Interview Pete Hines talks to Guardian

[Vault Dweller]

Tags: Bethesda Softworks; Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

<a href=http://www.guardian.co.uk>Guardian</a> has noticed that interviews with Pete Hines are very trendy now, so they quickly put <a href=http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/games/archives/2007/02/22/oblivion_shivering_isles_the_interview.html>some questions</a> together:
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<blockquote><b>Talking of leveling, there has been some criticism about the leveling structure in Oblivion... What are your thoughts on this?</b>
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You do see different creatures based on what level you are, but they don't level to your level. We only level up boss creatures in certain cases, so it's not something that happens all the time. It's a fair comment, but the challenge is to try to make a game that allows you to go wherever you want and do whatever you want while also making sure that you can actually do something there. </blockquote>Which coincidentally removes all the challenge from the game. I'm playing Geneforge 4 now, and damn, the game is unforgiving. I have a list of places where I was forced to retreat from. Makes a huge difference.
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<blockquote><b>Oblivion is still a HARDCORE game, with little handholding, though it is more friendly than Morrowind (quick travel etc). How do you get the balance right between keeping your hardcore fans onboard and making the game more accessible?</b>
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Well, <u>the goal was to simply try to make a game that was more fun to play than Morrowind.</u> That's always a goal in every game we do: make it better than the last one. So there were a lot of little things we did much better in Oblivion than in Morrowind, and I think those things make the game more accessible, to anyone...not just one segment. The combat is more fun, information is handled better for quests, etc. <u>As far as the hardcore, it still has all that stuff for the hardcore folks. You want high character customisation, we have that. You want to obsess over numbers and stats, we got that. You want freeform role-playing where you can decide what your experience will be and how you want to play, we got that.</u> So the game is accessible for anybody, but how deep you want toget into it is up to the individual player. </blockquote>Fallout 3 is so doomed.
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[Elhoim]

OMFG, he is an idiot.

 

[Julio]

He is the future!

 

[Ion Flux]

I hate this.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

The Guardian? The fucking Guardian?! Hardcore is definitely different case to case.

 

[hiciacit]

the end is extremely fucking nigh

 

[suibhne]

the end is extremely fucking nigh

New sig material imo.

 

[denizsi]

Just remember where the retarded speech comes out from:

 

[One Wolf]

that dude on the right has a look of extreme mania. that man is not to be trusted. especially not with children.

 

[Admiral Rimjob POOBUM]

Just remember where the retarded speech comes out from:

I'm still trying to work out what was happening just below the level of the camera to make him assume that expression.

 

[Zomg]

I'm wondering how the ginger can keep his face in order while they're spinning in a 20G centrifuge.

 

[Admiral Rimjob POOBUM]

And while we're at it, what the fuck is that picture behind them of?

 

[DarkUnderlord]

the challenge is to try to make a game that allows you to go wherever you want and do whatever you want while also making sure that you can actually do something there.

You know how this has come about, don't you? A generation of game developers getting their arses spanked in video arcades with games that you could just never finish. You'd die and have to go back to the start only to repeat the process again and again. For those that did manage to persevere and finish it at least once, it was worth it. For those that couldn't handle it, they had no choice but to join Bethesda and make games that are so easy, a 2 year old could finish them purely by chance simply by mashing on the controller enough.

Oblivion is still a HARDCORE game, with little handholding

Did we both play the same game? Last I checked, my hand was held every step of the way in Oblivion.

Pop-up Message Box: "You have found the cave related to XYZ Quest. You should enter it."

Pop-up Message Box: "You have entered the cave. You must now find the altar to place the staff on."

Pop-up Message Box: "You have found the altar. You should place the staff on it."

Pop-up Message Box: "You have placed the staff on the altar. You should now return to so-and-so for your reward."

 

[Section8]

Guardian: Mr. Burns - your campaign seems to have the momentum of a runaway freight train. Why are you so popular?

 

[Vault Dweller]

Mr. Hines: There’s no single answer. Some people respond to my integrity. Others are more impressed by my honesty. Still others like my determination to make RPGs more accessible ...

 

[Bradylama]

It's hard to obsess over stats when their effects are negligible.

 

[Relien]

And while we're at it, what the fuck is that picture behind them of?

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/ ... arlJam.gif

EDIT:

10 more achievements for 250 points. In general, I think the idea is brilliant. I love it when it's really well implemented. I think Oblivion does a good job, because it continues to reward you for playing a little bit longer.

