Game Director Todd Howard was at the Spike Video Game Awards yesterday to accept a well-deserved Game of the Year award for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and he said to Joystiq that the game's popularity has surprised even the development team. "We thought it would do well," he said, "but it has gone above and beyond." One of the surprising effects of that popularity is the many YouTube videos (and "arrow in the knee" references) out there, but Howard says one in particular stood out to Bethesda. "I think our favorite really is putting the buckets on the heads," he laughed. "It was like day two, and we went, what? Do we fix that? Our lead programmer is pissed and wants to fix it, and I said I'm not sure we should. That's one of those where maybe we leave it in."
Howard couldn't yet share plans for DLC, but he says it will be focused on "ways to make the game better, not just have more, because the game is so big. So we're going through ideas right now, and processing everything people are doing in the game, and trying to think of ways that we can improve it." There will be multiple releases (as with Bethesda's past games), but Howard says they "don't have a timetable. They won't be quick, and they'll have a lot of meat on them."
For all of its successes, the one thing Skyrim doesn't have is other players. Is there a chance we'll ever see a multiplayer title, or even an MMO, from Howard and his company? "You can never say never to anything like that," he admitted, "but it's not what our focus is. This type of game is where our hearts are, what we get excited about, and that's what we want to focus on. We don't want to lose that focus and we never want to sacrifice anything in the singleplayer game just to have it be multiplayer."
Reader Comments (111)
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:36PM Traptz said
"ways to make the game better, not just have more, because the game is so big"
Screw that..make it bigger..
Screw that..make it bigger..
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 5:17PM Warlock234 said
@jchan
They'll probably just take Morrowind and Oblivion, put them where their respective landmasses are in Skyrim, make some HD textures, and we'll have a huge 3 providence game. Oh, and add muliplayer.
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They'll probably just take Morrowind and Oblivion, put them where their respective landmasses are in Skyrim, make some HD textures, and we'll have a huge 3 providence game. Oh, and add muliplayer.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:37PM archipelagos said
Much love for that man. That's all.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:37PM briscott said
lets please fix quest breaking glitches and then worry about DLC.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:59PM gnark1ll420 said
@briscott I agree I would like to be able to complete the main story without having to restart a new game.
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Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:39PM Teus said
honestly i would like to see a mmo in the elder scrolls universe
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 5:09PM Oddgirl said
Why should Teus get out? Because he or she would like to see a video game that you wouldn't? Good christ people, it's not like he's presenting a diametrically opposing political viewpoint, it's a video game.
What's the worst case scenario for an Elder Scrolls MMO anyways? A game you wouldn't want to play? Boohoo. I wouldn't want to play it either, but why shouldn't one come to be if there are people out there who would?
Meh.
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What's the worst case scenario for an Elder Scrolls MMO anyways? A game you wouldn't want to play? Boohoo. I wouldn't want to play it either, but why shouldn't one come to be if there are people out there who would?
Meh.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 5:46PM (Unverified) said
@Oddgirl They can totally do one. At least if "they" isn´t the entirety of Bethesda Game Studios. MMO´s are hugely time consuming to develop and for the people who love bethesda for their epic single player rpg´s that would mean a wait of six to eight years instead of three or four until the next single player game.
Thus: Get out! ;)
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Thus: Get out! ;)
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 6:09PM Oddgirl said
@(Unverified) And why should Bethesda make this game exactly? Zenimax has entire divisions devoted to online game development. If such a game were to ever come about, it would be through Bethesda's sister studios if not a new studio formed for the task.
I think Todd Howard has more than made clear that he wouldn't want to do this with his team anyways, haven't you? And to that I say, thank goodness!
By all means, stay.
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I think Todd Howard has more than made clear that he wouldn't want to do this with his team anyways, haven't you? And to that I say, thank goodness!
By all means, stay.
Posted: Dec 12th 2011 1:31PM Teus said
@Andrew12h no im not.. im just saying it would be nice to see a mmo based on elder scrolls... and todd a different team didnt say out right that one wouldnt happen...
as he did say "You can never say never to anything like that," so really he does not deny the possibility of one happening, its just not what his team wants to focus on, so really if a mmo does happen it would most likly involve another team
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as he did say "You can never say never to anything like that," so really he does not deny the possibility of one happening, its just not what his team wants to focus on, so really if a mmo does happen it would most likly involve another team
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:41PM The Tim said
Please, please PLEASE, let us journey to Morrowind as dlc!
