A vaguely reassuring quote : V

» Wed Jul 13, 2011 3:36 am

"As I work on the Skyrim manual, talk about whether the game has been "dumbed down" seems totally laughable. So many things. #things"

http://twitter.com/#!/nickbreckon/status/90591594234908672

So there's that.

» Tue Jul 12, 2011 7:35 pm

Im not familiar with twitter, what does the #things mean?

But yeah, not discouraging.

» Wed Jul 13, 2011 6:21 am

Back when I used to buy games in physical form, I would love getting a thick manual that was entirely in English. It made me feel good about the game. Sometimes you'd get a fifteen-page manual, and it was actually two or three languages in one. >.>

My favourite was the Civilization 4 manual. It was just a tiny bit thicker than the game's DVD case.

» Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:59 pm

We'll see on 11.11.11

» Tue Jul 12, 2011 4:06 pm

Agreed with Papanowel. We'll see about that, Nick freakin' Breckon.

» Wed Jul 13, 2011 3:58 am

Im not familiar with twitter, what does the #things mean?

I think on this particular occasion the #things bit is a joke.

Hash tags on Twitter are generally used as a way of categorising posts, so people can easily find your posts when searching for a specific topic.
For example, you might post something like
"Really looking forward to eating some weightless carrots on 11/11/11 #skyrim."
Then people searching Twitter for posts about Skyrim would find that post.

In Nick's case I think he was just being silly, and saying that the topic of his post was the extremely vague "things".

» Wed Jul 13, 2011 4:56 am

Reminds me of H. P. Lovecraft. The things, things which I cannot describe.

» Wed Jul 13, 2011 2:53 am

"As I work on the Skyrim manual, talk about whether the game has been "dumbed down" seems totally laughable. So many things. #things"

http://twitter.com/#!/nickbreckon/status/90591594234908672

So there's that.

Great ! this goes straight to the list i am making.

Thank you very much

» Tue Jul 12, 2011 6:52 pm

I think on this particular occasion the #things bit is a joke.

Hash tags on Twitter are generally used as a way of categorising posts, so people can easily find your posts when searching for a specific topic.
For example, you might post something like
"Really looking forward to eating some weightless carrots on 11/11/11 #skyrim."
Then people searching Twitter for posts about Skyrim would find that post.

In Nick's case I think he was just being silly, and saying that the topic of his post was the extremely vague "things".

There is a slightly sardonic tone to Nick's tweet.
So let's be clear about this:

Bethesda has implemented a ruthlessly tightlipped policy on Skyrim, leaking information but in homeopathic dosages. It is clear they've chosen to do so in a precisely scheduled manner, of which the laconic fan interview was just an incremental step.
All this is understandable.

That said, Nick,
Deal with it.

You want people to stop naging about dumbing down the game?
Pove them wrong.

I think sardonic tweets are quite dispensable.

» Wed Jul 13, 2011 6:33 am

Doesn't really mean much to me. Seems like he's trying hard.

» Wed Jul 13, 2011 4:05 am

A tweet does not change the known fact(s), namely that Skyrim IS dumbed down.

» Wed Jul 13, 2011 12:01 am

There is a slightly sardonic tone to Nick's tweet.

Maybe slightly, but I think the main point of the tweet wasn't so much "people shouldn't be complaining about the game being dumbed down" as
"Wow! There is a lot of stuff in this game!".

Maybe I'm just a glass half full kind of guy though?

» Wed Jul 13, 2011 1:16 am

Great ! this goes straight to the list i am making.

Thank you very much

List????

» Wed Jul 13, 2011 2:57 am

List????

He's making a list, he's checking it twice, he's gonna find out who's naughty or nice.

Sounds kind of ominous, now that I think about it.

» Tue Jul 12, 2011 10:26 pm

A tweet does not change the known fact(s), namely that Skyrim IS dumbed down.

There are three things you can do. Repair and modify all broken or useless mechanics, remove all broken and useless mechanics, and just have things that work, or keep the broken and useless mechanics. While the first is ideal, I don't see how the second is dumbed down from the third. Unless feature bloat is somehow something to be desired.

» Tue Jul 12, 2011 11:16 pm

He's making a list, he's checking it twice, he's gonna find out who's naughty or nice.

Sounds kind of ominous, now that I think about it.

There was a list of Dev quotes before Oblivion release , someone got to make one for Skyrim

» Tue Jul 12, 2011 10:21 pm

A tweet does not change the known fact(s), namely that Skyrim IS dumbed down.

No, just that some aspects are being presented through different formats.

» Wed Jul 13, 2011 2:22 am

What the hell do they expect when they keep talking about streamlining and accessibility in their interviews? And in what reality did they think there wouldn't be some backlash to changes like the merging of armour? :confused:

PROVE US WRONG BETHESDA.

All this negativity could die down a lot if they just released some new info to reassure fans.

» Wed Jul 13, 2011 1:37 am

^This

Well, it seems they are aware of the "dumbed down" criticism after all. But words and promises aren't going to be enough.

» Wed Jul 13, 2011 1:58 am

I will stick with what is known so far...

The forum fans were complaining about Oblivion being "dumbed down" before its release, the developers said that it was not.

Oblivion was released..... the fans were correct, the devs were not.

The forum fans are complaining that Skyrim looks to be even more dumbed down, the developers say it is not....

When Skyrim is released.... we will see who is correct this time.

» Wed Jul 13, 2011 5:12 am

A tweet does not change the known fact(s), namely that Skyrim IS dumbed down.

:facepalm:

Way to stay positive.I really dislike the whole dumbing down talk people have had since Oblivion, and probably even before that. Just because some little number where taken out of your menu does not mean the game will be any less of an RPG.

» Tue Jul 12, 2011 3:05 pm

:facepalm:

Way to stay positive.I really dislike the whole dumbing down talk people have had since Oblivion, and probably even before that. Just because some little number where taken out of your menu does not mean the game will be any less of an RPG.

:spotted owl:

» Tue Jul 12, 2011 3:06 pm

PROVE US WRONG BETHESDA.

This is not directed at you necessarily, but it's probably worth noting that for some people there's nothing that Bethesda could now do - short of redesigning large parts of the game from the ground up - to prove their complaints wrong. For some people, the things that make Skyrim "dumbed down" are things that are pretty set in stone. If their verdict about Skyrim changes, it's going to because they shift their perspective; it's not going to be anything Bethesda does.