New article about ES:6!!!

[ModHoward]

DO NOT READ THIS ARTICLE. IT AND ITS AUTHOR HAS BEEN BANNED AT BETHESDA.COM

 

This is part three of a two-part article on Elder Scrolls 6 with an interview by none other than Todd Howard, himself!

 

 

Todd: We scaled the new game down so people would find it easier to jump on board but we left the open gameplay and customization that our regular players have come to lvoe in the ES series.

 

GI: In your scaling down, you mentioned that you have only one race...

 

TH: Yes, in order to avoid confusion in gamers that are just jumping on board, there is one race now: the Karorcelfman. In the story, all races were merged into one race during the Nirnroot crises that took place 100 years after the events of Skyrim. This race has the ears of a khajitt, the tail of an argonian, fangs of an orc, height of a nord, skin color of a redguard, eyes of a dunmer, chin of an imperial, thyroid of a bosmer, and the brains of a breton.

 

GI: But that's...

 

TH: And you can customize the heck out of this race, believe me!!!

 

GI: Like what?

 

TH: You can change the eye color!

 

GI: That--that's it?

 

TH: But there are six different color of eyes!

 

GI: OK...What about skills.

 

TH: Now there are three. Magic, STealth and Combat. And you can level them up however you want.

 

GI: Are those categories of skills?

 

TH: No, they are the skills. It's more simple that way and allows for more customization.

 

GI: So, no more destruction, restoration, heavy armor, sneak and the rest, just three skills.

 

TH: Yes, that way you can play in whatever way you wish to play. It's all up to you!

 

GI: Well, what can you tell us about armor and weapons?

 

TH: We want to be able to have big battles with lots of characters so all armor is one piece now, but there are many different varieties of armor and each one comes with it's own weapon which you will use when you wear that armor. This way we can script the combat to perfectly match what you and your opponents are wearing.

 

GI: Ahhhh, give me an example.

 

TH: For instance, you kill a bandit and take his equipment. He has a leather armor/bow combination. You equip this set and now the game engine tailors your next encounter to what you are wearing and using.

 

GI: What if I want to use a sword with leather armor?

 

TH: That's the great thing! We have a set of leather armor with a sword, and one with an axe. See its completely customizable! You can wear and use what you want.

 

GI: How about spells?

 

TH: In Oblivion, we only had one person doing animations for spells. In Skyrim, it was that same person. Now, we have twelve people handling the animations for spells. Each one has created a unique and special animation for each spell effect.

 

GI: What are some of the spells we can expect?

 

TH: Well, you can hurt somebody. You can heal somebody. You can protect somebody. The list goes on and on.

 

GI: That's pretty vague. Is there lightning, fire, and different types of harmful spells still?

 

TH: Oh, you will light up the night with those, but only from scrolls. In our effort to sell more games, we have done away with the whole list of spell effects. Why do people want to try to remember if fire burns or cold freezes, right? The spells you cast harm, heal, protect and do simple things like that. If you find a scroll, then you have the choice of using it to produce fire or lightning, but you are not burdened with any need for thought like you were in our past games. You can sell the scroll if thinking hurts your head or you can use it to see some shiny lights. It's all up to you! There is something here for our new players AND our long-time players.

 

GI: So in Skyrim, you removed spell-making, and now you are basically removing spells?

 

TH: That is right. We've made this game much better, easier to understand and play. The instruction manual is two pages and we still had space for a picture of a Karorcelfman! People these days don't want to worry about things that they have to think about. They want fast fun brainless action. ACTION! ACTION! ACTION! First-person ACTION!

 

(At this point, Todd jumps onto his chair and starts hopping up and down)

 

GI: So you are making the Elder Scrolls series to be more in line with the current popularity of shooters on the market.

 

(Todd climbs down and adjusts his collar)

 

TH: No, we are our own unique game. What made the ES series what it is, is how the player is able to take the time to craft his character the way he wants and then play the character in that very way.

 

GI: Yet it seems you've taken so much of that ability away. Now they pick one race, no class or defining attributes, just three skills, and a generic magic system.

 

TH: You don't see the bigger picture here. If we were to make another Morrowind, would I be able to buy another house? See?

