Retroplayer here.
Hey everyone. This week I’ve decided to put together some of my thoughts on what I hope they change for the next Elder Scrolls game. I love Skyrim, I really do. I’m still playing it, and while i’m taking the quests quite slowly, I’m more than happy with how it has come together. However, there’s a few things that rubbed me the wrong what in it. These are things that I only hope Bethesda address in the next game. Enjoy.
I loved Skyrim, both the game and the land itself. Skyrim is the rugged, unforgiving province in Tamriel. Home of the Nords, Skyrim nicely set itself apart from what came before it. However, as much as I did enjoy it, something was off, something missing that was present in both Morrowind and Oblivion. It’s quite simple really; I didn’t feel the want or need to explore Skyrim as much as I did with Cyrodil, or to a greater extent, Vvardenfell. I didn’t feel that great sense of wonder and awe that an Elder Scrolls title should, and usually does, evoke in me. Don’t get me wrong, dear readers. I’m still playing Skyrim. I’m still enjoying the act of exploration, those large open vistas, as well as those little simple moments. But if I compare this to the sense of pure wonder that Vvardenfell filled me with, it’s quite a different kettle of fish. For the next Elder Scrolls I’d like to see a location with a bit more wonder and imagination in it. Something that combines the hugely varied locations of Vvardenfell, and the more grounded, rich in colour surroundings of Cyrodil. Something in the middle would be nice. When playing Skyrim at times it just feels too “real”, too much like I’m walking through Norway, rather than a made up fantasy world.
I hope they can be a bit daring next time. Where would I like to see it set? A tough question! For now I’ll say either The Black Marsh, the main landmass of Morrowind (not Vvardenfell), or even Valenwood. Who knows.
No more kill cams. Sorry, as much as it’s fun to hit someone with a single arrow in slow motion, my appreciation for the kill cam has gone. I can’t see how the idea wasn’t born out of some way to get the “Call of Duty” audience interested. You know, a way they can think they’re good at the game by just pressing a single button. Maybe I’m alone here, but for me the kill cam is quite a jarring experience. I play the game is first person. I’ve always played these games in first person. So when a kill cam starts, and the camera suddenly jumps outside my typical point of view, I often feel like my immersion level has dropped slightly. As far as I’m concerned, I am Dragonborn, the very same way I was the Hero of Kvatch and the Nerevarine. I appreciate and respect the fact that all the in-game sequences happen from my own point of view. That aspect of this entire series helps me become my character. Kill cams hurt it. It’s in those moments during a kill cam that I feel a little disconnected from the experience. A shame, really. However, while some kill cams aren’t too bad, some are a little over the top, as if to say, “hey mom! Look at what I can do!” They’re overplayed a little too heavy, and any gameplay aspect that harms my level of immersion is a big no no.
In my second hour of playing Skyrim I found some Elvish armour. Sweet! I’m on my 90th hour in the game, and I still haven’t changed it. That’s a massive problem with Skyrim- they give you far too much loot too readily and easily. I mean, coming across an Orchish helmet once in every twenty caves would be interesting, unlike that time I found two in a single treasure chest. How about next time we cut back on the loot? The fact that good loot is so plentiful kills off any want or need to go adventuring for it. In Morrowind I adventured for loot and the sake of adventuring. In Skyrim I adventure to see pretty sights and kill things. This, more than anything else, is something I’d like to see changed. Loot in Skyrim doesn’t feel special, it doesn’t feel like you did anything particularly hard to be worthy of getting your hands on it. I hope the next Elder Scrolls title brings back that sense of wonder, that feeling of finding loot that “no one else has”.
I knew it would happen. Upon seeing the Dragons in action in Skyrim, I worried that they’d literally become Cliff Racers 2.0. While the first few Dragons were exciting experiences, it got to the point where they became a soul destroying chore. The Dragons are terrible in a two ways. First off, there’s nothing worse than when on your way to a mission location, a wild Dragon suddenly appears. There’s been many a time when the sound of the Dragon theme effectively killed my ability to enjoy the game, especially if it was one of those fucking Elder Dragons. Secondly, ever be in the midst of battling a Dragon until it decides to fly off, hover over a nearby camp or castle, and try and kill everyone inside? Jesus. Dealing with a situation like that is a woeful experience. I appreciate the sheer spectacle of the Dragons, I really do. There’s nothing more stunning than seeing a Dragon in the distant gliding around. It’s beautiful. But it doesn’t excuse how much of a bore fighting one is. Cliff Racers didn’t work, and neither do Dragons. No more flying enemies please. No more.
While I can see the logistics of it, I was utterly dismayed to find out the level of clothes/armour customization in Skyrim was toned down. In fact, it wasn’t just toned down, it was castrated to a very simple, watered down set up. Instead of letting you choose a cuirass, helmet, pauldrons, greaves, boots, and gauntlets, Skyrim cut it down to a basic helmet, cuirass, and boots combo. Sad really, Morrowind even like you have different paldrons and gaunlets on each arm and leg. An excellent feeling of customization compared to Skyrim. Beyond the fact that every second Dragonborn in Skyrim looks similar, in past Elder Scrolls games the act of choosing armour and clothes was incredibly important in making the player feel in complete control. In Morrowind I’d sit there for a good twenty minutes, looking through my available armour, trying different arrangements, and figuring out what was best for the adventure I was about to undertake. In Skyrim there’s almost none of that. The sense of preparing yourself for an upcoming battle or adventure is incredibly lacking. I usually just take two minutes to throw on the best armour available, and run headlong into battle.
