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Creative staff discuss the story setting of The Elder Scrolls Online
MMOs in an existing franchise always present certain issues: You need enough conceptual space to advance a game's storyline, but you may not want to be locked in to never doing another title in the franchise. So The Elder Scrolls Online has to be set in just the right time period for the game to work. In a recent video interview, creative director Paul Sage and content designer Rich Lambert sat down to talk about the why behind the when. Sage and Lambert explain that the real draw to this particular time period was the fact that there's neither a great deal of recorded in-game history nor a lot of huge events that might affect future titles -- it's a time when almost anything can happen without derailing future events in the universe. The duo also discusses keeping the game aligned with existing lore and ensuring that nothing gets thrown off by mistake. Those looking forward to the game will want to watch the full interview, which goes into more details regarding specifics of lore and setting.
The Elder Scrolls Online Ebonheart Pact faction profiled
The flashlight of knowledge has already been directed at two of The Elder Scroll Online's three main political factions, and now the third is getting a little time in the light. We've already told you about the Daggerfall Covenant and the Aldmeri Dominion, and today Game Informer is closing out ouroboros with the third faction, the Ebonheart Pact. The alliance that makes up the Ebonheart Pact was first forged after an Akaviri invasion, when the Nords and Dunmer banded together and then cut the Argonians in on the friendliness in order to find safety in numbers. While the Aldmeri Dominion is bent on conquering and ruling, the Ebonheart Pact is really just an attempt to stay alive in a world of invasions and power struggles. The Dunmer, also called Dark Elves, call the familiar lands of Morrowind home. Skyrim, which a few folks may have heard of thanks to a rather underground game that came out last year, is home to the militant and cold-resistant Nords. The reptilian Argonians, or Saxhleel as they like to call themselves, come from the Black Marsh, also known (by way of total coincidence, I'm sure) as Argonia. They share the area with the Hist, a race of sentient trees, and all matter of poisonous and malicious critters and plants. If you need help keeping all the names straight (the Nords are also referred to as children of the sky, by the way, although apparently that's an informal title), be sure to read the full profile.
The Elder Scrolls Online main story will be '100 percent solo'
The main story in The Elder Scrolls Online will be a solitary experience, game director Matt Firor revealed in a video interview with Game Informer."In the Elder Scrolls games you're always the hero, whether you want to be or not," Firor said. "You go out there and you kill the dragons. You kill Mehrunes Dagon in Oblivion. In Morrowind, you're up there fighting the Tribunal - those are huge, global, epic things that you don't want to stand in line to do in an MMO. The last thing you want to do is have the final confrontation with Mehrunes Dagon as he's stomping across the Imperial City, and you see like 15 guys behind you waiting to kill him because they're on the same quest."We have a whole part of the game that is 100 per cent solo, which is the main story, where the world focuses on you. You are the hero, everything you do is solo and the world reacts to you that way," Firor said.Previous details do include PvP matches of up to 200 players, but those are obviously separate from the main quest. The Elder Scrolls Online will be played in a third-person perspective and is attempting to be a "modern" MMO, blending The Elder Scrolls features into this new genre. Not all Elder Scrolls fans are happy with the new title's angle, but Firor said that's just fine."The worst situation for a game community to be in is where no one posts on the boards because they don't care," he said. "If they post on the boards, they care, even if they're not being so polite about it. But that's a fact of life: You're an Internet game, you're on the Internet, you have an Internet community. And the Internet community is always very vocal."So what you do is learn from it. You make sure you do the best job to deliver the best game that you can and they you go from there."
Matt Firor on The Elder Scrolls Online's '100% solo' personal story
Games in the Elder Scrolls series have always been about giving players the opportunity to become the game's hero, and it looks like The Elder Scrolls Online will be no different. The title's game director, Matt Firor, has announced that each character's main storyline in the game will be "100% solo." Firor points back to the previous entries in the series, stating that "in The Elder Scrolls games, you're always the hero... The last thing you want to do is have the final confrontation with Mehrunes Dagon as he's stomping across the Imperial City, and you see like 15 guys behind you waiting to kill him." While it's a good point, we can't help but wonder what kind of an impact this design will have on the social aspect of the MMO, but at this point all we can do is wait and see. Firor's full interview over on Game Informer has plenty of extra information as well, so if you're jonesing for more details, just head on over and check it out for yourself.
