» Wed Jun 11, 2014 3:23 pm I think I nailed down something that bothers me deeply about Elder Scrolls games and something I hope they address going forward. It is concerning the artistic direction of Elder Scrolls. Namely, it is the photo-realistic push that the games seem to be making. Now, I don't object to this, in fact, I like it. The problem for me is that the more they push for a realistic look to their game, the more tiny discrepancies really start to bother me, more so than they do in games where the aesthetics are decidedly "game-y". (Please bear with me, I will make my point I promise lol).
I had this epiphany when I was playing Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, which is an awesome game that I'd recommend if you are looking for something to play. Kingdoms of Amalur is really one of the few games you could stack against the Elder Scrolls for this past console generation (unsurprising since one of the guys who worked on it helped to make Oblivion). Mechanistically, I would say that KoA is actually a bit superior to Elder Scrolls titles, but otherwise falls a bit short in terms of the exploration department. Now, this is an intended sacrifice I think, and it is tied into the aesthetic of KoA a bit as well. Kingdoms is not a photo-realistic game. Todd McFarlane had a hand in creature design and the end product certainly borrows from his comic book past. The game has a Fable-esque look to it. It looks great, but it definitely isn't photo-realistic.
Now, I said that mechanistically, KoA is actually superior to ES games. I say this because combat in KoA takes place solely from a third person perspective and has great fluidity between casting spells, using melee weapons, and shooting a bow. You can wield your arsenal simultaneously and effectively, partially because multiple spells can be mapped to face buttons, and also because you can map two weapons to X and Y (I'm on xbox) and use them in concert. Like all ES games, these weapons only appear on your back one at a time. So say I have a sword and bow equipped, the only weapon that shows up on my back in KoA would be whichever one I used last. This at last brings me to my point.
In KoA, like in Skyrim, when you equip a different weapon and start swinging, it appears out of no where. When you decide to use a spell after swinging your sword, it will magically snap to your back and you will cast the spell. Weapons do NOT stack on my body, even though KoA has the perfect system in place to allow them to stack (you can only equip two at a time). I can sprint around like a madman in plate armor and dodge like I'm wearing nothing. When you fire a bow, you don't even have a quiver on your back and the arrows magically regenerate. Now, when I initially played KoA, some of these things (especially the bow thing) really REALLY bothered me. I thought to myself, "this game has no basis in reality". However... when I kept playing the game (and avoided bows let's be honest) I really grew to love the game, and those aspects of combat that are so jarring to me in Skyrim (and other ES games) don't bother me in KoA. I believe this is because KoA's aesthetics are more "game-y" and so these reality breaking moments aren't jarring at all.
Elder Scrolls is a bit of a different beast. When I play that game, I immerse, like many of you do I'm sure. As I have continued to play Elder Scrolls games, and most notably in Skyrim, I've become more and more irked by the fact that I cannot see the weapons I am going to use on my body all at once, and when I swap in combat, they appear out of nowhere. I am likewise a bit peeved by the fact that heavier armor doesn't really have any appreciable effect on my movement and combat behavior. In short, the "game-y" things that I can accept so easily in KoA have become burdens to Elder Scrolls, because this game's aesthetic pushes the photo-realistic side of things, and so little mishaps like the ones I've spoken about stick out like sore thumbs.
THE POINT
If Bethesda is going to keep making their games look more and more realistic (like I hope they do) then I think we should expect them to make their games play more and more realistically (like they should). Now, everyone has a different word about what that probably should look like, but I think the key things they need to do boil down to several things.
1. Weapons
We need to have two slots for weapons that we can modify at any time pre-combat. Once combat begins, we cannot modify what we have selected, unless we pick up a weapon from the environment. We can swap between our selections at any time by using the hotkeys currently used in Skyrim (left and right on the d-pad). When changing our selection, if in third person view, we will see our character quickly sheath whatever weapon currently in use and quickly draw the new weapon. Outside of combat, we would see our weapons on our characters at all times (hopefully in proper sheaths). Stacking animations would accomodate a wide selection of weapons, from doubling up on swords to a bow and sword, dagger and staff, etc.
2. Casting and combat back together
The hand system needs to be abandoned. Dual wielding can remain a thing, just tie it solely to one trigger. Dual casting likewise can remain intact, but we don't need to assign magic to our hands anymore (nothing good really came of it anyhow). Make the shout button our dedicated cast button again, and allow us to use spells with our primary weapon drawn. Make the animations powerful. For instance, if we are wielding a greatsword and go to cast a fireball, let the casting animation show us with our sword in our off hand resting on the ground, channeling the fireball in our dominant hand and then throwing it with gusto, subsequently hoisting our sword again upon completion
3. Make combat weightier overall
Lightly armored characters should move more nimbly and their tactics should focus on hit and run. For heavily clad warriors, the strategy then becomes trying to hamstring or stun them, or use a ranged tactic. Make body parts targetable and able to be wounded a la Fallout3. Regeneration outside of combat would restore some function for the player but not all. Make movement and positioning important to fights, so they are more than simple health pool battles (and so boss fights are more than just cheesing mechanics).
4. Improve character animations
Character movement should factor in the size of the character, the attributes (which should return as well), the injury status of the player, and armor worn. Characters who specialize in a broad field of combat should also have their movement altered to suite. For instance, a warrior should swagger around a bit like a brute, while a thief should move about lithely, while a mage would walk briskly and purposefully. Mixing between disciplines should yield a unique gait as well.
Overall, movement should be soooooooooo much smoother.
And that's it. I know this was a huge post, but hopefully if you have attention problems you skipped to the bolded underlined part. I think the four things I listed aren't insane expectations for the next generation of Elder Scrolls games. I think these might be things the developers are already looking at. What I do know is this: ES games cannot get by with game-y things anymore. It worked in Morrowind and somewhat in Oblivion, because the games definitely had graphical limitations, but also just those aesthetic vibes about them, that made those discrepancies less annoying. If the next Elder Scrolls is a big visual leap (like it inevitably will be) then the underlying animations, movement, and combat need to take a serious leap forward.
