» Mon Jul 18, 2011 12:01 pm After Oblivion I semi-swore never to buy an Elderscrolls game again. See, I am a fan of the older games and this constant simplification, un-intelligent and often casual player-centric design choices make me more cynical than excited. I mean, Oblivion was just a spit in the face when it came to good game design. They broke a hundred different rules for good game design, it felt generated, slopped together by a team that really didnt have their _____ together. It was hyped with false marketing and pretty wrapping but the actual product was nothing but junk. Thankfully, the mod community was able to "fix" some of the glaring issues with the design of the game.
We shall see what happens with Skyrim. The fact they simplified it even more, less stats, less skills, less character customization options (some of the core elements of the western RPG, and franchise) just tells me they want to eventually turn it into an action game with some small rpg elements. It also tells me they would rather add in just enough to market and appeal to the audiences (dragon fights) and then let the modders do the rest of the work for them. In a way, relying on the mod community does work, the question is how easy will they make it for the modders and developers out there?
So we shall wait and see. The way games are going these days makes me sad as a whole though. As the market gets wider and in many ways (wider = dumber, as you appeal to the masses via simplicity), variety in choices and niches begins to crumble. Publishers are really the major flaw with this industry as a whole, lets hope they wont be needed in the future so developers can make games they way they used to.