It’s another aspect of Skyrim that I felt led the Elder Scrolls series in a wrong direction. Sure, it may be more accessible for a “wider audience” (don’t get me started on that), but don’t forget the strong fanbase, a fanbase who loved the in-depth customization of previous Elder Scrolls titles.
In Morrowind and Oblivion every second NPC had the same voice. In Skyrim every third NPC has the same voice. You’d think with the huge increase of voice talent, that the world of Skyrim would sound a little more diverse. Sadly not. What’s worse is that different voice actors read out the same lines. I’ll always remember entering Windhelm for the first time. There were two guards near one of the entrances. I talked to the first, a female Nord. She said, “Maybe I am the Dragonborn, I just don’t know it yet”. I moved onto the next guard, a nord male. He said, “Maybe I am the Dragonborn, I just don’t know it yet”. Lovely. It baffles me why they couldn’t just say something slightly different.
Another thing that rubbed me the wrong way was the lack of familiar voices from past games. I’m talking about voice actors like Wes Johnson, Jeff Baker, Michael Mack, and Linda Canyon. Sure, some of them are present in Skyrim, but not as much as I’d like. For instance, I miss Linda’s voice as the female Dark Elves, while Wes’ voice for the male Bretons almost became as staple of the franchise. I’m not saying both of these actors should once again voice every character of those races, but it’s always nice to hear a familiar voice. So, more voice actors for next time! Much more! But don’t forget who came before them.
I’ve a mental list on changes I’d like to see, though none of those things were on it (not to say that they aren’t needed – especially the lack of effort for the NPPC voices/dialogue!)
The things I’d be interested in would be:
1) Improved combat system –
The Elder Scrolls has always suffered from a clunky combat system. Skyrim improved on this a little with its implementation of spellcasting (dual destruction spells were a staple of my play), but particularly in the melee combat it leaves a lot to be desired.
Other action RPGs like Dark Souls, The Witcher 2 and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning managed to have a very engrossing and tactile melee combat system, in which you really got a sense you were engaging the enemy. In contrast, TES hasn’t come all that far from hacking away at empty air like it did in Morrowind.
2) Proactive rather than reactive world -
Credit where it’s due, TES is learning. Though, as you mention in the article, the dragons start to become a bit of a chore, it was a delight to be unexpectedly set upon from the skies by a dragon. It was something you couldn’t predict, and somtimes you’d be forced to face multiple dragons at once (my record was 3).
My point is, it was something that wasn’t triggered by your actions, it just happened. The one downside was, it just emphasised the fact that the rest of the world just wasn’t that active. For instance, Skyrim was locked in a civil war, Stormcloak vs. Imperials. You hear about it everywhere, almost everyone has an allegience or at least an opinion.
Yet, unless you go to a battlefield, nothing happens. Static borders, no pitched battles, no movement on the front lines. In fact, if you ignored the war, people would just shout their propaganda and do nothing. In fact, I (and several others I know) completely ignored the war for most of the game for a few reasons – I didn’t particularly care for either side, it didn’t seem to matter whether I participated or not, and whenever I DID take the field, nearly as many of the useless troops you get backed up with died as enemies, since they kept walking into my spells.
This is one example of a plague that The Elder Scrolls’ universe suffers from – a worldwide ennui that requires some overpowered hero character to come in, kick some butts and get everyone doing things. This really ran counter to all the impressive and detailed work they put into making an immersive world you could feel you were really exploring.
Finally, 3) A sense of momentum -
This is linked to the previous complaint. In Skyrim, everything is hitting the fan at once. Civil war is ripping the country apart, draugr rising from the grave, and the oldest creature in the universe, a nigh indestructible dragon, is threatening the world’s very existence.
… Yet, if you want to you can wander off and spend months looking for Crimson Nirnroot underground, or bringing trivial items or messages back and forth for petty NPCs, or just stealing a few things, just because you feel like it.
The world can go hang, because it doesn’t matter what you do. Alduin won’t destroy the world without being courteous to face you down. Ulfric Stormcloak and General Tullius will grumble at each other, but they’ll never come to blows unless you show up to give them the push. If you take on a critical life-or-death quest to rescue someone, or assassinate someone, it’s ok to take a few weeks off to torture mudcrabs or pick flowers or whatever you decide is more important.
Even the “time dependant” missions suffer from this, because if you miss your opportunity, you can just wait a week or so and it’ll all work out. There’s no sense that if you don’t do something, there’ll be consequences.
To take an example from a classic game, in Fallout you had to get a water chip back to your vault, or everyone would die. You had plenty of time, and there were ways to buy a little more time without finishing the main quest, but there was so much in the world that you could easily run out of time by exploring. The timer was always there, reminding you that you had priorities.
A newer example is Batman: Arkham City. Though not without its flaws (the premise was pretty weak), throughout the game you are reminded that Protocol 10 will be initiated in X hours. On your first playthrough, you have no idea what Protocol 10 entails, but you know that it’s on its way. This adds a real motivation to hurry up and sort out all the little guys so you can stop the Joker and Strange before everything goes to hell.
TES could take a lot from this. If only you could fail because you were too slow, if the game took action without you prompting it, the world would feel alive in a whole new way. Sure, it’s a big technical undertaking, and could result in something more buggy than Bethesda’s almost legendary past releases, but if they got it right, it could bring a whole new meaning to the concept of immersive games.
Rant over, and fair play if anyone actually read all that.
Cheers,
Ronan Tumelty
CEO Raptor Games