Bethesda Softworks - 6 Suggestions for a Mediocre RPG

Bethesda's gone wide, but maybe they'll break the mold and go long instead.
I'd like to see a Quantum Leap-esque rpg. Hell, acquire the rights to all 97 TV episodes and tie'em together to create the longest, story-driven rpg.
Go long, Bethesda!
 
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Aerth said:
Bethesda does AAA games.
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Their games are AAA only in marketing. And possibly music.

The programming itself is ridiculously sub-standard and so are 2D/3D assets such as textures and esp. meshes.
 
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Aerth said:
They do not do innovation they do what works or seems to please people the most at the time the game is designed. And for them it does work well financially so why change?
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Yes, well they must be doing something right because Fallout 4 has surpassed Skyrim in sales. I guess they know their core audience. All the grousing here isn't going to change that.
 
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rjshae said:
Yes, well they must be doing something right because Fallout 4 has surpassed Skyrim in sales. I guess they know their core audience. All the grousing here isn't going to change that.
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100 million dollar global marketing campaigns will do that.
 
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rjshae said:
Yes, well they must be doing something right because Fallout 4 has surpassed Skyrim in sales. I guess they know their core audience. All the grousing here isn't going to change that.
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It surpassed Skyrim because they brought minecraft to unsuspecting players of Bethesda games. I certainly wont be buying their games again if I ever see a hint of it in their games again.
 
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Personally, I think FO4 is better than Skyrim, but I'm a big fan of post-apocalyptic settings, and there aren't a lot of such games to choose from.

That said, I'm somewhat surprised FO4 has surpassed Skyrim in sales already.
 
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I loved Fallout 4 and Skyrim and I love what Bethesda has done with open world RPGs. And I liked them both better than Witcher 3. And I gave Witcher 3 a 10. I don't think its a matter of marketing at all, it's just that Bethesda open world RPGs allow for a type of game play that a lot of gamers like.

OTOH, the video guys last point about the writers in Bethesda games was devastating. There were a number of story elements in Witcher that were quite compelling, emotional and memorable, still my open world adventures in both Skyrim and Fallout 4 were just more fun for me.
 
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luj1 said:
Their games are AAA only in marketing. And possibly music.

The programming itself is ridiculously sub-standard and so are 2D/3D assets such as textures and esp. meshes.
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Look, the only way I could enjoy Skyrim was with dozens and dozens of mods. So I totally agree.
I am just stating than they target for huge mass market and for that they do market studies. People thinking than they would switch back to mechanisms Bethesda have removed from Fallout when they bought the IP will be disappointed.
 
Skyrim and Fallout 4 rank among my favorite games of all time. Bethsoft have been on the right track for a long time, and while their games have plenty of flaws - they're only getting better and better.

Thankfully, for once, the mainstream audience agrees with me and the success is absolutely massive.

Good times.
 
I dont see the problem: if i want a story heavy game with hundreds of lines of dialog per npc i play the new torment and if i want to play a big open world game i come to bethesdas games. I dont understand why some people want them to always have to create something totally new and through that risk missing their target market.

Also, why critizise the filler quests (bandit camps / settler camps)? They are only there to let the world feel alive (something is always happening somewhere). You can skip those quests and follow the main story line. Thats whats always has been great about those type of games. And to be honest, who, besides the Gothic/Risen/Elex-guys (and maybe CD Project with Witcher 3) , produces such games on that level. So, let them do their thing. ;)
 
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You are totally right. You like their games as they are? Fine for you, that is great. The point is not in disparaging the taste of people.
My point was than as you say there are few companies making games at that level, and I was regretting than the quality of the main story, the quests and such are most of the times average to not say boring.
In F4, for example, we are supposed to look for the son and I should feel motivated with this kind of stake, but no, I just do not care at all.
So, yeah, maybe, you would tell me than fights are fun, head-shooting mutants with a Desert Eagle is as fun than ever. Discovering locations or exploring.. Yeah. Still, the story is just boring.
And for me, some really good written quests, a good story, some emotionnaly loaded moment, would be much better. And, I suspect than that would not detract in any way to pleasure of the persons who like the game as it is now.
 
Okay, maybe the main storyline is a bit boring or feels detached.. but i think its more the little storys taking place in the commonwealth which can be really good. Think Valentine, or the "awe" when first entering Diamond City.. I think those smaller moments fit better to this open world gameplay, because yeah, you tend to get distracted, and how many years you want your son to be waiting for you doing sidequests? (Please no spoilers, i am finally playing F4 for the first time after never getting into it for years. ;) )
 
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Asking Bethesda to make the jump from atrocious to mediocre is asking for the impossible.
 
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Fallout concept is just plain tired. Run down, dilapidated buildings. 200 years and no one paints or fixes anything. The "HA HA NUCLEAR FALLOUT AND SCIENCE FOR KIDZ HAVE A HAPPY DAY" irony is old, and worn out.

That said, Skyrim was tired and worn out too. Snow, mountains and vikings. Gee, where have we seen that before? I still enjoyed Skyrim more, as fantasy/magic I can "go with" where in Fallout you can shoot a human three times in the face with a shotgun and have them still come at you at 100% power just seems... far fetched.

I'd like to see some kind of Gene Wolfe, extreme far future as a middle ages technology with a few ancient artifacts still around. Just something different. But Skyrim was a huge success, so likely we will see another sword & sorcery in generic medieval environment. With dragons.
 
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Thing with Bethesda games is that music ( one thing, consistently excellent, at least counting exploration and main themes), scale and richness of the setting, are always deceptive, luring the player in promise of some "grand adventure".

But you quickly realize the whole thing is (almost) like a scam that falls on it's face: instead of going in direction of creating a dynamic, cohesive, connected world filled with rich interesting stories tied to it's setting and history, Bethesda decides to churn out 100's of copy pasta dungeons and "goofy" encounters placed inside a soulless lego box, with no real substance behind it.

The build up in Oblivion trailer still gives chills to this day: https://youtu.be/mWLZ07U85h0?t=55

As it turns out the world as described in in-game-books is actually far more "vivid" and interesting than the game they're in… and you get to play poor man's dungeon crawler and "use your imagine to create your own story" ( a.k.a pretend and daydream) that anything around you makes sense or has actual meaning.
 
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Eh, the music is always the same: Inon Zur and his derivative medieval orchestra. It felt remarkably out of place in Fallout 4.

Beyond that, yes, cohesion is not a word in Bethesda's vocabulary. Gimmicks for the sake of having gimmicks is more their style.
 
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Ovenall said:
Fallout concept is just plain tired. Run down, dilapidated buildings. 200 years and no one paints or fixes anything. The "HA HA NUCLEAR FALLOUT AND SCIENCE FOR KIDZ HAVE A HAPPY DAY" irony is old, and worn out.
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So true. Although in Fallout 4, we learned the reasons behind the dilapidation, paint, etc. In this world, when you build something brand new, right off the bat it looks like it's been neglected for a century. Lore reveal!

But yeah, the setting has gotten extremely tired. Bethesda is just aping Fallout 1 & 2 with no real clue where to go with anything.
 
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I've never liked the Fallout setting - and I was tired of it before the first game was done.

My love for Fallout 4 has little to do with the setting.

That said, I find it deliciously ironic that people are bashing them for being faithful to the setting of the first games - while also bashing them for diverting from them.

It's the kind of thing that substantiates that the criticism often isn't rational, but purely emotional or on principle.
 
In a 2 sentences the guy goes from "My love for Fallout 4" to a rant about critics because critic "isn't rational, but purely emotional or on principle."

Not like love, then. Very bright.
 
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