Any Ideas for the Next Elder Scroll Game?

[ziitch]

I think the first thing they need to do is reorganize themselves before they even start VI. After giving us very, very shallow renditions of what was promised to us in Skyrim, perhaps they should just focus on figuring out what people want most in the core game instead of assuming that the next game just has to appear more epic than the last.

 

Another thing they need to do is solve the "stressed vs. fair" elf appearance debacle that's been introduced between Oblivion and Skyrim. There are those who want brow ridges and looks that appear like they could take a blow to the face or two (and have), and then there are those who for the most part want the fair, Tolkien-esque looks that in part came from Oblivion (which itself and Skyrim was based upon several locations of LOTR). Easy way to do it? Basically, your commoners are rough and dirty while most mages, high-class, and noble elves are going to appear much fairer, with perhaps some switcharounds to complement a character's personality.

 

Oh, another step is to stop using LOTR for major inspiration. It might be fine for the nations built by men, but what is left has been established by mer and beasts, and you know people want surreal yet realistic environments for the mer nations (and maybe Black Marsh).

 

And, I know this might be tough for them to do, but perhaps it's time to bring in someone new to write the stories and lore for the new game - People who care about the dialog and dimensions of the characters have been, for the most part, disappointed in Skyrim's dialogue and choreography, as in if the whole thing being acted out was done by puppets. Maybe it's best to invest in some rigourous mocap in the next game. Voice acting also needs help; you can bring in all those actors, but they are useless when the dialog is disorganized. Someone heard one actor state how difficult it was to go from one line to another due to the change in emotion - Right off the bat, this should have been a red light and that lines of dialog needed to be re-recorded or downright rewritten in order to preserve the flow of conversation and cohesion behind the topics. And good talent isn't always needed - I'm sure there were a few people around in development that would have been happy to try and do some voice acting to give more variety to races and people, all at a low cost (their hourly rate).

 

And finally... Let's not give release dates. Perhaps if the core game was completed, and the extra stuff that wouldn't be complete by that deadline was instead left out in favor of tweaking the initial experience, but included (and with better depth) in a later patch, it would be better revered by those who wish to experience the game story-wise and have little care towards how much you are given to explore.

 

In fact, Bethesda is actually at quite an impasse when you think about it - You've got three types of audiences that you need to appease, and for a series that has attracted all three, the next one will be next-to-impossible to develop... Unless they stop trying to appease one of them.

 

The first is those who play RPGs purely for the exploration, This is done in spades by Skyrim, but the end reward is one that, after a while, disappoints and no longer provides a real purpose for these players. Realistically, the same can be said about challenge, as the leveling system can provide some challenge that is for the most part defeated once you max out three or four skills. It's like Bethesda believes that a dungeon or ruins full of insanely difficult beasts or characters is supposed to be taboo, and that having to turn back and wait until you are tougher equals defeat for that player.

 

The second - and one I have well-covered in what they desire - are those who play for the story, and explore in order to mold the story their way and develop character interactions and relations. It seems that Bethesda has missed the mark on this since Morrowind, where they have traded in the alien landscape and fantastical characters that are yet grounded in reality for Oblivion's "world in denial". After fans noted how generic and out-of-place Oblivion's artistic theme felt, and that the story progression did very little to reflect the situation at hand upon the world and its citizens, they then redacted that decision in Skyrim's artistic theme, where the world's situation was visible and reflected by the theme, but ended up once again making (again, this is of those who desire a story being their source of entertainment) a tale that was in the end shallow and take place in a world that was also shallow - As for one, generic, oft-stereotypical groups were once again abound. For instance, note how many people you meet used to be ex-bandits, but yet none of the current ones you "meet" have no story on themselves or their band (except for one bandit chief), not even to the point where they could let you join their group or be stripped of your items and taken prisoner if knocked unconscious - These are options and conditions Bethesda should explore in the next game, to add reasonable purpose towards these groups that we've killed so many times. And then there's the lore, which many either hate the new additions or feel that the addition of new lore only redacts or contradicts old lore in the older games, despite the passage of time and no reason given to the changed elements, other than that they were ignored.

 

The third interest in TES is roleplay, and all in all this is what Skyrim does best. You're allowed to be what you want for the most part, and the game doesn't necessarily revolve around what your character does. What's probably best here is if Bethesda expands the available character rewards and routes here, and make it possible for new systems to come into play in order to expand roleplay. Don't like how a guild handles things? Make your own! Do you want to play as a merchant? Well then, why risk your hide trying to find relics to sell at high prices? Hire some mercs and let them loot some ruins in exchange for a share of the loot and some pay while you are running the shop! Perhaps you're out to get rich on your popularity - Become a socialite and then lie, cheat, and steal your way into prosperity! TES needs to be a world that's alive in order for roleplay to function properly, and because I said of the problems above, they aren't helping TES surpass this situation.

