To the Devs,

I would like to open this letter with my own personal thanks for the plethera of utterly fantastic games you have all given us. To be more specific I would like to thank you for The Elder Scrolls series in its entirety, from Arena to Skyrim and absolutely everything in between. No other publisher has been able to produce such a solid, superb product - and I've yet to personally find any brand or series that has held so much replay value over the years. To describe the series in a single word? "Perfect." The Elder Scrolls series has been with me for nearly as long as I can remember. It brought me through Elementary, High School, College, and it still finds a place in my present advlt life. My own two year old daughter prefers watching me slay dragons in Skyrim over watching children's programming on the television, and has already taken to yelling "Fus Ro Dah" at her wolf plushie - something one can't help but laugh at.

My own Elder Scrolls journey didn't begin at such a young age. I was eleven years old when I purchased Morrowind, and had only purchased the game because a friend suggested it and I'd no games that I hadn't beaten at the time. At first I was skeptical, and a little bit annoyed at the complexities of the game itself. Within a week I had shoved Morrowind away and let it sit on my shelf for the months that followed. Unfortunately for myself I became quite ill, bedridden for nearly two months - no school, no interaction with friends, hardly able to keep food down. Dysentry, gotta love it. Gaming kept me going, passed my time and prevented me from becoming insane - though as I said before, I'd beaten all of my games; all of them, except for Morrowind. I remember my first real experience with the world of Tamriel. I popped the disc in to my Xbox, and for almost the first time in my life I actually READ. I read every word of dialogue, took the meaning out of even the more complex language used. I was not only superbly entertained and distracted from my physical ailment, but I was also learning! Yes, a video game taught me and I loved it! Morrowind pulled me through the worst sickness I have ever experienced, and since then The Elder Scrolls has always held a special place in that portion of my heart that I reserve for digital media.

When highschool came around I spent most of my time partying. I was a punk, and I lived like one; I drank, I smoked, I did far too many drugs for ANYONE, let alone a young advlt. I studied and did well enough in classes, but the last thing anyone would have accused me of being was a "Nerd." But I kept one dirty secret - my secret addiction to everything Elder Scrolls... I bought the special edition of Oblivion, read the pocket guide, kept the Septim on me for good luck, and did my best to finish every avaliable quest and discover every location in the game. Yes, beyond school, pot, alcohol, music, or girls, I chose - chose - The Elder Scrolls.

Obviously times have changed, and unfortunately profits are required in order to maintain a business. You are all fans of the games you create, but in order to continue operating as a company you have certain requirements. You must reach a broader audience, forge a larger fanbase - we fans who have existed even in the past eleven years are not enough to fuel a growing company. I'm making no accusations here, I'm not saying that you're only in it for the money. I'm quite sure that you're not just in it for the money, in fact. If you were in it for cash alone then none of you would spend so much time in the development of your games. TES Titles would be released almost annually, with little to no improvement over the previous working title aside from some minor aesthetic enhancements. No, I believe that you're all in it for the games, and for the fans, and I'm certain that I speak for every one of your fans in saying that we appreciate your hard work more than words can express.

I simply wish to say what the rest of us are thinking, and perhaps offer some insight from a fanatical perspective. Morrowind was the greatest game ever put on a disc, bar none. Everything prior was fantastic, but Morrowind lended an enormous graphical leap and such a vibrant and expansive world. It all felt so unique, every pixel had heart and purpose... Oblivion was in no way a 'bad' game, but it lacked the original grandeurous charm of TES:III. The lore was fantastic, and the graphics were (At the time) damn near perfect, but it felt so bitterly compressed compared to Morrowind and its expansions. Moving on to Skyrim now I have almost nothing bad to say, really - and truly I've no real complaints about anything Elder Scrolls - but I feel I must say what many of the ES vets are feeling. It seems to me that in streamlining gameplay, in making the game accessible to everyone, something has been lost. Yes, Skyrim is sublime. It's buggy, sure, but since when is technology ever perfect? The lore is solid and engrossing, the visuals are to die for... But it is condensed, quick, wham-bam-thank-you-m'am and it's done; Nought but radiant quests remaining for a level 66 Khajiit to complete.

I... We miss what The Elder Scrolls once meant to us. Perhaps it is in our own growing that the feeling has been lost. In aging our imaginations have faltered, and this may factor in to that loss, but I can't accept that as the only truth. Bethesda, I simply request that you look back on your roots, reflect upon those things that brought you in to this business in the first place. Remember how it felt to create something that was not a game, but a true digital world. You are the true Gods of Nirn, but I feel that perhaps you've become comfortable and complacent in your current seats. Looking forward is required if one wishes to advance, but it couldn't hurt to take a glance or two in reverse...

