I thought it was pretty interesting:

http://www.gametrailers.com/episode/bonusround/508?ch=3

I kinda believe Mr. Howard. Do you?

Care to paraphrase the question/answer? My volume is broken.

I dont think anything can be as bad as dragon age 2

What a godawful mess that game was

Q: Will Skyrim be stripped of its hard-core elements loyal TES fans are looking forward to?
A: No (with a straight face that would convince Dr. Lightman from "Lie to Me")

Favorite line from that: "We don't try to appease any crowd - we just try to make a better game."

Meh. I actually liked DA-II. I don't really care what anyone says about it. I liked it, that's what matters.

I loved DAII alot...just as much as i loved DAO and Oblivion and it's coming close to Morrowind..
Skyrim though, will really be at the top of the world, as it is describes itself.

Why do threads tend to derail into Dragon Age 2-discussions? :S

I don't can't have sound at the moment, but that looks like something I've seen before. Isn't this the video where someone kind of talks smack about Todd or something similar?

is it me? or does Geoff (i think thats the hosts name) seem really nervous to be beside todd?

Idk...personally, "hard core" is not a term you can apply to any RPG, same as you wouldn't say it's an "extreme RPG." Mountain climbing is hardcoe. Sitting in front of your xbox or computer is never, ever going to be hardcoe.

That said, when you automatically regenerate health and have a compass which tells you where everything is...it's less hardcoe. You're not taking away hardcoe elements, but you're adding elements which make the game much less difficult or unforgiving.

It's not a lie if Todd believes it, but he may have also beleived that Oblivion's level scaling was a good idea. I don't know...he's a good developer, but I've just never put him on this pedastal everyone else seems too. He seems like a very nice guy, and obviously he makes a pretty good video games. But there are just so many obvious flaws with Oblivion, I really wonder how it left the gate. Morrowind had bugs. Oblivion had design flaws. Huge difference. One is a matter of time, money, and skull sweat. The other is a matter of common sense, and generally yes and no questions.

That is so full of BS I don't where to start. Not talking about you, I'm talking about Todd.

There is no question that they are appeasing to the "Casual Gamer". Anyone that would think otherwise has their head in the sand with their rose colered glasses on.

Oblivion was targeted for the "Casual Gamer" and Skyrim will be more of the same, from what I've seen so far.

Both Oblivion and Dragon Age isn't what I would call a "hard core" RPG.
Games like Baldur's Gate, Arcanum and Planescape is closer - Where RPG elements and story is more focused on than fighting mechanics and such.

Skyrim is targeted towards the casual gamer? Then I will cancel my pre-order immediately. Too mainstream!

Agree... DA2 was a terrible mistake... :shakehead:

Sarcasm aside, it won't change my mind on playing the game. I never said it won't be a decent game, it just might be. It WILL NOT be a great RPG and that is disappointing.



I never said that enjoying Oblivion made anyone a "Casual Gamer". I said that was the target audience and it was. There are plenty of "Casual Games" I enjoy that doesn't mean I don't want a complicated RPG, I do. I didn't get that with Oblivion.

Well, I guess that makes me a "casual gamer" because I enjoyed Oblivion quite a lot. If Skyrim is "more of the same", but with more variety, I'll personally be more than happy.

I am a die hard PC gamer, but I really wouldn't care if Todd said that some elements of the game were changed to make them work easier on consoles. I know they sell a lot of PS3 and X-Box 360 version of the game, so I'm good with that.

What I don't like is the notion that to make a game more concole friendly it has to be dumbed down, like ever console player is a 12 year old who's attention span can not keep them on a single game for more than 10 hours, or that they can't figure out how to develop or build a character on their own, or that they can't game a RPG with race or stat limitations on thier characters. I don't believe that console players are a bunch of dumbies and to make a game more friendly for consoles you don't have to assume the players are idiots.

The kicker for me is that they are making the games dumber for consoles, based on an incorrect assumption that console players can't handle a real game, and then that console version of the game is being ported to the PC. This is were I become directly affected by it.

You say that,but forget how much more violent the game is giving it an 18 rating. Which shut's out alot of gamers. If they just wanted to appeal just to "casual gamers" the could have toned the content down also....and they haven't they've uped it.

"... Mommy isn't really a Bosmer."

Skyrim has 300+ hours of content. It's not catered to the casual gamer. Is it made for people who don't like never completing the main quest because they couldn't find the [censored] puzzle box? Yes. Is it made for people who hate surviving a tough fight by the skin of their teeth, only to realize that they have no chance of continuing because they're out of mana, born under the atronach, have no health potions, and "cannot fast travel when enemies are nearby"? Yes. Those people aren't casual gamers. If you have an opinion one way or the other on the topic of health regeneration, you're not a casual gamer. You're someone who likes games that aren't particularly frustrating.

DAII was pleasant, but it did not compare to Dragon Age. It hardly is a blip on the radar is measured up to Oblivion.

DAII could have been great if they spent some time just finishing the game and adding the details. Boring empty screens everywhere. No NPC management. Ugly inventory screens. The only thing positive about the game is that the game play was improved along with the skill trees. That was a big positive. To bad everything surrounding that improved game play was empty and listless.

All you described is a bunch of dumb players.

Can't find the box? Really?
Choice Atronach without any plans for mana restoration?
Leaving yourself helpless away from a safe town or city?

What you discribed are casual players. Someone who can't find the box is a casual gamer. Someone who would make a mage character and not plan for mana use is a casual gamer. Someone who runs out in the wilderness and dies becuase they can't fast travel away is a casual gamer.

People that can't figure out these things are casual players and don't need to be playing games that take thought or character design strategy. They need a game where they can push a button and something awesome happens.

What were you trying to say exactly?

Nah, those aren't casual players either. Those are terrible players, which should not even be considered.

The context was wrapped in comparison of the Dragon Ages, basically stating that the first left more options available to the player while the second was streamlined so much in an attempt to appeal to a larger audience that it had become dumbed down or less hard core compared to its predecessor. Albeit, Todd squirmed when asked if TESV : TESIV :: Dragon Age II : Dragon Age Origins, but I read that as sincere malcontent that the possibility had even crossed their mind.

Here's, as best I could type out, the relevant Q&A

Kevin: I loved Dragon Age for the same reasons I loved Oblivion. Dragon Age II was so streamlined that it felt as though it robbed us of the elements we came to love in Origins. I have a fear, a secret fear, that Skyrim might possible, in an attempt to appeal to more general audience, might rob some of us hard core, loyal Elder Scrolls fans. Can you look me in the eye and say, 'Kevin, no. It's not true'? Where's the speech skill?

Todd: There is a speech skill. Kevin, no. We've changed things around, but this is a very, very hard core game. We don't try to appease any crowd other than making a better game. If you liked Oblivion, I assure you this is a better game. If you don't like Oblivion, this is not going to change your mind. That's how we view it. We're Elder Scrolls fans as well. http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa150/JustinCoherent/Elder%20Scrolls/Ithinkyoulllikethegame.jpg

Kevin: So you're not gonna pull a Dragon Age II on us?

Todd: Um... *resists laughing* http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa150/JustinCoherent/Elder%20Scrolls/MicroExpression.jpg. That's a loaded comment.

Someone doesn't know what a casual player is.