[Emilie M]

The game releases this year, I highly doubt anything said in the forum from now until release will have any affect on the final product.

[Victor Oropeza]

I hope not. It's embarrassing to think professional game developers might actually be reading all the nonsense I post.

[Nienna garcia]

I think they go on the forums from time to time to see what's happening. What's the big thing being discussed about, etc.
Also, they go and see the response when new information about Skyrim has been released.

After all, these forums could be quite useful for Bethesda, since it's a good way to know what fans think about what they know so far in the Game, and what they want (or don't want) to be included.

[Sharra Llenos]

Anyone can create a username. I suppose it's possible that they cruise the forum "in disguise". I know I would. That way they could see what people are saying about the game without anyone seeing their name at the bottom of the page, raise no alarms. Makes sense to me. :ninja:

[BethanyRhain]

Anyone can create a username. I suppose it's possible that they cruise the forum "in disguise". I know I would. That way they could see what people are saying about the game without anyone seeing their name at the bottom of the page, raise no alarms. Makes sense to me. :ninja:

If you sign in "anonymously" your name isn't added to the list of users at the bottom of a page, and of course you don't even have to sign in to read the forums.

[Stephy Beck]

If you sign in "anonymously" your name isn't added to the list of users at the bottom of a page, and of course you don't even have to sign in to read the forums.

Looks around all paranoid. "They could be anywhere". :bonk:

[Sarah MacLeod]

Well, they said they did...

But hey that's what I would say too in their position.
I'm getting the feeling they actually don't watch the forums. :sadvaultboy:

[Sabrina Steige]

probably not, or else they would know what to put in their interviews

Or they know the information they want to release, and aren't going to say anything they aren't ready to.

No matter what they say, someone is going to want to know every single remote minute detail and the reasoning behind WHY???!?!?? BETHESDA WHY DID YOU DESTROY YOUR ENTIRE SERIES AND LIFE AS WE KNOW IT BECAUSE YOU INCLUDED/DIDN"T INCLUDE MY FAVORITE/MOST HATED FEATURE?!?!?!?!? I think this is one reason they didn't release information about the game before they did. Anything they said about Oblivion, even when it was a beta version and they said things could and would change before release was taken as set in stone by some people, who then turned around and complained they were lied to after the game was released. Look at the threads people still start with the E3 demo, that they said was a demo created and set up for E3. They did say things like the AI had to be changed, but no one remembers that part. Another "problem" was the compilation of information that people pulled from interviews and articles and assumptions/personal opinions of the people who wrote the thread that others then took as facts, since it was written in the forums. Statements in an interview can be misunderstood, taken out of context, and mistranslated. Anyone remember the uproar when Todd supposedly said there wouldn't be another Elder Scrolls game? Only that wasn't what he said; that was the way the reporter paraphrased what he said.

Most of the "blatantly obvious flaws" in Oblivion were things people wanted and asked for on the forums. It just didn't work out the way people thought it would; or the things couldn't be implemented so it would work out in an ideal manner. People wanted horses. Some people didn't want to have restrictions on your character so the pc that can't cast a spell can be Archmage. People complained that it was easy to become an uber leet god type of character, so they revised the level scaling so it wouldn't happen so easily. It was all "correct" information.

Its going to be interesting to see what they've done with the suggestions that started after Oblivion; I'm looking forward to this game.

[Rachael]

If they wanted fan feedback they wouldn't have announced the game with 11 months until release.

They want to make a game which makes the company money.

I can't tell if you're just being blunt and factual or if you're criticizing Bethesda. What you say is true, of course. If they make no money on TES5, there will be no TES6. And sure, they obviously are past the point of needing feedback from us. That's what the past 5 years were for. Now they are taking what the learned from feedback, the sort of mods created, and their own observations and making what they believe to be the best evolutionary path for TES to follow. Will everyone agree with the direction they take? Well looking at how the community is divided on the existing games, I'm going to say no. But we're better off with them going ahead with "the plan" as it exists than having them taking feedback off of their current WIP and then attempting to change it midstream, wasting (limited) resources in the process.

[Rhysa Hughes]

probably not, or else they would know what to put in their interviews

Interviews aren't just for forum goers. What are we like 10% of the people they are trying to advertise the game to?

It's obvious from their constant growth in sales they do know what to put in their interviews.

[Tamara Dost]

Statements in an interview can be misunderstood, taken out of context, and mistranslated. Anyone remember the uproar when Todd supposedly said there wouldn't be another Elder Scrolls game? Only that wasn't what he said; that was the way the reporter paraphrased what he said.

"Athletics doesn't exist anymore (to prevent the player boosting this only by jumping on stand)", says Playstation - le magazine officiel. *shrug* Just an example. Now does it indeed mean athletics is gone, or acrobatics, or both ? It's anyone's guess.

[Taylah Illies]

Bethesda employees view these boards quite regularly.

This is absolutely untrue. Completely and totally false. 100% wrong.

[Kitana Lucas]

"Athletics doesn't exist anymore (to prevent the player boosting this only by jumping on stand)", says Playstation - le magazine officiel. *shrug* Just an example. Now does it indeed mean athletics is gone, or acrobatics, or both ? It's anyone's guess.

