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Interview Todd Howard on Skyrim

VentilatorOfDoom

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Tags: Bethesda Softworks; Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

<p>Gamasutra <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/35678/Interview_Todd_Howard_On_Scope_Vision_Of_Skyrim.php" target="_blank">sat down with Todd Howard</a>, here's an excerpt:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>That's something too, that maybe some gamers don't understand when you have a game that big, that there will be "weirdness." Do you think there could ever be able to ship a game that squashes all of those bugs? Would you say <em>Skyrim</em> has less of that "weirdness" going on than your other games.</strong><br /> <br /> It matters how you define "weirdness." There's going to be some [weirdness], like the player did X, Y and Z that we didn't expect, and now he's attacking the town, sleeping in this guy's bed, he killed his wife [laughs]... We sort of learn each time how people play these games and experience them. So we get better each time, but we do at the end of the day sacrifice, say, a well-paced story. It's almost impossible for us to do. We'd rather let you go do whatever you want. So that's a sacrifice that we're willing to make.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p><strong>What about accessibility -- making <em>Skyrim</em> game that's inviting to people who might not play RPGs as much, and also the hardcore people who have been playing <em>The Elder Scrolls</em> since the beginning?</strong><br /> <br /> Honestly, it's not something that we think about a lot, in that we've found that we're getting a pretty big audience making a game that we want to make. We want to make it for whoever it is -- even if you've played Elder Scrolls before, you haven't played this one, so you don't understand what a skill does yet.<br /> <br /> ... We want to remove confusion, that's what I'd say. As opposed to making it more accessible, we'd like to remove confusion for anyone who's playing. What we're trying to do now is lead you into it more, where you're not going to try to start the game. In our games or others' games, they give you a character menu and say, 'Who do you want to be, what powers do you want." [Players think,] 'I don't know, I haven't played yet!"<br /> <br /> What happens in <em>Oblivion</em> is you start the game, play for three hours, and then think "I want to start over, I chose wrong." So we'd like to sort of alleviate some of that. I also think the controls work better [too] ... it's more elegant.<br /> <br /> You look at <em>Call of Duty</em>, the most popular game in the world, and that's actually pretty hardcore. At the end of the day, it's a hardcore game, has RPG elements in multiplayer, making classes picking perks. I think the audiences are there, and we tend to make our game more for ourselves and other people who play a lot of games.</p>
</blockquote>
 

Konjad

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We want to remove confusion

You look at Call of Duty, the most popular game in the world, and that's actually pretty hardcore. At the end of the day, it's a hardcore game, has RPG elements in multiplayer,
What happens in Oblivion is you start the game, play for three hours, and then think "I want to start over, I chose wrong."

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now he's attacking the town, sleeping in this guy's bed, he killed his wife [laughs]

I read this as killing a guy's wife, then sleeping on his bed in the wife's place. Funny / sad thing is that it's now a feature of the game.

What happens in Oblivion is you start the game, play for three hours, and then think "I want to start over, I chose wrong."

Considering the game gives you an entire dungeon before asking you if you're satisfied with the character, you'd have to pretty fucking indecisive...
 

BumChums

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By choose wrong means choosing an actual class, not just putting the least used skills as your main ones, right?
 

Bahamut

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What happens in Oblivion is you start the game, play for three hours, and then think "I want to start over, I chose wrong."

What really happens after 3 hours of gameplay is a feeling of sudden urge to uninstall that POS
 
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Todd Howard said:
Honestly, it's not something that we think about a lot, in that we've found that we're getting a pretty big audience making a game that we want to make.

I'm a Zenimax shareholder and I want this man fired immediately.

Todd Howard said:
Call of Duty

Nevermind.
 

ortucis

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You look at Call of Duty, the most popular game in the world, and that's actually pretty hardcore. At the end of the day, it's a hardcore game, has RPG elements in multiplayer,

Isn't the "most popular game in the world" another RPG called World of Warcraft?
 

