Chapter 785 - 785: The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

The development of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim was proceeding smoothly, but many details from the original version needed optimization.

Mists, snowstorms, and natural phenomena caused by different climates weren't as prominent in the previous life's version of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.

There were also the NPCs in The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.

Players of the Elder Scrolls in their past lives used to joke that in The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, if a named NPC died, players would feel heartbroken for ages.

This was mainly because most NPCs in The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim had their own stories.

However, a small number of NPCs indeed made The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim feel a bit less human.

Furthermore, the various large overhaul mods created by players later on for The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim had effectively filled in the game's shortcomings.

Of course, this wasn't referring to "Love Skyrim," "Hives," or "Slaves," which were more perverse mods.

Instead, it referred to functional, overhaul mods that made The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim's gameplay more complete.

Although The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim wasn't successful because of mods, mods did enrich the game's content and longevity.

However, Lucas currently had no plans to incorporate these mods into the official game content because some features, while seemingly enhancing gameplay, could actually have the opposite effect.

For instance, "Different Skyrim Lives" allowed players to freely choose their starting class and location, but the game's map was already quite fixed.

Fun was only possible when players were already familiar with the game.

It was like dropping a brand new player of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild directly into Ganon's Castle instead of letting them start on the Great Plateau.

Familiar players would naturally find the fun, but it wasn't suitable for new players.

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim was similar. While the game offered immense freedom, the early game's quest progression was carefully designed.

Whether players followed this path or explored elsewhere was up to them.

As time passed, domestic and international game developers like FOW and Zeus began to reveal news about their new projects.

However, many players were more concerned about Nebula Games.

It had been some time since Xenoblade was released, and many players were eagerly anticipating its DLC.

As for whether there would be DLC, many players shared a common understanding: there definitely would be.

This was because the base game left too many plot holes, various nostalgic moments, and vague explanations about the Holy Grail War 500 years ago.

So, many players believed there would be DLC or a sequel.

But this was taking too long, wasn't it?

As days went by, there was still no news from Nebula Games, making many players restless.

However, soon, a post from Nebula Games' official blog made all players understand why there had been no news about Xenoblade's DLC for such a long time.

Nebula Games and Boss Lucas were secretly developing a new game!?

And they were returning to the open-world genre!?

This news caused a huge stir.

...

The latest news on Lucas and Nebula Games' official blog was very simple.

It contained only one website address.

Upon clicking, players were greeted by an ancient scroll.

Then, with grand music, the scroll slowly unrolled in the candlelight.

On the white scroll, lines of text appeared.

'In the Second Era, Year 896, Emperor Tiber Septim used the full might of the Tamrielic Empire's Brass Tower to launch a Dragon Break, defeating the Second Ancestors and forcing the Summerset Isles to surrender.'

'The continent of Tamriel and the Summerset Isles were unified under one empire for the first time: the Tamrielic Empire.'

'Thus, the Second Era ended, and the Third Era began.'

'In the Third Era, Year 433, Emperor Martin Septim sacrificed himself to banish the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon, ending the crisis and saving the continent of Tamriel and the entire world of Nirn.'

'However, the Emperor's death marked the end of the Septim bloodline as Dragonborn emperors, the end of the Septim dynasty, and the decline of human royalty.'

'Thus, the Third Era ended, and the Fourth Era began.'

'Due to the heavy damage caused by the Oblivion Crisis, the empire that ruled the continent gradually lost effective control over some provinces. The Summerset Isles, Black Marsh, and Elsweyr seceded from the empire and became independent.'

'In the early Fourth Era, Year 201, the Empire-backed High King of Skyrim, Torygg, was forced to participate in a traditional Nord duel proposed by Ulfric in Solitude.'

'The young High King was naturally no match for Ulfric, a seasoned warrior, and was killed by him. Ulfric then fled to Windhelm, allied with lords in eastern Skyrim to launch the Stormcloak rebellion, and confronted the Imperial loyalists in western Skyrim.'

'And the story of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim begins in the province of Skyrim...'

As the text ended, the scroll was suddenly engulfed in flames.

After the flames subsided, a colossal black dragon appeared, facing a warrior with a sword and shield, whose appearance was indistinct.

At the bottom of the official website, there was a game description and content.

Now, all the players understood why Nebula Games and Lucas had been so quiet lately.

They were holding back a big surprise!

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim was Nebula Games' new work.

And judging by the game's genre description, Boss Lucas was returning to the open-world genre!?

Players' excited messages could be seen on various forums and communities.

'Holy crap, Boss Lucas dropped a bombshell without anyone noticing!'

'Holy crap, my youth is back! Nebula Games and Boss Lucas are finally making open-world games again!'

'From the name The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, it's hard to tell what kind of game it is, but the story background is explosive! Just looking at it, you can feel the epic scale, like with Warcraft!'

Seeing the information revealed on the official website, all the players became excited.

After all, this was Nebula Games' new work, marking their return to open-world games.

Nebula Games had made open-world games before, such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Assassin's Creed, which could be considered forms of open-world. Even the previously released traditional RPG, Xenoblade, had at least some open-world feel in its map design.

However, compared to Red Dead Redemption and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, many players shared a common understanding that they hadn't quite reached that level in the open-world genre.

Even in Nebula Games' public relations, many players noticed that while major media outlets referred to these games as open-world, Nebula Games had never officially admitted to it.

But this time was different. They were directly telling all players that this was an open-world game in their marketing.

Such official confirmation was bound to surprise and delight players.

(End of this chapter)