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Does Bethesda Have the Worst/Ugliest Art Direction Among AAA Developers?

s y

s y

Member
Nov 8, 2017
10,422
Edit: speaking in regards to Bethesda Gane Studios(Fallout/TES)

I find none of Bethesda's recent games like Fallout 3, 4, 76, Skyrim, Oblivion etc pleasing to my eye. NPCs in particular look horrendous in these games.

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There's this weird super airbrushed look going on with the skin textures that I can't articulate well.

Colors choices in general are very gaudy. I know the fallout series is post-apocalyptic and the art direction is intentionally harsh( i guess that's the right word) but don't you think it could be done better?

Obviously professional and highly skilled artists are behind these games but would you say it's fair to say that Bethesda's games are generally, unappealing?

I know art direction is more than just how pretty something is but with Skyrim, I found the art very bland, very standard medieval/classic fantasy look. Not much there where I could say, "that's Bethesda's style!". Liek with Ninja Theory's games, besides their latest one, you could almost instantly identify there highly saturated colors in stuff like Heavenly sword, DmC or Enslaved. With Naughty Dog I can identify their stylised but very realistic character models or their very sharp, edgy environments in Uncharted.

With Bethesda, I recognize them because of how ugly and bland their games look.

What are other developers/games franchises whose art you find nasty looking?
 
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enzo_gt

enzo_gt

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,299
I've felt this way for a long time. From what little I've played of Skyrim, some of the snow and particle effects make up for it a bit in that case but man, something about the textures is always really, really garish to me.
 
Conkerkid11

Conkerkid11

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
13,941
Makes all their games look dated before they even release.

The worst part is that's one of the signature aspects of their games at this point. I can't see them making a game look any other way.
 
TheMadTitan

TheMadTitan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
27,179
Yes. Their basic ass combat, animations, and other gameplay mechanics don't help, either.

It's all ugly and offputting, which is why I avoid anything that they put out that they developed themselves.
 
kennyamr

kennyamr

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,587
New York, NY, USA
That's what I thought too, although I will say that as long as the game has a good story, character dev, and gameplay, I normally don't care much about the art department.
Having said that, the Bethesda games I've tried to play generally have low scores in the art department.
 
GarthLordOfTheSith

GarthLordOfTheSith

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,006
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Skyrim, Morrowind, and the occasional Daggerfall play, and I adore Fallout 3, New Vegas, and, to a much lesser extent, 4 (sometimes. Other times it can fuck off), but all of these games are hideous as fuck.
 
DrArchon

DrArchon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,485
They're up there.

I was able to forgive Skyrim because it wasn't Oblivion in terms of bad art, but stuff like Fallout 4 and 76 are too much for me.
 
Derrick01

Derrick01

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,289
They pretty much have the worst anything among AAA devs and the gap only grows wider as everyone else keeps raising the tech bar while they stay on that broke ass engine. 10+ years ago they were still relatively impressive because modern open world gaming was still in its infancy but nowadays they've been surpassed by everyone.
 
saenima

saenima

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
11,892
Yes. I find all their games hideous. Their NPC's are nightmare fuel, especially in Oblivion.
 
OP
OP
s y

s y

Member
Nov 8, 2017
10,422
I don't think The Witcher 3 is ugly by any means but I found the art direction to very basic/standard "medieval fantasy"
 
apocat

apocat

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,033
If we're talking about characters and npcs, then almost certainly. Playing Skyrim in VR did give me a whole new appreciation for their enviroments, though.
 

TheZodiacAge

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
1,068
Yes all their stuff looks outdated

These days many early access games on PC look better.

But hey - At least you can pick up a billion spoons and they stay where you dropped them.
 
NinjaBoiX

NinjaBoiX

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
718
s y said:
I find none of Bethesda's recent games like Fallout 3, 4, 76, Skyrim, Oblivion etc pleasing to my eye. NPCs in particular look horrendous in these games.

latest

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skyrim_screenshots__cicero_2_by_vincent_is_mine-d4ugczg.jpg


There's this weird super airbrushed look going on with the skin textures that I can't articulate well.

Colors choices in general are very gaudy. I know the fallout series is post-apocalyptic and the art direction is intentionally harsh( i guess that's the right word) but don't you think it could be done better?

Obviously professional and highly skilled artists are behind these games but would you say it's fair to say that Bethesda's games are generally, disgusting looking?

What are other developers/games franchises whose art you find nasty looking?
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I don't think gaudy means what you think it means, gaudy colours would be overly bright and showy, typically to be seen as tasteless and over the top.

These designs have very muted, bland colours. Which to be fair, is equally unattractive.
 
matrix-cat

matrix-cat

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,284
Yeah, I really can't think of who else it could be. Other devs have made one-off ugly games, but this decades-long commitment to ugliness and jank is something unique to Bethesda.
 

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
No

Their engine is bad but Skyrim and FO4 did not have bad art direction no matter how you slice it

Fallout 3 ans Obliviom though... oof
 
OP
OP
s y

s y

Member
Nov 8, 2017
10,422
NinjaBoiX said:
I don't think gaudy means what you think it means, gaudy colours would be overly bright and showy, typically to be seen as tasteless and over the top.

