Elder Scrolls The Elder Scrolls VI - officially announced but you'll have to wait

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

Monarch is very "Bethesda on a budget."

What's this Monarch game?

He's referring to Monarch the settlement in Outer Worlds.

As an aside, I don't necessarily think a game needs to be a seamless open world to be 'bethesda-like', and actually prefer games that aren't. One of the bigger issue with Bethesda games is that cities always end up feeling extremely underwhelming, they'd be better off simply representing them as a portion of the city if they can' do the full thing so that it doesn't kill the believability of it.

Their open worlds have been so nothing post-Morrowind they'd be better off making big cities areas like the Assassin's Creed games did, then once you get to a certain point it just kicks you out to a world map so you can fast travel. They could still have you randomly coming upon enemies to fight and places to explore, and they could give a far greater sense of scale to both the cities and areas they do build in 3D and the world as a whole. I mean, when you're using a world map to travel like in Fallout or NEO Scavenger you can put two giant kingdoms weeks apart from each other and not have it become tedious, in Elder Scrolls they're just a jog apart. I'd guess the vast majority of players use fast travel in their games once they can already anyways to skip the monotony of their fucking boring open worlds, and the way they do fast travel (which unlike the old Fallout games doesn't have random encounter, making it too safe) as an afterthought sucks.

Although I'm really interested to see how they respond to all the open world games that've come in the last few years. You just know they're going to drop the ball. But how spectacularly hard will they drop it?

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

Are Bethesda Gaming Studios too big to fail, because of the success of Skyrim? If Starfield is a disaster then that will be their second in a row after Fallout 76. Fallout 4 was a disgusting turd but probably sold well.

Bethesda Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks, and ZeniMax Media all kind of just seem to be one thing with different names, so probably. I guess if they keep shitting the bed there could be changes at Game Studios, but they're a private company so there might have to be some big hard shits for something like that to happen.

I'd also guess that Bethesda Game Studios does not spend a lot on the actual development of their game, (as far as budgets go) and they get pretty good returns on their games.

 

[Ol' Willy]

I got the impression that its his "dream game"

"Tod Howard's dream game": man, it sounds scarier than "testicular removal with a rusty butcher knife". How bad could it be?

 

[Hobo Elf]

They're probably building TES6 to be a game that can be milked for an entire generation, which is why it's taking so long. There was a interview somewhere where either Todd or Pete said that they really regret not doing that with Skyrim given how well it sold. Unrelated but funny shit to consider: the release times between Skyrim and TES6 is going to be longer than the time between Morrowind and Skyrim. They sure have been taking their sweet time, and even stranger is that no other company has stepped in to steal their thunder and audience.

 

[Whipped Cream]

Honestly, if Zenimax were smarter they would have tried to turn one of their secondary studios (Arcane would be the obvious choice) into a studio that makes Fallout: New Vegas-type spin-off games for the Fallout and Elder Scrolls franchises in between the numbered installments. If these spin-offs were good then you make a ton of money. Surpassing Bethesda Maryland in quality is not that difficult, even Obsidian manged to do so (Shots fired). If its bad, then you still make a lot of money and can just excuse yourself by saying "Hey, that wasn't a numbered installment. It was just a spin-off outsourced to one of our secondary studios. The next numbered installment by our main studio will be amazing!" Instead their secondary studios are working on weird games like Rage 2, Deathloop and Wolfenstein: Youngblood that not a single human being on the planet are exited about, while it looks like 10 years will pass between a single-player Fallout/Elder Scrolls game and the next single-player Fallout/Elder Scrolls game, which is kind of bizarre for a company that seams to like money so much.

 

[DalekFlay]

As an aside, I don't necessarily think a game needs to be a seamless open world to be 'bethesda-like', and actually prefer games that aren't. One of the bigger issue with Bethesda games is that cities always end up feeling extremely underwhelming, they'd be better off simply representing them as a portion of the city if they can' do the full thing so that it doesn't kill the believability of it.

My favorite style is Deus Ex type city hub areas for exploration and the more linear but still somewhat open zones for missions/quests. However Bethesda absolutely do focus on having one big world, and scaling so you can walk any direction at any time. So to be "bethesda-like" you have to embrace that to some degree at least.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

As an aside, I don't necessarily think a game needs to be a seamless open world to be 'bethesda-like', and actually prefer games that aren't. One of the bigger issue with Bethesda games is that cities always end up feeling extremely underwhelming, they'd be better off simply representing them as a portion of the city if they can' do the full thing so that it doesn't kill the believability of it.

My favorite style is Deus Ex type city hub areas for exploration and the more linear but still somewhat open zones for missions/quests. However Bethesda absolutely do focus on having one big world, and scaling so you can walk any direction at any time. So to be "bethesda-like" you have to embrace that to some degree at least.

Main cities of Skyrim and oblivion are behind loading screens though

 

[Zombra]

However Bethesda absolutely do focus on having one big world, and scaling so you can walk any direction at any time.

This is why Starfield is doomed to fail. They don't see it. The entire premise is based on being able to look through windows

 

[rusty_shackleford]

However Bethesda absolutely do focus on having one big world, and scaling so you can walk any direction at any time.

