Saturday, May 20, 2006
Quick Oblivion update
At E3 I had the opportunity to talk to the Lead Producer of Oblivion for about a half hour. You may remember my column from a few weeks ago when I said that Oblivion is a really fun game, but not a good representation of what an RPG should be. I was promptly lambasted on this site for saying something negative about the holy grail of Xbox gaming. Everyone pointed to small examples of choice and consequence in the Oblivion universe, ignoring the big picture. You can imagine how excited I was when I had a chance to talk to someone who actually worked on the game.
He agreed with me. He said it was a conscious decision during development to tone down some RPG elements. For instance, he said they decided to not close any doors on gamers, no matter how egregious their errors were. Oblivion was designed as a game that could be picked up and enjoyed by a casual gamer. Making every action have consequences would frustrate casual gamers, he explained. He thought it would be more fun to just present a huge world to gamers and let them explore every nook and cranny they could fit into. Obviously, many people agree with this idea of game development, but just because it's "fun" does not mean it's a true RPG. Oblivion does not offer the consequences of other RPGs because it is made for the mass market. This is also why there are no time constraints. I told him that I was frustrated that no one in the game world actually cared if I beat up Goblins instead of closing the Oblivion gates. I mentioned this made the game seem like a series of fetch quests. He understood my point, but said they made the decision to not enforce a time limit of any kind because, like offering consequences for actions, it would force gamers to play a certain way. The original Fallout started with a quest to obtain a water chip within 100 some days. He said people were frustrated when the limit was reached and the game abruptly ended. To avoid frustration, they took out anything that could hold back the gamer from playing at their own pace.
It feels good to be redeemed. I never said Oblivion wasn't a really fun game. I said it was lacking in major RPG elements by not offering any real choices or consequences. I was called horrible names by readers and writers of this site, but the Lead Producer of the game agreed with me. He did not say it outright, but he suggested that Fallout 3 would offer the pure RPG experience I desired. They haven't started development yet, but they plan on making it a faithful sequel to the original titles, which will please people like me. He mentioned that Elder Scrolls will continue in the more action oriented path whereas Fallout will offer a more strategic alternative.
I realize how lame it is to write a "Nya Nya! I was right!" post, but it was quite frustrated arguing with people who simply refused to look at the game in front of them. You see, it is actually possible to enjoy a game while critiquing it. Oblivion is a really fun game, but it is not a great RPG.
He agreed with me. He said it was a conscious decision during development to tone down some RPG elements. For instance, he said they decided to not close any doors on gamers, no matter how egregious their errors were. Oblivion was designed as a game that could be picked up and enjoyed by a casual gamer. Making every action have consequences would frustrate casual gamers, he explained. He thought it would be more fun to just present a huge world to gamers and let them explore every nook and cranny they could fit into. Obviously, many people agree with this idea of game development, but just because it's "fun" does not mean it's a true RPG. Oblivion does not offer the consequences of other RPGs because it is made for the mass market. This is also why there are no time constraints. I told him that I was frustrated that no one in the game world actually cared if I beat up Goblins instead of closing the Oblivion gates. I mentioned this made the game seem like a series of fetch quests. He understood my point, but said they made the decision to not enforce a time limit of any kind because, like offering consequences for actions, it would force gamers to play a certain way. The original Fallout started with a quest to obtain a water chip within 100 some days. He said people were frustrated when the limit was reached and the game abruptly ended. To avoid frustration, they took out anything that could hold back the gamer from playing at their own pace.
It feels good to be redeemed. I never said Oblivion wasn't a really fun game. I said it was lacking in major RPG elements by not offering any real choices or consequences. I was called horrible names by readers and writers of this site, but the Lead Producer of the game agreed with me. He did not say it outright, but he suggested that Fallout 3 would offer the pure RPG experience I desired. They haven't started development yet, but they plan on making it a faithful sequel to the original titles, which will please people like me. He mentioned that Elder Scrolls will continue in the more action oriented path whereas Fallout will offer a more strategic alternative.
I realize how lame it is to write a "Nya Nya! I was right!" post, but it was quite frustrated arguing with people who simply refused to look at the game in front of them. You see, it is actually possible to enjoy a game while critiquing it. Oblivion is a really fun game, but it is not a great RPG.
// posted by Tom @ 3:48 PM 
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