Gavin Carter Discusses Elder Scrolls

Conspiracy_Of_Doves writes to tell us Brett Thomas over at Bit-Tech recently interviewed Elder Scrolls producer, Gavin Carter. From the article: "The size, scope and sheer graphical grunt required for Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion requires gigahertz of processing power to run, good bandwidth to update and expand, and gigabytes of hard disk space to store. Things that a console didn't really have...until now." The interview takes a look at the development with respect to the two different platforms, PC and Xbox 360.

Comments

so no xbox 360 core?

[El_Muerte_TDS]

gigabytes of hard disk space to store
XBox 360 core dosn't have gigbytes of disk space.

Re:so no xbox 360 core?

[wbren]

I don't know why the parent was modded +4 Funny, since that's a good point. What will people do if they bought the core version of the 360? Or am I just missing the joke?

Re:so no xbox 360 core?

[jpx7777]

If they about the core system, then they do not deserve to play. Core-Tard!

http://www.cad-comic.com/comic.php?d=20050914

Re:so no xbox 360 core?

[timeOday]

It's very likely that Bethesda software will simply require people to have a hard drive. Several xbox 360 critics say the core system is pretty much useless.

Well I sure hope that isn't true, or there are going to be a lot of sad kids and ticked off parents on Christmas morning.

Whose bright idea was it to fragment a game console into sublevels?

Re:so no xbox 360 core?

[blincoln]

Whose bright idea was it to fragment a game console into sublevels?

The same company that's selling about 37 different, ambiguously-named versions of its next operating system.

I really think the gaming industry is headed for another crash. I was pretty young during the original one, but I remember a few things that seem suspiciously familiar now.

Coleco had at least three expansion modules for the Colecovision, none of which ever got used except the Atari 2600 "adaptor" that cost as much as a standalone 2600. Mattel did the same thing with the Intellivision II. Both of them (and Atari) tried to sell their systems as the centerpiece of something bigger (home computing, etc.) and it flopped.

This is what I think of when Microsoft tries to sell a pretend version and a real version of the 360, and adds on "media center functionality." It's what I think of when Nintendo announces a console based on having a whole pile of possible controller options.

I also think the increasing prices are going to be a problem. $40-$50 is a nice round number to sell games for when they're first released. As soon as you get up into the $60-$70 range, it suddenly looks like a much bigger chunk of change. Obviously hardcore gamers won't mind so much, but they only make up a small part of the market.

I guess that seems like the main problem to me - back in the 80s and now. The manufacturers seem to forget that the hardcore gamers and/or people who can throw a bunch of money into gaming are a vocal minority. That people who don't work for their company don't generally use their gaming console as the centerpiece of anything. MS could have done two systems the smart way - by having a basic system that was actually useable, and a more expensive one for the hardcore gamers. Out of the entire Real Edition, the only thing I want is the hard drive. I don't play online games, so I don't need the headset. I don't care if my controllers are wired. Maybe they think that by bundling all that stuff in they'll convert me into an online gamer so they can get more of my money from Live? I might be an oddity, but their incessant focus on that is actually making me LESS likely to buy a 360 at all. /ramble

On PC, though...

[BronxBomber]

To me this game begs to be played on PC. With the HDR lighting its going to blow the 360 version out of the water, along with some other shading/lighting effects the 360 wont have..

And the TESCS - thats just a must have. I made the mistake of playing this on Xbox first, and while it rawked, I wish I could have modded it. It would have made an already ridiculously deep game even better. I nearly bought it twice so I could mess with the TESCS, but I got into WoW instead.

I got old too soon

[milktoastman]

As a college undergrad, I was interested in the Elder Scrolls 2 from watching others play. I never really had a computer that could run it. In Grad school, sans flies, I bought a computer to run Elder Scrolls 3 and was so looking forward to playing a computer/console RPG of the likes I had dreamed of since 8th grade...but when I tried it, I realized, I just couldn't get absorbed. It required such an investment of time and interest that my busy life wouldn't allow. Also, I actually felt guilty playing because I knew how much valuable 'real time' was going to waste. I guess I'm too old to play these games now. Too bad my last fling was Ultima 9. Kind of cool, but not what I had dreamed of playing. Don't you wish the sheeny scales would flute madly?

That's nothing

[phasm42]

Personally, I lost count at 175 hours in the current game, Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind. Think about that for a second: that's 2 hours after work every day for 3 full months.

Apparently this guy has never talked to an Evercrack fiend.