Hello Bethesda,
My name is Mario Murray known on Xbox as AchingBAD and I'm a mega fan of your game Oblivion. While everyone was drooling over Skyrim and giving it glowing reviews I was cringing because of the subpar 3rd person gameplay, endless meaningless tasks and general uninspired questing of that game. I was deaf to the proviso that you had to create your own adventure to enjoy the game and I bought and sold that title over and over again on the Xbox360 hoping for some enjoyment to stick. It never did.
Although, I did enjoy the kill cams, beheadings and specialized outfits of Skyrim, Oblivion felt so much more alive. I cared about what was happening in that world and felt like I was affecting it. I passed by NPCs and recalled the stories of how I met them and enjoyed their banter as they reacted to my behaviours in-game. I day dreamed about how I had created a character named "Iron Fist." A bare-backed, magic shielded, sour old man who could punch a hole through a troll and I wondered, why didn't this experience translate into Skyrim? Perhaps the web has answers.
Expectations Too High?
As a 20+ year gamer I've come to expect a certain quality from games made by major studios. I've come to expect crisp graphics, tight gameplay and amazing stories that make me think, feel and remember. Perhaps my expectations for Skyrim and Oblivion were too high. After all you guys usually make PC games and that community is more accepting of clunky first person centric games where the math and potions determines the outcome of the battle in rpgs more than your mechanical skills. (Fair to say PC gamers?) So perhaps my expections were too high. In my world, gameplay is king and even though I think the slow pace and pseudo-turn based battle system of Fallout 3 worked for that game I don't think it works well for a game like Skyrim on console. I believe you need a game that feels more grounded, more dynamic so I'm challenging you Bethesda. Because it's easy for you to make games like Skyrim that PC audiences will pour over I want you to challenge yourself to break new ground. After all your approach is beginning to show it's age in ESO which as we all would agree didn't go over so well. So what must you do you say? Well I thought you'd never ask.
Make The Elder Scrolls Dynamic
In recent years, the best RPGs I've played are games built in dynamic worlds that take heavily skill based approaches to combat. This is a good thing and a direction that I believe all games should be going in. After all it is the next gen. The next gen to me is all about dynamic and emergent gameplay. Unscripted and unforeseen things happening in the world you create that even surprise you the developer. Dragon's Dogma is a great example of a game with dynamic combat, so much so that if I swing a sword near bushes, the bushes ruffle from the wind. (Go ahead try it!) :) The "Souls" series is also another great example and a bit lesser so Kingdoms of Amalur. Take a page from the book of the dynamics of those games and see the Elder Scrolls Soar to new heights.
Let us Gain True Power and Influence (and lose it too)
Although Oblivion did a great job of allowing me to feel like I had influence on the world, it was still a bit contrived which is fair because games usually have a limit to the amount of power you can gain, but can you imagine if you could actually become a Jarl in Skyrim and have to play political games for peace, war, profit, romance etc? How would that change the Elder Scrolls Series? I dare say for the better. Imagine that as the head of the Assassin's Guild you now have the ability to order assassinations and that these acts influence what's happening in the world? What would happen if a person was allowed to kill whomever they wanted in Skyrim whenever they pleased. What kinds of opportunities would arise for replayability knowing that if you kill a key person you wouldn't get to see a certain ending? You would have to care a lot more about what you were doing in that world wouldn't you?
Loot
Part of the lure of playing Oblivion however was that the game encouraged me to play my way by giving me loot that seemed tailored to my play style. I thought that was excellent and it should definitely make a more prominent return in your next game. Not to mention the pieces looked devine.
Story
Make me care about the story of your next game because Skyrim just fed my apathy. Oblivion was so strong in it's urgency that as I levelled up, Oblivion gates opened outside of cities threatening to lay siege upon those I had befriended. I would not have that in Oblivion and I wouldn't have that or any other grave harm befall my friends in a future Elder Scrolls games.
Playing together and Apart
Multiplayer has become either the gravest of sins, the saving grace or a mix of the two in this day and age but I believe that if done correctly (and there are many examples of such) Multiplayer in the next Elder Scrolls Game could prove to turn the tide so drastically in favour of the Elder Scrolls that people will play little else. Give us places to play together and to go to war the results could be diabolical. ESO didn't do it right so let's try another way. Look at Dark Souls and Dragon's Dogma for inspiration.
The Last Word
In concluding I love your ideas. You have created the foundation for all kinds of open world experiences that players can remember for a very long time and never actually have to "end." Expand on the good that you have done by challenging yourself to be greater. Don't just sit on your laurels and your profits give us the next generation of Elder Scrolls, we will be waiting.
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