Todd Howard, game director on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, has revealed that the studio has flirted with the idea of including multiplayer in the sprawling fantasy RPG sequel, though conceded the dev time needed to incorporate the feature would detract from delivering ‘the best single-player game’ possible.
Still, at least players have dragons to keep an eye out for, says Howard, who told IGN that the inclusion of the fire-breathing beasts and multiplayer have remained the two most requested features among fans.
"The two most requested features we get are dragons and multiplayer. We got one of them this time!" he said.
"We always look into multiplayer, put lots of ideas on the whiteboard, and it always loses. It’s not that we don’t like it. I can think of ways it would be a lot of fun, but at the end of the day, that dev time is going to take away from doing the best single-player game we can, and that’s where our hearts are."
According to Howard, the chilly continent of Skyrim is roughly the same size Oblivion’s game world, though admitted it’s a little difficult to compare the two. Bethesda’s got a team of 100 employees working on the game, with production kicking off just after the release of Fallout 3 in late 2008.
"It’s always hard to compare size in games this big," said Howard, "but it has about the same amount of geography and content as Oblivion.”
"I say ‘about’ because the scale always changes some, and things like mountains change how that geography feels, and the time it takes you to get to and from places. It has a different flow when exploring. "
While Skyrim will feature Fast Travel functionality like its predecessor, players will also be able to hop into carriages to go about their business, though Howard wouldn’t go into any further details.
As mentioned, Dragons are an integral component in the sequel, with your character being a dragon-born who shares powers with the scaly beasts. Based on the dragon lingo your hero can speak, these powers are known as shouts and can be used to unleash magical attacks.
"Shouting is based on certain words in the dragon language that, when used together, form magical attacks," Howard elucidates. "You learn these throughout the game by finding the words on ancient wall carvings or being taught them.
"It’s all part of the ancient nordic culture in Skyrim. Each shout is formed with up to three dragon words. Some are crucial to progressing through the game, while others just provide you with more power or interesting things to do. "
Apparently, players will encounter “maybe a dozen” dragons in Skyrim, with Howard mentioning being hunted by three of the mammoth lizards just last week – “and I assure you that’s too many at once,” he said.
"We went into the project being very conservative about how we’d use [dragons], but they’ve turned out great, so we want them to get good screen time," he explained.
"When you defeat a dragon, you absorb its soul, and that’s all I should say about that for now." But will you be able to ride dragons in Skyrim? "Not in the way you’re asking," revealed Howard.
Howard also touched on the subject of foes levelling up alongside your hero, and admitted that Oblivion attracted much criticism due to this particular feature. And, while Skyrim will adhere to this concept to some extent, it also shares many similarities with Fallout 3’s scaling.
"You do need some [auto-levelled enemies] in a game like this, it’s just a matter of how and when you do it," he offered. "It’s clear Oblivion had places it didn’t work well.”
"That’s something I think we addressed well in Fallout 3, so Skyrim works similarly to Fallout 3. “
"We want peaks and valleys, where sometimes you’re really challenged, and other times you feel really powerful. The trick is telling a player in a wide open game, without locking stuff off, that ‘this area is too hard for you, come back later.’"
While keeping mum on the possibility of crafting your own spells, Howard let slip that “there’s certainly more” armour in Skyrim than its predecessor.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is due out on November 11, 2011.