Skyrim - E3 Previews

[DArtagnan]

I wish.

Really? Hmm…

I've been living virtual lives in Elder Scrolls games since Daggerfall - they require less imagination effort than playing a table top game.

I think we must have very different definitions of "virtual lives as we want them"

Still, Beth games are probably among the best for SOME kind of virtual life singleplayer experience.

 

[kalniel]

Really? Hmm…

Doubt it would ever happen - they got annoyed with me at a press event once when I managed to extract lots of juicy details out of one of their devs.

 

[crpgnut]

You know, that guy has been dehydrated ever since too. That was really mean, kalniel!

 

[kalniel]

You know, that guy has been dehydrated ever since too. That was really mean, kalniel!

Well the event was held in some subterranean London bar, so what did they expect if they didn't take the precaution of UV lighting?

 

[DArtagnan]

Doubt it would ever happen - they got annoyed with me at a press event once when I managed to extract lots of juicy details out of one of their devs.

Apart from the money, I suspect there are better places to be - if you want to be part of the gaming industry.

 

[kalniel]

Apart from the money, I suspect there are better places to be - if you want to be part of the gaming industry.

Not that many. Blizzard, maybe, though probably not. CDPR possibly, though slight language barrier, and while visiting Poland is lovely, I'm not sure I could live there.

 

[DArtagnan]

Not that many. Blizzard, maybe, though probably not. CDPR possibly, though slight language barrier, and while visiting Poland is lovely, I'm not sure I could live there.

If I could choose, I'd probably go with a team like Pirahna Bytes.

But I wouldn't fit well into the industry.

 

[lostforever]

If I could choose, I'd probably go with a team like Pirahna Bytes.

But I wouldn't fit well into the industry.

Well then you need to start your own firm and start making games!

I can't promise to invest in the firm but I can promise that i will buy the CE edition of the game you make

 

[DArtagnan]

Well then you need to start your own firm and start making games!

I can't promise to invest in the firm but I can promise that i will buy the CE edition of the game you make

I'm making my own game at a slow snail's pace

There won't be a CE edition, though, and it won't ruin anyone's economy (except maybe my own)

 

[ChienAboyeur]

And I think games addressing the RPG market segment should call themselves RPGs. You don't need an RPG definition to decide if you will like a game or not, so don't worry about it. Leave the definitions for the devs and suits who need them to assess market value, budget etc.

So basically, you dont need to know what you are buying. Dont worry about it.

If indeed the label is to recover nothing, that games are blind tests, developpers must stick to labels.

That is a strange approach.

I wonder how people manage to like a lemon pie when they want to eat an apple pie.

Does it mean that people can sell anything to you no matter what they claim they sell to you? Just wondering.

 

[ChienAboyeur]

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/grognard

So they are the roll players.

 

[lostforever]

I'm making my own game at a slow snail's pace

There won't be a CE edition, though, and it won't ruin anyone's economy (except maybe my own)

Wow nice. Is it an RPG? more details?

 

[DArtagnan]

Wow nice. Is it an RPG? more details?

I prefer not to talk too much about it, until I have more to show.

Think single-character Eye of the Beholder with a much more sophisticated character system, and a heavy emphasis on cerebral turn-based tactical combat, puzzles, and a variety of ways to approach challenges ala Deus Ex.

It's a one-man thing, so there are natural limitations as to the "production values" - but it'll look somewhat like a high-resolution EoB.

It won't appeal to the mainstream, though, I can promise you that

Here's an ULTRA early shot of the level-editor/engine:



An ULTRA early shot of the character generator:

 

[kalniel]

So basically, you dont need to know what you are buying. Dont worry about it.

You absolutely need to know what you are buying, but why would you assess that from the market segment? That doesn't tell you much.

 

[Motoki]

You absolutely need to know what you are buying, but why would you assess that from the market segment? That doesn't tell you much.

Then what do you base your buying decisions on? Not being a smartass here, I'm actually genuinely curious. Is it the developer's reputation alone or do you consider other factors as well?

 

[wolfgrimdark]

Well I know I base my buying decisions on a number of factors and most of them have nothing to do with marketing.

I look at screenshots, I read previews and interviews, I try to know what the mechanics of the game are.

