Interview TES MMORPG? It's possible, says Pete Hines

[Vault Dweller]

Tags: Bethesda Softworks; Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Bethesda's press-tour continues. The latest update comes from <a href=http://www.pro-g.co.uk>Pro G</a>, offering you an <a href=http://www.pro-g.co.uk/pc/the_elder_scrolls_iv_oblivion_shivering_isles/preview-347.html>interview</a> with Pete Hines:
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<blockquote><b>With the success of World of Warcraft, have you ever considered The Elder Scrolls online?</b>
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We get asked that a lot. The problem is that they are very different experiences. If you play Oblivion then everything you do in the world is about permanence - the world literally revolves around you. I finished that quest, it stays finished and if I kill someone he stays dead. With MMOs anything you do in World of Warcraft can be done by someone else two minutes later. That guy is going to respawn two minutes later and that other guy still needs a trinket even though you just gave it to him. <u>Certainly, there's a chance, it's something we've talked about</u>, but it's not anywhere in our immediate future. I don't think we could do an MMO unless it was with some fresh idea that no one has ever tried before. </blockquote>Fresh idea? I don't think we should worry about it then.
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[Perishiko]

The first MMO with radiant ai!

Take it to the max!

 

[Rumteldat]

Considering how buggy their single player games have been I'd hate to see how bad a MMORPG would be.

 

[Chinese Jetpilot]

Pro-G: How did you come up the title The Shivering Isles? It's quite different from the others, isn't it?

Pete Hines: That was actually a really long debate in our office. We went back and forth and round and round.

They really had their creative juices working to the MAX with that one.

Pro-G: Are there more Oblivion expansions on the horizon?

PH: No. This is the only one we've got. We did two for Morrowind but this one is slightly different in scope. We're finishing this one up, along with Oblivion on PS3, then moving to our next big project.

Oh God, no.

Pete Hines: If you play Oblivion then everything you do in the world is about permanence - the world literally revolves around you. I finished that quest, it stays finished and if I kill someone he stays dead. With MMOs anything you do in World of Warcraft can be done by someone else two minutes later. That guy is going to respawn two minutes later and that other guy still needs a trinket even though you just gave it to him.

Hey, make fun of Warcraft all you want, but at least a character can DIE in that game. Of all the times I played Morrowind and (groan) Oblivion, I never died unless I set out to do so.

Pete Hines: LET'S FACE IT...

 

[Journeyman]

Hey, make fun of Warcraft all you want, but at least a character can DIE in that game. Of all the times I played Morrowind and (groan) Oblivion, I never died unless I set out to do so.

Are you defending World Of Repetacraft on RPG Codex? eeek. Seems like an OK game in certain ways, but why does Blizzard refuse to put puzzles and decent traps in their dam slash games At least they could be the trap kings alongside fighting.

The only way they would be able to MMO TES is if they had a full fledged economy with selling homes and then it would change the game into a random deathmatch between cities although quests don't have to be interrupted. I just think they should redo Everquest more like OBL. Semi railrodeded quests with allot more freedom.
Actually if you put OBL in an MMO context it actually gets to be allot better of a game.

 

[Uz0rnaem]

The only things that differentiate Oblivion from any mediocre MMORPG are the lack of other players and the timed respawn, and of course Obl's awesome level scaling.

Everything else is already designed in a perfect MMORPG fashion. Wasn't that intentional? Didn't they even say they wanted Oblivion to be something like a "Single Player Massive Multiplayer Online RPG"?

 

[made]

You know it's a dark age for RPGs when every over newspost on the Codex features Bethesda interviews in one form or another.

Edit: Yay! Yet another Rapax brother! :twisted:

 

[Micmu]

Imagine a shitty, bland copy/paste world of theirs populated with ESF kiddies. o_O

 

[JarlFrank]

I still remember the good old times before the release of Oblivion, when there was still some voice of reason in the heads of Bethsoft's developers.
Back then they said they were never going to make an MMORPG in the world of TES.

Well, this was a time when Bethesda still made quite good stuff [Morrowind + Expansions], but now they are taking every chance of bringing out a new money cow which they can make, so the logical next step would be an MMORPG. Oh how happy the kiddies will be, no more searching your quest goal yourself like in the much too hard game WoW!

 

[hiciacit]

Like a kindergarten for ADHD kids :shock:

 

[Castanova]

I wouldn't mind a TES MMORPG because the budget would be so big, it would accelerate BethSoft's demise.