I'd like to end this letter in the same way that I opened it, and that is with further thanks and recognition of your unmatched prowess in the industry. The Elder Scrolls brought me through sickness and depression, through nerdiness and idiotic teenage years, and now it's one of my daughter's favorite things in the world. All of you have dedicated your lives to giving us this series, and I hope that none of you think that I am trying to belittle any individuals or the company in any way. I've nothing but respect for you all, and I wish you all the best in your lives.
From the depths of my heart, Thank You.

Sincerely,

- Od Fahliil

damn i like that good letter

Please do not presume to speak for all of us.

Great letter Od Fahliil, add me to your "We" group. I agree completely.

Nice letter. While not all TES 'vets' will share the same sentiments, I think a fair number of people (especially the 'vets') are genuinely concerned about the direction of the series. I think your letter does a good job of expressing what that particular niche thinks and feels. You can include me as someone who would like Bethesda to draw more from their roots when designing future titles in the ES series.

Love it!
Im defenatly in the WE group!

I completely agree.

Very well written and although this may be an exaggeration if the path continues as it does TES might turn into a Call of Duty with swords. Despite this Skyrim is still far from that and I still live the TES universe and lore.

As much as I might agree with the OP, Pseron is right. It's a little over-the-top to use a plural pronoun.

Nice letter op, I wish I was Todd I'd definitely log in and answer to you.

Perhaps I overgeneralized, and I apologise to those of you who may disagree with the majority, however the idea stands regardless.

I hate, so much, the assumption that they compress content simply because they can't be bothered, or in a cynical attempt to cash in on the mass market. AAA game development has become a massive, expensive endeavor, and realisitically a game just can't sit in development long enough for every feature they want to make it in. It isn't a matter of them saying "Oh my gosh, you guys! Remember when we made Morrowind? Let's go back to that design philosophy!" Morrowind was a product of the time it came out of, just like Daggerfall, Oblivion, and Skyrim.

So nice effort, but count me out of your "we".

Saint,

I'm not assuming that they have reason to compress the game, I'm not accusing them of cutting corners - no, not in the least. As I said; I love the series. I always have and I always will. I'm not asking for radical changes or retroactive design philosophies. I'm giving praise to the devs in what way I can, and though perhaps my wording was inept at best at least I've taken an effort. My request was simply that, in the future, they might focus less on the polishing and more on the bare basics.

As for being out of the aforementioned 'we'? It hurts those of us that count ourselves in none.

I would affix my name to this open letter, and I think it voices our concerns in a respectful enough manner to be taken seriously, which I think is a pitfall that some Morrowind loyalists have trouble avoiding. 'Skyrim isn't a bad game, but it's not as good as it could have been. Here is why...' should be our message.


I'm a little bit taken aback by the hostile tone of your post. The OP brought up in very civil terms that there were some realities (profitability) that would preclude Bethesda from making another game EXACTLY LIKE Morrowind agains. He acknowledged this, and then specifically said that even so, he did not feel that Bethesda was 'selling out'.

As for my personal opinion, I think that it's an indisputable fact that Bethesda has been trying to broaden its game's appeal to 'cash in' as you put it. There isn't necessarily anything wrong about this, it may even be something that is necessary for the survival of Bethesda and the future of TES. So fine. Still, there are some very questionable design choices that have gone into the games. For example, what was gained by taking out spellmaking, spears (which have been show-cased as possible and working in Skyrim by the developers), and some other things? It kind of irks me when we get stuff taken away, in some cases very important, much beloved things for no good reason.

You also mention production time as a reason for some design choices... I would wonder, for example why we needed a revamp of the character creation system (Which I loved best in Morrowind, with major + minor skills, meaningful racial bonuses, and a birth sign as well as two favored attributes). It was a system that worked pretty well I thought, and in the time it took for them reimagine what I consider to be an inferior character creation system they could've done so many of the other things that I personally, and many people like me feel should've been in the game.

Thank you, Ravenius,

To expand on your post I'd like to state that I truly hold no belief of Bethesda 'Selling out', though I understand business well enough to know that profits are required in order to continue operating. With increasing costs of development tools (Rather, the rate at which tools are developed causing a fair "Feather" effect on one's wallet.) and a failing economy causing dollar values to drop, and living expenditures (ie. Food, housing) leading to a need to increase employee's compensation it's a no-brainer that our beloved Bethesda requires a larger market.

