How Elder Scrolls 6 Could Be More Of A World And Less Of A Game

How Elder Scrolls 6 Could Be More Of A World And Less Of A Game

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For all of its gameplay innovations, Skyrim was lacking when it comes to the design and realism of its world. Elder Scrolls 6 can change that.

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How Elder Scrolls 6 Could Be More Of A World And Less Of A Game

When it comes to open-world roleplaying games, there’s little doubt that Bethesda’s fantasy series The Elder Scrolls is one of the most significant in the genre. The franchise has been nominated for multiple awards throughout its history, and just about every Elder Scrolls game has been re-released on more than one occasion, further cementing its legacy in the world of video games. At the moment, Elder Scrolls fans are eagerly awaiting the eventual release of The Elder Scrolls 6, which is currently in development and set to come out at some point after Bethesda’s 2022 sci-fi RPG Starfield. As time goes on, many players have looked back on older games in the series, including 2011’s Skyrim, pointing out mechanics and features that could be fleshed out in the next mainline entry. One often-criticized element is the overall immersion of Skyrim’s world.

The two most recent mainline Elder Scrolls games, Oblivion and Skyrim, are both well-known for utilizing Bethesda’s Radiant AI technology. The system largely focuses on NPC behavior and interactions, theoretically allowing developers to create a dynamic world full of characters who interact with other NPCs as well as their surroundings even when the player isn’t around to witness them. Essentially, AI characters are given basic tasks to follow, similar to a personalized schedule. Certain characters will be instructed to travel to a set location at a set time or complete a simple task throughout the day. In theory, this allows for a more fleshed-out and organic world, something that could allow Tamriel to feel truly alive.

In practice, though, the technology doesn’t always work out as well as some players may hope for. Oblivion’s NPCs are notorious for weird, buggy conversations in particular, and their often-nonsensical dialogue exchanges lead to Skyrim’s more linear, scripted approach. However, that decision lead in turn to a world that feels much more repetitive. The Skyrim region is also sometimes criticized for feeling relatively empty, even with all of its clutter. Most objects seem randomly placed, and don’t paint a very full picture of what sort of person might live there or what may have happened there in the past. NPCs leave little physical impact on their environment. That may be why so many mods serve to add more characters, encounters, and events to Skyrim. How can The Elder Scrolls 6 fix this organically, especially given the technical advancements of the last decade?

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Elder Scrolls 6 Protagonist Shouldn’t Be The Center Of The World

How Elder Scrolls 6 Could Be More Of A World And Less Of A Game

One recurring problem with the entire Elder Scrolls series, and one of the factors as to why Tamriel often seems devoid of life, is the fact that the player character is the catalyst to just about every important event in the game. In Skyrim alone, the Dragonborn can be responsible for the resurrection of the Thieves Guild, the defeat of Alduin, the destruction of the Dark Brotherhood, and even the entire sun being blocked out in the Dawnguard DLC. The civil war doesn’t even progress without the player picking a side, putting the entire fate of Skyrim and perhaps the Empire as a whole in the hands of just one person. This serves to make every other character in the game, even those who are supposedly important to the series’ lore, feel insignificant.

It can also lead to the feeling that nothing happens when the player isn’t there to witness it. Although Skyrim’s (sometimes weird) NPCs have their own personal schedule to attend to, their actions don’t seem to have any real impact on the overall state of Tamriel. The soldiers at the Stormcloak and Imperial camps won’t actually make any progress in the civil war, and the conflict will never reach a conclusion no matter how long players may spend ignoring the questline. Skyrim would feel much more believable if factions progressed even without direct player influence. Making the player character feel like a part of the world rather than an overwhelming force exerting influence over it could substantially increase the game’s immersion.

Elder Scrolls 6 Should Have More Dynamic Characters

How Elder Scrolls 6 Could Be More Of A World And Less Of A Game

Even with the help of Radiant AI, characters in the Elder Scrolls series often have very limited, set behaviors. Wolves, for example, will always attack the player. They never behave cautiously or keep at a distance unless provoked (making them unrealistic and “gamey”), nor will they become friendly if players have the means to tame them, other than via temporary spell effects. Most bandits will also engage the Dragonborn in combat on sight, with no option to bribe them or even join up with them. Additionally, although many NPCs have a backstory and relationships with other characters, they cycle through the same lines of dialogue so there’s little room to really get to know them personally.

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Given the progression of AI technology within the last ten years, The Elder Scrolls 6 has the opportunity to build upon this significantly from what was seen in Skyrim. There could be more than one way to handle an encounter. While Skyrim did include a few options like this, some of which were based on the Dragonborn’s skill level in different areas, it could be a much more significant part of Elder Scrolls 6. Characters could hold more fully-fledged conversations, as well, and perhaps have more varied schedules. The series would be greatly benefited by having NPCs that feel more like real people as opposed to programmed robots.

Elder Scrolls 6 NPCs Should Have An Impact On The Environment

The world of Tamriel should also physically change in response to characters other than the player character. NPCs could clean up inns that get dirty or leave clutter scattered about while partying or working on a project. There could be more visible remnants of past adventurers, more obvious indications that the world goes on even while the player isn’t there to influence it. NPCs should not simply be a means to acquiring or rewarding a quest, but an active participant in the world around them. Riding horses, picking crops, and crafting items should be more than just a form of idle animation. Environmental storytelling is a large part of game design, and The Elder Scrolls 6 could ramp this up significantly, perhaps by creating a smaller world and more compact gameplay experience to compensate for the amount of detail developers could fit into the title.

Although most would argue that Skyrim is objectively a good game, having won several awards and creating a lasting cultural impact over ten years following its release, its gameplay can’t entirely make up for its disappointing world design. As fun as it may be to fight dragons and steal jewelry in Skyrim, the rest of the world falls flat when the player character isn’t there to have a significant impact on characters and locations. Elder Scrolls 6 should instead focus on creating, first and foremost, a world that feels alive and breathing all on its own. Building gameplay up from that starting foundation would allow for a much more diverse range of playstyles and would add significantly to both the longevity of the game and the emotional connection Elder Scrolls fans feel towards it.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/elder-scrolls-6-world-npcs-ai-skyrim-design/

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