Skyrim: Making Fantasy a Reality

Anyone that's laid their eyes on Bethesda Softworks' eagerly anticipated Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the follow-up to its smash-hit Oblivion, at this year's E3 came away positively salivating at the possibilities in store for the game.

We got a chance to get some one-on-one time with Bruce Nesmith, Lead Designer of Skyrim, to ask a few questions about this year's most epic role-playing game.

IGN AU: Radiant AI was always a neater concept in theory than in practice. With Radiant Story, it sounds more in line with what Radiant AI was aiming to achieve. Is Bethesda satisfied that this will provide the AI sophistication and jump that gamers are hoping for? Is it an impossible quest to satisfy those wants anyway? 

Bruce Nesmith: What Radiant Story allows us to do it react to a dynamic situation. Before we had it, everything had to be much more specifically scripted. 

The simple things tend to be the most exciting. If the player drops a valuable item in the world, someone might come over and ask the player if they don't want it anymore. In another case, Radiant Story might have two characters start fighting over it right in front of you. If you kill someone, a relative or friend of that person may decide to hunt you down. Radiant Story allows us to set up these story templates that respond to things the player does, but at the same type keep the reacting NPCs in character. 

Giddy-up!

Ultimately players don't think in terms of Radiant Story, they just want to have fun. Radiant AI and Radiant Story are just tools that we can use as developers to achieve that. Like any tool, it can be used properly or improperly. Realizing that was a big moment for us. We've kept the focus on great stories and great gameplay. Sometimes Radiant Story can help with that, and sometimes it can't. If we do our jobs well, the players will never be able to tell the difference. 

IGN AU: Physics puzzles held so much potential in Oblivion – but were never really utilized all that much. Now, with this more sophisticated engine, can we expect better examples? Or is there too much unpredictability to design tight physics puzzles? 

Bruce Nesmith: Physics puzzles have never really been the core of our gameplay, and as you say, they can be unpredictable. They are also a lot cooler after you've figured them out than when you are in the middle of one. We do have some, but they tend to be simpler in nature to keep them fun instead of frustrating. 

IGN AU: Can you talk us through the way the enemies level up in relation to your character? Is this new system only related to dungeons? 

Bruce Nesmith: This is a system we continually tweak and improve. It's extremely complicated and detailed at this point. Its main goal is to make sure that the player is always finding new challenges that do not devolve into unavoidable failure or trivialize success. 

Women in Skyrim: much hotter than Oblivion.

Skyrim's levelling system will feel a lot like Fallout 3's, although we have tweaked it. There are places that are always easy, usually near where the game starts, but not always. There are places that you shouldn't attempt until you are higher level. These are always in the more remote places in the world. If you leave and come back, they won't have gotten any harder while you were away. And there are lots of in-betweens. All of them do some dynamic adjusting to try and match the challenge to the player. 

IGN AU: If dragons can randomly attack villages, then how does the game balance itself and ensure that you're not being punished super-early in the game? 

Bruce Nesmith: Because we decide when those random events can happen and how. All of our "random" systems are actually sophisticated decision systems that use randomness as one part of the process. Random dragon attacks won't happen right away. When they first start, you will have companions with you or be able to use the environment to your advantage, and the dragon will be one of the weaker ones. As the game progresses, you fight tougher dragons and are on your own more often. 

IGN AU: How many ideas were drawn from community mods for Oblivion? Did you kind of look at trends and best examples when figuring out what refinements and additions you wanted in Skyrim? 

Bruce Nesmith: We take our ideas from wherever we can get them. We have great fans that have provided great inspirations. In particular, some of the changes to archery were driven by some of the community mods. 

Could there be anything cooler than this?

IGN AU: How important is including a toolset for cementing community interest in a strictly single-player game? 

Bruce Nesmith: We've always released our Construction Set tool for free, and intend to do so with Skyrim too. Our fans love using our tools to make amazing mods, and we love seeing what crazy things they can come up with. 

IGN AU: How practical is playing in third-person point-of-view? Do you guys feel obligated to include it as an option, rather than simply sticking with first-person? What perspective do you prefer? 

Bruce Nesmith: This may be the first game of ours that I will play in third person. It's a much more viable option than in previous games. 

IGN AU: Elder Scrolls games, as well as Fallout 3, are deeply woven with pop culture references and Easter eggs. Can you reveal a couple? What should we keep an eye out for? 

Bruce Nesmith: Why spoil the fun? It's not much of an Easter Egg if we reveal it before the game is even released. 

Looks like this answers the question in the last picture...

IGN AU: Can you drop a hint about the inevitable expansions? C'mon… 

Bruce Nesmith: Right now we're just focused on making the game. 

IGN AU:Dragons. Cool enemy or coolest enemy? 

Bruce Nesmith: Are you kidding? Coolest enemy! The variety of things they can do makes them one of the most fun encounters in the game. They can do bombing runs with their breath weapon. They can land almost anywhere and chase after you. They have a tail attack that can knock you back. And when you kill them, you get to absorb their soul and use it to unlock magical shout powers. How can you get cooler than that?