 

[Jim Kata]

How can we all be head of the wizard's guild at the same time, though?

 

[Journeyman]

Also people should remember MMOs took allot of ideas from TES as they became more popular this decade. Player housing, randomness etc.
But crafting was taken from Arcanum.

Also Vanguard seems pretty good as far as real dialog choices and puzzle solving choices but also I dont want TES to become MMO only

 

[Admiral Rimjob POOBUM]

How can we all be head of the wizard's guild at the same time, though?

Everyone is equal, comrade.

 

[Inziladun]

Also people should remember MMOs took allot of ideas from TES as they became more popular this decade. Player housing, randomness etc.
But crafting was taken from Arcanum.

Also Vanguard seems pretty good as far as real dialog choices and puzzle solving choices but also I dont want TES to become MMO only

What are you, an Idiot? You think MMOs took houses and 'randomness' from TES? And then you go on to say that Arcanum was the first game to have crafting?

For fuck's sake.

 

[kingcomrade]

How can we all be head of the wizard's guild at the same time, though?

You don't think they'll find a way? Have faith. Trust me, it'll be cool.

 

[suibhne]

The problem is that they are very different experiences. If you play Oblivion then everything you do in the world is about permanence - the world literally revolves around you.

Uh, really, no.

Well, I guess that's true in some sense - e.g., the invasion of Kvatch (and every other gate) can be left halfway through, and will remain at that delicate point for 100 hours of game-time (or, theoretically, forever...) if you don't come back and finish the job. Morrowind took the same approach (tho it didn't end up quite so ridiculous), which is probably why both games have been described as "single-player MMORPGs". They both have that feel of an old-school MMORPG where all gameworld content has no independent history or activity, instead depending entirely on the player as an impetus.

Otoh, tho, "the world literally revolves around you" is incredibly misleading because there are basically no consequences for your in-game choices. So yeah, it's true that the gameworld doesn't do anything until you tell it to go ahead, but it's also true that the gameworld doesn't respond logically to your actions in any case.

 

[Krafter]

I would think that it's pretty inevitable at this point. First chase the console $$$, then the MMORPG $$$.

 

[The Watchman]

I said all this long ago, honestly theres too much cash to be made on kiddie nobrained mmorpgs (see wow) for beth to ignore it.

 

[suibhne]

I said all this long ago, honestly theres too much cash to be made on kiddie nobrained mmorpgs (see wow) for beth to ignore it.

It's also probably something that would give ZeniMax a wet dream.

 

[suibhne]

My little ears perked up at this part of the interview:

PH: Nope, no mounts. By the time you make the trek to Sheogorath's palace, you've uncovered one or two camps or locations and all the quests will be in one of the surrounding quadrants so you don't have that far to go. We designed it so that there are lots of those waypoints, camps and dungeons. You have to do that first, hard slog. The problem with horses is that they take anything that feels really big and make it much smaller because you can get across it so fast. We were a little concerned about losing that sense of scale.

I smell the sweet scent of PR-speak bullshit. Anyone who's played Oblivion knows that A) running is (ridiculously) almost as fast as travelling on horseback; and B) fast-travel pretty much obviates any speed benefit from horsies. I understand that Beth might have wanted to focus on "that first, hard slog" that Pete mentions, but really, the implementation of horses is already so poor that they couldn't have made much of a difference.

 

[merry andrew]

With MMOs anything you do in World of Warcraft can be done by someone else two minutes later.

This is my favorite sentence.

 

[Jim Kata]

How can we all be head of the wizard's guild at the same time, though?

Everyone is equal, comrade.

...but some are more equal than others.

 

[Ahzaruuk]

Jaleena at ESF once said "The day I see a Dunmer in Full Daedric say LOL, I'll commit Seppuku"

I much share his sentiments.

 

[denizsi]

So here it comes, "TES: Tamriel Online". If you die in PVP, you'll simply respawn somewhere else, probably 10 steps further, at no loss. Teleportation will also be available as a public service in the gameworld, as they just have to provide "teh depth of singleplayer online". You'll be able to reset your character completely when you're bored with your current build. ADHD kids couldn't afford to start from scratch. You'll probably have to pay a relatively small amount and then redistribute points here and there. Upgraded supah compass, it points to everything; friends, foes, monsters, loot etc.

Holy shit, do you know what this means? Summer & co will rule Tamriel Online and ban players on her whim.

Pete Hines: That was actually a really long debate in our office. We went back and forth and round and round.

Gay porn. I knew it.