The Elder Scrolls Online factions profiled
Three alliances control the political scene in The Elder Scrolls Online's Tamriel, and Game Informer is taking a closer look at all of them, starting with the Daggerfall Covenant and the Aldmeri Dominion. The Daggerfell Covenant is made up of the Orcs (also called Orsimer), Bretons, and Redguards -- although the latter two are coming out of something of a love-hate relationship, with a history of as much internal conflict as external. Apparently time does heal all wounds, though, because the three races have worked out a democratic system of mutual love and respect. The Orcs and Bretons call the beautiful land of High Rock home, while the Redguard are based in Hammerfell. The Aldmeri Dominion is a more hostile power composed of the Altmer, the Bosmer, and Khajiit and intent on total domination. Also known as Wood Elves, the Bosmer call Valenwood home (surprise: It's a heavily wooded area) and enjoy tramping through forests, living in harmony with nature, and building cities in migratory trees. The Altmer, or High Elves, can be found in the little-known Summerset Isles. The Khajiit, who missed out on the alternative name lottery, live in Elsweyr, whose climate is ideal for the cultivation of Moon Sugar. Got all that? Study up, there'll be a test. Feel free to read the full profiles, and keep an eye out for Ebonheart Pact information on Friday.
The Soapbox: Translating Elder Scrolls Online dev speak
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. Language is a pretty fascinating thing, and studying a second one is something I've long intended to do. Aside from entertaining thoughts of learning Korean to play ArcheAge, though (seriously, I looked into it), I haven't gotten around to much beyond college-level Deutsch. But as I watched last week's interview with The Elder Scrolls Online creative director Paul Sage, I realized that I already have some pretty good second-language skills. I'm fluent in both English and MMO dev-speak, so as a public service, I'm going to translate some of what Sage said into the former.
Analyst predicts The Elder Scrolls Online will launch with a subscription fee
Are you hoping that The Elder Scrolls Online will be part of the classic subscription model rather than go the free-to-play route? According to analyst Nicholas Lovell, founder of Gamesbrief, the odds are good that you'll get your wish. Lovell notes that since the game began development in 2007, when subscription games were at their apex, Bethesda is likely to launch using the more familiar business model. Whether or not it will remain as a subscription game is another matter. Of course, the price of play is far from the minds of most fans -- the real question is what the game will look like when it's actually playable. Director Matt Firor recently sat down to discuss the game's earliest stages of development, the relationship between ZeniMax Online Studios and Bethesda, and working within the lore of the established IP. It's an interesting look behind the scenes of development, and if you're interested in the game, watching the video is certain to be six minutes well spent.
Elder Scrolls creative director: We want to make a good game first
The recently announced Elder Scrolls MMO has a lot to live up to. If the initial fan reaction is any indication, it's not doing as well as you might expect in the court of public opinion. Creative director Paul Sage recently stepped in front of the camera to talk at length about the project, and some of what he has to say probably isn't going to sit well with fans who are concerned that ZeniMax is making a generic themepark MMO out of the much-loved single-player sandbox series. "We have to make our own game," he tells Game Informer. "We want to make a good game first. Not a good MMO, not a good Elder Scrolls game, we want to make a good game first, a great experience for the player."
Elder Scrolls Online leaks flood the web
The internet and rabid fandom being what they are, it's next to impossible for gaming press outlets to keep their exclusive information exclusive for very long. So it went with Game Informer's The Elder Scrolls Online reveal, which is slated to appear in its June print edition. Posters at NeoGAF, as well as pretty much every gaming news site around the web, subsequently got a hold of the article and leaked a bunch of screenshots as well as a few rumored gameplay details. Said details include traditional hotbar combat, a third-person perspective, and around 120 hours' worth of leveling content for the average player.
