PAX11: Thoughts on The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

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Besides getting hands on time with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim at PAX (ha David! I ended up with the better deal), I also got to pick the brain of lead artist Matt Carofano. He not only has been working on Skyrim, but was also on the projects for Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and IV: Oblivion along with, I’m told, many others who have been working on Skyrim.

NOTE: To make this a little less confusing, I’ll title each portion with the question or statement (in general) I directed towards Matt. The words following it will be a mix of his responses combined with my thoughts on what I was able to see and play. These responses are paraphrased from my notes, while the few quotes will be well, “quoted.”

The game is visually stunning, as we’ve all had the opportunity to see in trailers, but that carries over to the actual in game experience. For those that have previously played an Elder Scrolls game, the general feel and control style appears to be similar to the past. The menus may have changed a bit (I admit to my memory being a little fuzzy) as have things like conversation mechanics. At the core, you feel the difference from previous Elder Scrolls to Skyrim, but not the extent that it loses the feel of being an Elder Scrolls game.

How did the team want to move forward with Skyrim?

When I asked Matt about how the team had wanted to move forward into Skyrim, I got some of the usual answers. Creating a whole new engine that would make use of the new possibilities (and greater understanding) of the systems (in terms of consoles) that the game would run on was obviously important. By doing so, that would also allow for there to be more on screen and to have greater details in the world (all hand created by the artists and designers). Augmented by these changes is a new animation system that would smooth over many of the rougher portions that say, Oblivion, had.

However, what really grabbed me was his first response to the question, which was dynamic shading. Now that may seem like something that’s only a minor detail, but it’s amazing what a greater awareness of lights and darks (for example: dawn, dusk, nighttime with lamps and fires, the differences in character features and the various locations such as caves and dungeons, etc) can do for your perception of the world. Especially in an imagined world such as the province of Skyrim, you can usually build a higher attachment to something you view as alive and ‘realistic.’

How similar is the world design in Skyrim?

Another topic I brought up with Matt was how much of Skyrim would feature a similar world design to Oblivion. The benefit of having numerous team members who worked on the previous games is the ability to be fully aware of what those games were, especially in comparison to what they wanted to make Skyrim. Matt called Oblivion more of a “medieval fantasy,” while they wanted to make the province of Skyrim more dramatic. One of the ways they are able to generate a world that fits into the Elder Scrolls universe while not being similar (per se) to Oblivion is with a new system for mountains. In general, the placement is random and relatively irrelevant. However, Matt did note that at times the set-up of the terrain will be used to help direct players (especially in the beginning of the game).

What was the team’s thought process?

Sometimes it’s useful to get into the minds of the development team so you can have an idea of where they’re coming from and what they’re trying to accomplish. So I asked a generic blanket statement about the thought process the team put into the game. Matt’s answer was that each game they create, they begin with a plan to ‘reinvent’ the Elder Scrolls and what an open-world RPG is. In doing so, they start in many areas from scratch and others get a bit of a re-vamp. Essentially, they examine every element of their game in terms of the underlying systems. What did they do in the previous game? What do they want them to do now? How can they be modified or rebuilt to reach the team’s end goal?

In doing so, they changed many of the systems to work together individually and as a whole in the pursuit of their reinvention of the franchise & open-world RPGs. He did explain though, that as a team they do have a similar thought process of reinventing the game to make it better and more exciting, and so can reach similar design decisions in some areas (and they have). Others would be thrown out to do something new.

The Elder Scrolls represents a targeted sort of game, but has been getting massive press attention. Did the team consider ease of access for newer players to the franchise?

The game is set in first person, so anyone with interest or previous gameplay in that style should be able to play. He did say that the game isn’t really streamlined for ease of access, but rather has some quest and mission help at the beginning to get you started. However, players can ignore those suggestions at any time and do whatever they want. Skyrim can offer a casual experience for slow people (sort of like me), or offer the same kind of experiences that the previous Elder Scrolls did with the ability to explore and really extend where you go and what you do.

