Depends on if you are asking Michael Bay or not.

I quite agree.

Vermithrax was cool.

look, it's simple...same as with women; good play is nice, with good graphics it's so much better!

Two Worlds had amazing graphics? :bonk:

I actually think Morrowind's Graphics were better than Oblivion, with a few key exceptions. The SpeedTree stuff gave the ground a sense of depth, which I almost can't deal without now (Thank you Vality's Grass), Draw Distance (Thank you MGE, though I still like to give it that trademark "Misty" look), though the draw distances wasn't nearly as big a deal for me. Oblivion's physical Draw distance is actually rather poor, but the LOD bias just makes it seem bigger because it draws the statics farther out.

In terms of Art Style, Character Models, Equipment design, overall Color Palette, and inspiration, Morrowind stomps all over Oblivion, without looking back.

A problem with Oblivion's Graphics, is, what it did well, only drew out what it did worse even more. Things like higher resolution textures sound great, until they highlight over-usage, better animations are okay, but every off-animation stands out worse than the thousands in Morrowind.

Except that Daggerfall, Morrowind and Oblivion all had the best graphics of their time. Not sure where you got that. Also, Fable and Two worlds didn't have amazing graphics, not by far, neither does GTA, CoD. RDR had good graphics though. But yeah, you must've started playing Oblivion years after it came out because Oblivion was the best looking game of it's time. Not sure about where you got Fable has amazing graphics though.

Red Dead Redemption still looks amazing, though to be fair, it's a lot harder to scrutinize the details because of the camera angles they use.

Both Morrowind and Oblivion had great graphics at release. Quite frankly, it's something I love about Bethesda. Graphical detail impresses me, so I'm quite excited about the looks of Skyrim. It looks fantastic, in my opinion, and I can't wait to anolyze every little detail on the blade of my sword or every little detail on the corpse of a slain dragon.

Graphics really aren't as important as the average gamer thinks. However, they clearly work to market a game and to increase sales(on some level). Still, how does one explain the phenomenon of minecraft(has sold 2 million copies)? At the end of the day, all games will ultimately be judged on the gameplay. Most reviewers fail to properly discuss how gameplay and funfactor coexist within modern games. They always focus on the technical aspects! Still, no matter how ignorant people are, graphics matter a lot less than gameplay does. Gameplay is what sets a good designer apart from a poor one. It takes real genius and ingenuity to come up with fun, in-depth gameplay systems.

If Skyrim's gameplay svcks, well people will remember it as being a bad game, regardless of the graphics. Just sayin.

Edit: Oh, and once you get to the graphical fidelity that Skyrim appears to have, let's just say that I am impressed and desire nothing more from them.

It depends on what the game is trying to achieve. Minecraft is so obvious that I think people don't care about graphics then. It's the same deal with Mario.

If Skyrim has bad graphics it will be dumbed down and will fail. Graphics is important for immersion and to make the world believable.
If Skyrim has bad gameplay it will be dumbed down and will fail. Gameplay is important for the player to have lots of things to do and to interact nicely with the environment.
If Skyrim has bad sound it will be dumbed down and will fail. Sound is important for immersion and enhancing the atmosphere of basically everything in the game.
If Skyrim has bad story/lore it will be dumbed down and will fail. Story/lore gives everything in the game a meaning.

All things matter. I don't think one thing matters more than the other, considering what TES is really trying to achieve today.
Also, having really really great graphics also take lots of genuises and ingenuity for it to get into the game. It's not as easy as to switch an on/off button.

Fixed. There are a few games that are better than Crysis, which makes sense since Crysis is from 06, it would be weird if 5 years later it still remained the best :shrug:

For it's time, Oblivion's graphics were pretty damn awesome. Same for Skyrim. It's graphics have been upgraded to make up for the 5 year gap.

Of course graphics matter, don't you guys want to see a holo-deck one of these days?

It's also important to consider what the graphics are depicting. The graphics in Fallout 3 were better than Oblivion but it felt so empty and depressing, I prefer the visuals in Oblivion for this reason

You are probably correct on some level, however the graphics don't matter because people enjoy the gameplay it offers. That was my point.



Dumbing down has nothing to do with graphics, story, sound, technicalities, etc. It is entirely a concept related to gameplay. That is, to simplify gameplay systems so that the average gamer can understand them. However, this leaves the more advanced gamers(Generally older people, or people with 10+ years of gaming experience) at a disadvantage because these type of gamers will get bored if the dumbing down is too extensive. It's a difficult balance for sure, but graphics only appeal to people who don't appreciate or understand gameplay depth and how dumbing down has ruined gaming for many people.



All things matter to individuals who don't understand the topic they are discussing. All things only matter because the individual does not know how each aspect affects the final product(Essentially, this type of person does not know what they like). However, I admit, all aspects need some level of development and polish(Some more so than others(gameplay)). To each their own.

Skyrim looks great, yes, but if they wanted to make it the best - best - best looking game, they should've taken advantage of Dx11 and its features. Only my opinion ofc

I think Oblivion's graphics are great! Skyrim's is even better, wich is good. Graphics do matter but only when it comes to majority. I mean, what if Oblivion had Super Mario graphics and nothing else was changed. Skyrim will look awesome with 1080p

:thumbsdown:

Personally I try to mostly play the games that have both quality graphics and depth of gameplay, but I'll make exceptions and play games with crap graphics or crap gameplay if the other parts are well enough done that I'll enjoy the experience irregardless.

As for Minecraft I think part of why the low quality of graphics works for it is because it looks so much like lego. I mean that game is basically lego for the 21st century

Graphics do not make a game, they merely enhance it.
Besides, Oblivion had pretty good graphics for it's time and based on the gameplay trailer, Skyrim will have great graphics too.

I can enjoy a game if the graphics are "dated" but the gameplay is good. I cannot enjoy a game if the graphics are good, but the gameplay isn't. 'Nuff said.

Statements like this only appeal to people who don't appreciate or understand gameworld depth and how graphical details enhance and flesh out gameworlds as was intended with the very creation of VIDEO games.

+1

Seriously someone who says graphics don't matter (not that they matter less than other factors such as gameplay) are either lying or don't udnerstand video games.

You didn't read my post, did you.

Pete Hines was true... he was true. I mean, Pete Hines was right! I mean he should lol, he's part of those who make the game and they know the game better than anyone else.

Would Skyrim be just as fun/great/cool to play in Minecraft graphics as in the graphics it has today?
If people honestly think so, then if there was a mod for Skyrim that makes the graphics 8-bit pixels, people would have nothing against installing it, would they? I somehow doubt that. But if they still say so, then be my guest

Five bucks says you would be very upset if Skyrim had the graphics of Arena. What you say also doesn't reflect exactly what you or, more likely, many others think. How can one proportionally measure graphical mediocrity to gameplay mediocrity to begin with? Do you fail to take into consideration how graphical technology seems to directly correlate to scripting, game mechanics, animation (picture Skyrim with the animations of Arena; Does that not detract from gameplay?), and sound technology? Why do you treat gameplay and graphics as if they were a mutually exclusive, either or affair? Why are you playing video games at all if, by what I'm assuming, you're not even going to put up a fight in defense of keeping decent graphics?

I did. I also said that I agree other factors other than graphics such has gameplay and story are more important, however saying that graphics don't matter at allis plain wrong :shrug: