Todd Howard, Skyrim Dev, thinks COD is 'hardcore'.

[Caligulove]

Honestly, I dont think that the comment should matter to RPG fans.
Sounds like he is talking about the most popular game right now and how RPG elements are really entering just about all games, giving them a good complexity, even if the hardcore gamers that play even realize it. So many gamers seem to be looking for anything that will make them worry and complain about how one of their favorite games could-possibly-from-what-it-sounds-like-even-though-its-almost-entirely-hearsay become DUMBED DOWN. Sounds like some anxiety problems.

 

[WorldFree55]

A few points, in terms of choice Elder Scrolls games have incredible amounts of choice. The player really gets to define their playing style, equipment, dialog, and morality. Additionally you could create 2 identical characters and give them to 2 different players and by after say 10 hours of game play there would already be incredible differentiation between them, based on what those individual players emphasized.

A lot of the anger on this thread could've been avoided simply by reading the article. Tom specifically talks about not focusing on "accessibility" but on making the experience less confusing whether you had played Elder Scrolls before or not. One of Oblivion's main weaknesses is that if tried to create a character without any real idea on how you were going to play, you were screwed. You simply had to start over, which meant that you had to agonize on every little detail during character creation. In comparison if you look at COD, you simply start playing multiplayer and pick perks, weapons, and weapon modifications as you go, and if you find something is less useful than you hoped, it isn't a big deal.

Given that COD is the most successful game out there, not looking at what its doing well would be foolish. Imagine a car company that had heard about vehicles with good gas mileage but said "NO! Our customers only care about horsepower. Now, where are those blueprints for the V20's?"

Successful or not, we're talking about FPSes vs RPGs here.

No were not, maybe YOU want to talk about that but that's not what the thread is about. If you want to talk about RPGs and FPSs, there are many other different threads about that.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

CoD is hardly hardcore. Personally, hard should be the operative word. The online is fucking easy if you play like a cheap little *****.

That being said, Oblivion could be piss easy with the right bow, a high sneak skill, and night eye or a detect life spell. I was never touched in any dark place and I only attacked in the dark.

 

[WorldFree55]

oh it's you again? I suppose your going to take this statement more seriously then the time Fox News's twitter said Obama was killed?

Well, yeah, given the fact that was somebody hacking an account and this was direct quote from the lead designer of Skyrim. Looking at the design choices he has made, it all makes sense after hearing this.

Successful or not, we're talking about FPSes vs RPGs here.

No were not, maybe YOU want to talk about that but that's not what the thread is about. If you want to talk about RPGs and FPSs, there are many other different threads about that.

Oh you can bend reality now, eh? Impressive. It's right in the title, genius. "Skyrim (RPG) developer discusses his thoughts on CoD (FPS).

Ah yes, design choices you don't agree with? Which is ok everyone has their own tastes.

Yeah, thoughts about ONE game, not about two different genre or how it relates to his own products. Again, not that hard to figure it out.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

"Skyrim guy says CoD is 'hardcore', which is a compliment of gaming quality to the highest degree."

"But we know CoD is shit."

"Therefore Skyrim guy wants to make Skyrim more like shit!"

Lapses in logic and jumping to assumptions much?

 

[WorldFree55]

Yeah, thoughts about ONE game, not about two different genre or how it relates to his own products. Again, not that hard to figure it out.

Two different games, of two different genres, both of which he mentions in the same interview. Try to keep up, and stop wasting my damn time with semantics.

In the WHOLE interview article, the only time he even mentions an FPS game (call of duty in this case) was in the very last paragraph, which is something your clinging on.

I suggest you stop wasting your own time if you insist on thinking that way. Because it seems you did not even click on the link in the article. Which again is OK since not a lot of people do either. It will come eventually...well hopefully .

 

[Still Life]

Hell hath no fury like a geek scorned.

Timeless words....

 

[Kahunaburger]

Haha, this guy is probably just trolling the fans at this point. Honestly, I'm won't be worried until I see orcs running around with noobtubes.

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

...Who the hell is Todd Howard?

OT: I don't know if making classes and choosing perks can be considered rpg elements. I haven't played any of the recent Cod games but I would imagine that creating classes in it is just choosing which guns you want to use, but i'm probably way off. I don't know, maybe he's right.

