6 ways to make Bethesda's next Open-World Game a Mediocre RPG (Shoddycast) - General

[video=youtube;IknbeS0JpMc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IknbeS0JpMc&t=0s[/video] For almost only developing big RPGs I was very surprised to find out that they don't have anyone credited as a writer in their games.

I love his metaphor with the "balls" in the "ballpit". And now we have these young kids growing up who have never seen a ballpit filled to the brim- they'll think it's normal to play in a pit with balls up to their ankles only.. I have felt the same way since everything after oblivion, except I used the metaphor "sandbox without any sand". How much more can they possibly degrade the once beloved RPG formula in name of "streamlining" ?

Bethesda games employ no professional writers? This explains [B]so [/B]much

[QUOTE=Talishmar;52521747]Bethesda games employ no professional writers? This explains [B]so [/B]much[/QUOTE] Well there's the degrading quality in writing, or perhaps less 'degrading' and more 'becoming more blatant with newer titles', but also the fact that with voice acting, creating reactions for every choice and every possibility of how you may fuck shit up that the devs have to account for creates more costliness. Poor voice direction, a fixed character that couldn't get much in the way of variation, bad writing, and extensively limited choices resulted in Fallout 4's dialogue and interactions being terrible without even going into the rest of the game's problems.

[QUOTE=Talishmar;52521747]Bethesda games employ no professional writers? This explains [B]so [/B]much[/QUOTE] They used to. If you've ever heard the name "Michael Kirkbride", he was the guy responsible for pretty much all the background lore in the TES series as a whole and was an actual writer on the team. He left after Morrowind, and the difference between Morrowind and Oblivion are [I]very[/I] stark because of that. It's even the third point made in the video. Additionally, the guy who did the majority of faction quests and writing, Douglass Goudall, also left after Morrowind.

[QUOTE=Samiam22;52521943]They used to. If you've ever heard the name "Michael Kirkbride", he was the guy responsible for pretty much all the background lore in the TES series as a whole and was an actual writer on the team. He left after Morrowind, and the difference between Morrowind and Oblivion are [I]very[/I] stark because of that. It's even the third point made in the video. Additionally, the guy who did the majority of faction quests and writing, Douglass Goudall, also left after Morrowind.[/QUOTE] I'd say Oblivion still had some decent writing here and there. Guild questlines especially. No. Bethesda really started to shit the bed in the writing department after they decided to make Emil Pagliarulo the lead writer on all their games from Fallout 3 onward. While I'm sure it probably isn't all down to him, ever since he became lead writer, the quality of Bethesda's writing took a serious nosedive. I mean the writing just seems lazy now, and if you want fast proof of that, how about Fallout 4's story essentially just being a role reversal of Fallout 3's.

You can expect Fallout 5 to be a pure exploration/action shooter with no RPG elements. What a terrible fate for such a great series. In the end, it turns out a good-looking exploration game sells better than a good RPG, so why bother trying to do both? I beg you Bethesda, get a hold of yourself and start making great RPGs again.

I hope Bethesda lets Obsidian take another swing at fallout. I don't wanna wait 3 more years for another Fallout 4 but I would gladly wait 4 years for another New Vegas.

After the disappointment of Skyrim and Fallout 4 combined retrospectively, I truly think I can't get hyped for another Bethesda game.

bethesda games are post morrowind a very shallow experience. when a RPG lacks good writing and turns gradually more into a hack and slash (with bad combat i may add), then whats the point?

If I were Bethesda I'd start pulling over some staff from Arkane to help develop the gameplay.

If they announce a new IP for the old Prey 2 build I will shit bricks. I know Bethesda was just in charge of licensing but still a man can dream.

Just get Obsidian.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;52522288]Just get Obsidian.[/QUOTE] Didn't a lot of New Vegas key people leave obsidian since then? Wouldn't be the same.

[QUOTE=Annoyed Grunt;52522304]Didn't a lot of New Vegas key people leave obsidian since then? Wouldn't be the same.[/QUOTE] Lead designer of NV (J.E. Sawyer) is still there, not to mention they have Tim Cain ("father" of Fallout) on board now who wasn't on for New Vegas. Honestly though, I think Obsidian just wants to pursue their own efforts and make their own thing for a bit. It's been working out well for them (Pillars of Eternity is pretty damn good), so I can't really complain. At the very least, Chris Avellone seems to be getting all buddy buddy with Bethesda since leaving Obsidian, so who knows. Maybe if we're lucky, Bethesda will have him on to do some character writing like he did with Arkane and Prey.

[QUOTE=Kentz;52522180]bethesda games are post morrowind a very shallow experience. when a RPG lacks good writing and turns gradually more into a hack and slash (with bad combat i may add), then whats the point?[/QUOTE] i think it'd be more fair to say post oblivion, as opposed to morrowind. oblivion has some of the best quests in bethesda history.