I notice a lot of talk about angles and RP elements without anyone actually defining what they are - instead the issue is skirted. It doesn't really matter anyhow as RP is misused everywhere. Developers can't agree on the term nor can players. Everyone seems to have their own definition.

Some go by the traditional "old game style" definition which incorporates X features which is wonderfully vague. Some folks seem to think you just need some choices and form of progression.

I have my own definition of what an RPG is to me. I use my own definition when I buy a game. I run though an internal checklist to see if the features match up and that often indicates how excited I might be to buy said game.

I won't give the elements since they are meaningless to anyone else. But I will list a couple of my favorite games that I consider to be RPG by my own very personal definition of the term:

Fallout New Vegas
Dragon Age 1
Baldur Gate series
NWN series
Kotor series
Arcanum
Divinity 2
.. and many more although I will admit most of them are older titles.

The only feature I will say is that the more pre-defined the PC is the less likely I am to buy the game (i.e. Witcher, ME for two examples) and the more open and flexible the main PC the more I tend to enjoy it.

 

[lostforever]

I prefer not to talk too much about it, until I have more to show.

Think single-character Eye of the Beholder with a much more sophisticated character system, and a heavy emphasis on cerebral turn-based tactical combat, puzzles, and a variety of ways to approach challenges ala Deus Ex.

It's a one-man thing, so there are natural limitations as to the "production values" - but it'll look somewhat like a high-resolution EoB.

It won't appeal to the mainstream, though, I can promise you that

Here's an ULTRA early shot of the level-editor/engine:



An ULTRA early shot of the character generator:

You need to start an thread in general section

I thought it will be 2d game but it looks like 3d and first person. Interesting given that its one man job.

I am programmer as well and I also try to make games myself (old dos style interface games) but never finish them!

Are you coding everything yourself or using 3rd parties tools to help?

 

[Couchpotato]

Don't worry. You won't really have to make a choice. The games aren't being released anywhere near the same time:

- Skyrim is set for release on 11/11/11
- Risen is tentatively scheduled for a "first half of 2012" release and given the nature of games and their release dates it is probably a safe bet that the release will be leaning towards the end or maybe even slightly past the given timeframe

Saves me money then but I thought risen 2 was coming out this year. They must have pushed it back again.

 

[lostforever]

I will buy both Risen 2 and Skyrim. However Risen 2 is day 1 purchase and Skyrim is wait for price drop. Obviously this can change depending on what we see from now and release!

 

[DArtagnan]

You need to start an thread in general section

Nah, not until it gets closer to something worthy of showing.

I thought it will be 2d game but it looks like 3d and first person. Interesting given that its one man job.

It's prerendered graphics in a "step-by-step" engine. I use Blender/Photoshop for the visuals - mostly using public textures or some images I've taken myself with a smartphone - but the shot is just of the editor. Obviously, it will have a lot of objects like torches, chests, carpets, tapestries and the like. Basic objects like that is something I can do in Blender/Photoshop with reasonable ease - and I'm actually a semi-decent UI artist. The real challenge will be animated monsters, and I'm considering hiring an amateur to do that for me. I doubt I'll be able to make them look right.

I've developed a system where I can create "decent" looking wall sets without too much effort. Currently working on an "Obsidian rock" set

The shield is just a public image I've used to test placement of objects in the game.

So, it should look a lot more interesting "in motion"

I am programmer as well and I also try to make games myself (old dos style interface games) but never finish them!

Yeah, I know how that is.

Making a game on your own is not trivial. Well, it can be relatively painless if you go for "Tetris" or something - but a complex CRPG is another story.

Are you coding everything yourself or using 3rd parties tools to help?

I use C# for the actual code coupled with XNA from Microsoft to help me with handling graphics rendering, and game logic updates. I've gotten reasonably comfortable with it.

That said, I'm not what you would call a coder - just an amateur learning as I go.

The basic engine is up and running, but there's no AI and combat is all on paper. At this moment, I'm working on how to draw objects at the right time, and I'm trying to find the smartest way of animating doors as they open and such. As for the char editor, it's an old shot of a far-from-finished bit of code I made, complete with music/click-sounds and stuff like that. More like a "proof of concept" for myself.

I'm currently reading up on object-oriented concepts - as I'm way too "procedural" in terms of my mindset.