G.O.D

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The bottom line of the whole interview:

We sort of learn each time how people play these games and experience them. So we get better each time, but we do at the end of the day sacrifice, say, a well-paced story. It's almost impossible for us to do. We'd rather let you go do whatever you want. So that's a sacrifice that we're willing to make.

More.. Sacrifice
More.. Removal of confusion
More.. Welcoming

So.. more.. of less..

Tommy_Cooper.jpg
 

Rivmusique

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You look at Call of Duty, the most popular game in the world, and that's actually pretty hardcore.
:lol: Enabler.

At the end of the day, it's a hardcore game, has RPG elements in multiplayer, making classes picking perks.
Just like Fallout. True RPG than.

I think the audiences are there, and we tend to make our game more for ourselves and other people who play a lot of games.
Skyrim is for the CoD audience. Should be :thumbsup:
 

Zarniwoop

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You look at <em>Call of Duty</em>, the most popular game in the world, and that's actually pretty hardcore. At the end of the day, it's a hardcore game, has RPG elements in multiplayer, making classes picking perks.

At the end of the day, it's a hardcore game, has RPG elements in multiplayer, making classes picking perks.

At the end of the day, it's a hardcore game, has RPG elements in multiplayer

:what:
 

Morkar Left

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Finally, we're only one step away before we can call Call of Duty a hardcore-rpg :love:
 

Mister Arkham

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So, when an Obsidian game ships with bugs and enough player freedom to cut off quests it's called "unplayable" but when a Bethesda game ships that way it's called "weirdness." You suck that big developer cock, Gamasutra.
 

commie

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Clockwork Knight said:
What happens in Oblivion is you start the game, play for three hours, and then think "I want to start over, I chose wrong."

Considering the game gives you an entire dungeon before asking you if you're satisfied with the character, you'd have to pretty fucking indecisive...

I read this as meaning that in Skyrim every class will be just as AWESUM as any other(read: same) from the start rather than after a few levels.
 

l3loodAngel

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Todd Howard said:
We sort of learn each time how people play these games and experience them. So we get better each time, but we do at the end of the day sacrifice, say, a well-paced story. It's almost impossible for us to do. We'd rather let you go do whatever you want. So that's a sacrifice that we're willing to make.
:bravo:
Am I the only one who thinks that you dont have to sarifice story to allow freedom. Besides how killing wife affects the fucking story?
 

felipepepe

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l3loodAngel said:
Am I the only one who thinks that you dont have to sarifice story to allow freedom. Besides how killing wife affects the fucking story?
No ideia. I could pretty much rape/kill the whole wasteland in Fallout, and then rape/kill The Master and finish the game.
 
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commie said:
Clockwork Knight said:
What happens in Oblivion is you start the game, play for three hours, and then think "I want to start over, I chose wrong."

Considering the game gives you an entire dungeon before asking you if you're satisfied with the character, you'd have to pretty fucking indecisive...

I read this as meaning that in Skyrim every class will be just as AWESUM as any other(read: same) from the start rather than after a few levels.

Illusion of choice, everything leading to the same outcome. Sounds a lot like the "real" world.
 

commie

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Reptilian Shapeshifter said:
commie said:
Clockwork Knight said:
What happens in Oblivion is you start the game, play for three hours, and then think "I want to start over, I chose wrong."

Considering the game gives you an entire dungeon before asking you if you're satisfied with the character, you'd have to pretty fucking indecisive...

I read this as meaning that in Skyrim every class will be just as AWESUM as any other(read: same) from the start rather than after a few levels.

Illusion of choice, everything leading to the same outcome. Sounds a lot like the "real" world.

Well the same outcome is death in the long run..though I don't think that's quite what the design of a class oriented(in theory) RPG should be based on.
 

Jezal_k23

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We might as well start calling TF2 hardcore too. It's just as complicated as CoD.
 

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