I'm sorry, but this is not true at all. Graphics are not the -only- focus of any (good) game. Otherwise it's just a tech demo.

But graphics are very important to videogame RPGs due to the immersion factor. Otherwise we'd all still be playing text-based games. Now I won't argue with the fact we don't need any technological wonder to enjoy Skyrim, but both extremes of this argument are innacurate. From a gamer's point of view and from a business perspective.

If it hadn't been for UL...I probably would have quit playing Oblivion by 2008.

are those screenshots from PC or console?

I'm going to go ahead and say (I may be wrong) that when we see this think in motion it will be MUCH improved in terms of graphics.

They could have made 3 more games with Morrowinds graphics and game engine and I would still be playing them today and buying them today. Game play and game mechanics are the focus of RPG's, they always have been or should have been if not. The pics I've seen from the magazine, :whistling: , look perfectly fine. There is nothing wrong with them. Really, the graphics didn't need to improve from Oblivion. However, they did and they look great.

It seems to me that too many people are focused on graphics and not enough on the game play and game mechanics.

Can we not flame Red Dead Redemption. Other than Rockstars and the San Diego studio respectively getting a bit stale with their mission structure it was a top notch game. I don't agree that the game was overhyped either, before launch advertising spree the only thing that spoke for the game was the trailer. Most notably My Name Is John Marston. Definitaly hooked me.

As for Skyrim it really is hard to tell of the quality from some loose scans. But what we can tell is it's far more improved from Oblivion and the two Fallout games. It looks good but at this point we can't tell if it really is a standard setter for consoles and PC respectively.

As for the engine I doubt it's the Gamebryo engine. First the ones who Bethesda liscensed it from(Like several game makers liscence Unreal engine from Epic) have sunk under. And even if they made a deal fact is Bethesda would have to put in equal effort to upgrade Gamebryo from it's current state than make a new engine from scratch and it seems a new version of Gamebryo hasn't been outed in awhile. So no it isn't Gamebryo. But props to it. The engine held up pretty good for our rate of graphic advancements currently. It powered Rockstars Bully. Oblivion for it's flaws blew minds when it was made(Might want to check out the games release date. It has obvious flaws but many of them came from age. We seem to forget how old the game is.) And even Fallout 3 was amazing in it's atmosphere that made people pass off gamebryo. By New Vegas it's creaking for sure but at times it pulls some amazing scenes.

So I applaude Gamebryo for its service and decommisioning, although modders will keep it alive for much time to come with Bethesdas kits.

Onto the new engine and beyond

I won't disagree with you, I've played Ultima Online on a private server until very recently, only because it was a great place to roleplay at. Outdated and 2d as it was. My argument was, however, that games as a kind of entertainment evolve like any other sort of media, and the visuals are a part of the whole package. It's not any different in the movie industry, there are those who don't bother with eyecandy and will scowl at films like Avatar, with outstanding technological advances and impressive looks and yet very little content. Yet the majority of the audience enjoys being svcked in by these fictional universes. They will buy 3d tv screens, they will go see 3d movies, they will buy tickets to blockbusters littered with VFX all over the place.

Sadly, very few people enjoy reading these days...so graphics are very important. You may not consider it as important as a good plot, and you're entitled to do so. I also prefer a good story and relatable characters. But it would be incredibly stupid for a company to overlook the importance of keeping up with new technology these days. Or to try and attempt to please only a single portion of their potential costumers by recycling an old engine. Gladly, we're over that.

Yeah we still have awhile to go guys..

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/724862-forum-rules-and-general-information/

You're reading it in a magazine. Magazines aren't really known for their hi-res screenshots. If you're looking at scans then the quality will be even worse because of the scanner. :whistling:

Use http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1156345-graphics/ for this discussion please. This one has too many darts flying. Not to mention some namecalling that had to be edited out.