Skyrim Interview; Diary

[Oct 30, 2011, 1:04 pm ET] - Share - Viewing Comments

There's a Todd Howard Interview on PC Gamer discussing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the next installment in Bethesda's RPG series. He discusses the game in both general and specific terms, and offers a funny bug report: "Let’s see… something that was good lately – but this was a bug – lately we realised that chickens were reporting crimes. I found that very funny. That was just last week: 'Why are we getting caught?' 'Oh, the chickens are reporting the crimes!'" On a related topic, Completely Blue Sky- The Concept of Skyrim on The Elder Scrolls Website offers the first developer's diary for the imminent release. This is provided as an audio podcast, and here's a bit of the accompanying text:

And from the first moments on the project, it was obvious that Skyrim would require not just a unique spin on fantasy, but on The Elder Scrolls series as a whole.

An Elf Walks Into a Biker Bar

“It was a reaction to what Oblivion was as a game,” said lead artist Matt Carofano. “Oblivion was a very classic medieval setting, and we felt some of that was a bit generic. We wanted to do something that showed a lot more of the culture of the people who lived there.”

“Skyrim was all about creating a world that seemed believable.”

Finding the perfect tone for the rugged-yet-fantastical province of Skyrim was a challenge initially. Though Skyrim’s Nords share some similarities to real-world Vikings, the likeness is superficial – the Nords have their own distinct cultural history that needed to be detailed from the ground up.

“It was completely blue sky,” relates Adamowicz. “Todd said, ‘Sit down and draw a bunch of cool, weird [stuff], and we’ll look at it and decide what’s worthwhile and what’s really stupid.’”

Early on, the artists were given freedom to explore radical concepts, with the team leaders only stepping in to provide a general direction.

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41.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 31, 2011, 14:29

Beamer

Jerykk wrote on Oct 31, 2011, 14:22:
Likely due to how I played, but the whole time the endgame seemed to be New Vegas, with Caeser being the primary secondary.

I didn't really get that impression at all. To me, the focus was pretty clearly on taking control of the dam.

The damn never seemed to have much importance. I rarely remember it mentioned. I mean, Caeser had guys there but he wasn't there. It seemed secondary to all of the big personalities around.




------------- Music for the discerning: http://www.deathwishinc.com http://www.hydrahead.com http://www.painkillerrecords.com

40.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 31, 2011, 14:22

Jerykk

Likely due to how I played, but the whole time the endgame seemed to be New Vegas, with Caeser being the primary secondary. I didn't really get that impression at all. To me, the focus was pretty clearly on taking control of the dam. Before I started the main quest, I explored almost every inch of the map and did most of the side-missions, so I knew a fair amount of backstory on all the factions and the history of the conflict between the NCR and Legion. Based on that knowledge, I knew that the dam was the focal point of the conflict. New Vegas was a nice place to visit but it wasn't the primary source of power (literally) for the region. This comment was edited on Oct 31, 2011, 14:31.

39.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 31, 2011, 12:56

Creston

Jerykk wrote on Oct 31, 2011, 12:16: Apparently children are unkillable. Playing an evil character is going to be pretty challenging im guessing.... Being destined to save the universe makes it hard to be evil in any Elder Scrolls game. That's part of what made FNV so great. You could choose your own destiny. If you wanted to "save" the west from the Legion, you could do that. Or you could help them take over. Or you could screw both the NCR and the Legion. Or you could screw everyone. I'm pretty sure you won't have any such choices in Skyrim. There have actually been rumors that you will be able to JOIN the dragons late in the game. Though I'm not sure if that was just a spin-off rumor from the fact that one of the named Dragons will join you. Creston

38.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 31, 2011, 12:32

Beamer

Jerykk wrote on Oct 31, 2011, 12:26:
Sounds like a bug to me? Even if you kill Caesar and Mr. New Vegas, you should still be able to continue with the NCR and solo paths.

I could, but my main point is that those storylines hadn't even begun. Likely due to how I played, but the whole time the endgame seemed to be New Vegas, with Caeser being the primary secondary. After taking those out it seemed I had finished the two real meaty parts of the game. The NCR and solo paths hadn't really begun. I know there's the battle at the dam to work towards, or something about it, but it hadn't even really been hinted at.

