Looking Ahead: What to Expect From The Elder Scrolls Online << Gaming Irresponsibly

It had been rumored for quite some time, but this week RPG super giant, Bethesda Softworks, announced that The Elder Scrolls Online was indeed a game in development and would eventually see a release. With the overwhelming success of Oblivion and the recently released Skyrim, it was only a matter of time before an announcement of the rumored title finally saw the light of day. MMORPGs have had great success in the past, and one based in the world of the Elder Scrolls franchise seems more than destined to grab some shares of that market. With the amount of gamers that have experienced at least one of the popular Bethesda role playing games, it may be the most highly anticipated MMORPG in history, maybe even more so than Star Wars: The Old Republic. So a game made by such a successful development team, with insurmountable hype behind it warrants a few questions and even more speculation.

The Elder Scrolls series has been nothing short of epic. In just its first month, Skyrim nearly eclipsed the total lifetime sales of its predecessor, Oblivion, and clocked well over half a billion dollars in retail sales before the end of 2011. That kind of growth will put any Elder Scrolls title at the top of the hype meter and you can expect similar numbers from the online game. The game will sell well, and even has the possibility of surpassing MMO superstar World of Warcraft as the most popular multiplayer online RPG. So, what can we expect from The Elder Scrolls Online? What type of features might it have and what kind of gameplay might be expected? Let’s go over some of the stuff we might see and some things we hope to discover from this upcoming title.

If recent history is a factor, you can bet your bottom dollar that the online version of The Elder Scrolls will have no shortage of dragons and shouts. Fus Roh Dah has become a phrase well known in the gaming community, and everyone loves dragons. If dragons are featured, they will most likely play a part in dungeons and raids, with a high possibility of spotting them around towns and villages during real time world events. As for shouts, it would be very likely that one of the playable, and possibly most popular, classes would be that of the Dragonborn variety.

As for the other classes, it can be expected that the typical classes from Elder Scrolls past will make their returns. Splitting up mixtures of ranged, melee and magic seems like more than a possibility, with typical classes such as mages, archers and warriors making an appearance. Bethesda, however, will be creative enough to label these classes with better titles other than the basic ones used for so many MMOs. As for races, there would be little point in changing them from the traditional Elder Scrolls games, since that is what the vast majority of fans have already known and come to love. So you can expect Nords, Orcs and a variation of Elven based races will make an appearance, as well as some of the others from previous titles such as, Argonian and Breton.

Dungeons, like every other MMO, will be part of the experience. How else will you be able to team up to obtain the highest level weapons and equipment? Dungeons will each have their own back stories and enemies, but how these dungeons will be accessed has yet to be seen. One possibility may be the use of Oblivion Gates that allow teams of players to enter and begin destroying the baddies within. Regardless of how they are accessed, they will most likely be the same basic “instance” practices used by most other MMOs.

The world of The Elder Scrolls Online will most certainly be breathtaking. The previous games have been known for their beautifully sculpted landscapes and large, expansive worlds. In a game that will have to feature such things; Bethesda will absolutely come through in this category. According to the popular RPG creator, the entire continent of Tamriel will be available to explore. Previously each Elder Scrolls game featured a specific “province” of Tamriel, such as the eastern territory of Morrowind, the capital city location in Cyrodil (featured in Oblivion), and the northern, snow capped kingdoms of Skyrim. Each of these maps will be available as playable areas, and the game will be set approximatley 1000 years before the events of Skyrim took place.So, you can expect the most expansive and incredibly massive world that has ever been seen from the popular software developer.

Recently, MMO games have taken a turn from a more turn based attack system and implemented a system that involves more action. Like in the previous Elder Scrolls games, you can expect that Bethesda will continue the growing trend and stick with a non-turned based battle system. They seem to work better, and since Bethesda is already used to creating such RPGs, which is most certainly what we will see in the online title.