I think the main point in my post should have been this; Morrowind was my first TES Game, as I'm sure it was for others. Some started at Arena, some not until Oblivion or Skyrim. Point is that Bethesda does not need to 'Enhance' the game in order to draw a larger crowd. In my belief TES is the most universal game of our age. Whether you like hack'n'slash, stealthy assassin games, overpowering foes with the elements and Magicka, or just picking flowers and wandering aimlessly, TES has something for everyone. My ex fiancee played Oblivion damn near as much as I did, which lets me know that at least SOME women out there must also play - so Bethesda has not only all walks of life playing their games but also all genders. I'd say that's grounds for a big "Hell yeah!" and a pat on the back.

To somewhat contradict you, however, I must say that I enjoy the direction which Skyrim's character creation is going. I don't enjoy the execution of the idea per se, but I love the idea. The problem, I think, is that no matter how you play the game you are always a Jack of all Trades - much like in Peter Molyneux's "Fable" series. I played a stealth character, and I maxed out all of my stealth skills to 100. I didn't have all of the perks, but they were up there - I had nowhere else to go. I enjoy the lore, the roleplaying aspect, and chose to join the Companions and the College for something to do - and found both questlines, as most others, painfully shortlived.

I think that this system could work, but the more skills you have in ONE school, perhaps the harder it would be to gain in another without certain perks? Say you're playing a straight-up warrior class, and eventually decide to start casting Fireball from your left whilst wielding an enchanted Daedric sword in your right. Your Destruction would increase SLOWLY, purely because of the fact that you had played most of the game as a warrior. This makes sense to me... Think about it; You spend your life, in real life, studying astrophysics and the like - but one day you decide "Hey, I want to be an automotive mechanic." Sure, you understand the physical aspects, but as far as the actual construct of the machines, etc, you'd be clueless. You'd be so set in your own ways that it'd be difficult to adapt at first, until you became comfortable in your new field.

I'm beginning to ramble, I think, so I'll cut this short.

In conclusion, TES is amazing; but it could be - and has been - better.

- Od Fahliil

How does it work with on one hand accusing them with mass appeal and on the other hand suggesting that they listen to majority?

Bethesda is filled with brilliant people, they are the creators of things which we only notice as "good things" after all. Obviously, they are scared.

So, in the end, the innovation will come from somewhere else and we can only hope that they can lead Bethesda out of this loop. In the mean time, Bethesda must influence others because they are alone in this and thus they are the leader.

PS. CC is better. I would advocate separate perk pools.

You already stated the reason, pretty much. People complain about "dumbing down", but aiming at mainstream appeal isn't just about lowering things to what little publishers think their customers are capable of. Mass appeal is also about reeling in people who don't play that genre in the first place. They generally already feel they've got the RPG crowd locked in whatever they do, and then they go after people who don't like RPG's by removing those elements. More advanced features of character customization and spell creation and other things of that nature can turn away people who don't like RPG's, so they're out.

I don't think it is the individual elements. Spell creation is not more complex than enchanting. They are trying to shoot for an overall complexity that is basically not too complex to scare people away. I personally think they took spell creation out and reduce the spells effectiveness overall so it doesn't take the spotlight from shouts.

I don't think this letter will turn into a success story. But we must continue. Some inspiration...
http://youtu.be/ICsgjqVvtM0

Where is disposition? Favor system is not a substitute. I want to make friends and enemies. I want different dialog and quests to emerge from this. RS system is not a substitute in its current form. I want different, not more of the same. You don't create unique from more of the same. I want to be selective myself on what's to pursue, RS can't do that for me. Link your world like you linked it in Morrowind. The keyword system was amazing. It creates a different neural network in every gameplay. That's brilliant.

Where is faction interrelationships? I want to start a war between factions if I can manage to do so. I want factions to be aware of each others. I want to see things happen in an emergent way by this. Not staged random encounters that is a substitute for these situations.

NPC interaction is still too primitive, if the above premise is causing chaos, it is your fault that you didn't come up with more complex NPC interactions that take into account non-hostile responds.

I don't criticize stories. But the quest structures are not suitable to roleplaying. They are mostly a one dimensional story that is only staged to be seen. Player agency is non-existent. They lack information, viewpoints, room for interpretation. Few choices are completely random that can't be seen past with no whys or ifs, they don't even change a thing anyway.

