Okay so Bethesda recently made it clear that they're now pretty much done with Skyrim and are moving on with their next project. We can also assume it's Fallout 4, although what can be expected? And what should be expected? I don't know, never been a big fan of Bethesda's games, they're fun in the beginning but quickly get dull to me, but I'll give my opinion on the matter anyway. There is potential in their games, can't deny that, but several flaws keep holding them back, in my opinion at least.
So here it is, my list on 5 things they have to learn to make a game that keeps me interested after the intro sequence (didn't that sound egotistical?), bare in mind that I will mostly use Skyrim as a reference since that's their latest game, and the games are really similar (Fallout 3 = Oblivion):
1. Allow me to make a noticeable impact on the world, in Skyrim I didn't ever feel like I did anything that mattered. Point and case, there was a civil war going on, apart from the bigger battles there was nothing to indicate that a war was even going on, okay sure there were a few signs but that's it. If I went on to do other stuff during that war I could go on for a long time, and forgetting I was even a part of that stuff.
Skyrim was very restricted, so most of the time you need to have permission to do stuff, wanna know how to do this right? Just look at Obsidian's Fallout: New Vegas. There's also a war going on there, a lot more active, you see that shit going on, and if you pick a side, be ready for people to take notice of you. Not only was the war an active part of the game, you could do stuff on your own that affects the world in various ways. Example, a solar plant you come across early, if you in a quest choose to cleanse the place of Faction A, Faction B will occupy the place soon afterwards. Your action matters, Faction A may start sending assassins after you, Faction B may become friendly, and later on you can choose to fuck over both factions and be your own boss. Nothing like that in Skyrim or Fallout 3.
2. Skip that level scaling shit, it's simple, I see where their going with it, but they can't make it balanced. In Fallout 3, the Broken Steel expansion? That mission where you're supposed to save a bunch of people out of a mutant infested building, I did fine, but due to my high level the people who ran out with me got slaughtered by the new enemy types that were meant to challenge a level 20+ character.
And Skyrim, well, it seemed like the main enemies in the story didn't level scale, they did have recommended levels, after all. I was a high level when I went after the final boss, it was a walk in the park, very anti-climactic to say the least. Then, I wandered through the forest, and wouldn't you know it, a bandit arrow hits me, then another, then another, and BAM! Dead, I was taken completely by surprise, how did a bandit kill me with just a few arrows when I had a good set of armor and had just returned from killing a monster threatening the entire world. Excuse me but I feel like the bandit shouldn't be a threat at this point, they should have sent the bandits instead, being able to take down the Dragonborn himself just like that.
3. Don't stop me from doing whatever I want when that's exactly what you advertise, this is similar to point number 1. but different. Bethesda always promise great freedom, but I feel that all they do is give me freedom to do exactly what they want me to. I did kill the final boss, not because I wanted to necessarily, but because the game wanted me to. What I didn't do, was kill random characters I didn't like, why? Because the game didn't want me to, too many people are immortal because there might have been need of this character at one point.
New Vegas did this right, I could march right up to the boss for Faction B and kill him, if I was strong enough. Naturally, unless you're beefed up and an awesome hero of the wastes, you can't just walk in and pop him in the head, no, but that's the point. You got the freedom to do it, but the game was smart in how it prevented you to do it. He's not immortal until some guy gives you permission to go and kill him, he'll just kick your ass if you go in without being prepared. So that's basically it, Bethesda, if you promise freedom, give it, technically every game gives you absolute freedom to do exactly what the developers intended, show that you can go beyond that like the developers behind Dishonored did. It's all about bending the rules.
4. For once, less is more... What in the end seem to make Bethesda's game fall flat is them trying to put too much in there. There's nothing wrong with ambition, but any competent developer need to understand when they have to cut down their product in order to make the content in there as good as possible. Having repetitive quests just for the sake of having tons quests does not make it fun.
What they really need to learn is just that, focus their attention to what's worth it. Do we really need a huge map full of nothing when we could have a slightly smaller map that's full of more interesting things? I, for one, say no. Bethesda can do interesting stuff, but I do think that they spread it way too thin. Perhaps it's system limitations, but it gets way to clear when someone has bitten off a bigger chunk than they can shew. I'm afraid Rockstar Games will do the same with Gta V, promising that the world will be bigger than some of their biggest games combined, I really hope they can fill that up with stuff to do. Although to be honest, I trust Rockstar more than Bethesda, since only one of them has kept doing the same mistakes over and over again.
5. If everything else fails, then at least recognize my efforts. You know what the most rewarding part of conquering the world is? People acknowledging your supremacy. Now I know you can't do that in any of Bethesda's games, but you can come pretty close. In Skyrim, you're witnessed to kill dragons and being the "Dragonborn", I also became head of the guilds, became a war hero and saved the world, more or less. Yet, when I walk among these people that should be hailing me as a hero, savior, and perhaps leader, all I get is people mocking my character like he was a simple peasant.
Why do I have to take that? That's where many previous points come into play as well, I can't take over anything myself, and I can't destroy a village for the mockery (due to immortal peasants, bah), it's really an immersion breaker. Not only that, but feedback is an important thing to every game, if I defeat the bad guy people should take notice, goes for any game, even Farmville gives you feedback to your actions. Any glory you get is so fleeting, there were moments that make you feel great, but they were gone as fast as they arrived.
So, that's my take on it, I hope they fix some of the mentioned stuff. Agree or disagree, gotta admit I make some valid points, eh?
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| I'm super serious! |
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