We all know that they will be there, and any combination of Bethesda and an MMORPG will have its fair share of bugs. The game will be heavily tested and probably feature a lengthy series of open and closed beta test before release. Regardless, bugs will be everywhere in the first few months of the games release, we can only hope that they will be minuscule and not be anything game breaking. With the amount of people that will be playing the game at launch, it can be determined that the first month of so may not be a pleasant experience, so keep that in mind.

Now that we have gone over what you can expect from The Elder Scrolls Online, it’s time to delve into what they can do to make sure this title lives up to the hype. What do us as gamers want to see? What changes can they make to ensure that this experience is a fresh take on a popular genre? What might they leave out that would enrage the internets?

We need dragons. Plain and simple. Good, now that the dragon conversation is over, The Elder Scrolls online has one major issue that needs to be addressed before any speculative talk can begin. That is the big issue here, and it needs to be solved before it becomes a problem. Bethesda has had these issues in the past, and MMOs are traditionally the worst when it comes to bugs. Make sure this doesn’t break the game, and we can all live the rest of our virtual existences happily. Also, the game needs to be unique. Gamers don’t want to play an Elder Scrolls version of World of Warcraft, so don’t try to imitate them. They may have a great product, but you have a great intellectual property and tons of fan support. There is no reason anyone should pop this game in and see the same old thing they have for the past few years, i.e. Rift, Warhammer.

We need dragons. Plain and simple.

One thing that WoW doesn’t do well, but others have succeeded in doing is the world event. This has become a staple for popular games such as Rift. This would be fairly easy to do with Skyrim having random encounters with dragons throughout the world. The same should apply in the online game as well. How great would it be to visit a small village in the middle of nowhere, only to see it being decimated by a vicious dragon? Screaming over the local chat channels to rally troops around the village in order to take down an invading dragon seems likely and should happen. Did we mention we love dragons? Also, random spawned Oblivion Gates would be a welcome addition, especially amongst party groups. Hunting down these gates throughout the world and obtaining high quality gear and weapons would be a fun and innovative way to infuse some of the history of The Elder Scrolls lore, as well as, work in some great world event features.

The game is nowhere near release, yet speculation and hype will continue to build until it does. Fans everywhere will be looking for info on what is to be expected and what features we will see, and until Bethesda releases that information; we will all just have to play the waiting game. With all the tools and fanfare surrounding The Elder Scrolls Online, there should be no real reason why the game can’t be a huge success. There has yet to be an MMO that has taken the reigns from World of Warcraft, but The Elder Scrolls Online has the potential to slay the giant. One thing is for certain, no matter what happens, no matter what has been said or what will be said, The Elder Scrolls Online will sell like no other. Bethesda will make sure of that. The game will more than likely break records for MMO sales at release, and if they can minimize the bugs, may continue to do so.

The Elder Scrolls Online is currently being developed by Zenimax Online Studios and Bethesda Softworks and currently has no set release date. As soon as more information arrives, we will be more than happy to report it. Until then, we will just have to wait and see.

At this point in the God of War series Kratos has (more or less) been written into a blood soaked corner. He’s dead (when has this ever stopped him anyhow?), he’s butchered the Greek gods, as well as their Titan counterparts, and he was even able to piggy-back freeing Greece from the gods onto his burning desire for revenge. The current story-arc is wrapped up and there just isn’t anyone left to kill, whether they be god or man, so the question on everyone’s mind is Where can God of War IV go?

Penny Arcade- The God of Abraham

While it seems like everything has been wrapped up in Greece (what with the entire country being personally murdered by Kratos), there actually are quite a few options for Sony’s Santa Monica Studios to consider when they begin writing the story.

The stories to consider

The Battle of Thermopylae

My personal favorite story is one that I blatantly stole from history, the greeks, and even Frank Miller.

Kratos has been slowly recovering from his most recent near-death-experience when he hears of the Persian Empire attempting to invade Sparta. It seems that in the absence of the Greek Gods the Persian Empire has been granted easy access into the Greek mainland, partly because of the massive size of their military but mostly because their Gods are looking to snatch up the recently vacated Greece. With the passing of each day the more bleak the outlook for Greece becomes, because most of the country is currently too busy dealing with the famine, disease, and all of the other plagues that Kratos unleashed onto the world by opening Pandora’s Box. The Spartan armies once proud and strong are now but a whimper as their ranks are being eaten away by these plagues. The Spartan military has dwindled to a mere 300 soldiers, and it is these soldiers who left to fend off the 3,000+ soldiers, mythological creautres, and the Gods that command them.

