Rumor: Bethesda Working on Elder Scrolls MMO
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*Darth Vader* Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
Don't botch the Elder Scrolls series with an MMO!
Multiplayer however would be accepted and appreciated.
Don't botch the Elder Scrolls series with an MMO!
Multiplayer however would be accepted and appreciated.
Aw, no. Not MMOs. Haven't we already had enough of this? Didn't anyone learn anything from FFXIV?
Alright, gut reaction aside, I have a few things to say. As long as they're still making TES:V, I'm happy. And, thinking back to Oblivion, that is one of the few games I can imagine working as an MMO, but the key thing here is that they can't just copy WoW. They would have to do something completely new and different from anything that's been tried before.
Some suggestions for what they should try: (Warning! Wall o'text ahead!)
1. Maintain the option of first person perspective. Give people the sense that they're still playing in their own game, and break away from the standard MMO interface. Anything they can do gameplay wise to distinguish it from WoW will give it immediate bonus points and help it stand out.
2. Try to make it work as a console MMO. This isn't new. It's not like the capacity to share a game world across Xbox Live or PSN doesn't exist, even if it will be expensive. Break some ground there, if possible. Technology is only getting better, right?
3. Borrow some aspects from text-based MUDs. Iron Realms has been going on for ages. Use some of what makes it successful. In-character roleplaying, for starters. Let players advance through the ranks and become important or influential within the world, if that appeals to them, and create a world that relies strongly on both teamwork and conflict between player clans/cities/guilds/races/classes etc. Give it an ever present yet fluid story that the players are a real part of. Have one nation always be at war with another. Let people choose to be good or evil, etc, and make sure they always have something worth fighting for, or worth fighting against.
4. Polish it! Don't make the same mistakes FFXIV did. If there's any aspect in this MMO that wouldn't fly in a single player game, fix it. Make monsters and characters have realistic fight animations so that a battle looks like a battle. Animate enemies so they react to being hit. Create tension and drama so every fight feels like it could really kill your character.
5. Allow every character to look distinct. Too many MMOs have identical clones walking around, and I know that has a lot to do with limitations of rendering and all that, but, seriously, with a character creation screen as flexible and well made as the one in Oblivion, people are going to be expecting that. The variety of races is already a point in its favour. (more so, if including different subspecies of, say, the Khajiit).
6. Give people an incentive to keep playing. Questing is the obvious one, but, clearly, they aren't going to be able to constantly keep writing new quests all the time, so create a benefit to keep people playing. Let them live in the world. Give them an incentive to, say, own a home in a village, and take on a profession, such as a craftsman, a city guard (see above, re: inter-city/international conflict), or even pursue politics and vote on issues that affect the game world, like policies that would impact the local economy. Reward guild members for teaching new players about the game and their class skills. Again, Iron Realms does this brilliantly.
I'm sure other people have their own ideas, many of them far better than mine, but, anyway, those are the first few suggestions that came to my mind. Chances are, it will just be a WoW clone, though. Or, if TOR proves to be successful, then a Fantasy-skinned version of that.
If anyone can think of anything else that needs to be done to correct the mistakes that make most new MMOs fail, or can see a painfully obvious flaw with any of the suggestions I've made, then please respond. I find this interesting, and I think the gaming industry's obsession with trying to compete with WoW is something we really do need to have some discussions about.
But, anyway, all I'm holding out for is the single player TESV.
Alright, gut reaction aside, I have a few things to say. As long as they're still making TES:V, I'm happy. And, thinking back to Oblivion, that is one of the few games I can imagine working as an MMO, but the key thing here is that they can't just copy WoW. They would have to do something completely new and different from anything that's been tried before.
Some suggestions for what they should try: (Warning! Wall o'text ahead!)
1. Maintain the option of first person perspective. Give people the sense that they're still playing in their own game, and break away from the standard MMO interface. Anything they can do gameplay wise to distinguish it from WoW will give it immediate bonus points and help it stand out.
2. Try to make it work as a console MMO. This isn't new. It's not like the capacity to share a game world across Xbox Live or PSN doesn't exist, even if it will be expensive. Break some ground there, if possible. Technology is only getting better, right?
