Elder Scrolls V: How can Bethesda learn from Bioware

[Keava]

The problem i have with both Oblivion and FO3 is that i dont feel the need to continue playing at any point of the game. Its the overall problem of games trying to be too much of a sandbox while, due to the fact they are singleplayer, the interaction with world is still limited to the scripted parts. I get out of the prison/vault and pretty much all im left is "Go save the world". But i dont want to, there is nothing wrong with the world as it is, i got out of cage, i want o just live along. There is no feel of threat or great reward that would push me those few steps towards becoming 'the hero' unless i start to actively look for it.

While BioWare games are in the end linear due to fact there is single story to follow, and all you can change are minor details, different ways to achieve the goal, they at least poke you in the back with a sharp stick making you want to go forward. Through story they manage to pressure you into following the path, while in both Oblivion and FO3 i just can delay the events ad infinitum.

 

[Maladjusted]

. I get out of the prison/vault and pretty much all im left is "Go save the world". But i dont want to, there is nothing wrong with the world as it is, i got out of cage, i want o just live along. There is no feel of threat or great reward that would push me those few steps towards becoming 'the hero' unless i start to actively look for it.

My thoughts exactly. Oblivion really fails at conveying anything like 'imminent demonic invasion', thus giving you the feeling that, you could choose between VISITING a 'possible imminent demonic invasion flashpoint' (oblivion gate), and a picnic in the woods, the way a rich tourist on a cruise ship might choose between watching the evening movie or going for a massage...

 

[Miumaru]

Well, for the actual story, fine. But one thing I love about TES is that...I can do whatever I want. Sure Dragon Age the story plot is extremly flexible, but I cant just go adventuring in the wilds or the woods. Bioware gives an open story, but Bethesda gives an open world.
Though using TES as a base, a dream game would use stuff from Bioware games and Fable to make the ultimate do what you will RPG fantasy game. If heaven is real, mine will just be a room with that game.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Story and Bethesda...pretty much polar opposites by this point.
Their relationship is like asking two kids who just got caught in a fist fight to make up and be friends.
They will only cooperate begrudgingly because they have to, not because they want to.

Nevermind that Bethesda hasn't made a new flagship title since 2002...OH SNAP!
Seriously...I hated Oblivion and Fallout 3.
If they really wanted to impress me, they would put some actual effort into their stories, missions and pacing instead of finding more settings to rape with their awful Gamebryo Engine...but fact is, they won't.

Bioware...eh. Amazing story and strong writing coupled with some occasionally boneheaded gameplay decisions.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

I could be wrong, but the biggest problem with Bethesda games is the absence of non-player actors. Fallout 3 and Oblivion have plenty of non-player characters, but none of them shape the world in a fashion similar to the player. The end result is a very flat world that appears to function only in your immediate presence and only in direct response to your actions. Events are either tightly scripted around your decisions or nonexistent.

It's a tough thing to fix, though. I'd like to Bethesda populate their games with several characters who shape or react to the world much like the player character - a cast of varied and interesting rival adventurers who take their own jobs, clear their own dungeons, sell their own loot, make their own homes, and otherwise mimic the progression of the player. Then, as the player, you can interact with these other characters in a number of ways during your own travels. Become rivals, friends, allies, enemies, lovers - lots of possibilities for compelling dynamics.

I suppose, in a very roundabout way, these games have always been MMORPGs without the MMO portion. Seems the only thing they're missing is a relatively functional simulacrum of another player making his or her way through the same world at the same time.