The Elder Scrolls Enters the World of Multiplayer in a Massive Way

PREVIEW

After years of rumors, it’s finally official: The Elder Scrolls franchise is receiving its first non-single-player game since its inception in 1994. This isn’t a new Elder Scrolls game with a multiplayer mode, either; The Elder Scrolls Online is an MMORPG.

The news was made official today and confirms some of the details we heard in a March report, such as the game being set 1,000 years before Skyrim and featuring three playable factions. Game Informer elaborated on what little the press release had to say, noting the story involves Molag Bal, a Daedric Prince whom Morrowind players may remember the name of, attempting to “pull all of Tamriel into his demonic realm.”

TES Online is in development not at Bethesda Softworks, developer of every game in the series to date, but at nearby ZeniMax Online Studios, which was founded in 2007 and is headed up by Matt Firor, a co-founder of Mythic Entertainment who worked on the original Dark Age of Camelot. “We have been working hard to create an online world in which players will be able to experience the epic Elder Scrolls universe with their friends, something fans have long said they wanted,” said Firor, who is serving as game director on TES Online. “It will be extremely rewarding finally to unveil what we have been developing the last several years. The entire team is committed to creating the best MMO ever made – and one that is worthy of The Elder Scrolls franchise.”

When Firor says the “last several years,” it’s believed development on the game started as early as late 2006. Bethesda’s work on a “World of Warcraft type MMO” from that point in time was revealed in court filings in the Fallout MMO case between Bethesda and Interplay. It was later reported the game in question was an Elder Scrolls MMO meant to be revealed in 2009.

Details at the moment are scant, to say the least. The first teaser trailer and screenshot are scheduled for release tomorrow, and Game Informer‘s cover story reveal only hints at aspects of the game. Traveling across all of Tamriel — the continent containing the many land masses visited in previous TES games — is mentioned, although it’s unclear if players will be free to revisit the entirety of a place like Vvardenfell, the primary setting of Morrowind. It does look like that may be the case considering the artwork on GI‘s cover features a map of Tamriel. Also noted is the presence of solo quests, public dungeons, and player-versus-player action between the three factions which entails “open-world warfare over the province of Cyrodiil and the Emperor’s throne itself.”

Whether the game will adhere to genre conventions is unclear at this point. An MMO Gamer interview with Firor from shortly after the studio was founded in 2007 shows the thought process with which the game was being approached at that time. Among the noteworthy bits were him stating, “…sometimes I think the forest of ‘MMO fun’ is lost in the trees of ‘must have’ features that most players don’t care about anyway.” He took issue with the suggestion that there is something inherently wrong with quests which have you slaying, for instance, rats. This task was present in numerous single-player RPGs (he mentioned Ultima II, Baldur’s Gate, and Oblivion, among others) in the past, he claimed, and it’s the story and background that matter most.

“These games (all single user RPGs) are quite different in terms of story and background, and overall gameplay,” he said. “It’s like saying books are all the same because they are all comprised of words and pictures. It’s the story and experiences that matter, not the form. MMOs are stories, experiences – not just combat systems. You are focusing on the mechanics, not the story being told. In 1999 in EQ, you were killing rats while learning about the history of Freeport, probably considering a trip down to the Desert of Ro, avoiding D’vinn, and wondering what all the buried pyramids were. In 2006 you were killing ‘rats’ in WoW while exploring the area around Ogrimmar, anticipating your first Zeppelin ride, and finding out that the Barrens are not so barren. Completely different characters, different settings, quests – and most of all, stories.”

When asked if ZeniMax Online could create something fresh, Firor said, “I wouldn’t be in this position if I wasn’t ready to give something new to gamers. But our philosophy is to incrementally build on what gamers expect – to ease them into the game, make it feel comfortable, etc. before introducing too many new concepts to them. Introducing too many new concepts too quickly is a great way to drive your user base away before they get accustomed to the game.”

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The Elder Scrolls Enters the World of Multiplayer in a Massive Way

The Elder Scrolls Enters the World of Multiplayer in a Massive Way

The Elder Scrolls Enters the World of Multiplayer in a Massive Way

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