3. Borrow some aspects from text-based MUDs. Iron Realms has been going on for ages. Use some of what makes it successful. In-character roleplaying, for starters. Let players advance through the ranks and become important or influential within the world, if that appeals to them, and create a world that relies strongly on both teamwork and conflict between player clans/cities/guilds/races/classes etc. Give it an ever present yet fluid story that the players are a real part of. Have one nation always be at war with another. Let people choose to be good or evil, etc, and make sure they always have something worth fighting for, or worth fighting against.
4. Polish it! Don't make the same mistakes FFXIV did. If there's any aspect in this MMO that wouldn't fly in a single player game, fix it. Make monsters and characters have realistic fight animations so that a battle looks like a battle. Animate enemies so they react to being hit. Create tension and drama so every fight feels like it could really kill your character.
5. Allow every character to look distinct. Too many MMOs have identical clones walking around, and I know that has a lot to do with limitations of rendering and all that, but, seriously, with a character creation screen as flexible and well made as the one in Oblivion, people are going to be expecting that. The variety of races is already a point in its favour. (more so, if including different subspecies of, say, the Khajiit).
6. Give people an incentive to keep playing. Questing is the obvious one, but, clearly, they aren't going to be able to constantly keep writing new quests all the time, so create a benefit to keep people playing. Let them live in the world. Give them an incentive to, say, own a home in a village, and take on a profession, such as a craftsman, a city guard (see above, re: inter-city/international conflict), or even pursue politics and vote on issues that affect the game world, like policies that would impact the local economy. Reward guild members for teaching new players about the game and their class skills. Again, Iron Realms does this brilliantly.
I'm sure other people have their own ideas, many of them far better than mine, but, anyway, those are the first few suggestions that came to my mind. Chances are, it will just be a WoW clone, though. Or, if TOR proves to be successful, then a Fantasy-skinned version of that.
If anyone can think of anything else that needs to be done to correct the mistakes that make most new MMOs fail, or can see a painfully obvious flaw with any of the suggestions I've made, then please respond. I find this interesting, and I think the gaming industry's obsession with trying to compete with WoW is something we really do need to have some discussions about.
But, anyway, all I'm holding out for is the single player TESV.
Elder Scrolls V
Fallout 4
Elder Scrolls MMO
^--- Do It Like This
Also....Nerdgasm
WoW Killer WoW Killer WoW Killer -chant-
Fallout 4
Elder Scrolls MMO
^--- Do It Like This
Also....Nerdgasm
WoW Killer WoW Killer WoW Killer -chant-
Please don't let it be an MMO. I would like to have a game that has 100s of hours to it that only has one payment of sixty dollars please. Also the Elder Scrolls games are so awesome because they are single player. They let you explore the world at your own pace and no interferences.
Think about it: what if you're fighting this beast. It's sort of a boss, if you will. It has been the bane of your existence since you entered the area, killing you at least three times already. This time, however, you've come prepared.
The ensuing battle is mythic. If possible, the NPCs would be telling stories years from now about how Magnus Killmeister vanquished the might Snarlog. However, right when you're about to strike the killing blow, a bolt of lighting comes out of nowhere from the direction behind you, killing the beast. Then a whiny little voice says "Aw no XP? AND NO LOOT? GAY FAGS CAN'T MAKE A GOD@##NED GAME WITH LOOT MECHANICS THAT F#@KING WORK! AND NOW THIS FAG GETS THE XP AND THE LOOT? RAGE ETC ETC."
Sure it's a pretty unique event and the chances aren't INCREDIBLY likely, but if it happened to me I'd blow several fuses. Oh and that boss? Doesn't regenerate because you're in a dungeon and once you leave the dungeon (because you completed the quest) you can't go back.
Am I getting too angry at a rumor? Maybe. Or maybe I'm SPOT ON.
Think about it: what if you're fighting this beast. It's sort of a boss, if you will. It has been the bane of your existence since you entered the area, killing you at least three times already. This time, however, you've come prepared.
