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They went to the trouble and presumably significant expense to hire Patrick Stewart to play a character who doesn’t live past the tutorial?
Yup. But by the gods, does it set the tone.
The things that happen when you don’t have the Skyrim and Fallout money yet.
I don’t get it. Is 90 pages supposed to be a lot of text for a professional actor?
90 pages of backstory? Entirely aside from the actual script containing the dialogue he has to read?
I don’t know whether that’s a lot—not having conversed with any professional actors—but I strongly suspect the answer is yes.
Actually kind of the funniest thing to me about the VA talent for Oblivion is that they got Patrick Stewart and Sean Bean, but they have the least lines of dialogue to any other MQ character in the game.
I bet that’s partially because they were expensive.
No doubt. That’s also why they continue to have the same 5 in-house VAs. That’s the only good thing I can actually say about Starfield: the dude who voices the
AnnoyingAdoring Fan really hammed it up for this one compared to the same character in Oblivion.Hammed usually carries negative connotations, so I am confused by it’s use here. Are you describing something positive or negative about the performance?
For this particular character, over-acting it is a good thing. It makes him more irritating.
Hammy usually just means over-acting. Sometimes, going all out, chewing the scenery, and reeeeealy leaning in to your character is inappropriate. But sometimes, when the moment is right…magic happens.
Personal taste I guess. I’ve seen videos of the adoring fan for Starfield and I’m happy I skipped on that perk because I likely would have shot him in the face immediately
Now, play Starfield and try to wrap your head around the fact that both of these titles were made by the same company.
Starefield
I can’t even put my finger on the difference. Like… They play the same. They feel the same, mechanically and performatively. And yet Starfield is boring; I have no desire to ever install it again. But I still play Skyrim and Fallout 4/New Vegas. They haven’t exactly improved in what they offer, and I don’t really go crazy with mods so it’s not like rose tinted glasses due to being able to change the game.
The lack of environmental storytelling, the lack of emergent gameplay due to the empty worlds, the overall tone of the story where most of the world building is history and politics given to you in dry, long-winded speeches, the feeling that every single sci-fi reference is as vanilla as you can get like it was written by someone who has never actually read/watched anything in the genre they just have secondhand knowledge of it from hearing others talk about it… It all adds up to something very different from everything else they’ve ever done while still being in the same janky package.
It’s actually kind of remarkable, in a not good way. How the hell does this supposedly project of passion have absolutely no feeling to it?
Each successive TES game has relied more on procedural content, levelled lists, and repeated content(radiant).
These serve to reduce workload for Bethesda, they can make a larger game with less resources/staff, but removes artists further from the specific details in the world.
The parts of the world you enjoy are the one made by the creative process, the ones you don’t come to expect, and the ones with thoughtful narrative. That’s where the challenge, fun, and the humor in games comes from.
Procedural content specifically lacks this. The artist’s touch only able to affect the architecture of the algorithm. It’s good for stitching elements between the parts touched by the artist to create seemless transitions. But when used as a replacement for hand placing detail, it removes the creative process, thereby killing the source of enjoyment.
Leveled lists are a big annoyance because they remove danger from the world. Skyrim did have some notable exceptions: giants, a couple odd caster npc’s, the frost troll on the way to the greybeards, etc… But then you get issues like normal creatures being more dangerous than fucking dragons, which are supposedly uber powerful(?).
Radiant quests waste time for negligible reward. They’re bad, uncreative practice imo.
It’s been decades between them. I choose to believe none of the devs and designers (and the synergy they had) that made the games I love still work there.
Well at least designer was still there. The same one who mandated the use of procedural generation to make Oblivion’s dungeons and Skyrim’s radiant quests.
I blame Todd on that. I blame Todd for a lot of stuff.
Stubbed me toe. Todd did it. No content to watch. Gotta blame Todd. Friends unavailable to play games?
Better believe it’s Todd’s fault.
I mean the tutorial can be seen as the most important part of the game cause if it socks nobody is gonna play the rest
Hence, they brought in Patrick Stewart.
It’s also ostensibly the root of the main plot, hence his character should leave an impression.
Oblivion’s start was so much more memorable than Skyrim’s. Getting taught the basics by escaping prison and then immediately being served the full open world after that was magnificent.
The best start is in Morrowind, where you’re released from prison and fill out paperwork!
