The recently announced Elder Scrolls MMO has a lot to live up to. If the initial fan reaction is any indication, it’s not doing as well as you might expect in the court of public opinion. Creative director Paul Sage recently stepped in front of the camera to talk at length about the project, and some of what he has to say probably isn’t going to sit well with fans who are concerned that ZeniMax is making a generic themepark MMO out of the much-loved single-player sandbox series.
“We have to make our own game,” he tells Game Informer. “We want to make a good game first. Not a good MMO, not a good Elder Scrolls game, we want to make a good game first, a great experience for the player.”
“We have to make our own game,” he tells Game Informer. “We want to make a good game first. Not a good MMO, not a good Elder Scrolls game, we want to make a good game first, a great experience for the player.”
This has to be one of the dumbest statements, riddled with PR lawyeresque language I’ve heard in a while. Considering the aspects that make Elder Scrolls what it is, and the audience that enjoys that, the current development path will gut and mutilate every aspect that drew current fans to it in the first place and alienate its fanbase. Seriously, I’m not one for doom and gloom, but this seems cut and dry to me. Why alienate even a small portion of your existing and loyal fanbase? These people are the ones who will really sell the game via word of mouth.
This would be different if it were a new IP with no established fanbase, but it’s not, and it’s riddled with marketing, non-gamer focus groups, and suit logic.