The ensuing battle is mythic. If possible, the NPCs would be telling stories years from now about how Magnus Killmeister vanquished the might Snarlog. However, right when you're about to strike the killing blow, a bolt of lighting comes out of nowhere from the direction behind you, killing the beast. Then a whiny little voice says "Aw no XP? AND NO LOOT? GAY FAGS CAN'T MAKE A GOD@##NED GAME WITH LOOT MECHANICS THAT F#@KING WORK! AND NOW THIS FAG GETS THE XP AND THE LOOT? RAGE ETC ETC."
Sure it's a pretty unique event and the chances aren't INCREDIBLY likely, but if it happened to me I'd blow several fuses. Oh and that boss? Doesn't regenerate because you're in a dungeon and once you leave the dungeon (because you completed the quest) you can't go back.
Am I getting too angry at a rumor? Maybe. Or maybe I'm SPOT ON.
And what would be the point? Every fantasy MMORPG gets compared to WoW right off the bat and pretty much gets royally decimated. The Elder Scrolls have built up a loyal fanbase through dedication towards the single player experience as well as allowing for a breadth of creative freedom for the modding community to construct some truly outstanding additions and even conversions to the orginal game. An MMO would fly in the face of both of these postive aspects of TES, so who wins? They certainly will have a fight to recoup losses when competing with WoW, and the fans will be in an uproar over the polar opposite direction of the series and the removal of customizing ones own game through mods.
As soon as a game goes MMO with the fees and restrictive structure due to sharing the world with other subscribers, it cuts off a large chunk of the audience who does not want to pay monthly to experience whatever the developer allows. I don't play WoW, but I am 99.999% certain that player A can't have their own city/monster/loot mods running in the same world of player B, C, D, ect. who want completely different mods.
As soon as a game goes MMO with the fees and restrictive structure due to sharing the world with other subscribers, it cuts off a large chunk of the audience who does not want to pay monthly to experience whatever the developer allows. I don't play WoW, but I am 99.999% certain that player A can't have their own city/monster/loot mods running in the same world of player B, C, D, ect. who want completely different mods.
The best part of the Elder Scrolls is the sense of individuality. With dozens of players running around you, it just wouldn't feel like an ES game.
I love roleplaying in Oblivion. I love being able to steal from NPCs, and to kill NPCs.
With an MMO, that probably wouldn't happen. ES is meant to be singleplayer.
I love roleplaying in Oblivion. I love being able to steal from NPCs, and to kill NPCs.
With an MMO, that probably wouldn't happen. ES is meant to be singleplayer.
Multiplayer elder scrolls? 'yes please!'
oh! wait.
Massively multiplayer? that's a big fat 'NO THANKS!' from me then.
This move wouldn't surprise me.
They've nurtured this fantastic and committed fan base with whom they interact with nicely about modifications. However, when it comes to actual games they seem to misunderstand what's being asked of them.
I hope they realise quite how huge the game world's going to have to be, their normal 12 house cities won't cut it to make their world MMO sized.
Cyrodil needs to be about at least 3 times bigger with many more small settlements and the fans will want the whole continent built.
oh! wait.
Massively multiplayer? that's a big fat 'NO THANKS!' from me then.
This move wouldn't surprise me.
They've nurtured this fantastic and committed fan base with whom they interact with nicely about modifications. However, when it comes to actual games they seem to misunderstand what's being asked of them.
I hope they realise quite how huge the game world's going to have to be, their normal 12 house cities won't cut it to make their world MMO sized.
Cyrodil needs to be about at least 3 times bigger with many more small settlements and the fans will want the whole continent built.
and? that doesn't stop the fact that then fans don't seem to want an MMO.Strumthund said:
Oddly enough I was excited when Bioware was working on SWTOR even though Bioware is a renowned Single Player RPG developer... But hearing the same type of news from Bethesda just doesn't seem to strike me the same way... I don't want Online Elder Scrolls. Maybe it's because of the risk of losing the real-time FPS combat I loved in Oblivion?
Oh great Way to screw up the series, can't they just stay loyal to the fans rather than get greedy with bloody mmos. They will probably make the same annoying excuses that bioware did with the old republic. Why try and compete with wow anyway, the settings too similar. As other people have said why cant they make a real sequel, I feel like they are just wasting fans time.