Followed by “Go to Balmora and visit someone. Balmora is north of us.”
That’s one of the best things about Morrowind vs. the later games (and I’m not even joking this time). It makes you explore the world, not just warp to quest objectives. It has fast travel, but it makes you earn it and think about how to use it effectively.
This video about Morrowind fast travel and this one about mini-maps are both so good and I wish all open-world game designers would take heed.
The lack of quest markers create the most memorable adventures and the most frustrating adventures.
Stumbling upon ruins and caves while you stumbling around trying to find where you are suppose to go.
Frustrating as sometimes those directions were so vague…also you always find yourself in an area of cliff racers.
…also you always find yourself in an area of cliff racers.
Speaking of which, having the honor of meeting Jiub (pre-sainthood) is the real reason Morrowind’s start is the best.
That’s amazing
As opposed to Skyrim where you learn the basics by escaping a fucking dragon, guards(because you’re a prisoner), and a creature as well(I think it’s a bear?). And then immediately served the full open world.
Buddy, like what you like and all but Skyrim’s tutorial sequence is at least the same and arguably better.
I definitely see your point, and I had to think about why I found the Skyrim tutorial so much less memorable. And I think, to me, it’s that it’s the tutorial, so you just know that the dragon isn’t going to kill you. Similarly, you know that the prison guards and assassins in Oblivion won’t kill you, but you don’t know that about the emperor. And unlike the dudes that ride with you on the carriage during the opening scene of Skyrim, I’ve got at least the faintest connection to Oblivion’s emperor dude. Like, I really couldn’t have cared less when it was said that Ulfrik, the rebel leader, was on the carriage, too. I don’t know anything about the rebellion, so if the guy would’ve been executed right then and there, I just couldn’t have cared.
it’s the tutorial, so you just know that the dragon isn’t going to kill you
The first time I played it, I definitely didn’t know this. I mean, I knew it wouldn’t kill me, but I didn’t know it couldn’t. I assumed that if I didn’t actually hurry, it would get me.
But I agree re Ulfric. The game sets you up to make this important-seeming early decision about Imperial vs Stormcloak, but it doesn’t give you any of the tools needed to engage with that story that early. Heck, I’m sure I can’t be the only one who, because I was hurrying away from the dragon, didn’t even realise you can enter the building with a Stormcloak escapee or with an Imperial, and just went with whichever I happened to notice first.
You put to words how I felt about it. I couldn’t have given less a shit about these people, I don’t know them nor their troubles and dilemmas about their country.
“Choose who you’re gonna side with!” brother I know nothing about either of your organizations, me going with you isn’t me siding with your whole organization, I just want to get the fuck out of here.
I remember my first playthrough similarly - I joined the Stormcloaks thinking the rebels are usually the good guy underdogs… that was before they started spouting their racist ayrean views, lost all sympathy for the cause at that point and made that storyline less enjoyable.
Congratulations, you experienced what it’s like to be a member of MAGA.
Skyrim makes an attempt to keep you on the main quest, sending you to that little town/tavern in the valley, trying to push you to Whiterun and some intro sidequests.
Oblivion just dumps you out of the sewer pipe with Kvatch being a faint background thought, smack dab in the center of the open map.
And then Morrowind actually tells you to stop doing the mainquest and sandbox for a while.
Followed by linking up with that wet noodle Martin.
Who you know for a fact will die because he is voiced by Sean Bean.
“Let’s continue on to Weynon Priory”
Instantly ruined by the ability to teleport to the main city
To ANY city.
Fortunately, I discovered that an hour or two in, so I still got some free roam in!
I played Oblivion for 10+ hours. Game was fantastic, I was hooked. I complained to my friend who had recommended me the game about how much walking there was. He explained fast travel.
To this day it’s still a running joke: “You can fast travel?!?”
But you basically just described skyrims beggining as well lmao
Not knocking oblivion I love them both.
You mean more memorable than nearly getting executed and having to escape a dragon attack?
Yeah, not really. And I’ve played both.
Even this should tell you enough:
That didn’t load for me so I’m going to pretend it was the macho man Randy Savage dragon mod.
Idk, Skyrim seemed like a fun house opening. With big things coming at us we know won’t kill us. In Oblivion, we are greeted by the fucken emperor, and he wants to talk to US, a prisoner, and then he hero’s journeyed us into importance. It just seemed a lot more impactful than Skyrim’s.