These designs have very muted, bland colours. Which to be fair, is equally unattractive.
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I wasn't referring to the characters with that, should have specified, my bad. Mostly referring to the environments, there's this yellowish tint I notice a lot in Fthe Fallout series. You're right though, gaudy isn't the right word. I'm not sure what is haha
 
Booga

Booga

Alt account
Banned
Sep 15, 2018
937
That is why I loved borderlands 2 so much. I thought, this would be what Fallout would look like if it wasn't hideous AF. I guess that is the price of open world games...oh wait, it is fucking 2018. Why ARE their characters so damn stupid looking?
 
Doctor_Thomas

Doctor_Thomas

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,643
Bethesda. The love affair with a developer who doesn't give a shit what their games look like or how they perform.

I, genuinely, hate how their games look and, often, how they play as well. I find the entire premise of their games to be an absolute chore... and yet, I still get lost in them if I'm in the right mood.

It takes some skill to have games that look as horrendous as Bethesda games but still manage to immerse you.
 
Ailanthium

Ailanthium

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,270
Man God said:
Warner Brothers.
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Ding ding ding.

Warner Bros. has some really hideous character models, and before someone replies with Injustice 2, I'm aware that it's technically impressive but I'd take Bethesda's jank faces any day over the uncanny valley Injustice revels in. Shadow of War doesn't even have the benefit of facial animation on its side; Tallion is the main character and even he looks like he got whacked several times by the ugly stick.
 
Stiler

Stiler

Avenger
Oct 29, 2017
6,659
I wonder, is it in part because they've kept re-using the same engine over and over for the past 15 years or so and just re-write and add things to it instead of going to a new engine? Because in a lot of ways the new games still feel a lot like the older ones.

Regardless, I really wish they'd get with the times when it comes to that and animations as well, that's the main thing holding them back imo, next to writing.

They make amazing worlds and make you really want to explore them and it's enjoyable, but it feels like it could be a lot better if they just had the animation/detail of studios like Naughty Dog/Ubisoft, etc.
 
Polyh3dron

Polyh3dron

Prophet of Regret
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,860
It ain't a Bethesda game if it ain't got that jank.

And the ugliest character models made in its time.

Which is part of said jank.

When they make a non-janky game again, I'll buy it, but until then, nope.
 
frankenstrat

frankenstrat

Member
Oct 27, 2017
999
The presentation of their games does leave something to be desired. Part of it is the art direction but another part of it also seems like the lighting and bloom (at least in Skyrim).
 
OP
OP
s y

s y

Member
Nov 8, 2017
10,422
Psychoward said:
No

Their engine is bad but Skyrim and FO4 did not have bad art direction no matter how you slice it

Fallout 3 ans Obliviom though... oof
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I know art direction is more than just how pretty something is but with Skyrim, I found the art very bland, very standard medieval/classic fantasy look. Not much there where I could say, "that's Bethesda's style!". Liek with Ninja Theory's games, besides their latest one, you could almost instantly identify there highly saturated colors in stuff like Heavenly sword, DmC or Enslaved. With Naughty Dog I can identify their stylised but very realistic character models or their very sharp, edgy environments in Uncharted.

With Bethesda, I recognize them because of how ugly and bland their games look.
 

Cap G

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,488
Bethesda games has probably the lowest head count of any major AAA studio I can think of.

These kinds of complaints are why bigger studios hire 600 people, crunch the shit out of them, and then lay them off.
 
saenima

saenima

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
11,892
Cap G said:
Bethesda games has probably the lowest head count of any major AAA studio I can think of.

These kinds of complaints are why bigger studios hire 600 people, crunch the shit out of them, and then lay them off.
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Art direction is about talent and taste, not head count. And even if it were, Bethesda can afford to hire and pay more people, without needing to crunch them.
 
ynthrepic

ynthrepic

Member
Oct 25, 2017
633
Cap G said:
Bethesda games has probably the lowest head count of any major AAA studio I can think of.

These kinds of complaints are why bigger studios hire 600 people, crunch the shit out of them, and then lay them off.
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Well, I guess now we cant find Bethesda games ugly or we support the tripple A crunch
 
Aters

Aters

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
7,948
Their games look very ugly yes. In fact Fallout 76 is the ugliest AAA game I've seen since Fallout 4.
 

Cap G

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,488
ynthrepic said:
Well, I guess now we cant find Bethesda games ugly or we support the tripple A crunch
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saenima said:
Art direction is about talent and taste, not head count. And even if it were, Bethesda can afford to hire and pay more people, without needing to crunch them.
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People in this thread are directly comparing them to the work of devs that have literally hundreds more workers.

And...good graphics aren't entirely about art unless you want to make something that's cel shaded or stylized. In the AAA space, you can't just "art" your way into having a good looking game in a realistic gritty setting.
 
Trickster

Trickster

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,533
When it comes to character models, probably. However I think their environments are pretty darn great

Overall I honestly think Ubisoft is significantly worse. All their big games just look so goddamn boring visually
 
Gundam

Gundam

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
12,801
Nah. The human models arent pretty but Skyrim's tone and art style is what makes it so immersive for me.
 
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