Simple question but feel free to add on any details for how you'd create a LoFi Elder Scrolls MMO if you like.
I am also using the term LoFi loosely by referring to games like Project Gorgon, RS OS instead of games like Dwarf Fortress or 8BitMMO just need to make that clear.
I was thinking the other day that IMO the greatest leaps in the MMO genre were made in games that weren't really intending to WoW(pun intended) anyone but did. All the games that were made pre-WoW had just intended to just get a few hundred thousand subscribers and not the millions that games today shoot for. I remember EVE being heralded as a great success of the industry because it maintained 300k subs over the span of a few years. How times have changed? eh?
Microsoft buying Zenimax and now controlling that IP to be able to do whatever they want with their huge pockets makes be wonder if a LoFi MMO could not only benefit them but also us - let me explain...
Microsoft obviously doesn't care about flashy games(visually top tier) when you look at the games they created or taken interest over the years like Minecraft, Gigantic, Sea of Thieves. While AGS is basing their entire game on nice gfx the same as many other studios just look at Anthem those games are often very shallow and lack any real depth. While ESO is visually beautiful and many aspects of the game like housing/crafting are top notch IMO the main faults of the game are the exact same parts of the game that old skool MMO's excel at like combat(skill + spell variety) and character progression.
Microsoft also does not like spending too much money on new development projects from looking at their history. Minecraft Dungeons and Sea of Theives are the main examples I'm thinking of. Hey! that's okay! make a LoFi Elder Scrolls MMO where the cost will be minimal.
That old gaming industry rule of never making a game that with take away players from another one of their other games also will work in this scenario because the people who can stomach ESO's combat and enjoy the PVP probably won't shift over to a LoFi tab target Elder Scrolls MMO with a bajillion spells cause 'dats too many hotbars and too many skills'.
Carlyle Group buying Jagex recently and right after announcing that RS OS will be added to Steam means that the oldies still have life in them yet. As the population ages and everything starts to fall apart(eyesight) that top tier visual + action combat becomes harder to manage no matter how much you love any specific game. I speak from personal experience because games in my youth that I viewed as 'not nice enough' or not enough of an adrenaline rush are now my main games and have been my salvation during this pandemic/lockdown.
To close out.. if two people can make Project Gorgon with all the features it has using Unity assets and minimal funding then how about Microsoft going that LoFi route and provide the old geezers and soon to be old geezers with a toned down Elder Scrolls MMO experience so that we may spend our golden years enjoying Tamriel and everything it has to offer.
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I'd imagine those problems probably wouldn't exist if Microsoft with all their resources were making the game. I don't play PG as much as I did a while ago but it's still one of my recent favorite MMO with everything it has to offer.
I'm certain that Microsoft could make a similar game without these issues, but also pretty sure they wouldn't come up with as many unique elements as P:G has.
I don't need games to have the highest cutting edge visuals to enjoy them - heck I still play some 10 year old games in the Mass Effect and Dragon's Age series and they look plenty good enough for me.
But part of the fun for me in my 40 years in this hobby has been watching the evolution into near life-like 3D worlds which, IMO are orders of magnitude more immersive due to the visuals.
I couldn't tell you where I draw the line and where the threshold is for me but I do have a visuals threshold below which I just won't play a game no matter how good it might otherwise be.
I've been playing TES games since the original, Arena, and played them all at release. Currently Oblivion is my graphics baseline for that franchise - I just can't play the ones before that and even Oblivion's graphics I find distracting. And like @Torval said, part of the TES franchise is a steady progression in graphical fidelity so for me that progression is as much part of the franchise as any other part of it. I expect TES6 to look better than Skyrim and if that or any other TES product comes out that doesn't meet that standard, I'd be disappointed.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Games have gotten more visually impressive, but I often find I can't interact with those more impressive environments as well as I could those of the past.
To me, immersion has been both gained and lost over the years.
I've toned down ESO a bit as well. I've never played RS OS but found the chat font size of the newer Runescape pretty small. I think they changed that client to allows for larger chat fonts though.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
There are definitely trends in games development and I agree that large corporate entities are more risk adverse hence the opening for indies to take chances sometimes resulting in more creative design.
But the budget lofi of indie games does not produce better games. If they had the budget you bet your ass they'd want to produce creative designs AND hifi visuals.
There's no cause and effect happening there: large studios are risk adverse so they produce cookie cutter, tried and true features for their games. Indies don't. The visuals they can each afford to do are a separate thing.
The association between visuals and quality of game play is just plain old gamer bias.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
I took a look at some video's of Project Gorgon, and I'd say that those graphics, with much better animations, had better have a really great game to go with it.
But then, I'm just no longer interested in a game that isn't "really great" (somewhat loosely) for my wants.
There are to many other things to spend time with than a game that doesn't give me what I expect from an MMORPG world to take up residence in.
Once upon a time....
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I mean if, if you are going to pitch a game, you need to put out more or something other than what has been put out already, this was the curse of the WoW Clones and Grinder Clones, is that they didn't offer anything different/better than what was already there.
So if all you would be able to offer is a ESO clone, why bother?
Once upon a time....