 

When you've got three audiences like that, of course it's going to be near impossible to appease them all, and more likely, if you even tried, you could more than likely disappoint them all. If they really want to retain all three, then it's more than likely to take over a decade of development for it to appease a majority of them. But then this question resides - Would Zenimax approve of such a long development cycle? After seeing EA's failure with Medal of Honor after putting millions of dollars into the game, it's likely that a development cycle over a decade long would take up just as much if not double that amount of money and could very well not end up very profitable even after reaching millions in sales. However, there is that other option, where they have to choose which one of the audiences to "axe", and disappoint that audience so much with the next game that they never return to the series, leaving them with a much more manageable two goal audiences. Choosing which one should go definitely is a tough decision, but the result is that there would many less balls in the air that they have to juggle.

 

All in all, the setting can wait - Once the mechanics are down-set and the goals made clear (and to never again promise any additions that are pending [or just fire Pete Hines]), and the prevalent problems that have occurred are dealt with, TES has got a very rough road to travel that it made for itself.

Edited December 22, 2012 by ziitch

[ginnyfizz]

I hope they fire whoever was responsible for the Skyrim half cooked character generation. We have been on about this in Apachii's mod thread. In Oblivion you could add as many hairs and eyes as you liked provided you either added them to your custom race, or to your main cosmetic mod for the vanilla races. The Skyrim chargen throws a hissy fit if you do this no matter how powerful a rig you have. I would also like to see more detailed face sliders back. I never play melee characters so I see no reason for them to have a boxer's nose, as often happens with Skyrim.

[Passb]

I hope they fire whoever was responsible for the Skyrim half cooked character generation. We have been on about this in Apachii's mod thread. In Oblivion you could add as many hairs and eyes as you liked provided you either added them to your custom race, or to your main cosmetic mod for the vanilla races. The Skyrim chargen throws a hissy fit if you do this no matter how powerful a rig you have. I would also like to see more detailed face sliders back. I never play melee characters so I see no reason for them to have a boxer's nose, as often happens with Skyrim.

 

As much as people complained about how ugly the faces were in Oblivion, they are excellent when compared to Skyrim. Every face in Skyrim felt like it was "dirty" with too many dark spots, leaving them feeling unpolished and rigid. I know there are plenty of facial overhauls that make the faces more detailed but it should have been that way with initial release.

[ziitch]

Again, depends on the person, and the type of fantasy you prefer. TES is the kind of fantasy that's grounded in reality, where things like dirt and blood exist - Unlike the typical fairytale fantasy where everyone good is beautiful and has the perfect skin and figure, and rarely to never get dirty (even when they do work is very dirty), while the evil are all ugly and have wrinkles and distorted, crooked bodies, and look like they haven't washed in months.

[ginnyfizz]

Yes I know all about the fact that reality can be a little dirty and smelly, not to mention bloody - being a countrywoman I've seen plenty of all of that. Therefore I am not particularly interested in seeing it in a FANTASY game. If I want to see a face that's a little frayed around the edges, I can always look in the mirror, hehe.

[AnubisRaven]

I hope they fire whoever was responsible for the Skyrim half cooked character generation. We have been on about this in Apachii's mod thread. In Oblivion you could add as many hairs and eyes as you liked provided you either added them to your custom race, or to your main cosmetic mod for the vanilla races. The Skyrim chargen throws a hissy fit if you do this no matter how powerful a rig you have. I would also like to see more detailed face sliders back. I never play melee characters so I see no reason for them to have a boxer's nose, as often happens with Skyrim.

 

As much as people complained about how ugly the faces were in Oblivion, they are excellent when compared to Skyrim. Every face in Skyrim felt like it was "dirty" with too many dark spots, leaving them feeling unpolished and rigid. I know there are plenty of facial overhauls that make the faces more detailed but it should have been that way with initial release.

 

I find a little dirt quite preferable to the faces in Oblivion. It's Skyrim, a vast, kind of Game of Thrones type place. There's supposed to be a little dirt.

 

Also, I'm perfectly happy with the character creator. The one in Oblivion managed to be perfectly complex, but only in that the harder and harder you tried to use it, the worse your character looked. The one think I would like back from the Oblivion character creator would be the age slider.

 

One thing for the next Elder Scrolls though. Classes. Not necessarily as rigid as Morrowind or even Oblivion, but at least building blocks there so that you can at least try to plan out what your character will become.

Edited December 28, 2012 by AnubisRaven

[Roviakin71]

How about playable Dremora who have been rendered mortal after an incident that they lost memories of. They would have bonus in Heavy Armor and Destruction magic, however they would be hated by all of the other races