitely on the side of wanting it to have a more stylized look. That doesn't mean I want it to have a really "animated" style like World of Warcraft or Team Fortress 2 or Wind Waker, I just want it to have a really strong and cohesive art design.

Somewhere in the middle, but more on the realistic side. The day TES goes artsy, looking like a JRPG will be a day I'll die inside.

I like it when they get a balance between realistic and art, particularly like fables style, everything looks realistic but still has a distinct style. If I wanted to see a photorealistic forest I'd go for a drive.

super realistic but with a hint of "artistic" shaders here and there.

75% realistic and 25% TES-tailored artstyle combo is perfect.

I say like Oblivion but updated. Maybe more detail on smaller objects in the game world like reflective mirrors...and better lighting.

I would urge those voting not to think World of Warcraft when they call into mind "artsy" game design. There's nothing artistic about that junk. If there is, it's terrible. In the hands of Bethesda, I'm sure a tasteful degree of artistic embellishment can only add to the beauty of the world.

I hope we have photo-realistic and really detailed land and characters, but in fantasy settings, so the graphic and detail seems like real life, but the setting and theme is exotic and unlike anything you see in the real life, like those interesting themes, places and critters you saw in Morrowind.

We are not at a level where photorealism is feasible. Even Poser and Daz3D can't do it convincingly without an artist spending hours masterminding it. And think of the work involved getting the right textures.

Photorealism, definitely. I want a realistic base to svck me into the world, while the ingame content and world to fascinate me. The TES series struck me as a high fantasy kind of setting, and having anything less than a realistic artstyle from detract from its charm.

Photorealistic mainly arty style a bit but Graphics have to be Next gen for the PC hopefully they will make it phenomenal.

The problem with photorealistic is you are dipping into the Uncanny Valley, which is where you DON'T want a games graphics to be. Nor should game graphics be ultra realistic. Personally they should never go further then just before the fall into the valley.

I don't understand. I've read about the uncanny valley and I get why it would be unnerving to see a realistic human robot, but I don't think I would ever have a problem with good game graphics. I mean it'snot like they could have graphics better than say the movie Beowulf or Polar Express in a game for many many years, and neither of them made me uncomfortable with the animation.

http://gametestlab.com/images/stories/screens/MassEffect3/Mass_Effect_3_2.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W8k_-zfUyVg/SwqOrvxfsKI/AAAAAAAABeY/fUBDoEaOZIY/s1600/060306_he_POLAR-EXP_Ex.jpg

This, exactly. Realistic doesn't have to be real world realistic.

Why should ′artsy′imply cartoonish?
I thought both Morrowind and the Oblivion and Shivering Isles realms were quiet artistically rendered, surreal and graphical.
I'd like to have 'realistic' worlds with artistic element that catch you off guard and surprise you.