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Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim


lazygecko
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But the whole game is so grey and dark and bland, there's no real sense of art or majesty...

It's not what I would expect a fantasy game to look like.

Wait

So you're saying fantasy is sunshine and rainbows?

One of the fascinating things about fantasy in the first place is that you can plumb new depths of darkness, both in human nature and in otherworldly environments. How can you say fantasy shouldn't be dark with the token example of Lord of the Rings showing very clearly how dark a situation can become? The beauty in fantasy does not always come from the setting; it can also come from the people who stand against this darkness.

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Yeah. The ironic thing?

I though the LotR movies looked pretty bad too.

They had their moments, sure, but only a handful of memorable, visual scenes.

There's nothing wrong with a dark fantasy game. But everyone seems to be praising the graphics of Skyrim and I really don't see anything about them that makes them special.

Edit: I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade. I'm glad you like the game. I was actually very excited for it when I heard about the random dragons and the open world and all that, and the trailers looked great, but watching the reviews it just looked...slow and boring to me, with a poor choice of art style and unimpressive graphics. The music is wonderful, but other than that...

Maybe if it goes down in price to like, $20-$30 I'll consider picking it up.

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Some of the southern regions have some really colourful forests, and I personally think the towns look fantastic. Some areas farther north do lack a colour because they're rocky and snowy, but there are still some really pretty things like snowdrifts and icy lakes, and it feels splendid whenever its snowing or raining.

Exploring is much more exciting than it was in Oblivion, I can say that much.

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There's nothing wrong with a dark fantasy game. But everyone seems to be praising the graphics of Skyrim and I really don't see anything about them that makes them special.

they're not special at all if you compare them to some linear fps full of scripted shit meant to disguise the simple linear pipe-like levels.

standards for huge ass open worlds are different. it's more about continuity and believable design.

apart from that, it's a matter of taste ofc.

if you had played dark age of camelot 10 years ago, you probably would've joined the colorful fairy world of hibernia. i on the other hand would have been that concrete bosomed troll warrior in black that crushes your pretty elf skull once you venture into the borderlands.

midgard was the place to be. while dark and depressive, it simply was the most immersive realm.

dark and moody fantasy is something i definitely haven't seen too often in games.

if you were talking about shooters and how boring their brown/greyish attempts at realism are becoming, i'd have a more open ear.

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There's nothing wrong with a dark fantasy game. But everyone seems to be praising the graphics of Skyrim and I really don't see anything about them that makes them special.

There's good and bad things. The environments can be very pretty, and the changing weather contributes a lot to it (the pic you posted is during a snowstorm, that's why everything seems kinda dark, here's a good example of a shot in daylight.

The character models are so-so, definitely a step up from Oblivion, but they still look kinda awkward, especially in terms of animations.

Then there's some locations (mostly underground, but also a few places on the map) that are just gross drab brown and make you feel like you're playing Fallout 3 again.

You also have to make clear whether you're criticizing the graphics quality itself, or the aesthetics of the game. The former is actually kind of objective (can be measured by the amount of polygons used, etc.), while the latter is purely subjective. I believe that most people actually refer to the graphics quality when they're praising skyrim, while you seem to be hung up on the aesthetic aspects (desaturated colors etc.)

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I guess it might be an issue of timing. Sooner or later, there had to be an Elder Scrolls game set in Skyrim, which from the very beginning of the series we've all known is a rocky snow-covered place. The fact that the game in question had to come in an era where everyone is kind of burned out on grey wastelands is just an unfortunate coincidence.

Maybe they'll go with Summerset Isle or Akavir for the sixth game. :P

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You also have to make clear whether you're criticizing the graphics quality itself, or the aesthetics of the game. The former is actually kind of objective (can be measured by the amount of polygons used, etc.), while the latter is purely subjective. I believe that most people actually refer to the graphics quality when they're praising skyrim, while you seem to be hung up on the aesthetic aspects (desaturated colors etc.)

i know what you mean, but that separation doesn't really exist.

there are only aesthetics.

then there's the question if the engine can pull off the envisioned aesthetics.

the point is, good graphics don't exist without a good sense of aesthetics. engines don't look good by themselves.

anyway, if you really have issues with this game's aesthetics, i can't imagine you've played either morrowind or oblivion. because they look like utter crap in comparison. and as pretty much always, it was NOT down to the stupid engine, it's down to graphic artists using rotten potatoes as reference for the model's faces. it's down to the lazy prefab feel of the world, and all that.

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Haha, don't even get me started on FPS games!

I just don't see why games have to look like this

call-of-duty-4-modern-warfare-20070807114552908.jpg

or this

Battlefield-3-4.jpg

Or this

gears-of-war-2-trailer-review2.jpg

Or even this:

resistance_1.JPG

When games can look like this

res2.jpg

Or this

Pirate_Defene_sheild.jpg

This

baten-kaitos-les-ailes-eternelles-et-locean-perdu-ngc-16.jpg

Or this:

Leviathan_Destroyed.jpg

Why do so many games have to strive for grey, dull realism? These are GAMES! We can do ANYTHING we want!

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