Essentially I managed to end the two quests I had spent the most time with without starting others up, leaving me fairly aimless. It was a bit anticlimactic. Since there was no build-up at that point to anything beyond taking control of New Vegas, finding there to be more supposedly to do after taking control of New Vegas felt weird.




------------- Music for the discerning: http://www.deathwishinc.com http://www.hydrahead.com http://www.painkillerrecords.com

37.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 31, 2011, 12:26

Jerykk

Sounds like a bug to me? Even if you kill Caesar and Mr. New Vegas, you should still be able to continue with the NCR and solo paths.

36.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 31, 2011, 12:23

Beamer

Jerykk wrote on Oct 31, 2011, 12:16:
Apparently children are unkillable. Playing an evil character is going to be pretty challenging im guessing....

Being destined to save the universe makes it hard to be evil in any Elder Scrolls game. That's part of what made FNV so great. You could choose your own destiny. If you wanted to "save" the west from the Legion, you could do that. Or you could help them take over. Or you could screw both the NCR and the Legion. Or you could screw everyone. I'm pretty sure you won't have any such choices in Skyrim.

The Elder Scrolls games are less about choice, and after complaining about that, after finally having it in NV I'm not sure I want it. But maybe my final frustration with NV was just about how the story was structured. You were really supposed to find the man with the checkered jacket the whole time, and that led into the mysteries of New Vegas. Well, I found the man in the jacket and, after a conversation with his captor that I found incredibly well written I just blew everyone in the town to smithereens. Satisfied with that, and having a bit of a blood lust, I went to see what the deal with Mr. New Vegas was. I accidentally killed him (no, really, I didn't exactly mean to) and decided to keep that save game because it was a choice I made and I should live with the consequences. But then I had nothing to do. I'm not sure why I partly blamed this on choice, as it's more due to story-telling, but my character had no true purpose. I'd ended the two key strings of the main storyline without any others really appearing. I was somewhat confused that the game didn't end and surprised to find out there was more to be done, as none of it had been much mentioned.




------------- Music for the discerning: http://www.deathwishinc.com http://www.hydrahead.com http://www.painkillerrecords.com

35.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 31, 2011, 12:16

Jerykk

Apparently children are unkillable. Playing an evil character is going to be pretty challenging im guessing.... Being destined to save the universe makes it hard to be evil in any Elder Scrolls game. That's part of what made FNV so great. You could choose your own destiny. If you wanted to "save" the west from the Legion, you could do that. Or you could help them take over. Or you could screw both the NCR and the Legion. Or you could screw everyone. I'm pretty sure you won't have any such choices in Skyrim.

34.

Re: SSSSSSSSPOILER

Oct 31, 2011, 10:50

Creston

space captain wrote on Oct 30, 2011, 21:36: Acleacius wrote on Oct 30, 2011, 21:02: Or was there a video/interview mentioning dragon pets early to mid game? no its not a pet, he is autonomous in the world - you call on him and he will fly over to you and help you out not sure "when" it happens, probly part of main quest, id guess midway through so you get a chance to use it... but then again, you can divert from the main story anytime you want, so who knows Howard said it happens "late" in the game, as in late in the main quest. So yeah, it depends on how far you go in the main quest or whether you're doing every side quest first. Creston

33.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 31, 2011, 09:33

jomisab

InBlack wrote on Oct 31, 2011, 09:23: Mashiki Amiketo wrote on Oct 31, 2011, 07:50: InBlack wrote on Oct 31, 2011, 07:37: Apparently children are unkillable. Playing an evil character is going to be pretty challenging im guessing.... That'll take all of 10mins to change with mod tools. I certainly hope so. Im thinking of playing an evil bastard from the get go, a real psychotic killer with an affinity for destroying...well pretty much everything. I certainly hope the assasins guild makes a comeback and we get a few more options for evil characters this time round... Man, I probably wouldn't want to meet any of you guys in a dark alley.

