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Todd Howard not interested in Elder Scrolls MMO
Gabby-air
Member UncommonPosts: 3,440
"I like this kind of game better," he said. "You know, it's what most of us are into. I'm not really an MMO guy. I respect them, I look at them, but I don't play them. It feels more real to me when I'm the hero and it's crafted for that. A community aspect to it, I recognize a lot of people would want that in a game like this, but it changes the flavor for me."
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/31/todd-howard-on-skyrims-worthwhile-glitches-mmos-and-when-big-i/
I guess that puts the rumours of a elder scrolls MMO in development to rest and since fallout MMO rights are with Interplay I'm guessing the MMO at work at Zenimax is going to be a new IP.
Comments
That's ok with me. Kinda sad, but I didn't really believe in the rumors.
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im glad. NOT everything should become an mmo just because it was a good single player RPG. when the flop, it ruins the original's name.
Thats great because I wouldnt be interested in an Elder Scrolls MMO anyway.
Elder Scrolls, thats a demo whats technically possible every 5 years or so, packed into a low roleplaying game so I wouldnt have to play shooters to find out.
The rulesystem would be pure hell as a base for a MMO. Everyone would be Fighter / Rogue / Cleric / Mage.
The Lore is pretty "meh". Just another more or less random setting, losely based on D&D. No thank you.
Makes me wonder why they're giving Interplay so much hell over the rights to the fallout mmo.
When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.
I have to agree, The elder scrolls just wouldn't translate well into an MMO. All of the interactability you have with the environment in the series would be gone, combat would have to be dumbed down to something like MO due to lag/network issues, and I think the general sense of exploring a big open world would be gone, and probably replaced with your typical quest-hub + occasional instance type of gameplay.
It's a good single player series. I believe it should remain that way, and that Bethesda should focus on improving the series as it is, than having to take the several steps back that would be necessary to make it into a working MMO.
Makes me wonder what you mean.
Fallout isn't the Elder Scrolls and ZeniMax Online isn't Bethesda.
Not surprised really as this isn't the first time they've said their not interested in making an MMO out of The Elder Scrolls.
I still haven't realized why people are always begging for a TES MMO when it goes against the entire principle of TES series aka you are the chosen one with a special destiny and deeds in store for you. On the other hand, a sandboxy MMO where you could roam throughout Tamriel as a no-name adventurer? That I could get behind.
Elder Scrolls SP for the win, like Mass effect and many others there's no really a reason to make an mmo.
Thank goodness!
Elder Scrolls is a great single player RPG series, I'd hate to lose it. I haven't seen MMOs as so enjoying as single player games these days. And the best: you all can't bug me in Tamriel! =P
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
I actually agree with him 100%. The Elder Scrolls series wouldn't translate well into the MMO genre. Everything would need to be changed to accomodate MMO mechanics. What you would end up with would be a totally different game with an Elder Scrolls paint job. It may be a fun game but it wouldn't be The Elder Scrolls we all know and love.
Edit: I would however very much like to see them add at least limited multiplayer at some point in the series. Being able to adventure with one to three of your friends would be awesome and wouldn't take away too much from the 'Unique Savior Character' feel of the game. Having up to four 'Saviors' running around is a lot different than having thousands of them.
Bren
while(horse==dead)
{
beat();
}
I quite agree with everyone, I especially hate when people want MMO's out of games such as Mass Effect like someone pointed out. These games will just not translate well into the MMO sphere, hell our truly first story focused MMO hasn't even hit the market yet.
i agree TES was a fantastic series i only just got morrowind and im loving it. Oblivion is amazing too though i dont like the fast travel idea. I have skyrim preordered and im totally excited.
Now one thing i would have liked is if oblivion support a minor multiplayer. not like team deathmatch or arena and stuff no no just like a local lan game or internet where two players can join together and play the campaign together. Me and my best friend would have loved it if that were possible. but thats just me and him. We like doing coop no matter the game. If coop is available.
Absolutely fantastic. I totally agree with Howard. I guess he feels about his game the same way I feel about his game. Not everything has to be made into an mmo, and I really do feel taking Elder Scrolls and slamming the mmo sticker on it really does take something away from the game.
Im a huge Elder Scrolls fan. But Ive never wanted it transformed into an mmo and I never will. The series runs as it should. If it aint broken dont fix it.
Multiplayer would be cool though, at least.
To be really fair, I don't think Bethesda could even handle multiplayer. They're barely able to pull of single player anymore in my opinion.
In what possible way is this true? Are you talking about Fallout New Vegas?
Because that wasnt developed by Bethesda. And I was kind of annoyed it wasnt. If they are going to temporarily hand off the IP to another developer at least pick a more competent one. Because that game was a buggy mess.
Other Bethesda games have had their bugs, but not to that level. I hope they dont do that again. Bethesda should keep their IPs in house as far as Im concerned. They did it to keep the Fallout franchise relevant while they worked on Skyrim, but if the game turns out to be a buggy mess then it sort of tarnishes the IP and its not worth it.