Needless to say, Kratos won’t take this sitting down. He grips his blades once more and takes lead of the Spartan Army. The troops receive a hefty morale boost with the knowledge that the once God of War is on their side, with him they feel that nothing can stand in their way, whether it’s the Gods from the east, or the entire world.

Frank Miller-300

Why this story is advantageous to the game

With Spartan troops at Kratos’s command the player can now have the option of smashing through barricades, holding off massive waves of enemies, or even send the Spartan soldiers at his command on suicide missions. With the addition of troop command Kratos can leave the soldiers to fend off the small fry, while he takes care of the enemies that actually matter.
This is a perfect fit for the current place in the God of War series, due to its historical implications, direct connections to Greece and Sparta, and it the death of the Greek gods gives immediate reason for the Persian invasion.
Whether you love or hate this story direction you have to admit one thing. It would be amazing to see Kratos yell “THIS. IS. SPARTA!!!” as he kicks a centaur in the face (breaking the poor buggers jaw).

Heading to the Northern Lands

It has been considered by some over at the Santa Monica Studios that Kratos should head to Northward to combat the Gods of the Norse Pantheon, one person considered the pantheon to be “right around the corner” from that of the Greek. While this may be true from a mythological perspective, I’m not really sure how well it could be explained from a writers. The story warrants a lot of explanations just to get itself started.

Why is Kratos in Scandinavia?
What beef does he hold against these foreign Gods?
Doesn’t he ever get cold walking in the snow with only that loin-cloth on?

This doesn’t mean that it would be impossible to pull off, and it could in fact deeply enrich the game-play if done right. Just imagine Kratos being able to use the all mighty sword of Heimdall (Hofund or “Heimdalls Head”), or Kratos being able to gain the shape-shifting powers of Loki, or even Kratos blowing on Gjallar (the horn that signals the coming of the Ragnarok) thus ending the world. There are almost endless possibilities within Norse mythology for weapons, items, and powers for Kratos to use.

There’s no one way to go about explaining Kratos quest to the Northern Lands, and there are a few ways of explaining that I can think of off the top of my head, although the following has to be my favorite.

In his unending rage Kratos has killed off the Titan Atlas (God of War III), the one being whose sole job is to hold the up the world in order to keep it from falling into the abyss and utter chaos. With Atlas removed from existence the world is now quickly slipping into the abyss and Kratos is frantic to find a way to stop the whole of existence from crumbling away. In whispers and rumors among travelers from the North that there is a chain that has the power to bind gods, and currently holds the beast Fenrir.

Kratos heads to the north and finds that he must fight his way through gods, immortals, and beasts alike, in order to obtain the chain and in effect free (and kill) the beast Fenrir. Kratos fails in his mission when he is overpowered by the collective gods and then trapped in the underworld where must battle Hel and her endless undead minions. His escape and eventual counter-attack against the Norse Gods would leave the series open for a fifth God of War.

Why this story is advantageous to the game:

There are a prodigious amount of magical items and weapons in Norse mythology that Kratos could get a hold of.
The landscape would make for some interesting game-play and level design.
The story is a little bit difficult to get off of the ground but if done with enough effort can be pulled off. Possibly for the better of the series.

While many fans of the series may cry foul at Sony’s plans to continue the God of War series it really isn’t all that much of a surprise. Partly because it’s the nature of a profitable franchise, and partly because it’s just the nature of video games. In a video game story is a secondary concern, while the mechanics and game-play (the core of a games experience) are the most important parts of a game. As long as Sony can keep updating the game-play and making the series fun to play then Santa Monica studios doesn’t have too much to worry about.

Although we should all hope for a decent story as well.