[QUOTE=Rahu X;52522322]Lead designer of NV (J.E. Sawyer) is still there, not to mention they have Tim Cain ("father" of Fallout) on board now who wasn't on for New Vegas. Honestly though, I think Obsidian just wants to pursue their own efforts and make their own thing for a bit. It's been working out well for them (Pillars of Eternity is pretty damn good), so I can't really complain. At the very least, Chris Avellone seems to be getting all buddy buddy with Bethesda since leaving Obsidian, so who knows. Maybe if we're lucky, Bethesda will have him on to do some character writing like he did with Arkane and Prey.[/QUOTE] They said in some AMA and tweets they want to work on fallout again, hell, i want them to work on a TES game

i've always wondered why bethesda's open world teams are so small when they're probably loaded not saying that bigger is necessarily better but their open world games always feel like the assets available are being stretched to their absolute limits by their scarcity and reuse. the lack of good writing and unique experiences really brings down their games

[QUOTE=Jund;52522432]i've always wondered why bethesda's open world teams are so small when they're probably loaded not saying that bigger is necessarily better but their open world games always feel like the assets available are being stretched to their absolute limits by their scarcity and reuse. the lack of good writing and unique experiences really brings down their games[/QUOTE] Beth have proved you needn't put time and money into creating a compelling and deep RPG when you can just make Skyrim, see insane critical and commercial success, then live off that success until the end of time.

[QUOTE=Rossy167;52522449]Beth have proved you needn't put time and money into creating a compelling and deep RPG when you can just make Skyrim, see insane critical and commercial success, then live off that success until the end of time.[/QUOTE] Also modders bailing you out when you inevitably fuck up and release a buggy mess.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;52522288]Just get Obsidian.[/QUOTE] A lot of the core members from New Vegas left the company afterwards, not to mention the head of the company is into some really shady shit and makes awful monetary decisions all the time. Speaking of which, he's working with Tim Schafer on Fig, a con of a service. [editline]30th July 2017[/editline] Also, they're not going to work on any more Fallout titles supposedly. They're currently dealing with Pillars of Eternity 2 (being funded with Fig, go figure), and the next South Park title.

To be perfectly honest if Fallout 4 and Skyrim are considered to be shallow and the type of quality Bethesda can pump out I'm perfectly fine with that.

If you expect next Bethesda game to be an actual role-playing game and not some variation of sandbox dungeon crawl you are in for a disappointment.

Bethesda will never return to Morrowind level quality. Hell, Oblivion level even. They are to popular and entrenched in the casual ranks. Best thing they've given us recently is Toddposting.

This video made me just reinstall FO2. I really can't see them doing anything other than theoretically interesting sounding games that in the end end up being really mediocre games with a sprinkle of personality every now and then.

[QUOTE=Talishmar;52521747]Bethesda games employ no professional writers? This explains [B]so [/B]much[/QUOTE] nope, even back in oblivion i recall everyone on the team no matter who you were took a shot at writing a quest or something, which is why the quality varies so much.

[QUOTE=Samiam22;52521943]They used to. If you've ever heard the name "Michael Kirkbride", he was the guy responsible for pretty much all the background lore in the TES series as a whole and was an actual writer on the team. He left after Morrowind, and the difference between Morrowind and Oblivion are [I]very[/I] stark because of that. It's even the third point made in the video. Additionally, the guy who did the majority of faction quests and writing, Douglass Goudall, also left after Morrowind.[/QUOTE] I just want to highlight that Kirkbride's lore for TES was [I]insane[/I] in the best way possible. If anyone hasn't, you should read up on the eras and the gods' shenanigans on [url=http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Dawn_Era]uesp[/url]r

I can't wait until Bethesda quits beating around the bush and just admits they don't want to make RPGs anymore

Fallout 4 is the weirdest. For every cool system, there's a problem with it, like, a major one. Weapon customization is awesome; shame that the weapon selection is fucking bizarre and there's major weapon types missing. Also no visual customization despite pipe weapons being the ugliest thing ever oh my god. Multiple Factions with varied characters: Oh wait they're all crazy, are self destructive, and make no sense. Story based around you being a pre-war survivor, awesome: Oh wait this is legit the only part of the game that was proofread and critiqued. The game's plot, no matter how you act, has no logic behind it. No one acts rationally. No one's motivations make sense. Half of the quests don't make sense. Actual unique loot? Nope, every singe fucking chest in the game pulls from the same loot tables and [I]has [/I] to have the same kind of loot for some reason. The ultimate example of them not giving a single fuck is in Nuka World. There's this ULLLTRAAAA RAAARE Suit of power armour that is supposedly built with space usage in mind and even has a unique power source. It's just a shitty reskin of an existing set of armour. They couldn't even be assed to actually make it unique.

Bethesda games have basically become those games that sit on a console on a TV that's always-on in a fraternity common room or something, where people enter the room, pick and play for fifteen to thirty minutes while they're lit and there's nothing to do and then forget about instantly. video pretty much nailed it but bethesda knows what they're doing. they're really low impact games, they know most people who play it aren't really paying attention and don't want to, and that's where the money is. you can skip all the dialogue in Skyrim and basically understand the plot. that's fine, but it's just repulsive that they have to waste really rich intellectual properties on that premise