The Dragons!?

Obviously, dragons have been a central figure of the game and not much has really been explained about them. Matt wasn’t able to really go into much detail concerning them as they are integral to the story. The premise is that when you start the game, dragons have just reappeared in the world and everyone is just a little bit surprised. Underlying in the game is that your character is Dovahkiin, or dragon-born, so you have the soul of the dragon. As people discover that, you sort of become the chosen one that people will turn to in dealing with this new dragon threat. The main quest essentially deals with finding out why the dragons have reappeared.

It’s an extensively apparent undertone (or obvious part) in different places. In one small town I wandered through during the demo, an older woman was raving about seeing a dragon. The NPCs around her reacted in the ‘she’s a crazy old lady’ mode, wondering what she’s talking about and if she has gone mad. However, further down the road I encountered a larger town (more of a castle with an outer wall and all) where the guards informed me that the town was closed to strangers after the rash of dragon attacks. You felt the variation from a ‘big town’ to a ‘small town’ and the people’s responses to this threat of dragons.

Will this be like the previous games with a main story quest surrounded by numerous side ones?

According to Matt, Skyrim will actually feature more than the previous Elder Scrolls titles. The main quest will average (assuming you run straight through) about 30 hours or so. There are tons of factions (some you’ll remember), such as the Dark Brotherhood, that are like guilds of various skills (thieves guild!). Some new ones are making an appearance as well. However, the game is set to handle any changes in attention that you may have. You can wander off to do a side quest and then wander back to the main quest at any time (oh good, now I don’t have to be too worried).

Is the texture of the game similar to Oblivion?

Actually, the game features lots of different regions from lava flows to the pine forest to a tundra or valley region. Oblivion wasn’t just a singular environment, but I just wasn’t sure if Skyrim would be modeled in the same way. I only got to view some of the icy mountain-tops and the pine forest during my time running around the demo. However, Matt’s listing of the variety is very extensive, with the reasoning to give more of the feeling of an open world in which you can explore.

This is a mixture of reassuring and scary. The good part is that you won’t have a game that becomes monotone in color and environment, making it boring once you get further along. On the other side, the sheer amount of environments is a clue to the extent of the game, which for someone like me is daunting since that hours necessary are hard for me to find.

The gear (weapons and armor) showed varying attachments and strains. Talk about that.

There’s going to be a lot of variety between gear strains and skills. There are skills for one-handed, two-handed and ranged weapons. Additionally, besides having enchantments on some of the weapons, you can also create perk trees for much of the gear. How you attire yourself in the game can be just as essential as the skill sets you choose to advance.

Similarly to what you may think, there will be a mixture of light and heavy armors, as well as mages robes, to benefit the different fighting style and class choices you make. Some will have more benefits than others and others may have added detriments. Various weapons will have special abilities. For example, a mace may completely disregard armor and do increased damage because of that (err, that might be exactly in the game, but is a good example of what I’m trying to portray).

Customization is going to be as integral a part of Skyrim as in the previous Elder Scrolls titles. Having a chance to browse through the menus and various items I picked up (or stole) gave an small inclination of what you’ll have. Endless options, yay!

Is there going to be obvious areas that require a higher level skill set?

Some areas will be fixed while others will be random, mixed encounters. Certain areas will level up with you (in general) while others will be distinctly meant for higher or lower levels. According to Matt, it’ll be a little more similar to the Fallout style than the Oblivion style. That’s good in that for the most part you don’t have to worry about wandering into a place you shouldn’t be. However, again the down side (for me) is that there is little to stop you from wandering into other areas and being potentially drawn away from your original purpose. I can’t wait!

A lot of information, though not necessarily new. However, the game played well, looked great and came across as being published, even with the few months left to go before release. I enjoyed being able to play it while discussing the whole game (for the most part) with Matt. So thanks! Keep an eye out for more information before the game releases on November 11, 2011.