Todd Howard Tempers Skyrim Expectations

[Andy Chalk]

Todd Howard Tempers Skyrim Expectations

Skyrim looks hot but Bethesda's Todd Howard says it's "hard to say" whether it represents as much of a leap forward as Oblivion was from Morrowind.

Like the series or not, you have to give props to Bethesda for pushing the technological envelope with each new iteration of The Elder Scrolls series. Oblivion [http://www.amazon.com/Elder-Scrolls-Arena-Pc/dp/B0002XMKVW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317050228&sr=8-1] came along and declared itself "Eye Candy Supremo," narrated, briefly at least, by no less a personality than Captain Picard himself.

Each game represents a quantum leap over its predecessor but Howard, the game director on PC Gamer [http://www.amazon.com/Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-Pc/dp/B004HYIAPM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1317050330&sr=8-3] he's not sure the new RPG will take as big a step forward as Oblivion did. "Hard to say... I have a hard time looking at it that way," he said. "I think it's close. I don't know that I would say it's as large a leap, just because the technology gap between Morrowind and Oblivion was greater."

Mechanically, however, the game will serve up about the same level of changes and improvements as previous releases. "The number of gameplay changes and things like that are probably on the same level," he added.

Morrowind was the first Elder Scrolls game to come to consoles, launching on the original Xbox in June 2002; Oblivion was developed for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Howard had previously said that Bethesda had "very serious" conversations about delaying Skyrim for the next generation of consoles but felt that could keep it visually and technologically "fresh" on current hardware.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim comes out on November 11 for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

via: CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/320184/skyrim-hard-to-say-if-its-as-big-a-leap-as-oblivion-says-bethesda/]


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[Furious Styles]

That's fair. I mean, Skyrim's part of the same generation as Oblivion with he same tech. It'd be almost impossible to improve by quite as much without having new hardware to run it on.

 

[imnot]

That's fair. I mean, Skyrim's part of the same generation as Oblivion with he same tech. It'd be almost impossible to improve by quite as much without having new hardware to run it on.

Im pretty sure they re made the engine, unless you emant console wise.

 

[Mikeyfell]

What? Honest marketing!?!?! Surely you can't be serious, I must look out my window and see if pigs are flying, or check my terrestrial thermostat to see if hell has frozen over!

All this did has made me respect Bethesda more than ever before.

I need a new developer to be a little wallet whore for ever since EA killed Bioware.

 

[Baresark]

Howard had previously said that Bethesda had "very serious" conversations about delaying Skyrim for the next generation of consoles but felt that could keep it visually and technologically "fresh" on current hardware.

This would have seriously been a mistake, considering the only improvements to be made on new hardware would only have been graphical ones. There is no limitations at all to the core gameplay on current hardware. Also, since the only known instance of a new generation is the Wii U, I doubt they "seriously" considered waiting.

 

[Kahani]

Fans really should curb their expectations and look at the facts in front of them.

It is clearly being designed for a casual/console market. Which, I don't have a problem with by itself. But for The Elder Scrolls, this is unacceptable.

Fans need to realize what they're getting. Cancel your pre-order and wait a few days after release at the very least. See what the final product looks like.

Why? Graphics aren't everything. They're not even the most important thing. As a PC gamer, I think it's a shame that cross-platform games tend to be held back by the limitations of obsolete console hardware (seriously, phones are now more powerful than the doorstops that are supposed to be dedicate gaming hardware), but a good game is still a good game. There's a reason indie games have become so popular - people have realised that making a game fun is more important than making it look pretty, and Steam and other online services have made it possible to sell such games without anywhere near as much overhead or risk.

Don't get me wrong, I love impressive graphics as much as anyone, and I have a seriously overclocked, liquid cooled PC to prove it. But as long as Skyrim is a good game, it really doesn't matter if it looks like Morrowind. After all, Morrowind hasn't suddenly stopped being a great game just because I bought a better PC.

 

[Jandau]

Oblivion was a leap from Morrowind only in so far as the leap was into a cesspool (in my humble opinion), so I suppose a "Meh" is in order...

 

[jurnag12]

You know what, as long as the gameplay is solid, it could look like Morrowind as far as I care.

 

[zelda2fanboy]

I haven't really expected anything more than a polished Oblivion. This is enough to get me excited.

 

[Furious Styles]

That's fair. I mean, Skyrim's part of the same generation as Oblivion with he same tech. It'd be almost impossible to improve by quite as much without having new hardware to run it on.

Im pretty sure they re made the engine, unless you emant console wise.

They did, its called the Creation Engine (I think). What I meant is that once you get nearer to the full potential of the thing you're building a game for, i.e. the PS3 and 360, making significant progress becomes harder and harder.

The PC is another thing altogether, but is still limited by having to be able to have it run on the consoles.

 

[Echo136]

The picture of that Argonian alone makes me want to play the game. You can try to temper my anticipation all you want but it wont work.

 

[toomuchnothing]

Sorry Mr. Howard but your tempering is easily countered by even just the leaked list of racial abilities and perks I read this morning.