Am I missing something or does the "reward" here really mean getting some points that are completely unrelated to the rest of the game?

 

[Krafter]

Oblivion has little handholding? Oblivion? :shock:

 

[Texas Red]

Huh? How come you guys can quote early Simpson episodes?

 

[Lord Chambers]

Just remember where the retarded speech comes out from:
[/quote]
That's Todd Howard on the left, and some media person who interviewed him. Pete Hines, who is in the interview of this thread, is a different person.

[quote][b]One of the joys of Oblivion (and Morrowind) is wandering off the beaten track, seeing what is over that hill or round the corner. From a design point of view how do you marry this sense of freedom with a strong
narrative and a core story?[/b]

I actually think the strong narrative and core story play a vital role in that. You have a main quest and faction quests and all these other quests you know you can come back to and they're easy to pick up where you left off, so you're more comfortable with going to wander for a bit and see what's out there. I actually think more people got into the freeform aspect in Oblivion rather than Morrowind, because the quests are so much easier to get back to and keep track of. In Morrowind, it was sometimes hard to stay with the quest you were on as you were trying to do it, much less if you took a right turn in the middle of nowhere to check out a dungeon.[/quote]
What? How does his topic sentence relate to what he said at all? His answer is about the quest compass/popups/journal.


I feel the need to point out, just to voice what may go unvoiced here at the Codex, that at least the Bethesda crew has a clear design mantra in mind, which they apply to all aspects of their design. Notwithstanding the [i]claim[/i] that they appeal to hardcore and casual gamers alike, they did create something in Oblivion that does suit a large portion of the game world. And while we may call it dumbing down because we're elitist, their creation is consistant with their goals of absolute freedom from the restraints of past games in the genre. They let you go anywhere, whenever, with leveling, and have a journal that allows you to keep on point of exactly where you are in a quest. Their NPCs don't actually have memories, and the gameworld doesn't react to what you do, since such reactions could prohibit your freedom. For the experienced player, who has seen how fufilling these reactions are in games like Fallout or Arcanum, we know what's missing. For players without that background, they don't miss it so much.

The criticisms are valid, but don't mistake design [i]decisions[i/] for [i]stupidity[/i].

 

[Woetohice]

__

 

[Zero Credibility]

Pete Hines talks to Guardian
Todd Howard's quote of the day
TES MMORPG? It's possible, says Pete Hines
Pete Hines interview at Edge
Todd Howard snuggles up with Game Informer
Spong interviews the Father of Lies


Is it just me, or is the bethesda hype machine going into overdrive?

 

[Blacklung]

Shivering Isles is coming soon. They feel the need to bludgeon us with hype again, just in case their Oblivion junkies were starting to have withdraw symptoms, like facing reality.

 

[Micmu]

Is it just me, or is the bethesda hype machine going into overdrive?

Not just you.

...looks like mr. Howard donated to the Codex. :twisted:

 

[JarlFrank]

Well, <u>the goal was to simply try to make a game that was more fun to play than Morrowind.</u> That's always a goal in every game we do: make it better than the last one. So there were a lot of little things we did much better in Oblivion than in Morrowind, and I think those things make the game more accessible, to anyone...not just one segment. The combat is more fun, information is handled better for quests, etc. <u>As far as the hardcore, it still has all that stuff for the hardcore folks. You want high character customisation, we have that. You want to obsess over numbers and stats, we got that. You want freeform role-playing where you can decide what your experience will be and how you want to play, we got that.</u> So the game is accessible for anybody, but how deep you want toget into it is up to the individual player.

Where did he come up with that shit? This is one of the most blatant lies he ever uttered out of his fuckface. Did he even read the criticism of the fans? Everyone complained about the fucking compass. Everyone complained about the pop-up journal entries. With that what he says, he indirectly claims that all these "features" never existed.

I bet Fallout 3 will get the auto-walk feature. After starting a quest you get a window asking "Do you want to walk to the quest goal? Yes/No", and when you click yes, you are teleported to the goal. Oh, and when you die 3 times in a row when trying to defeat an enemy, there comes another window asking you "This enemy is obviously too hard for you. Do you want to kill him automatically? Yes/No" and clicking yes just kills him off.

But it is NOT handholding and still hardcore!!!