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 10:03PM Naru now in 3D said
@The Tim The part of Morrowind all the fans know and love (Vvardenfell) was destroyed by the lore during the 200 year jump between Oblivion and Skyrim :(
The lore says that the little moon-thing floating over Vivec city (the Ministry) crashed into the city with the full force of a meteor crashing in from outer space. This caused the Red Mountain to erupt, and these two disasters destroyed most of Vvardenfell.
...the only good news to come out of this is that the Argonians started invading up into Morrowind from Black Marsh and have been gaining power. Yay Argonians!
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The lore says that the little moon-thing floating over Vivec city (the Ministry) crashed into the city with the full force of a meteor crashing in from outer space. This caused the Red Mountain to erupt, and these two disasters destroyed most of Vvardenfell.
...the only good news to come out of this is that the Argonians started invading up into Morrowind from Black Marsh and have been gaining power. Yay Argonians!
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:41PM Oddgirl said
Did we really need to ask the MMO / Multiplayer question again? I feel he's answered this at least once a month since 2005.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 4:05PM Oddgirl said
@Teus I agree. I think an MMO set in the Elder Scrolls universe, assuming they could retain the core mechanics of the series gameplay, would be wonderful - and I don't play MMOs.
It just has to be maddening being asked the exact same question any time an interviewer gets a second with you, just to give the exact same answer you've been giving for years.
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It just has to be maddening being asked the exact same question any time an interviewer gets a second with you, just to give the exact same answer you've been giving for years.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 7:20PM sparkster said
@Oddgirl
I don't know about TES and multiplayer... I mean the great thing about TES games is that they are about *you* and *your* adventure however you want to experience it. This is what puts these games over games like Dragon Age or Mass Effect for me, since in those I've never felt as involved. Especially Dragon Age was about every named NPC before it was about your character.
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I don't know about TES and multiplayer... I mean the great thing about TES games is that they are about *you* and *your* adventure however you want to experience it. This is what puts these games over games like Dragon Age or Mass Effect for me, since in those I've never felt as involved. Especially Dragon Age was about every named NPC before it was about your character.
Posted: Dec 28th 2011 2:56AM xXtwiztidXx said
@sparkster what i know me and alot of other TES fans are asking for is co-op and multiplayer dlc not co-op and multiplayer already added to the game because then yes it would take alot away from the game. BUT if you add it as dlc then it becomes an added bonus to the already existing game. and if they add cyrodiil to the game it would tie in verry well because the impire seems like the roman impire to me and they could have a side quest for the multiplayer battle areana where you get captured and you are forced to be a gladiator kind of a spartacus kind of thing and you have to win your freedom by winning 5 to 10 matches in the multiplayer and you could also be able to train your character to level 100, as for the co-op it would be 2 to 8 player drop in drop out co-op somthing like dead island (and for the people that will say that there is only 1 dragonborn you might want to read the dragon born book and listen to what npc say in the game there is a possibility of multiple dragonborns) . i could go on about the possibilities but thats just a few ideas i've had while talking to friends.
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Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:42PM Ryuk said
What happened to the "big substantial expansion pack" style DLC...? This saddens me...
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 4:10PM (Unverified) said
@Ryuk
"They won't be quick, and they'll have a lot of meat on them."
Sounds like what you are looking for...
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"They won't be quick, and they'll have a lot of meat on them."
Sounds like what you are looking for...
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:47PM Gibbeynator said
Are we talking like... Horse Armor DLC, or something that's more substantial than that?
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 4:28PM (Unverified) said
@Gibbeynator
"They won't be quick, and they'll have a lot of meat on them."
sounds more like mammoth armor/skins
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"They won't be quick, and they'll have a lot of meat on them."
sounds more like mammoth armor/skins
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:49PM Bardbarian said
Skyrim needs quite a few more patches in general and especially on consoles where Bethesda's memory utilization methods are bumping-up against the system memory limitations of the PS3 and 360. (coupled with a nasty memory leak across all platforms)
There are fundamental all-hands-on-deck type problems with how they use the engine that simply must be fixed before the DLC train gets rolling.
There are fundamental all-hands-on-deck type problems with how they use the engine that simply must be fixed before the DLC train gets rolling.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 4:08PM Nook said
@Dickhole Pasta
This is what confuses the hay out of me, for me it's been a pretty flawless experience so far and I'm on a slim and have 85 hours into it, my save is 12mb (?).
I would hate to be the guys addressing this is as it is seemingly all over the map, no pun intended.
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This is what confuses the hay out of me, for me it's been a pretty flawless experience so far and I'm on a slim and have 85 hours into it, my save is 12mb (?).
I would hate to be the guys addressing this is as it is seemingly all over the map, no pun intended.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 4:13PM Bardbarian said
@TheOnlyNameAvailable
The problem is fundamental in nature and adding more content actually makes it worse.
