Interview Inside The Elder Scrolls

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: Bethesda Softworks

<p>OXM <a href="http://www.oxm.co.uk/26165/interviews/exclusive-inside-the-elder-scrolls/" target="_blank">got an interview</a> with Todd Howard concerning the Elder Scrolls franchise.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Were there any games in the series that suffered a particularly troubled development?</strong><br /><br />Oh yeah, all of them in some respect. We usually try to do too much, get ourselves in development trouble, and then back our way into a better game than the one we originally designed. We still push ourselves to try ideas out quickly, and not over think them on paper before we implement them. Fortunately, most of our staff has worked on the previous games too, so going through that process is just a natural state for us. We always feel like we're trying something new, seeing it work or not, and adding it, removing it, tweaking it. And then the hard decisions come, because your time is not infinite. But the staff here works incredibly hard. We want to feel like we did everything we possibly could before the game comes out.</p>
</blockquote>

 

[meh]

Thanks for the offer but we aren't doing any interviews right now.

 

[DraQ]

We usually try to do too much, get ourselves in development trouble

Well, I'm happy to see they've finally learned to curb their ambitions, beginning with oblivious.

Rather effectively too.

Thanks for the offer but we aren't doing any interviews right now.

Bethesda devs being lying scum?

I'm flabbergasted!

 

[Country_Gravy]

Skyrim is going to be the best piece of shit that Bethesda has ever created. They must have used this process when developing Radiant AI and the shadows for objects in the game world.

 

[Forest Dweller]

There have been a few Elder Scrolls spin-offs over the years. Would you ever like to see the universe in a different genre, or do you think it ceases to be Elder Scrolls if it's not an epic RPG?

I have various opinions on that depending on the day. Today, I feel like it's not Elder Scrolls unless it's a giant game where I can go where I want, be who I want, and do whatever I want. Depending on the platform, the year, or whatever, the form that idea takes could be different.

You passed Fallout: New Vegas to Obsidian, who did an excellent job. These days would you ever entrust an Elder Scrolls game to another development team?

We prefer to keep the stuff internal, but that's not always possible, and I honestly don't know what the future may hold. We're just focused on Skyrim right now.

He's hedging here.

Thanks for the offer but we aren't doing any interviews right now.

To be fair, this one is just talking about the Elder Scrolls in general and doesn't go into particulars about Skyrim. Which is not to say that they would do an interview with us, but I don't think the jury's out yet. If you think about it, they've barely released any info on the game right now, so a lot of questions people might have at the moment could be answered when they reveal the next big lump of information. With that in mind, it would make sense for them to wait until they've released more info on the game before they start doing interviews so as to not really waste time. That's my thought anyways. At the moment they seem to mostly be staying away from big press things, with a couple of exceptions like that one podcast Todd did as well as of course the GameInformer preview. In any case I think it's worth another shot to ask them for an interview after 2-3 months when they will have released more info.

 

[DwarvenFood]

what's this dicksmoker, don't you like your own questions anymore.. no despair, we just move on to the next target.
about skyrim, i don't see how it could be worse than da2 at this moment, but who knows - the ways of decline are many.

 

[Admiral jimbob]

about skyrim, i don't see how it could be worse than da2 at this moment, but who knows - the ways of decline are many.

Shit as they might be becoming, Bethesda's offerings are at least still games. I'm not even sure what to call Bioware's "strip out every gameplay element so vegetable people aren't missing out on anything" turds.

 

[ortucis]

The only reason I completed Oblivion once was the fucking level scaling. I enjoyed Fallout 3 so if they don't fuck up the scaling in Skyrim, I'll enjoy it.

 

[Cimmerian Nights]

Todd's so candid in his incompetence.

 

[Turisas]

The only reason I completed Oblivion once was the fucking level scaling.

You... liked the level scaling?

 

[Kz3r0]

There have been a few Elder Scrolls spin-offs over the years. Would you ever like to see the universe in a different genre, or do you think it ceases to be Elder Scrolls if it's not an epic RPG?

I have various opinions on that depending on the day. Today, I feel like it's not Elder Scrolls unless it's a giant game where I can go where I want, be who I want, and do whatever I want. Depending on the platform, the year, or whatever, the form that idea takes could be different.

Q:What defines Tes as an RPG in your opinion?

Q:Are you planning to make TES more action oriented as the actual trend is or focus more on RPG's mechanics?

Q:In this case which mechanics will you like to implement and which will you think can be expanded further?

You passed Fallout: New Vegas to Obsidian, who did an excellent job. These days would you ever entrust an Elder Scrolls game to another development team?

We prefer to keep the stuff internal, but that's not always possible, and I honestly don't know what the future may hold. We're just focused on Skyrim right now.

The only questions the hivemind has interest in:

Q:For your Fallout 3 expansions, Fallout:New Vegas and Dead Money,you employed an external studio, Obsidian, involving many of the original developers of Fallout, are you satisfied with the final result?

Q:The codex was overtly pleased by it, so, are you considering more collaborations with them in the future, as the Codex hopes?

Q:If so, will they be limited only to the Fallout franchise or will involve other Bethesda 's IPs?

 

[Genma:TheDestroyer]

Shit as they might be becoming, Bethesda's offerings are at least still games. I'm not even sure what to call Bioware's "strip out every gameplay element so vegetable people aren't missing out on anything" turds.

 

[~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸-AIN'T]

Shit as they might be becoming, Bethesda's offerings are at least still games. I'm not even sure what to call Bioware's "strip out every gameplay element so vegetable people aren't missing out on anything" turds.

Implying they aren't already shit?

 

[DraQ]

Shit as they might be becoming, Bethesda's offerings are at least still games. I'm not even sure what to call Bioware's "strip out every gameplay element so vegetable people aren't missing out on anything" turds.

Implying they aren't already shit?

They are become shit, destroyers of RPGs.

 

[ortucis]

The only reason I completed Oblivion once was the fucking level scaling.

You... liked the level scaling?

WHAT? Fuck no. What I didn't post was that I re-installed the game like 50 times hoping to finish it, but never did. I kept uninstalling it over and over until one dark day I accidently completed it. I remember some Godzilla fight at the end but whatever.

 

[DragoFireheart]

Shit as they might be becoming, Bethesda's offerings are at least still games. I'm not even sure what to call Bioware's "strip out every gameplay element so vegetable people aren't missing out on anything" turds.

Implying they aren't already shit?

They are become shit, destroyers of RPGs.

Their existence allowed Fallout: New Vegas to be created. They can be tolerated for now.

 

[Luzur]

maybe we would have gotten a Fallout with a better engine if someone else had gotten the rights.

 

[Dantus12]

At least some self criticism, it can lead to improvement .
Their games sometimes seemed like huge experiments and lacked focus.
If they stay away from the :"Moar Cinematic experience," maybe they will manage to keep the game focused, after the years of rather positive collaborations with others.

This is somehow OT but didn't want to start a new topic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egrlzkKa6O8

It's a very interesting approach :D

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