Contents
Much of what we know about Skyrim so far has been revealed through interviews with Bethesda and previews written by those who have had a chance to play the game. Other information has mostly come from video footage (demos, trailers, etc.). This article provides a selection of what I consider to be the most informative or interesting previews and interviews.
Previews
DeltaGamer: Impressions and Hands on
DeltaGamer's Tom Yeates has written two articles about Skyrim. He first wrote about his impressions after seeing Skyrim demonstrated at Gamescom in August. The article has some detailed descriptions of the Nord barrow dungeon that was shown, as well as some information about dual-wielding.
The Hands On article was writen after Yeates got the chance to play Skyrim at the Eurogamer Expo in September. The article touches on character creation and the new user interface (including the real-time map). There isn't much new information here, but Yeates gives a good overview of his experience, which you can compare with his earlier impressions.
Rock, Paper, Shotgun: 20 Reasons To Be Excited About Skyrim and A Realistic Hour With Skyrim
Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Alec Meer has also written two articles about Skyrim, but these two are separated by over 4 months. Back in April, after being shown an hour of Skyrim and listening to another hour of Todd Howard answering questions, he wrote 20 Reasons To Be Excited About Skyrim. The reasons cover all aspects of the game: combat, graphics, leveling, modding (#14!), character creation, voice acting, and the interface ("the menus are pure sex" apparently).
Then in September, Meer wrote about a "realistic hour" with Skyrim, which apparently means watching Pete Hines play for an hour. After convincing Hines to create a Khajiit but pronouncing it (and apparently spelling it) wrong, Hines explains that Khajiit and Argonians have tails, and to "please spread the word so people will stop asking." The rest of the article focuses on the less intrusive HUD, exploration and combat, and mining and crafting. Cities, factions, and anything to do with the main quest or storyline were avoided in the demonstration, of course.
Eurogamer: Hands-on Preview
Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell got to play an hour of Skyrim at QuakeCon 2011 and shares his thoughts in this article. The article talks about climbing up a mountain before delving into the new menu system, including the inventory and later, the world (3D) and local (2D) maps. As usual, the Bleak Falls Barrow dungeon is explored, but some additional details about traps and puzzles are included. Note the article is divided into two pages; don't miss the second page.
Destructoid: Hands-on with Skyrim
Destructoid's Allistair Pinsof also got to play Skyrim at QuakeCon, and I believe his first experience can be summarized when he writes "I mean, it has dragons. Dragons! Sh*t yeah!" After that, he creates "Lizzle-Bob, a sexy, big-boned lizard lady" and goes off exploring. Despite this odd start, the article includes some good combat information, including the improved bow mechanics which haven't received much attention.
Wired Game|Life: Hands On: Exploring the Impossibly Detailed World of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Wired's Chris Kohler writes about his "hands on" experience with Skyrim at E3 2011, though most of the article is simply relaying what Todd Howard said. There is some good information about how dragon shouts are learned, character creation, and even a small puzzle. Todd Howard also explained that "There are children. No, you can't kill them." Kohler thinks the children look like "ugly dwarfs." Oops.
BeefJack: Hands-on Preview
Also written after the Eurogamer Expo, BeefJack's Simon Williams details his experiences playing Skyrim. Since Skyrim was only being shown on the Xbox 360 at the Expo, some of the article is devoted to console issues (lower quality graphics than the PC, playing with a controller, etc.). But there is also some good information in the article. Williams wanders off the path into a forest and finds a "mini-dungeon" of bandits, and talks a lot about the new combat and dual wielding systems. The article also talks about the improvements to the often-ignored third-person camera. Williams even shares some criticism of the game: a "torrent of voices" and "overlapping dialog" inside the town, rough and simplified textures, and "lumpy" water animations.
Dark0ne: Eurogamer Expo Thoughts
Dark0ne also had the chance to play Skyrim at the Eurogamer Expo, and shared some quick thoughts in a Nexus forum thread. Aside from some specific details (health and mana regeneration, lockpicking, animations, rag-dolls, etc.), the important takeaway is "I have faith that it's going to be a very, very good game." Dark0ne also responds to some questions in the thread, so keep reading through the thread if you want additional information or clarification.
Interviews
Bethesda: Skyrim Fan Interview
As it has done in the best, Bethesda solicited questions from fans for a "fan interview." The responses to 25 selected questions were posted on the official forums with answers from Todd Howard, Bruce Nesmith (Lead Designer), and Matt Carofano (Lead Artist). The answers provide a good amount of information about various aspects of the game (and no spears, crossbows, or levitation, again). Question #9 might be of particular interest for Nexus users.
9) Can we have some specifics about the PC version of the game? How will it's UI be different? Will there be a 64-bit executable?
Todd: 64-bit specific exe? Not at this time. As far as UI, it visually looks the same across the platforms, but the controls are entirely different. There's also a lot of "power user" stuff we do with the keyboard from how favorites work, to quick saves, and more that is similar to what we've done before in that area. We're packing a lot of info on the screen and the whole interface is much less 'look at giant fonts!' than, say, Oblivion. The PC version also gets higher res textures, larger render modes, and a bunch of other effects you can scale up if your machine is a beast. Last but most important, is the Creation Kit we'll be releasing for the PC. Modding the game and making it your own is very important to us and our fans, so we're going to keep doing whatever we can in that area.
Joystiq: Todd Howard on Skyrim's worthwhile glitches, MMOs and when big is big enough
Joystiq conducted an interview with Todd Howard on the subjects of knowing when Skyrim is "done," the often-requested multiplayer, and Bethesda's reputation for..."technical quirkiness" in their games. There really isn't much specific information about Skyrim given here, but Howard's perspectives on the three issues are worth reading.
As for the quirkiness, Howard responded:
"We try to solve most of it, we're sensitive to a lot of it. There is a subset of that where we say 'Well, that's what can happen.' If there's entertainment value in that, whatever it is, we'll leave a lot of it. If it's gonna break the game, or unbalance the game in some way, we do try to solve it. If the solution is gonna make the game less fun ... well, hey, leave it in," Howard said, before adding with a smile, "It's their game."
IGN: Making Fantasy a Reality (with Bruce Nesmith)
IGN conducted an interview with Skyrim's lead designer Bruce Nesmith. The questions are mostly unrelated, jumping from radiant AI and radiant story to physics puzzles to pop culture references and easter eggs. The interview does include two questions related to modding, though.
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.
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.