This is why Starfield is doomed to fail. They don't see it. The entire premise is based on being able to look through windows

For all we know it could end up having little to do with space at all but just about visiting various planets

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

Honestly, if Zenimax were smarter they would have tried to turn one of their secondary studios (Arcane would be the obvious choice) into a studio that makes Fallout: New Vegas-type spin-off games for the Fallout and Elder Scrolls franchises in between the numbered installments. If these spin-offs were good then you make a ton of money. Surpassing Bethesda Maryland in quality is not that difficult, even Obsidian manged to do so (Shots fired). If its bad, then you still make a lot of money and can just excuse yourself by saying "Hey, that wasn't a numbered installment. It was just a spin-off outsourced to one of our secondary studios. The next numbered installment by our main studio will be amazing!" Instead their secondary studios are working on weird games like Rage 2, Deathloop and Wolfenstein: Youngblood that not a single human being on the planet are exited about, while it looks like 10 years will pass between a single-player Fallout/Elder Scrolls game and the next single-player Fallout/Elder Scrolls game, which is kind of bizarre for a company that seams to like money so much.

If they were smart they'd have had Arcane make some kind of Elder Scrolls game after the first Dishonored and instead of having Avalanche and id making Rage 2 it would've been Fallout: Something since that's the post-apocalyptic series they own people actual know. But I get the general feeling that Bethesda doesn't want other people making their games, even when one of their games is something they snatched from someone else.

 

[Yosharian]

It isn't about being smart, it's about making money in the most efficient way possible. And they're doing very well at that.

The mistake here is assuming that Beth's goal is to make games, when it's actually to make money. If they can make more money re-releasing Skyrim while milking money from idiots dumb enough to subscribe to ESO, then that's a far better strategy than actually making a new Elder Scrolls game.

 

[Ranarama]

It'll be garbage, they've screwed up the interesting lore and have no interest in the RPG aspects or mechanics of the one good TES game.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

It isn't about being smart, it's about making money in the most efficient way possible. And they're doing very well at that.

The mistake here is assuming that Beth's goal is to make games, when it's actually to make money. If they can make more money re-releasing Skyrim while milking money from idiots dumb enough to subscribe to ESO, then that's a far better strategy than actually making a new Elder Scrolls game.

When I say "if they were smart" I am talking money. Something called Fallout is going to make more money than Rage 2, because Fallout is the more well know popular brand. Likewise, Arcane doing what they do under the Elder Scrolls brand is going to do better than a second Dishonored game, and them doing something under the Fallout banner would do better than something that just got the title of a game from a decade previous that I don't think many people even really played. The Rage 2 one makes the least sense too. With the others you could say: Well, they're trying to grow different brands. And it's like yeah, ok, whatever. But with Rage 2 it's like: You already have a post-apocalyptic series, it's called Fallout, and it's the biggest one on the market...why the fuck are you trying to grow a second one?

 

[Yosharian]

I'm saying that they are making more money from ESO + Skyrim than they would from releasing a new ES game.

No doubt in their minds they are worried that a new ES game would mean players stop subbing to ESO.

Hell even I considered trying out ESO this past year, and that game is a giant turd + I hate tab target MMOs.

This all makes sense from a money perspective if you think about it. Artistically and creatively, no, but financially? Hell yes.

As for Fallout, they already shat out a Fallout game recently and they're trying to harvest the maximum amount of profits from that. No way they're going to give the licence to someone else so they can watch the already low FO76 player base migrate to another game.

You guys are stuck thinking about this like an actual developer who enjoys making games. If you think like an executive who makes $600k a year plus bonuses based on profits, then suddenly who gives a shit about anything but profit, and FO76 and ESO are massive earners (yes even FO76 because it cost almost nothing to make).

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Even Fallout 4 looks like a masterpiece next to Rage 2, I wouldn't be surprised if Todd told them to shove it if they tried to release Rage 2 as a Fallout title.

within the first 5 minutes you're the wasteland chosen one who is the only one with the all powerful suit of armor whose previous owner just had his head bitten off and everyone else who had similar armor is apparently dead and you have to find people who can help you do something or other because your dead aunt-mother-person talked to you after she died because she knew with 100% certainty that she would die, you'd get the armor, and open the vault to find her digital ghost and tells you exactly what you need to do
none of this is an exaggeration

It is Ubisoft Formula: The Game.
The actual ""story"" can be completed in like 3 hours. All there is for you to do is just go to point of interests on the map and complete the objective. That's the entire game.

 

[DeepOcean]

It is Ubisoft Formula: The Game.
The actual ""story"" can be completed in like 3 hours. All there is for you to do is just go to point of interests on the map and complete the objective. That's the entire game.

Not even that, Ubisoft games generally have top art direction and at least the main quest is playable and some side activities can be fun like the boat in Black Flag, Rage 2 is the worst garbage I ever saw.

 

[DeepOcean]

and FO76 and ESO are massive earners (yes even FO76 because it cost almost nothing to make).

