Chapter 784 - 784: The Ultimate Open-World Game

"What's most important in an open-world game? Freedom? Gameplay? Neither. The most crucial element is the world itself."

Lucas spoke slowly, looking at everyone.

Lucas had actually mentioned the core points of open-world games many times during internal meetings at Nebula Games.

"No matter the direction, the most important core of an open-world game is the shaping of its world. Like in 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,' the world is shaped through gameplay. Wind can make fire burn stronger, water and iron conduct electricity, and wooden weapons can be burned by high temperatures. These aspects make players feel the reality of the world."

"This is how Zelda builds its world. In 'Red Dead Redemption,' the open world is shaped by its details, while 'The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt' excels in its strong background lore."

"All of this is to create a world that players feel is real. Beyond these, what else can make players feel the world within an open-world game?"

No one spoke immediately. Lucas looked at the thoughtful faces around him, paused in the center of the conference room, and then smiled. "It's life."

"Similar to the shrines and towers in 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,' players start with a sparse map. As they explore and discover more cities, and through snippets of dialogue with street NPCs or by reading a book, they uncover a quest. This is exploration."

"Like Link waking up with amnesia, it allows players to learn about the world alongside the protagonist and grow together. This is gameplay and the game's emphasis on immersion."

"Finally, the most important point is to enrich the content outside the main quest. Like in 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,' where the main story is downplayed to emphasize the world's development."

Listening to Lucas, everyone's minds quickly formed some general directions.

In terms of gameplay, it would be like 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,' focusing on exploration and new characters growing with the player. In terms of content and world-building, it would be like 'Red Dead Redemption' and 'The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,' with strong backgrounds and settings.

A game that harmoniously blends the core elements of these two types of open-world games into one ultimate open-world experience?

Thinking of this, everyone felt a surge of excitement.

"Boss Lucas, what's the new game called? What's its theme?" Hector finally couldn't help but ask.

Lucas smiled, clicked open his laptop, and connected it to the projector. A newly created folder appeared on the large screen.

"The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim"

The Elder Scrolls is an IP game that has spanned over twenty years, a game with endless charm.

In his past life, this series was enough to drive countless players wild with just a screenshot, a piece of music, and a title.

It's known for its vast and epic fantasy world and extreme freedom, completely immersing players in the world of Tamriel.

Its expansive world-building and highly free world, where everyone seems to have their own story behind them, with details piled on to make you feel it's a real world.

Especially this installment, titled Skyrim, is incredibly classic.

Although, due to the limitations of its era and technology, it didn't perfectly excel in every aspect, its core development concept is almost flawless.

Even later open-world games can see traces of this game in some way.

Even over ten years after its release, in his past life, it remained one of the benchmarks for open-world games that countless game developers studied.

Despite this, as time progressed, the game's flaws gradually became more apparent.

The interactive AI wasn't great, the graphics didn't keep up with the times, and the combat system was terrible, feeling like hitting air.

But none of this could overshadow its brilliant aspects.

As for the claim that The Elder Scrolls relies on mods, that's simply baseless.

While in some ways, "The Sweet Roll Scrolls" might be a more widely recognized nickname and there are indeed games that became more successful due to mods, this list absolutely does not include "The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim." For Skyrim, mods were merely the icing on the cake, not the deciding factor.

From being a prisoner about to be beheaded at the start, to ascending the Throat of the World, meeting the Greybeards and learning of your destiny, and finally facing the world-eating dragon Alduin.

It's a traditional fantasy story, so to speak.

From a humble and weak individual, to ultimately becoming the Dragonborn who saves the world.

The entire province of Skyrim feels like a real world for players to adventure in.

If you kill a bandit along the way, you might find a letter on him addressed to his wife.

Following the address on the letter, you can actually find his wife's home and locate clues about him there.

Everyone, even an ordinary NPC, has their own story behind them.

In The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, players can choose to ignore the main quest and do as they please, just like in "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild."

They can also choose to participate in epic, world-shaking storylines, as in "Red Dead Redemption" and "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt."

...

In the conference room, the core development team sat in their seats, listening to Lucas's explanation.

The basic settings for the game didn't surprise them too much.

They were relatively standard settings.

For example, the character classes and races. The game would have basic classes like warriors, mages, assassins, and archers.

These are all quite traditional.

The only difference lies in the freedom in "The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim."

As long as the player is willing, a warrior can unleash powerful magic, and an assassin can dual-wield axes and charge into a crowd for a no-witness assassination.

A mage can wear armor and wield a greatsword to go head-to-head, while an archer can stealthily sneak behind enemies for a perfect dagger takedown.

Whether it's effective or not is another matter, but if you want to play that way, you can.

Furthermore, the game features a vast skill tree including lockpicking, enchanting, smithing, and more.

The only surprising aspect was that, aside from the main quest, the side content Lucas described was even richer than the main story in some cases.

For example, players can participate in the war between the Stormcloaks and the Empire, join the Companions, assassinate members of the Dark Brotherhood, become Arch-Mage at the College of Winterhold, or complete quests related to the Daedric Princes.

...

For Lucas, the core of "The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim"'s story and gameplay is very clear.

The main focus now is optimization, as "The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim" is not without its flaws.

First, the map transitions. Compared to his past life where opening a door in "The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim" required loading, with more advanced technology, Lucas can make the game more seamless and avoid that disjointed experience.

Secondly, the combat feel.

"The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim" is undoubtedly a landmark ARPG masterpiece.

However, its combat effects are truly terrible.

The combat effects in the game, especially melee combat, feel like swinging at air.

Beyond that, the character models in the game are incredibly ugly.

From royalty and noble mages to peasant soldiers, not only are they not good-looking, but the appearances of most NPCs can even be described as horrifying.

From beginning to end, only Serana is somewhat presentable.

Of course, Lucas won't make them ridiculously beautiful, as the setting of "The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim" is somewhat medieval. But at least most ordinary people should have the appearance of human beings.

(End of chapter)