ZeniMax reveals Elder Scrolls Online teaser trailer
ZeniMax has unveiled the first trailer for its newly announced The Elder Scrolls Online MMORPG. There's no gameplay on offer at this early stage, and the clip itself is rather short. It's long on subtle bits of awesomeness, though, including a brief tease of the familiar Elder Scrolls melody and a glimpse of the game's logo (which features a telling three-part design to go along with the game's announced three-faction PvP). At this point, we're still in the dark about almost everything TESO-related. Will it be a sandbox? A themepark? A marriage of the two? How's the crafting, the character customization, and the questing? Your guess is as good as ours, so take a look at the clip after the break and let us know what you think in the comments. [Source: ZeniMax press release]
More ouroboros: The Elder Scrolls Online announcement trailer
Old alliances broken, new things forged, the enemy of your enemy is your friend ... and all that faux-wise voice-over material culminates in another shot of the triple ouroboros. Enjoy this teaser for The Elder Scrolls Online that tells you less than is already known.
First Elder Scrolls Online details unfurled
Details from Game Informer's Elder Scrolls Online cover story have already begun appearing online, it would seem. The game has been in development since 2007 by a team of 250, according to a post on NeoGAF. It will feature full voice acting throughout and will be played from a third-person perspective (generally not the most efficient way to play previous Elder Scrolls titles). As mentioned in yesterday's announcement, The Elder Scrolls Online takes place 1000 years in the past and will span almost all of Tamriel, though certain areas are being saved for the purposes of future expansions.Zenimax Online is reportedly doing its best to strike a balance between the Elder Scrolls series and traditional MMOs, trying to appeal to players of both. In other words, yes, expect to use a traditional MMO hotbar to access your skills. You can also expect epic player-vs-player battles – up to 100-vs-100 in some instances – as factions compete to take over Cyrodil's Imperial City, with the winning faction installing its greatest champion as emperor. The NeoGAF post has plenty of other details and, of course, July's issue of Game Informer has even more.%Gallery-154671%
Elder Scrolls Online announcement generates fan backlash
We've yet to see even a hint of gameplay for the newly announced Elder Scrolls Online, but a good portion of the fan reaction to the news has been negative, according to a report at GamesIndustry.biz. The site says that many of the comments on Bethesda's blog were filled with despair at the prospect of an online title gobbling up development resources or otherwise impacting one of gaming's most beloved single-player franchises. A Bethesda moderator even chimed in to calm down the angst-ridden faithful. "The teams working on these games are separate. Todd Howard's team at BGS will keep doing the type of games they like making, and the ZeniMax Online team will focus on MMO games like this newly announced title," the spokesman said. ZeniMax is scheduled to release the game's first trailer at some point this morning.
Rumor: Elder Scrolls Online media revealed
We know next to nothing about Elder Scrolls Online at this point, but we may have our first glimpse of what the game will look like. A smattering of images, including concept art and what appear to be either screenshots or target renderings, have been published by All Games Beta. Elder Scrolls fans will certainly spot a few familiar elements, notably a flame Atronach.%Gallery-154671%
The Elder Scrolls Online being developed by ZeniMax Online
The Elder Scrolls Online was just revealed to be ZeniMax Online's long-rumored MMO. Game Informer's next cover announced the game this morning. The mag says The Elder Scrolls Online will take place across the "entire land of Tamriel," approximately one thousand years before Skyrim's place in time. The story will focus on daedric prince Molag Bal as he attempts to make Tamriel part of "his demonic realm."The game's director is Matt Firor. "It will be extremely rewarding finally to unveil what we have been developing the last several years," he says. "The entire team is committed to creating the best MMO ever made – and one that is worthy of The Elder Scrolls franchise." The game's July cover reveal will detail a variety of the game's possibilities: soloing, public questing, and a unique new take on player-vs-player, in which the three factions battle over sections of land or a desired position of power.More will be revealed tomorrow in a "brief teaser trailer" of the game, GI says. We've got our double-horned helm on while we wait, just in case.Update: Bethesda's PR says the game will launch for both PC and Mac.
