The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim may be several years old now, but it still holds enough sway to spark conversation around the 'net. Bethesda's open world RPG was a massive success, and speaking to Gamesindustry.biz, Dragon Age: Inquisition's executive producer Mark Darrah cites the fantasy adventure's popularity as a turning point for the genre.
"Skyrim changed the landscape for role-playing games completely," Darrah begins. "Skyrim sold 20 million [units]. So that, to some degree, changes everything." The idea that Bethesda's creation introduced a new generation to RPGs doesn't come as a shock, but the developer goes on to say that "suddenly you have 15 million people that have basically had the first RPG they've ever played as Skyrim". Darrah continued: "They have totally different expectations of what storytelling is, what exploration is, and I think exploration is really where we've seen the biggest change."
Indeed, perhaps the biggest alteration Inquisition brings to the franchise is its vast and relatively open world. "The hardware has brought back the ability to do big again and I think that's what's bringing role-playing games back to the forefront," states Darrah, and we can definitely see where he's coming from. We can't think of a recent open world game that didn't feature some RPG elements, and it's clearly a structure that benefits the genre itself.
Are you looking forward to BioWare's latest? Do you agree with Darrah's comments? Let us know where you think RPGs are headed in the comments section below.
[source gamesindustry.biz]
Comments 26
"suddenly you have 15 million people that have basically had the first RPG they've ever played as Skyrim"
Anybody know where that number comes from? I read the linked to article but there was no elaboration. I'ld guess if Skyrim did 20m then Oblivion only did 5m? I'm having a hard time believing though that there are 15m gamers who never played an RPG before. FF didn't become the series it is by playing itself, and all those Fallout games? My first RPG was FF7, so I was already 6 games late to that party, and that was in 1998.
@rjejr http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-01-27-skyrim-has-sold-over-20-million-copies
@ShogunRok He's talking about the 15mil rpg first timers.
Not sure about Inquisition as I didn't think much of Dragon Age 2 tbh...
Will wait to see how the reviews turn out first...
cant wait for new dragon age as its in a similar vein to skyrim, sure da 2 was pretty rubbish compared origins but the combat was better but i still enjoyed it. however i wouldn't call skyrim an rpg more of action adventure game with rpg elements tacked on. why skyrim there was oblivion before it and morrowwind before that. my first rpg was grandia on the ps1.
@Nickolaidas @ShogunRok - Thanks for the link Mr. Rok, but what the other guy said - 15m it's their first RPG? (I know I'm hard to understand at times b/c I'm so long winded.)
Never played it on ps3, I'd like a tarted up version on ps4 though for sure. Its a shame inquisition isn't fully openworld, I have it on pre order but I'm more looking forward to Elder Scrolls Online and Witcher 3.
I loved Skyrim on my PS3 and luckily apart from some broken missions I didn't experience the game breaking problems others did. I honestly hated Dragon Age and Dragon Age 2, but if it's taken cues from how Skyrim was presented then I'm interested in Inquisition...I need more open worlds to explore on the PS4.
@Bad-MuthaAdebis I'd love to see Skyrim (and Fallout 3) on the PS4....the ambitions of such games seemed to outstrip the ability of the PS3 and lead to real performance issues.
Skyrim is in my top ten games of all time.thoroughly enjoyed it and platted it on ps3. Loved da origins,da 2 not so much but from what ive seen inquisition looks epic
@rjejr Whoops, my bad — skimmed your comment because I was in a rush.
But yeah, I think he's just assuming due to the fact that Skyrim ended up selling so much. I know a lot of people who aren't fans of RPGs at all, but they all ended up playing and enjoying Skyrim to some extent.
My first RPG was Secret Of Mana on the SNES i think
@LDXD Is Far Cry not out 3 days before this?
@LDXD I was so disappointed when I found out the next Elder Scrolls was online. I like my adventuring solo, my journey and my experience, not being part of someone else's. If they do something similar to Fallout I may well cry.
I literally snorted in derision upon reading that headline.
The only thing Skyrim changed was my belief that Bethesda actually employed bug testers.
This is my most anticipated game of the year. Only two games I've wanted a lot since the PS4 come out, and that was Infamous and this(Obviously other games included like Uncharted). Infamous delivered, so now I'm hoping this lives up to it as well.
Loved the first two games, so I have no doubt that I will love this one too!
Ive got a cousin of mine, only really played cod and halo. One day i sat him down and told him to give skyrim a fair shake. Fast forward 2 years, and he had a save with well over 400hrs, and had not even thought about cod or halo. Skyrim was special in how accessable it was. It wasnt morrowind no. And frankly as an es lover it wasnt even oblivion. But it was outstanding enough to still be played constantly, for me to buy it 5 times (1 copy each console/pc and 2 gifts) along with the collectors edition, and i will whole heartedly agree with him.
@BigDaddyT0101 That's it exactly — that's a perfect example, and the same thing happened to a few friends of mine. They wouldn't so much as touch something like the original Dragon Age, loot-driven RPGs like Diablo, or even Japanese RPGs, but they all tried Skyrim and couldn't put it down.
If that doesn't say accessible, I don't know what does.
GTA V and Far Cry 4 both release on the same day as Dragon Age so I doubt I'll be getting it. GTA V and Far Cry 4 will be enough to keep me going until the superior game "The Witcher 3" releases next February 24th.
Well I think Dragon Age games or generally speaking Bioware RPGs has their own charm and identity as well. And I like where they are going with Inquisition. It does indeed look more open ended in terms of exploration. Hopefully it will help fix the "repeating the same level design over and over again" problem consisted in their previous games.
And yes I for myself is looking forward for DA: Inquisition
Thank heavens for good old Skyrim, set the benchmark for open worlds and beauty too.
Dragon Age is the game ive been waiting for and after that the order and bloodborne.
It looks great from what I have seen so far, roll on 21st in the UK!
Rpg's really are for me the ultimate in gaming, i love the longevity of the adventure, really grabs me.
@BigDaddyT0101 absolutely agree. I love skyrim and morrowind and oblivion. I put so many hours into them. I wish they would make a real sequel instead of the mmo there putting out this year.
What about the GBC Pokémon games? Blue was my first RPG, and gold/silver also did well. I love to hear that Skyrim sold 20 mil copies, but I never thought it'd be anyone's first RPG experience, if you can call it that. Game #5 is pretty late to get into the series. You wouldn't get any references or get the tone, necessarily, although I guess it wouldn't hurt to play them backwards. Please remake it for ps4 for us!
Skyrim change the idea that, Dragon's always fly forward forever
@ShogunRok - Sorry to bother you from a 3 month old thread but I finally bought Skyrim, thought you'd like to know
@rjejr Ha! Hope you enjoy it!
Tap here to load 26 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...