It not only needs to be fixed but fixed and then some in order to allow for DLC on RAM constrained hardware like the 360 and PS3.
This particular problem isn't one of playtime or save filesize but rather changes made to the world. If you have played for a long time and/or have a large save filesize then you are more likely to have made an abundance of changes to the world but it's more a matter of correlation rather than one of causation.
Many of us who have been working with Bethesda's toolsets since Morrowind and in relation to Gamebryo (now rebranded as Creation) have been highlighting this issue for nearly a decade now as it is not one which is exclusive to one platform or game. It's universal and it should never have been allowed to persist for this long.
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The problem is fundamental in nature and adding more content actually makes it worse.
It not only needs to be fixed but fixed and then some in order to allow for DLC on RAM constrained hardware like the 360 and PS3.
This particular problem isn't one of playtime or save filesize but rather changes made to the world. If you have played for a long time and/or have a large save filesize then you are more likely to have made an abundance of changes to the world but it's more a matter of correlation rather than one of causation.
Many of us who have been working with Bethesda's toolsets since Morrowind and in relation to Gamebryo (now rebranded as Creation) have been highlighting this issue for nearly a decade now as it is not one which is exclusive to one platform or game. It's universal and it should never have been allowed to persist for this long.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 6:05PM Faceless Troll said
@TheOnlyNameAvailable Then you're clearly in the minority. Or you're not using the same definition of bugs that everyone else does.
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Posted: Dec 22nd 2011 8:20PM Venomous47 said
@Dickhole Pasta Maybe you just have a corrupted disk and need to either reinstall it or just buy a new disk
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Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:58PM arucious said
MMO!!!! Me and my friends would make a werewolf crew D:
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:59PM (Unverified) said
@jwan830
"ways to make the game better, not just have more, because the game is so big. So we're going through ideas right now, and processing everything people are doing in the game, and trying to think of ways that we can improve it."
Reading is tough.
"ways to make the game better, not just have more, because the game is so big. So we're going through ideas right now, and processing everything people are doing in the game, and trying to think of ways that we can improve it."
Reading is tough.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:59PM Diet Kane said
Can we fix the game before DLC?
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 4:00PM Frostblade10 said
Even though its hilarious, I really hope they fix the bucket exploit. It seriously breaks immersion for me just knowing that I can do it.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 10:32PM Roflrex said
@Frostblade10 You can also make a orc named fecesslinger and fill your house with human hearts and falmers ears because you think they are tasty. Does this also ruin your game? Wahhhhhhhh. This game let's me do whatever I want, so stupid, they should fix this right away.
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Posted: Dec 11th 2011 11:29PM Frostblade10 said
@Roflrex
Kind of uncalled for. I wholeheartedly welcome and accept your feces-throwing orc, but you obviously don't understand and didn't read my post as you think I said it ruins my game.
There's a big difference between making your character live a certain lifestyle, and putting a bucket on someone's head in their own shop while they do nothing and you rob them blind.
In real life, the person would - like the other guy said - take off the bucket and attempt to kick my ass. Now THAT would be realistic.
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Kind of uncalled for. I wholeheartedly welcome and accept your feces-throwing orc, but you obviously don't understand and didn't read my post as you think I said it ruins my game.
There's a big difference between making your character live a certain lifestyle, and putting a bucket on someone's head in their own shop while they do nothing and you rob them blind.
In real life, the person would - like the other guy said - take off the bucket and attempt to kick my ass. Now THAT would be realistic.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 4:02PM Marshillboy said
@Panchothepup
At this rate, the only thing you're getting to the knee is a nine iron. Get out.
At this rate, the only thing you're getting to the knee is a nine iron. Get out.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 4:03PM Awesomaniac said
The buckets shall stay!
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 4:05PM Nook said
Screw any MMO thoughts for TES!! If the Beth were to venture into that realm, god forbid, I would prefer they bring a new IP to the table.
85 hours in and I still have not been to most of the world of Skyrim - have had one freeze and very little framerate issues - so I'm not sure why I've been so lucky.
I am going to be finishing the main quest here soon and then it's off to explore the world in much further detail! This is def my GOTY by miles.
....now how about an Oblivion for Vita....or FO3 for Vita....puh-lease????
85 hours in and I still have not been to most of the world of Skyrim - have had one freeze and very little framerate issues - so I'm not sure why I've been so lucky.
I am going to be finishing the main quest here soon and then it's off to explore the world in much further detail! This is def my GOTY by miles.
....now how about an Oblivion for Vita....or FO3 for Vita....puh-lease????








