How Skyrim Ruined Bethesda

Today's video is thought exercise for the Bethesda diehards. Skyrim is undoubtedly Bethesda's most recognized game which ushered them into the stratosphere where any other games they did afterwards would have the attention of everyone. It was in Skyrim that dozens of creative and philosophical choices combined with years of iteration culminated in what something impossible to replicate. Yet, Bethesda has been chasing that same success since and while they've continued to reach new financial highs, I believe there's an argument to be made that this was their peak and it's been a roller coaster ride since. I know it's crazy, but hear me out on how Skyrim changed Bethesda.

#Skyrim #Bethesda #Xbox

[LoftOfTheUniverse]

The problem is Bethesda is trying to make a game where you play 1000 hours+ on 1 play through (which means endless radiant hellscape) rather than a 80-200 hour game that you want to play over and over again.

[SliceyMcHackHack]

I really liked what Hidetaka Miyazaki said about Elden Rings success..
- “I’m at a loss when people ask me why it’s been so successful, but my feeling is that I don’t intend to change the way I’ve been making things in the future, ” he said. “I try not to think about it too much, because it could become a distraction when I make the next project. However, I am very grateful and feel honoured.”

And I really think its something Bethesda has done.. They got too caught up in the success of Skyrim and forgot a lot of what made Skyrim so successful to begin with..

[peckneck]

We liked exploring the map in Skyrim or Fallout 3/4 because we knew that no matter which direction we'll go we'll come across something. Lore, treasure, hidden quest. There was always something interesting to find. In Starfield, there is absolutely nothing to find but something you can scan, a random crater, sand, rocks and a randomly generated pirate outpost once every blue moon.

[joeip]

The moment I was able to freeroam in Skyrim, after the prisoner intro, I picked a random direction and just pressed forward. It wasn't until 30 hours of incredible adventuring later that I realized I hadn't seen a dragon yet. I asked my buddy when the dragons appear and he was dumbfounded, because you're supposed to see one like 10 minutes into the game if you follow the story. The game had kept me so engrossed in side content that I never once felt like I was losing out not playing the main storyline. Hope Bethesda can get back to that.

[naes]

When mods are the best thing to look forward to in a game…..that’s a problem

When modders actually have to fix your game…..that’s a problem

[majin]

Let’s just be honest starfield was very underwhelming

[nickolasg]

So glad you pointed out the same issues I found with legendary/unique weapons. The random drops really watered it down. Whereas before, there were quests and exploration required to find them. It felt far more rewarding exploring every spot, and using certain dialogue with npcs

[tommyhatfield]

Bethesda kept saying "you land on a planet and realize no one has been here before", then you look 100 yards from your landing spot and there is a randon windfarm or storage tank. I thought no one had been on this planet before?

[Xearrik]

What they didn't seem to realize when making Starfield is that the number 1 draw of exploring something other than the main quest is the "What's that over there?" element. You don't get that on a star map with nothing but load screens to explore with...

[UToobUsername]

Starfield is basically daggerfall in space. Daggerfall had lots of open space and a giant map. But the wilderness areas in the overworld were pretty much empty. (the witches covens and other hidden areas would occasionally be discovered this way by exploring however) The bulk of the combat took place in the many dungeons in the map.

[Morg]

I feel like they want to be more and more reliant on systems, and with Starfield they built a lot of stuff with cool concepts but couldn't stitch it together very well (outposts, temples, mission displays). I like the radiant missions in Starfield for playing pretend, but not with a game so segmented it harms the immersion. And the random loot eh I can see why they did it but it's a mess when you want a "simulation".

I don't know why since Fallout 4 we saw less unique quests/loot and more radiant missions with random drops, maybe making content for quests is harder now compared to the Oblivion days when one guy was making all the dungeons, so it is an investment (scope, cost, time) that doesn't lead to much replayability, seeing that they don't like branching, meaningful quest resolutions (it would be healthy to have them, imho, especially in a game with a ng+).

I also think they know all of this better that anyone, Morrowind design saved the company back then and it had none of this stuff, but they are trying to make infinite games, and that's not really possible outside of live service, not without artificially extending the gameplay, and that results in tedium, like in the procedural parts of Starfield. But they also wanted to make an exploration based space game and how do you do that without procedural generation?

They are trying to strike a balance between handcrafted content and procedural stuff and that is ok, its the execution that is troublesome. For example in Starfield the unique weapons often have a custom name or a recolor but zero story behind them, zero unique legendary effects, compare that to daedric weapons with lore and significance or with something wacky that stands out like the alien blaster pistol. At least there is the mantis armor.

Skyrim was a colossal hit for many reasons even outside of the game inherent design, it was a different time.
Also, ambitious space games are kind of cursed for a reason.

[Low_Tier_Jamal]

I don't think they would be "ruined" if they kept making more games like Skyrim. I think most players would be happy with "Skyrim, but bigger and better". It's just baffling that they still have not made that, 12 years later. Skyrim didn't ruin them, not making more Skyrims is what ruined them.

Look at how Fromsoft has followed up on the success of Dark Souls. They basically made more Dark Souls. Bigger Dark Souls. And that has gone very well for them.

[clarinetgirl]

I agree here. I also think they should've focused on more custom content rather than just adding 100 systems of mostly random points of interest. I know they intend to add more content and hope modders will fill out more of that space too, but it has to be more interesting in the first place, imo.

[richardtrump]

I used to sit at night in Skyrim with my companion Inigo out in the wilds and we would look at the stars and moons moving past. Beautifully immersive, even my mod character was moved!

[TheVeillin]

This was a top tier video matty. I’d like videos in this style more often. Maybe a series delving into the history behind a studio/game

[t-rexreximus]

“I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took a loading screen to the knee” - Starbored

[janwatkins]

I think Bethesda needs to watch this video great job Matty

[connorwelsh]

It's so evident that this video was made out of a place of love, care, and, most importantly, a desire for better. So many videos around Starfield (and relatively disappointing games in general) have such a toxic and dismissive attitude that ultimately are harmful to the gaming community overall. So happy that you approached this the way you did!

[Mjjrex]

Those slow, quiet moments in Bethesda games are important. Back in Skyrim, after leaving Riverwood you cross the bridge and follow the road, down the path where you get jumped by a wolf trying to eat a rabbit. Past that and before the random encounter with the Stormcloak prisoner, there is a small clearing that gives you (in my opinion) the perfect view of Whiterun. The sun was starting to set to give the sky that beautiful color, I was captivated. I stopped and just observed, adjusted my position slightly for the perfect angle, and listened to the music. It was beautiful, so beautiful that I had a dream years later that I experienced that exact moment as if the world was real and I was there, i think i was moved to tears in my dream. In Starfield, I don't get that anywhere. Graphically? it's pretty, but I haven't seen any views that capture me. The random generation doesn't have those moments of awe. And cities just aren't as captivating to see in the distance. Probably because you don't see it first in the distance, but you are just there after landing on the planet. Nothing feels captivating.

[ThePSNnerd]

One thing that sticks out to me is the quote and im paraphrasing here but essentially it was "we got game of the year so many times so we thought we could do anything" in regards to 76. That attitude is clearly infecting Bethesda game design as of late. Hearing the news that they turned down essentially a New Vegas 2 was heartbreaking to hear as well, hoping BGS finds that magic again for ES6.