And rubber band AI ala level scaling suits to arcade games, you are better than this, you don't need this in an open world game. Create some large enough spaces and go for realism.

And lastly, your combat is still chopsticks.

Hear, hear.

My biggest issue with Skyrim is how insignificant your choices have become, and how heavily skills have been downplayed. There's little to no real class specialization anymore outside of the three archetypes, and yet whilst Bethesda is insistent that making these three types satisfying and unique to play before worrying about the smaller things, there's still massive inconsistencies like the lack of unlock spells that make me feel quite guilty about having to break from the mould of my character.

Developers appear to be increasingly worried about their games not boasting substantial replay value, so instead they make sure that all of the "cool stuff" is force-fed to the players who want to be completionists. I mean, what pride is there to take in joining the College of Winterhold if all you're asked to do is to cast a spell at the floor - and even that spell can be bought from the NPC you're talking to? There aren't any skill checks to break up the game so that everybody's experience is actually different.

At best, your playstyle may happen to align with something they want you to do (i.e. already possessing the spell needed to join the college), and those players who meticulously planned their character's backstory and skill progression for an hour before actually starting the game will be rewarded with the convenience of getting into the guild 20 seconds quicker than everybody else. That's it, though. It greatly reduces the sense of accomplishment you get from your character's development.

It's a subtle, yet nefarious trend I've noticed in games as of late (Civ V is an example). There are no penalties or forbidden options anymore, only bonuses for those who happen to plan ahead. Lots of fluff. What good is being able to outright accept an NPC's quest versus picking the snide, selfish pan-Bioware "what's in it for ME?" dialog option, if you would have gotten rewarded upon completing the quest anyway? That was a missed opportunity for some skill checks that could have diversified the results of quest rewards. Perhaps if your character appeared charismatic or competent enough, the NPC would entrust you with an additional task or be willing to pay a greater sum of gold so that they might rest ease knowing their task is in good hands. Conversely, attempting to bluff for a reward at a low level could result in the NPC being more reluctant to trust you.

I don't think this letter is really necessary, but I do agree that praise is always a good thing. A lack of appreciation for what has been done is probably why the developers thought nobody would miss the removal of all the little things from the past games. But all the same, I agree with what you've said OP - though patience can run thin on these forums and it's often hard to succintly pin down what made the older TES games feel so magical. More often than not, my efforts to explain the appeal of DF/MW to friends ultimately result in me breaking down and simply spewing forth random nuances about the game that I like so much - "uh...light sources...READABLE SCROLLS...yeah...oh and DAT DAGOTH UR!"

vtastek always seems to take my thoughts and articulate them for me. I agree with the OP too.

As several posters, including the OP, have pointed out, the series is no longer what is used to be, for better or worse depending on your gaming preferences. I agree with most of the OP's views, although I feel that it is POSSIBLE to merge a deeper and more intricate set of possibilities into the game, with a relatively simple and easily understood "surface layer". Sure, you can cast the basic spells, fight the standard style, and sneak around like most of the rest of the stereotypes of those playing styles, and even complete the main quests that way, but there's MORE....

If you can tailor your spells (slightly, as you learn more about the discipline), they can grow with the character, or change in different ways as the game progresses, not a complex set of spell-building options to deal with. Fighting will gradually evolve into either more of a brute-force heavily armored hack and slash experience, or a more subtle deadly dance of swordplay, where you learn how to exploit the weaknesses of armor until skill is more important than pure strength or protection. Thieving could branch into assassination, security, acrobatic moves, or any of a number of specialties, which you could only master one or two of, or else become fairly proficient at all.

The game needs more choices, but not more apparent complexity thrown in the player's face.

I still think a large fraction of the "Morrowind-golden-era" faction here on the official forums could actually attribute their feelings over this game to the powerful influence of nostalgia. Sure, its a good game, but I doubtful about how much it stands out from other Elder Scrolls titles. I understand that many first played Morrowind as a young teen or child; a time when your critical facilities were at their most vulnerable and your imagination the most vivid. Now obviously this isn't true for all, and as I said Morrowind holds its own as a great western role-playing game, and deserves some of the praise it gets, but don't go anointing it with sainthood.

Great letter, OP. Some things I disagree with but would rather not say in fear of flame baiting.

But I can say what I agree with is how "trimmed" the most recent TES have been. Of course they are great games and I still play Oblivion and Skyrim, but some things that get left out just for the average gamer...

I think I should stop there...