You aren't off in the slightest. You make a class, you name it then choose what gun, perks and grenades you carry.


That's it.

Oh, and you unlock guns as you level up.
OT: Yeah... no. Todd... no. I know you want the COD fanboys to buy your game so the company that you work for can make a good profit and you can keep your job but... no.

 

[Dr. wonderful]

I don't give a damn.

I want to play the bloody game.

 

[lord.jeff]

I don't get it whats the problem the guy likes Call of Duty, seriously whats the issue here?

 

[kingcom]

Hmmm, I wouldn't be surprised if in the future the Elder Scrolls series becomes mianly action with "RPG elements".

Bethesda games never did have much choice in them anyway since Todd came around, seriously what choice and consequence is there in Oblivion?

You can join every available faction, the main story is linear, you can use every armour with grind, every weapon with grind and become good at any spell school with grind.

Todd was actually the head guy behind Morrowind, which subverts many of the thgings you just said. I wouldn't dismiss him out of hand.

Well, times have changed.

By bussinrounds [http://profile.imageshack.us/user/bussinrounds] at 2011-06-18

Times have changed indeed, and for the better too.

Oy vey, this guy again. If you want Call of Duty, go play Call of Duty. That's not what most RPG fans, old or new, want influencing their games. And with good reason.

oh it's you again? I suppose your going to take this statement more seriously then the time Fox News's twitter said Obama was killed?

.... You best be troll'n

 

[DarkRyter]

He's a game developer. He sees a framerate THAT smooth, and just gushes all over the place in amazement.

 

[Bobbity]

Oh, for fuck's sake. Two minutes earlier, he said that they felt no real worry about changing their game to suit the market, becuase they believe that there would always be a market for the stuff that *they* wanted to make.

Now please stop fear mongering. The culture of hating CoD is a totally pretentious one, and you're not helping. Furthermore, - look. I don't want to go into this. Just please, understand that you're kicking up a fuss over nothing.

 

[soes757]

2 things...I can play CoD completely casually and I know tons of people that do...however the bulk plays hardcore...Also it doesn't matter what he says about CoD...he worked on Skyrim and I regard him as a saint...even if he say had people for dinner last night

 

[ImprovizoR]

They said Creation Kit will be available for PC version. So I don't care how badly they fuck up the game, and how easy and accessible they make it. Everything they fuck up, modders will fix.

 

[spartan231490]

Okay so this is what Todd Howard had to say about COD according to a gamasutra interview [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/35678/Interview_Todd_Howard_On_The_Scope_Vision_Of_Skyrim.php]

You look at Call of Duty, the most popular game in the world, and that's actually pretty hardcore. At the end of the day, it's a hardcore game, has RPG elements in multiplayer, making classes, picking perks. I think the audiences are there, and we tend to make our game more for ourselves and other people who play a lot of games.

Now my personal view aside. Is that really a wise thing to say considering the current climate of worries about streamlining and accessibility that is developing around Skyrim. Whether or not COD is what he says it is I think most 'hardcore' RPG fans would take issue with that judging from what I have seen on these, and other forums regarding COD and it's playerbase.

What do you think of this statement? Is it somthing that worries you? Do you agree with him?

Personally I will be buying the game but this made me raise my eyebrows a little.

I agree with him, and I'm not worried. I agree with every change that they have made in skyrim. I was a little worried about the stats at first, but he is right, it is a quicker road to getting the control you want. In oblivion, you basically have to take endurance every level until it's at 100, and for max power, you want to take luck as well. This means that you really only get to choose one ability each level with an optimized character.

With a class like an assassin, for example, this means that you're light-armor skill will be relatively weak, because you will have to dump your stat points into agility for everything else. or with a casting character, you have to choose between more magicka, alteration, and mysticism, or faster regenerating magicka, restoration, and destruction. Meaning you basically have to pick between having more magicka, or being better at combat magic, which reduces your strength. With a character that is trying to do multiple things, the situation is even worse, reducing your strength in two or even 3 areas because you have so few choices.

With the new system, you control your characters abilities fully by adjusting your skills, as opposed to only half. This lets you do exactly what you want to do with your character without being ridiculously weak for the first 20-30 levels. A much better system.