To people here that have any hope for humanity, Peter Hines claimed they were surprised with the amount of people that decided to pay for the Fallout First subscription on Fallout 76, when the only thing Bethesda offered for 100 dollars a year, was some lame ass skin ripping of New Vegas (Fallout 3 and 4 are so generic that the only iconic thing they can find are on the Fallout games they didnt made), the undervalued make believe currency that cant buy crap on their store and a cheat for infinite inventory space. You guys forget that there are people still giving money to Star Citizen.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

and FO76 and ESO are massive earners (yes even FO76 because it cost almost nothing to make).

To people here that have any hope for humanity, Peter Hines claimed they were surprised with the amount of people that decided to pay for the Fallout First subscription on Fallout 76, when the only thing Bethesda offered for 100 dollars a year, was some lame ass skin ripping of New Vegas (Fallout 3 and 4 are so generic that the only iconic thing they can find are on the Fallout games they didnt made), the undervalued make believe currency that cant buy crap on their store and a cheat for infinite inventory space. You guys forget that there are people still giving money to Star Citizen.

pfft yeah who would pay for that what losers

 

[Morality Games]

They're probably building TES6 to be a game that can be milked for an entire generation, which is why it's taking so long. There was a interview somewhere where either Todd or Pete said that they really regret not doing that with Skyrim given how well it sold. Unrelated but funny shit to consider: the release times between Skyrim and TES6 is going to be longer than the time between Morrowind and Skyrim. They sure have been taking their sweet time, and even stranger is that no other company has stepped in to steal their thunder and audience.

I mean, people have tried. Bioware with DA:I, Ubisoft open-world games, and CDProjeckt with Witcher 3/Cyberpunk 2077. Even Nintendo with Breath of the Wild.

But much like Obsidian aping Bioware during the 2000s and only being able to attract much smaller, niche audiences, it's difficult reproducing someone else's success.

 

[anvi]

I hate tab target MMOs.

Why? I never understand this. I've tried both types and tab targetting is much better, I'm surprised someone who plays real RPGs wouldn't feel the same.

 

[Wyatt_Derp]

They're probably building TES6 to be a game that can be milked for an entire generation, which is why it's taking so long. There was a interview somewhere where either Todd or Pete said that they really regret not doing that with Skyrim given how well it sold. Unrelated but funny shit to consider: the release times between Skyrim and TES6 is going to be longer than the time between Morrowind and Skyrim. They sure have been taking their sweet time, and even stranger is that no other company has stepped in to steal their thunder and audience.

Marketing firms aren't cheap.

That and brand awareness. In that window of time since Skyrim, many have tried and many have failed. The biggest reason is because gamers know the Todd clown and his digital spawn. Bethesda is now the Mcdonalds of vidya gams. Bethesda has so much leverage now they could make garbage mobile games for the next 20 years and still do ok. Only thing that might slow them down is if they face-planted making some really expensive MMO and ate shit on releasing a broken game that pissed off gamers. Good thing they didn't try and pull that.

A few more zeroes on Beth's bottom line and they'll be candidates for the video game industry's first bailout. Todd Howard might be short, but his company is too big to fail.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

I'm saying that they are making more money from ESO + Skyrim than they would from releasing a new ES game.

No doubt in their minds they are worried that a new ES game would mean players stop subbing to ESO.

Hell even I considered trying out ESO this past year, and that game is a giant turd + I hate tab target MMOs.

This all makes sense from a money perspective if you think about it. Artistically and creatively, no, but financially? Hell yes.

As for Fallout, they already shat out a Fallout game recently and they're trying to harvest the maximum amount of profits from that. No way they're going to give the licence to someone else so they can watch the already low FO76 player base migrate to another game.

You guys are stuck thinking about this like an actual developer who enjoys making games. If you think like an executive who makes $600k a year plus bonuses based on profits, then suddenly who gives a shit about anything but profit, and FO76 and ESO are massive earners (yes even FO76 because it cost almost nothing to make).

This is stupid. What I'm saying doesn't mean they don't do what they did with ESO and Skyrim. I'm not posing a scruples question, it's not a either or thing. They can still sell those and sell other shit with those brands slapped on them.

I doubt they think another Elder Scrolls would make people stop playing their Online game. If that were true they probably wouldn't be rereleasing Skyrim every other day, and they wouldn't have done that Blades game or whatever it's called. The point is they're getting these other studios to make games for them and if they had them working within the brands that more people know more people would buy them, which would give them more money. I'm thinking of this from a money point of view. If Avalanche had made a third person Fallout game where you're driving around the wasteland fixing up vechicles and power armor and doing shit you could do in their previous games...that would have had way more attention directed at it, and it would have sold more than a sequel to Rage. If they had another Fallout game out their it likely would've also alleviated the clusterfuck they found themselves in with Fallout 76. It wouldn't have drawn away the hardcore Bethesda fanboys that stuck with '76 either, because they're hardcore fanboys and 76 is the one Bethesda made; they'd also be two very different feeling games.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Yosharian]

The more desperate people get for Elder Scrolls, the more likely it is they'll subscribe to ESO. It's a smart strategy.

 

[Curious_Tongue]

Remember, Rockstar shut down expansions for GTA 5 because they were worried about disrupting online play, which is making them ridiculous amounts of money apparently.