I think people just give Skyrim a lot more hate because it’s been the last in the series for so, so long.
Oblivion was probably the #2 most memorable intro/tutorial of its’ rough time period to me. #1 is stealing a bike in an alleyway.
Ah shit, here we go again.
All we had to do, was follow the damn train, CJ!
Yeah I think you’re pretty much right about the hate. Plus, if Bethesda used to be better then that gives us excuse now to keep bringing up how mad we are about their current state.
I never finished Oblivion but it was because I was not playing many games then. Skyrim, I did finish and played many hours, because it literally pulled me out of being bored with games for years. The game was infuckingcredible regardless of the hate directed at it.
I also loved Morrowind. I can’t remember if many people hate that one or not, but it’s Bethesda, so probably.
Morrowind is certainly a product of its time, so with the weird weapon hit chance mechanic and without voice acting, I can definitely understand why some people might not be able to get into it. But Morrowind has the best world design by a long shot and offers a lot more player freedom, too.
I loved Morrowind, but I was like 15 when I was playing it. I have a bad memory, so I don’t remember everything about it very well, but I just remember thinking that Skyrim was that plus dragons and better graphics. Please don’t hate me for that opinion because I don’t really stand behind it lol
I played Skyrim a few months ago and felt like my soul was getting sucked out. I just kept asking myself “what am I doing? Why am I playing this?”, and stopped after a few hours.
I think the straw that broke the camel’s back was when I encountered a group of bandits that tried to attack me. I went into the cave they seemed to be operating out of and was greeted by a named NPC called “ulfric the blind” or something. He said something like “[name] is that you?”, and I thought “oh I wonder if I’ll be able to fool this guy into thinking I’m someone he knows. I wonder what could have driven this old man to banditry, or if he and his family have been in the game so long he’s now elderly. Or maybe instead of information about his life he’ll inadvertently reveal some secret that can help me. Regardless I’ll probably have to carefully choose what I say if I want to get the most out of this”.
Then the only dialogue choices were “yeah I’m him [end conversation]” and “he’s dead, you’re next [end conversation]”.
… So you were super disappointed that the very old game which was incredibly complex for its time (and still is in many ways) didn’t get more complicated since, what was it, 2012?
I sometimes play Quake 1, released 1996, from the lens of 1996. I mean I can see the graphics are bad by today’s standards. And it was simple in most ways by today’s standards. But the game was still a huge game changer in every way and looks great if you remember the games that came before it.
I think most people tend to regard Morrowind as peak Bethesda/Elder Scrolls. At least I do.
Maybe the Oblivion intro feels more memorable because the rest of the games was such a step down from Morrowind in a lot of ways. Skyrim, for all its continued dumbing down of Elder Scrolls, was a well made fun game. And you got to be the main character again!
And his character has been a thing in all previous games.
This brought to mind the Mr. Plinkett TNG mistakes video. Many times the mark on the floor indicating where the actors should stand is visible in the HD remasters, and at one point he said something along the lines of “Patrick Stewart’s a consummate professional, always hits his mark.”
This is great! Thank you for sharing it
It was amazing to me how I never noticed a single one of these when watching them in SD back in the day. They did great work for shooting on such a tight schedule!
I’ve now watched in HD like a hundred times, and I’ve still never noticed most of these. Random shapes in the background on a set full of doodads and gadgets? Give me a break. Those hands with the flute, though, I’ll never unsee, lol.
Did you notice any of the black paper?
Wake up, Nerevar!
Stole this from somewhere
I’m pretty sure that is from the Ricky Gervais show “Extras”. Or maybe I’m confusing it with Ian McKellen in the same show.
It’s from American Dad.
So many great guest spots on that show. Daniel Radcliffe was a personal favorite of mine.
Does it have any nudity?
But it’s too late… I’ve seen everything!
Their clothes… All burned off.
A game containing the voice of Patrick Stewart AND a mod with contributions from the legendary Terry Pratchett.
May have died in the tutorial, but he was probably one of the most memorable characters in the game. I don’t even remember the name or dialog of any of the other characters in the beginning of the game while his performance stands out substantially.
“Let me see your face…”
WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU PEOPLE?!
opens secret path for get out of jail free card
Oh. Carry on. >_>