The magazine translations are a matter of debate. Some of the information they have is a little contradictory. To be honest, though, I'm glad that they raise these points. My main guess is that the magazines are http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_balloon to measure public reaction. Then if they decide to change their mind, they can pass it off as "No, we had this planned all along, the French/Italian mag just posted wrong information".

Bethesda does read their criticism though. However, the majority of the criticism here is criticism based on incomplete features. For instance, there is a lot of outrage about Spellmaking right now, but no one really knows what other changes to the magic system may have required such an idea, and if those changes make the removal of Spellmaking justified. So I think, at least for now, criticism is being read less than they usually do, because many people just don't know what they're talking about. When the game actually comes out and people can try for themselves, that's a different matter, and that's why input from Oblivion is more important than criticizing future changes before they are even put into effect.

This is absolutely untrue. Completely and totally false. 100% wrong.

You people are awesome :rofl:

[sarah]

Yes, Beth has hired at least one person from the boards; I don't remember his handle here. That was a good while ago; don't know if it's happened again.

But they wouldn't really hire for feedback, but to fill the niche they need in their labor pool.

They can get enough feedback from these forums (yes they do read and make changes in the game design as probably been stated).

Also, they can tell by what mods are the most popular.

[Krista Belle Davis]

I should find the quote before posting this but perhaps others who have been around a while can back me up. Todd has on more than one occasion said that they read many of the forum posts and actually look at many of the ideas and feedback people have for their game. He even said that before Oblivion was released he could get on the forums and read most of the forum posts about Morrowind himself. There are even things that have been announced about Skyrim that I know some people have posted about in detail on these forums! I can only wonder if some of the devs were inspired by the ideas written.

I really think that they read the forums, even if only for inspiration. There are some interesting ideas that come out of here!

[Brittany Abner]

I should find the quote before posting this but perhaps others who have been around a while can back me up. Todd has on more than one occasion said that they read many of the forum posts and actually look at many of the ideas and feedback people have for their game. He even said that before Oblivion was released he could get on the forums and read most of the forum posts about Morrowind himself. There are even things that have been announced about Skyrim that I know some people have posted about in detail on these forums! I can only wonder if some of the devs were inspired by the ideas written.

I really think that they read the forums, even if only for inspiration. There are some interesting ideas that come out of here!

He did say it in the second video of his recent interview with GI.

[Stacey Mason]

...but who watches the Watchers?

Nick watches the moderators
Gstaff watches Nick
Pete watches Gstaff
Vlatko watches Pete
Zenimax Media watches Vlatko.

If they wanted fan feedback they wouldn't have announced the game with 11 months until release.

They want to make a game which makes the company money.

It's more like they collect feedback from all forums - i.e. general gaming forums as well as this one. The readers of sites like Kotaku and Game Informer may have very different opinions to the ones the "Bethesda hardcoe fans" may express, and there are basically more of those than there are of us, so we are inclusively listened to, as part of a wider fanbase.

Yes, Beth has hired at least one person from the boards; I don't remember his handle here. That was a good while ago; don't know if it's happened again.

I can't remember the list, but it's happened a few times.

They can get enough feedback from these forums (yes they do read and make changes in the game design as probably been stated).

Also, they can tell by what mods are the most popular.

I think the problem is that what people say they want and what they do want are different, so I'm guessing the most valuable "feedback" is from Steam, PSN and xbox Live.

For example, when Morrowind came out, a lot of people complained that you were godlike at level 50 and the game didn't have any more challenge, and then were delighted when Bloodmoon came out with new level 50 enemies. Anyone reading the forum would have thought therefore that throwing a lot of high-level monsters into the mix would create a continuing player challenge and that would be a really good idea. However, when Oblivion came out, its level scaling was almost universally criticised.

By the time Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas came out, they could see exactly where each player was in the game - how many people were completing which quests at what level - simply by what achievements they were getting. If lots of people are getting a certain achievement and few people are getting another, they can tell instantly what the more popular questlines are. They can see how quickly people are progressing through the levels and at what level they finish the main quest. The most vocal members on the boards might be demanding 400-hour main quests and leveling up to 100 - but the actual real-time achievement stats might prove that 99% of players are losing interest after 30 hours and completing the main quest at level 12. (Obviously we don't have any way of knowing that - I think only Bethesda have access to that sort of information.)

Where the boards prove invaluable are when things go crazily wrong - like the data glitch accompanying one of FO3's DLCs meaning that half the textures were missing - or just to give a general "feel" of reaction. My observation from reading the boards is that people enjoyed Fallout 3's gameplay more than they did Oblivion, but that a lot of longstanding Bethesda fans prefer the "magical" game-world of Oblivion to Fallout 3's rather depressing scenario. Another "feel" I get is that people are generally quite optimistic about Skyrim, and particularly looking forward to certain features.

[CHangohh BOyy]

Terminator Gretzky meets World of Warcraft with the protagonist looking like a huge bunny.

Are you kidding!?!? THAT'S WHAT WE WANTED!!!! :bowdown: :bowdown: :bunny:

Also, they can tell by what mods are the most popular.

I can has Bouncing Natural briasts? (FO:NV Nexus #13 of top downloads)

[Roanne Bardsley]

I expect there are people at Bethesda who 'scan read' the forums, but they probably don't read them all that avidly

It's possible to come on here and get a reasonable feel of what are the major issues without needing to read every post, or even every thread. So they can pop on here for an odd half hour every couple of days and get a good sense of the vibe about Skyrim discussions.