Skyrim - 5 things DA should Learn from Skyrim and vice versa

aries100 · February 23, 2012

Venture Beat's Ron Lefebvre has penned an editorial in which he discusses which 5 things Skyrim and Dragon should learn from each other.
A quote about the voice acting:

Better voice acting
First up, what is with the same five guys voicing all the parts in Skyrim? Yeah, there’s Max von Sydow, Christopher Plummer, and Joan Allen to raise the bar, but in a game as expansive and fully voice-acted as Skyrim, there have got to be hundreds of parts. I’m not suggesting that publisher/developer Bethesda hire hundreds of actors, but how about someone who can convincingly do a Norse accent without sounding like the Swedish chef? Dragon Age had Claudia Black (and who wouldn’t, right?), and Dragon Age II has Eve Myles. The supporting cast, however, really shines. I care about the side characters as much (or more at times) as the main ones. Skyrim just feels like local theater.

Here's a quote about expansive environment:

More expansive environments
How many times have I had to carefully watch the minimap in Dragon Age II, so I could find my way around the twists, turns, mazes, staircases, and tiny rooms of the game? Too many, that’s how many. In Skyrim, if I see it, I can get to it. That huge mountain looks sweet, let’s go there. Ooh, can you see that weird building in the distance? Yeah, we can totally get to it right now. Skyrim kicks Dragon Age II’s ass when it comes to expansive environments, and I guess I just want it all.

More information.

Ball_Breaker · February 23, 2012

We should write an article: X things both games should learn from the past.
The rest is up to you.

Thrasher · February 23, 2012

That would be one damn long article.

Ball_Breaker · February 23, 2012

That's why no one has still written it, nor probably will...

aries100 · February 23, 2012

I just got the feeling that the author really wants to play Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.
As I understand it, KO:A is a mix of what is the best from other games, including rpgs...

Risine · February 23, 2012

… and so many from Baldur's gate !!!!
Anyway, and concerning moslty the big failure DA2 : do with your RPG brand what you did with your FPS title Mass Effect : give you the time, the money and make that passion and dedication of your work come before marketing wishes.

sakichop · February 23, 2012

aries100 said:
I just got the feeling that the author really wants to play Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.
As I understand it, KO:A is a mix of what is the best from other games, including rpgs…

Its more a mix of everything mediocre.

moonmonster · February 23, 2012

sakichop said:
Its more a mix of everything mediocre.

Yeah... now that I think of it, you're right. It's in the middle between DA2 and Skyrim and it's less fun than either.

Maybe we *think* we want a game that has it all, but really we're happier with different games to satisfy different desires.

The Nameless Zero · February 24, 2012

Skyrim and DA:O are both midgets standing on the shoulders of giants - Morrowind and Baldurs Gate respectively.

Most gaming journalists would benefit immensely from having their legs broken and being locked in a room with a C64, a set of graph paper, a pencil, and a copy of The Bard's Tale. If they can complete that then they can have a 386 era PC and an Ultima.

Zloth · February 24, 2012

I miss those old games where you had to remember to drink water and it took five hours real time to fly somewhere.

wiretripped · February 24, 2012

The Nameless Zero said:
Skyrim and DA:O are both midgets standing on the shoulders of giants - Morrowind and Baldurs Gate respectively.

Heh. Morrowind was as an okay game at best. It did some things right, but was very bland as an RPG.

It's amusing that after the Oblivion failure and Skyrim, people suddenly start saying Morrowind was the pinnacle of RPGness. Sure, it may have been Bethesda's best thus far -- admittedly, I did not play Skyrim yet, so I cannot judge --, but IMHO Morrowind failed as an RPG.

Ha, though of course, it all depends on how you define RPG for yourself...

Alrik Fassbauer · February 24, 2012

Zloth said:
I miss those old games where you had to remember to drink water and it took five hours real time to fly somewhere.

Micromanagement is dumbed down. [cynism]No-one wants it.[/cynism]

TomRon · February 24, 2012

I just know I played Skyrim for about 70 hours, which is a decent time for any game, but then I just finished the main storyline and I'm notthinking of trying another runthrough for…well never. It was boring. I felt kinda the same with Oblivion. Morrowind though, I played through once when it released and then again when the expansions came out…and I still remember the story and moments from the game fondly. I don't remember ANYTHING from Skyrim, and I played it just a month ago…

Still isn't as good as BG or PS:T, but that's litle bit like comparing apples and pears. I love all those games. Nothing made the last couple of years comes close, including DA:O, which in light of the terrible successor might appear to be a good game. I actually forced myself to finish that one too.

The last really good RPG in my opinion was probably the MoTB expansion for Neverwinter Nights II. Since then it's been a long line of dissapointments, at least if youn't count the indy titles, some of which are really good.

CutLunch · February 24, 2012

Does Skyrim still only have 5 voice actors? That totally put me off Oblivion. Kind of disappointing, but at least it will save me some money.

azarhal · February 24, 2012

CutLunch said:
Does Skyrim still only have 5 voice actors? That totally put me off Oblivion. Kind of disappointing, but at least it will save me some money.

Oblivion had 14 voice actors, Skyrim have 70.

CutLunch · February 24, 2012

azarhal said:
Oblivion had 14 voice actors, Skyrim have 70.

Good to hear. Thanks

Drithius · February 24, 2012

azarhal said:
Oblivion had 14 voice actors, Skyrim have 70.

It seems like a lot fewer because the majority of filler npcs are indeed voiced by just a handful. While it's nice to here a unique voice when coming upon important NPCs, it's overshadowed by the other 95% of the game. And what's with the Schwarzenegger voice@!!?!

Still, for such a massive game, you can't realistically ask for requisite roster of 1,000 people to keep things completely varied. And it's definitely better than Oblivion, from what I remember of the 20 dull hours I played of it.

The Nameless Zero · February 24, 2012

wiretripped said:
Heh. Morrowind was as an okay game at best. It did some things right, but was very bland as an RPG

Morrowind is a masterpiece of world building. Sure the game mechanics are shite, but I'll take a game that does one thing exceptionally well over the polished turds that saturate the market these days.

zahratustra · February 25, 2012

wiretripped said:
Sure, it may have been Bethesda's best thus far — admittedly, I did not play Skyrim yet, so I cannot judge —, but IMHO Morrowind failed as an RPG.

You are entitled to your private opinion.

It's amusing that after the Oblivion failure and Skyrim, people suddenly start saying Morrowind was the pinnacle of RPGness.

But this is quite simply wrong.

SpoonFULL · February 25, 2012

azarhal said:
Oblivion had 14 voice actors, Skyrim have 70.

Gothic 3 had 45:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0891492/fullcredits#cast

and they all sounded very well.

Skyrim - 5 things DA should Learn from Skyrim and vice versa

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