4 Things Fans Want From The Elder Scrolls Online ~ShoddyCast~

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ShoddyCast

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Published on November 19, 2012 2:44:31 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhL9ZN0ldKg

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The Elder Scrolls Online (2014)

Duration: 8:12

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After much thought and deliberation I've been able to narrow down what I want from the Elder Scrolls online into 4 main points.

- Exploration and a Believable World -
If the Elder Scrolls Online is to hold true to their series the exploration needs to dwarf that of every other MMO. What makes Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim so great is the sheer richness of their worlds. Currently in MMOs you stroll up to a bandit camp and think to yourself, "Okay here lies a bandit camp filled with mods and nothing else. I have no reason to enter the camp unless I have a quest telling me to". It's sad, but true. ESO should give you the opposite reaction, "I will enter this bandit camp and mercilessly kill those I find inside because who knows what I will find". BAM! Meaningful exploration.

- Class & Combat Flexibility -
If the Elder Scrolls Online is to hold true to their series it will revolutionize the way we look at our characters in MMOs. Why is it that every MMO is so focused on getting you to make alt characters? Because the class system in MMOs is so damn restrictive- that's why. For the first 8 levels in Skyrim I was convinced I was taking the thief route. Then, a change of heart. The Nordic culture must have rubbed off on me because now I wanted to be a warrior. Did I have to start a new character from scratch? Hell no! Just put on some heavy armor and start swinging that great sword son! Sure, you'll suck at first, but that's what mudcrabs are for. Beat on a couple of those for a while and work your way up to frost trolls.

- Nostalgia at Every Turn -
If the Elder Scrolls Online is to hold true to their series, it will utilize the most powerful force in gaming- nostalgia. You know, that feeling you get when you hear the Morrowind theme played again. You think of the days gone by exploring that wonderful elven landscape. ESO needs to bring those feelings roaring back through their music and their environments. These new developers need to make sweet sweet love to the old art assets from past Elder Scrolls games. We need to see churches to the Nine Divines in every city in Cyrodiil. We want to explore old Ayleid ruins and Nordic crypts. We wish to ride on backs of Silt Strider's once again!

- Pride -
If the Elder Scrolls Online is to hold true to their series, it will have us taking pride in our characters. Tod Howard (the demigod behind Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, and others) put it best in his DICE keynote speech:

"Most entertainment can give you lots of emotion, but what is the emotion games can give you that nothing else can? It's pride. Pride in what you did."

What Tod is talking about when you spend 2 hours decorating Proudspire Manor with Daedric artifacts. Or that moment when you switch to third person mode to salivate over this heroic figure you've created after hours of play. It is this self expression in Elder Scrolls games that give you this attachment to their fantasy world. It's something that the Elder Scrolls Online will want to recreate in their game. How can they do this? Like I previously mentioned a huge variety in combat styles wouldn't hurt. Imagine if every player you came across in ESO approached combat in his own unique way? I for one rarely see two Skyrim players that approach combat exactly the same way. Yet, in MMOs today, power goes to whoever has the latest cookie cutter build.

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