Fallout 4 Director: "Graphics Matter"

Fallout 4's graphics have been contentious since we saw the game's first trailer earlier this month. Now, the man in charge of the entire project has weighed in on the subject, stating that "graphics matter."

During a panel presentation this week at E3 2015, game director Todd Howard was asked about how Bethesda Game Studios has leveraged the power of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 for Fallout 4. Howard said better graphics help players to become more immersed in the virtual world in which they're playing.

"I think with each of our games, the graphics [are] always going to move along," Howard said. "Not just the graphics, but memory is important to us. How much memory it has. If we make a world that has, not just more details, but more dynamic details that we can keep track of and stream in and load quicker, all of that suspends your disbelief that this is a real world."

"The graphics matter, they do matter in suspending your disbelief," he added.

Also during the presentation, Howard was asked about the colorful world we saw in the Fallout 4 announcement trailer. Fallout being a post-apocalyptic series, seeing bright blue skies was something of a striking difference compared to Fallout 3, which was quite gray.

"Looking back at Fallout 3, there is a sameness to the environment," Howard said. "It can be, if you're playing the game for an eight-hour stretch, a little depressing."

Howard went on to stress that, while much of Fallout 4's world is bright and colorful, a section of the Fallout 4 map--where the bomb fell--will be a dark and dreary place, as you might expect.

Fallout 4 launches in November for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. We learned a lot more about the game this week at E3; check out some of the big stories below.

• Bethesda on New Fallout Mobile Game: "This Is Not About Making Money"
• Why Fallout 4 PC Mods are Coming to Xbox One Before PS4
• In Fallout 4, You Can't Kill Your Dog
• Fallout 4 and Fallout 3 Bundle Announced as Xbox One Exclusive at E3 2015