An interview conducted by ZAM with Matt Firror of Bethesda Softworks has revealed some interesting information regarding the upcoming Elder Scrolls Online. A number of things were discussed, but first up on the plate was the matter of the game's beta testing period.
Bethesda has stated in the past that they want the launch of Elder Scrolls Online to be as fluid as possible, noting that many MMOs are dead in the water now but are only that way because of ill preparation in the beginning. Firror talked about how their beta testing was going.
"Very smoothly so far. When you start a multiplayer game beta, the first couple of sessions deal with the mechanics of the process: creating accounts, logging in, downloading the game client, making sure that everything is synched and logical to use. Now that we’re past that point in the beta, we’re focusing more in the gameplay experience, and are getting valuable feedback from our beta testers."
Another big thing for The Elder Scrolls Online comes in the form of guilds, where players can band together and work towards common goals. While Firror's statement doesn't clear much up, it still puts another step forward in the veritable desert of guild-related information.
"These are being worked on as I speak – we are moving forward implementing the guild system as we announced a few months ago, where one player can join multiple guilds. The player can also have their own social network of friends that may or may not be guild mates."
The next question addresses how players will customize their character and what sort of abilities they will be able to garner throughout their travels. Firror says that while many people were expecting a "deck"-style system, that that isn't necessarily the case.
"Because ESO’s character development system is so open ended, we aren’t currently planning on a “deck” manager – there are so many combinations that it just isn’t feasible. You start out with about 17 abilities to choose from with a new character, and you can find many more as you level."
Finally, the question came up of, "What's next?"
"Right now we’re working on the “larger” systems in the game. We have basics in for combat, economy, character customization, etc. – but these systems need continual work, design, testing, and tweaking to make them balanced and fun."
All-in-all, Firror's answers are somewhat vague. While it's good to know that development and beta-testing are coming along smoothly, it would be nice to hear more about the game itself. Keep in mind that this is just a small portion of the interview – head on over to ZAM and check the rest of it out.