32.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 31, 2011, 09:23

InBlack

Mashiki Amiketo wrote on Oct 31, 2011, 07:50:
InBlack wrote on Oct 31, 2011, 07:37:
Apparently children are unkillable. Playing an evil character is going to be pretty challenging im guessing....
That'll take all of 10mins to change with mod tools.

I certainly hope so. Im thinking of playing an evil bastard from the get go, a real psychotic killer with an affinity for destroying...well pretty much everything.

I certainly hope the assasins guild makes a comeback and we get a few more options for evil characters this time round...




I have a nifty blue line!

31.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 31, 2011, 07:50

Mashiki Amiketo

InBlack wrote on Oct 31, 2011, 07:37:
Apparently children are unkillable. Playing an evil character is going to be pretty challenging im guessing....

That'll take all of 10mins to change with mod tools.




-- "For every human problem, there is a neat, simple solution; and it is always wrong." --H.L. Mencken

30.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 31, 2011, 07:37

InBlack

Apparently children are unkillable. Playing an evil character is going to be pretty challenging im guessing....




I have a nifty blue line!

29.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 31, 2011, 06:33

Dev

Zadig wrote on Oct 30, 2011, 15:20: What killed Oblivion for me was the leveled monsters & loot That's what oscuro's overhaul mod fixed.

28.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 31, 2011, 02:43

Sepharo

What has Todd been reading my/our comments?

We were just talking about how boring and un-weird Oblivion was and four days later he's claiming Skyrim is going to be weird.




[I'm not trolling I'm just] tossing stuff like that in there only to get your panties all bunched up. -TrollinThundr

27.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 31, 2011, 00:53

Fion

Acleacius wrote on Oct 31, 2011, 00:09: Probably day one for me despite the potential bugs, for one simple reason, the editor. Same here. That and I'm a sucker for punishment.

26.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 31, 2011, 00:09

Acleacius

Mashiki Amiketo wrote on Oct 30, 2011, 22:04:
Oh don't worry. I'm sure someone will have modded it in, in a few weeks. After all the akatosh mount is in oblivion, and apparently you can transfer animations directly across.

Akatosh thanks, had forgotten the name. As for waiting weeks? Bah, I'll mod the damn thing in myself if I have to wait that long. I'll just change a horse to a dragon and scale it 50%. Booger is a good name for a dragon, right?

Probably day one for me despite the potential bugs, for one simple reason, the editor.




Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history.....and they are stupid. Dwight D. Eisenhower

25.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 30, 2011, 23:50

starmonkey

Prez wrote on Oct 30, 2011, 22:49: Despite all of the problems, modded Oblivion was a fantastic time sink for me. I'll be buying Skyrim for sure once I know that modders finished the game for Bethesda. Yep I'm in the same boat! Despite the issues with Beth's games, modding up Oblivion, Morrowind and Fallout have resulted in many hours of enjoyment. Also: waiting for a while before getting Skyrim gives me a chance to upgrade my laptop

24.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 30, 2011, 22:49

Prez

Despite all of the problems, modded Oblivion was a fantastic time sink for me. I'll be buying Skyrim for sure once I know that modders finished the game for Bethesda.




Prez on Soundclick http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=604888

23.

Re: Skyrim Interview; Diary

Oct 30, 2011, 22:04

Mashiki Amiketo

Acleacius wrote on Oct 30, 2011, 20:07:
Any bets to how long it will take to have pet baby Dragon and Dragon mount modded into the game?

Unless they have fixed the Stealth system, they probably still need Chameleon.

Oh don't worry. I'm sure someone will have modded it in, in a few weeks. After all the akatosh mount is in oblivion, and apparently you can transfer animations directly across.




-- "For every human problem, there is a neat, simple solution; and it is always wrong." --H.L. Mencken

22.

Re: SSSSSSSSPOILER

Oct 30, 2011, 21:36

space captain

Acleacius wrote on Oct 30, 2011, 21:02:
Or was there a video/interview mentioning dragon pets early to mid game?

no its not a pet, he is autonomous in the world - you call on him and he will fly over to you and help you out

not sure "when" it happens, probly part of main quest, id guess midway through so you get a chance to use it... but then again, you can divert from the main story anytime you want, so who knows




Go forth, and kill!

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