 

GI:Speaking of houses, will they and relationships be featured in this game.

 

TH: With limits. Christians complained about the ablity to have a same-sex marriage in Skyrim, so we have changed the marriage system. If you are a boy character, there is a nice girl in the village of Ducktail waiting for you. If you play a girl, then your man is in the village of Hairnet. You can also buy houses, and we are going to have some DLC that will feature House Armor.

 

GI: House Armor?

 

TH: Yes, to protect your house from the giants that are ravaging the land.

 

GI: So house armor could be an important part of the story?

 

TH: (Laughs) Let's just say that King Whatshisname will wish to have upgraded his!

 

GI: Will you be releasing another creation kit or construction set with this game?

 

TH: Yes, how else are we going to improve the next game if we don't see what the modders do with this one?

 

GI: Well, I'm sure you have some good ideas of your own, but tell me, will the rain be fixed in this new game? In all the old ones, it right through the ceilings of whatever you stood under.

 

TH: Right, I am really excited about our development there. We have come up with dynamic rainfall. You will see rain sheet off of a roof and dribble down glass windows.

 

GI: That's pretty cool!

 

TH: EVery raindrop is going to have a life of its own. You can follow it all the way down a wall to the puddle on the ground that it finally merges with.

 

GI: The game tracks every raindrop?

 

TH: Yes, every one and there can be thousands on the screen, especially if you our in the wilderness looking off into the distance. If you see a puddle at the furthest view of your vision, you can be sure that it has formed because of the raindrops that the game engine caused to fall from the clouds in the sky. Of course, we are working on the FPS drop during storms because the XBox 720 will be challenged to run the game during a storm.

 

GI: Are you building the game more for computer or console players?

 

TH: Well, its the console players we are after. Not only because they make up most of the purshasing power of our games, but we know that our loyal computer players are smart enough to mod the game to their wishes. We know they can insert true customization, the freedom to role-play, smart dialogue, improved combat, smarter AI, more variety in spells and armor, engrossing quests, more appropriate fonts, literally anything they want.

 

GI: I see, well what can you tell me about DRM and protecting this game from piracy.

 

TH: Oh we have found that using Steve is very effective for that.

 

GI: Steve? You mean Steam?

 

TH: No, Steve. You can't play the game unless our intern Steve is there to check your receipt first.

 

GI: That seems highly improbable.

 

TH: No, it works!

 

GI: Well, thank you, Todd. You have been much more open than usual...for better or worse.

 

TH: I'm just excited about this game. I can't wait to play it myself!

[malevolentraven]

This was quite entertaining, just out of curiosity are you amongst the people who are crying foul that the game is to simple or are you just exaggerating upon this as a view at how they are acting, or how the creators seems to be going? Just curious.

[hector530]

too bad skyrim is way more complex and deeper then oblivion leave troll

[ModHoward]

I only do this because I love the ES series and its creators and I listen to the ES community. I agree with some things that people cry foul over and I don't agree with other things. Either way, I wish to poke a little fun at these things. The dumbing down of the ES games, for instance. I am completely hypocritical here because I didn't even come on board the ES series until Oblivion and that was because of the mass appeal it was generating. However, then I played Morrowind and I listened to the old timers who have been around since the early early days, so I set it up as a joke. So, I am also making fun of myself because I didn't play until Bethesda started "dumbing down".

Unfortunately, the people at Bethesda cannot take a joke and they have taken the thread and my account offline. Oh well.

[hector530]

the way i see it you're either VERY misinformed or a troll, pick one.

[stormguy85]

I won't lie, the raindrop part was pretty much hilarious.

 

That being said, if the author is actually taking the subtle (lol) criticisms seriously, he doesn't have a clue.

 

Still amusing either way though.

[ModHoward]

What if I'm a misinformed troll?

[TroloWiseEared]

I like it....it made me cy inside...but i like it. i agree...to some degree.

HA! im a poet.

& i didnt even know it.

HA! :psyduck:

[Valamyr]

LMAO :)

[natelovesyou]

the way i see it you're either VERY misinformed or a troll, pick one.

I thought it was quite funny! I had a good laugh, it's all in good fun. All in all, Skyrim will be a great game, I feel it's okay to poke fun at things once in a while. :tongue: