This is something of a fangirl-based rant of sorts, in part hoping to attract the eye of any dev who might be wandering past. I'm an increasingly disaffected WoWer of late. I began my really immersive gaming with Morrowind, after years of gaming on various platforms (primarily PC). I had never in my life seen something so spectacular in a game as I experienced in Morrowind, and it became easily one of my very favourite games. I would sit and stare at the moons as they rose, haunting music enfolding me. I actually somewhat grumpily began to play WoW when my husband got his copy in 2004, after playing and replaying Morrowind many, many times.


I'm posting this here for a few reasons, but above all as a wistful exhortation to those at Bethesda to consider whether TES would ever be a MMO world. Playing Oblivion, the only serious complaint I had after by then a few years in WoW was that though in every possible way TES4 was superior... it wasn't something I could share with my friends as I wanted to. I could amass the most beautiful outfits, enjoy the most fantastic mods, and set up my home in Cheydinhal to truly shine.. but I couldn't invite another player over to see it. I couldn't quest with them, roleplay with them, or simply whisper "Hey, look at my insanely beautiful Daedric sword? Whatcha think?"

And so after I finished the game, and the expansions, I sighed, and went back to WoW.

When Skyrim's trailer came out, I felt a mingled anticipation, and a sense of despair. Because once more, I will lose myself in this rich, immersive, incredible game world, and then find myself aching to share it with another player. To stand with a buddy and point at the stars wheeling above, and say 'This is incredible'. And all the while, the experience of WoW is bland, stale and boring.. just an everpresent drive to find that elusive concept of 'balance' between class and races, with the logical homogenization bound to take place.

So I will love Skyrim without a doubt. And eagerly geek out in every thread of interest. But I suppose this is addressed both to devs and others like myself, who long for something as immersive, as rich, as stunning as TES, which we CAN share with other players. In 2005 the hint was given that Bethesda was considering a MMO. Are you still?

If Bethesda ever make an Elder Scrolls MMO, it should be a well fleshed out and detailed enjoyable game with plenty of care and affection and not simply a ploy to part us with cash by jumping on the MMO bandwagon.

I'm not a fan of MMO's personally but I do understand that lots of people love them and devote countless hours into, WoW is a game that is still technically under development and it truly is like another huge epic world. If BGS could pull this off in Tamriel, I would probably start getting into MMOs, but it shouldn't be something that is made simply because everybody else is doing it.

they said that each time they see if something like that would be good but then they decide against it

but I could be wrong isnt the gamebryo engine made for multiplayer

To be honest, I really hope Bethesda doesn't decide to try out making a MMO, and just keeps making excellent singleplayer games.

Have the above posters played mmos? I'm curious, since WoW was my first and only mmo, and the only real tie at this point is the social element.

And that is seriously the only thing I miss when I play a TES game. My husband and I sometimes sit and sigh about how if Blizzard had been able to create the perfect game, it would be as BIG and open as Vvardenfell's world, as beautiful as Oblivion, and as social as WoW. Meaning you could quest solo for a while in a huge gameworld, then meet up at a tavern and interact if you chose..

I don't know truly if a MMO can be made that doesn't gut the depth of a game like TES or the RTS warcraft series. I suppose it's a wistful hope that one could.

I think that if Bethesda made an MMO it would be great, but I wouldn't play it, just because I don't like MMOs. Bethesda are great at making single player games, In my opinion they should stick with they're good at.

I played Final Fantasy XI, so I can fully understand your points. But you fail to realise the scope of your request.

I would say that we are still many years away from a game like TES becoming an MMO. It isn't just about hardware handling the software; you also have to consider the develoment resources and capacity thereof.

Their goal is primarily, a story driven world; which is to say, a world that changes around you as you make choices.

MMOs cannot truly do that.

The world doesn't change in an MMO, but you get the illusion of change from unlocking areas and npc dialogue.

If Bethesda were to make a TES MMO, they would have to make world with everchanging events that some players can miss out on. An example being... a certain dragon den was already looted for the Umbra sword hiding within it, so now you have to hunt down that player character and challenge him to a duel. There can only be one umbra, if it is to be a true TES world.

No. Bethesda has stated many time since then they are a single player game developer and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

ZeniMax Online Studios on the other hand is developing a Bethesda owned IP but we are just going to have to wait and see if it's a TES MMO or a FO MMO.

I've played WoW for 6 years.

An MMO will be the death of the Elder Scrolls.

you mention installing a mod but not being able to share that with a friend. if it were an mmo there would be no mods.

Someone developed a basic multiplayer mod for Oblivion if I remember correctly, I'm sure someone will do a better job of modding true multiplayer into Skyrim this time around.