Skyrim and Oblivion

[Irwin John Finster]

I've never really understood why Bethesda games are so popular; I personally find them to be a waste of time I could be using on something less tedious. Still, that doesn't mean I don't recognize that they are popular. I suppose it's just something I'll never get.

Basically, Bethesda wasn't able to trick as many people into thinking Fallout 4 was a deep, hardcore RPG like they did with Skyrim. If they go even further with TES 6, it's going to be hilarious. Can you imagine the dialogue wheel, voiced protagonist, and crafting focus in an Elder Scrolls game? I wouldn't be surprised if the lore books weren't even in the game because as their own marketers tell us - they don't have the attention span for reading and dialogue.

I'm reminded of a review for the Age of Decadence that gave the game 1 out of 5 stars. The reviewer started with "I haven't played a decent RPG since Skyrim" and went on to complain about Age of Decadence being too complicated for having the basic things that define RPGs such as skills, skill checks, and stats for building a character. This is because Bethesda has dumbed down the meaning of RPG to the point that they are interactive movies with childish writing to the point that they put the answers for their Skyrim "puzzles" directly above the player's head. With their most recent game, their "RPGs" removed skills entirely and made the stat system worthless by removing the level cap. So I imagine TES 6 won't even have perks or any numbers of any kind at this rate.

 

[Earth]

Uh-huh. Sure.

Channel your inner Randall

Elder Scrolls sucks. Only decent lore comes from Morrowind and even then it's not great.

Arena, Daggerfall, Oblivion and Skyrim are all just generic fantasy shit we've seen before over and over.

Fantasy is seriously overrepresented in video games.

 

[Dr Fallout]

Only decent lore comes from Morrowind and even then it's not great.

Die.

Die.

Die.

Die.

(But seriously, mind showing why it's not great?)

 

[Throatpunch]

Die.

Die.

Die.

Die.

(But seriously, mind showing why it's not great?)

Morrowind seems decent but I can't play for more than 5 minutes because of potato graphics.

 

[Dr Fallout]

Morrowind seems decent but I can't play for more than 5 minutes because of potato graphics.

Mods.

Mods.

Mods.

Skywind.

 

[Earth]

Die.

Die.

Die.

Die.

(But seriously, mind showing why it's not great?)

The first game involves the emperor being usurped by a sorcerer royal vizier.

Daggerfall is just a collection of fantasy tropes all shoved together in one setting. It's classic convoluted "you must find the ancient blah-de-blah to free the ancient blah-de-blah from the clutches of the whatever."

Morrowind actually has some interesting non-generic lore, but even then the story is just some ancient god thing wants to take over the world.

Oblivion's generic, and Skyrim's even more generic.

 

[Dr Fallout]

Morrowind actually has some interesting non-generic lore, but even then the story is just some ancient god thing wants to take over the world.

Fuck the rest, can't be bothered to disagree.

But that's not the story of Morrowind...

It's a lot more complex. Dagoth Ur only really wants to take Morrowind, to free it from the relentless infighting between the Great Houses and political intrigue. He also wants to create an independent Morrowind that's not part of the Empire. And he's not just some ancient God thing... He was Nerevar's friend and ally, who was tasked with keeping the Heart of Lorkhan safe. He tried to stop Vivec and the rest of the Dunmeri gods from taking it's power but was beaten, and he then fell to it's use. Hell even I don't understand all of the story.

 

[Throatpunch]

The first game involves the emperor being usurped by a sorcerer royal vizier.

Daggerfall is just a collection of fantasy tropes all shoved together in one setting. It's classic convoluted "you must find the ancient blah-de-blah to free the ancient blah-de-blah from the clutches of the whatever."

Morrowind actually has some interesting non-generic lore, but even then the story is just some ancient god thing wants to take over the world.

Oblivion's generic, and Skyrim's even more generic.

What's wrong with genericness

 

[Earth]

Fuck the rest, can't be bothered to disagree.

But that's not the story of Morrowind...

It's a lot more complex. Dagoth Ur only really wants to take Morrowind, to free it from the relentless infighting between the Great Houses and political intrigue. He also wants to create an independent Morrowind that's not part of the Empire. And he's not just some ancient God thing... He was Nerevar's friend and ally, who was tasked with keeping the Heart of Lorkhan safe. He tried to stop Vivec and the rest of the Dunmeri gods from taking it's power but was beaten, and he then fell to it's use. Hell even I don't understand all of the story.

Fair enough. It should be noted that I really don't care much for fantasy. I wasn't paying all that much attention to the story while playing.

 

[Dr Fallout]

Fair enough. It should be noted that I really don't care much for fantasy. I wasn't paying all that much attention to the story while playing.

Yeah that's fine. Personally I'm a fan of fantasy when well done. The only exception is Lord of the Rings, but otherwise I see Morrowind type worlds as my normal fare.

 

[Earth]

What's wrong with genericness

Do I seriously need to explain why genericness is a bad thing?

 

[Throatpunch]

Yeah that's fine. Personally I'm a fan of fantasy when well done. The only exception is Lord of the Rings, but otherwise I see Morrowind type worlds as my normal fare.

LOTR had an awful story with a huge hole in it. Did you like it?

 

[Dr Fallout]

LOTR had an awful stor. Did you like it?

Awful story but it was generally unique at the time. I liked the world though, and the locations.

 

[Earth]

LOTR had an awful story with a huge hole in it. Did you like it?

Lord of the Ring's story is fine for what it is. It gets a free pass for being the first of its kind in almost every respect.

That doesn't then mean that every fantasy story can just repeat its simple story over and over again (like they almost always do).

 

[Izak]

LOTR had an awful story with a huge hole in it. Did you like it?

What huge hole? Are you making a pun or are you referring to the eagles?

 

[Throatpunch]

What huge hole? Are you making a pun or are you referring to the eagles?

I'm referring to the eagles.

 

[Brivoo]

I'm referring to the eagles.

Because the whole point of the Fellowship was a mission of secrecy.

Eagles may be fast, but they're not exactly subtle; all it takes is one arrow to the one Frodo's riding and everything goes to shit.

What's wrong with genericness

Variety is the spice of life, whilst repetition is the starch.

If you want to stay in your comfort zone that's fine, but the world wasn't built on staticity, especially entertainment of any form. In a broader manner, innovation keeps human interest alive and pushes our skills, imaginations, and drives to their limits, creating the very essence of the human experience.

In practical terms, nobody wants to buy the same shit over and over forever; if novelty dies, so does the industry.

 

[Throatpunch]

Because the whole point of the Fellowship was a mission of secrecy.

Eagles may be fast, but they're not exactly subtle; all it takes is one arrow to the one Frodo's riding and everything goes to shit.



Variety is the spice of life, whilst repetition is the starch.

If you want to stay in your comfort zone that's fine, but the world wasn't built on staticity, especially entertainment of any form. In a broader manner, innovation keeps human interest alive and pushes our skills, imaginations, and drives to their limits, creating the very essence of the human experience.

In practical terms, nobody wants to buy the same shit over and over forever; if novelty dies, so does the industry.

Thanks for the good explanations of both my queries.

 

[Kohno]

I think it's because...

Guess so. The fast food generation.

 

[Throatpunch]

What huge hole? Are you making a pun or are you referring to the eagles?

I just realised the pun. Quality.