Cost of development aside, I do see no big harm from making an Elderly Scroll MMO.
The MMO will not take away anything from the existing series. It can be from another era of the timeline or something, and so long as Bethesda has the manpower they can maintain both solo and MMO series.
If we have an elderly scroll MMO well made, if only.
Well it's my opinion. I think almost everything save for aesthetics has been taking a wrong turn with each title and slowly opting in for an action game rather than what most would consider an RPG.
Also on an unrelated note since I wasn't talking about New Vegas, I thought New Vegas was a step up from Fallout 3 in every possible way -- something that I don't believe Bethesda has been able to say about their games in a long time (especially in the writing department).
It's funny you mention that IPs should stay in house, though, since many of the guys at Obsidian have been involved with Fallout before Bethesda. They seem a lot more qualified to handle the material than Bethesda.
Obsidian are notorious for their own games being buggy but again to be fair, Bethesda has always had pretty buggy games, too. I don't know if you were around for the launch of Fallout 3 or Oblivion, but both of those games had a lot of very similar engine problems that you can also see in unpatched New Vegas. While I'm not being an apologist for Obsidian, they weren't dealt a really good hand when it came to the short time frame they had to develop the game and the engine in which they were given. I believe if Obsidian were given full work of the IP and realistic time constraints, then Bethesda could also focus their attention on their own series that I feel has been kind of neglected for a long time.
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To be a little more on topic instead of just commenting, I don't think an Elder Scrolls MMO is the right thing to do right now but I do think that cooperative play is absolutely something that would benefit the series right now. Essentially after you're done with the main quest you're just roaming. I'd rather be roaming with a friend, I think.
Perhaps after dabbling into any form of multiplayer, Bethesda could then consider the idea of how an Elder Scrolls MMO would even work. It's kind of the problem that I think Bioware was faced with -- they could've done so many interesting mechanics and systems with what they've done with their previous games, but I feel that they're kind of just slapping the themepark template onto their IP and taking the easy route out. I just don't see how many KotOR fans would be very thrilled with how they've decided to take their game.
It's kind of funny that there is a common link between Bethesda and Bioware and that's Obsidian. Perhaps Obsidian wont be nearly as freelance as they once were, though, considering how succesful New Vegas was for Bethesda and Zenimax.
I fear that once a long running series delves into the mmo space, they rarely return. Have you seen another World of Warcraft RTS ? Nope. I doubt we'll get any more Kotor games after Swtor either.
MMOs are fine. But we dont have to convert every awesome single player game into an mmo. If we do that, there wont be any other awesome single player games to be had, and they do have their value. They can offer things no mmo really can.
Theres a such thing as keeping an rpg IP in its roots and improving upon that. It does not have to become an mmo. You see no damage or hurt here, but I dont think another Elder Scrolls game would likely be made after that. The mmo would be developed on instead. You'd have expansions instead of new Elder Scrolls entries. This would last for a very, very long time.
Thats very damaging. Especially for me and people like me who love the series for what it is. Im just really pleased Howard seems to understand this. When rumors of an Elder mmo began, I had worried Skyrim might be the last of its kind. Thankfully thats not the case.
Not to mention they would have to tinker with almost every core mechanic in the game to make it work as a MMO. It wouldn't 'play' like an Elder Scrolls game. The Mechanics of the Elder Scrolls series may not be liked by everyone but it is what defines an Elder Scrolls game. A MMO made from the IP just wouldn't 'feel' like Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind or Oblivion. Like I said before it would be a totally different type of game with an Elder Scrolls paint job... No thank you.
Bren
while(horse==dead)
{
beat();
}
I am not Bethesda I do not speak for them, I was just hoping, wishing, daydreaming.
Skyrim is definitely the one I will buy as soon as I see one on my friend's shelf. I will strangle him if he failed to reserve me a copy. Yes I am that eager, I love arena, all the way to Morrowind. Oblivion is great once we start having mods rolling in, and the huge user-made patches.
I was just hoping that Bethesda can find enough manpower to build 2 development teams, one maintaining the elderly scroll old series, and another exploring the option of making an MMO. The 2 design team need never cross over.
Daydreaming and waiting for 11.11.11.
This is pretty much happening across the industry. RPG's are becoming hybrids.
O_o o_O
I can't say I hate that they are, I mean I would consider the witcher series a hybrid along with mass effect. I mean ye It's doing bad to some games such as Dragon Age 2, but in general I believe they hybrids are only improving the RPG experience.
Morrowind was Bethesda's best imho. Whilst they haven't released anything horrible, like Bioware's DA:2 mess, they've not managed to recapture that experience. I really hope Skyrim isn't a further dumbing down of the franchise, but indications are not so good... that said I'll still be happy to pre-order and play the hell out of it.
An Elder Scrolls mmo I could take or leave. As others have pointed out, there really isn't anything that would really make it stand out from the existing mmo crowd in terms of lore, possible gameplay or setting.