Posto un'interessante intervista di PlanetElderScrolls:
Exclusive interview with Matt Grandstaff: Community and Skyrim
By Ghostfig101 and APY, 2011-03-08
To celebrate Planet Elder Scrolls' 10 year anniversary, Bethesda agreed to do an exclusive interview. We spoke to Matt Grandstaff, Senior Community Manager at Bethesda, about the influence of the community on the Elder Scrolls and the continuous support from Bethesda towards modders. Luckily, Matt was also willing to answer some questions on the upcoming Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
We're also doing a great giveaway, thanks to Bethesda and Fileplanet. Visit the giveaway page to see how you can win the signed Skyrim poster and one of five Fileplanet Founder's Club subscriptions!
PES: When Morrowind was first released, did Bethesda expect the Construction Set to become so popular?
Matt: Well, I wasn't working at Bethesda when Morrowind was released, but I think it's safe to say the community's undying passion for modding the game is a little surprising. The game is just over a year away from celebrating its 10th anniversary and the modding community doesn’t appear to be slowing down – even with Skyrim coming out.
Do you see any differences between the Elder Scrolls community ten years ago and now? Have the console releases of Oblivion influenced the community in any way?
It's a bigger community and the console releases (Morrowind for Xbox, Oblivion for 360 and PS3) have certainly played a large part in that. The number of people playing Oblivion on consoles definitely trumps what you d ever see on the PC. Of course I can't tell you how many times I've heard folks say they first played Morrowind or Oblivion on console, and later moved to the PC to participate in the modding community.
Have you ever considered not including the Construction Set with the game? We can imagine that there is quite some work involved in preparing it for general use, while the PC is no longer the only platform for the Elder Scrolls.
Since Morrowind, it's always something we want to release for the fans, but the first priority for the team is to have the game ready for release on all platforms. In the case of Fallout 3, we waited to announce the G.E.C.K. until we had a good sense of when we’d be able to release it. With Skyrim, we're feeling good about having the Creation Kit available at the release date, and that's why we let everyone know so early on.
There have been Easter eggs in Morrowind and Oblivion concerning the mod community, will we see the same in Skyrim?
It wouldn't be an Easter egg if I let you know. 
To which extent are the Elder Scrolls games influenced by community? We can imagine there is a lot pressure from fans of the Elder Scrolls about what they'd like to see included in the game, which parts they don't like etc. Would you say the community is generally helpful?
Yeah, our team is influenced by feedback whenever we release a game. It's definitely helpful that we have such a passionate fan base letting us know what they like/dislike. But it's more based on games of ours they've played, and what they've enjoyed, as opposed to what they haven't had a chance to play yet.
There are a lot of examples, but the most clear-cut example was the level-scaling complaints we received from Oblivion. For the majority of folks, the scaling in Fallout 3 became a non-issue. With Skyrim, I think fans will appreciate that we've responded to feedback – both from a gameplay and content standpoint.
After Morrowind and Oblivion were released, have you come across community content that has either blown you away or surprised you as a unique addition to the game?
Yeah, there are plenty of great mods out there that impress folks at our office. When I do "What we’re playing" on Bethesda Blog, it's always interesting to see that some of our devs, like animator Gary Noonan, are always checking out the latest community mods.
Off the top of my head, Skycaptain's Deadly Reflex mod is one that our team has taken a closer look at, as we've been implementing a more visceral combat system in TES V.
As for Skyrim, can players expect to have similar encounters and battles with dragons to the face off played throughout the trailer? Will the dragons' behavior be the same?
Dragons do all of the things you see in the trailer: bite, breathe, crawl, crash land. And their actions are not scripted, so you never know when one might attack you, or what they're going to do when you fight them. I can't wait to see what modders do with them.
Now that you have released a trailer showing in-game environments and encounters, will we see more in depth gameplay demonstrations in the near future, either online or at up coming conventions?
We'll have more and more coverage between now and the game's release. If you look at the information we put out in the months prior to Fallout 3's release, you know that we'll have plenty to share.
After slaying the dragon, something out of the ordinary happens to our hero. Besides feeling like a total bad-ass, what other perks or rewards will players receive from slaying one of these beasts?
You'll learn more about what's happening there when you play the game. Another major tie in to the dragons is the shout magic. These shouts are the same kind of magic the dragons use – and it's done using their language.
What were some of the cities and environments shown in the trailer? What importance do they have in the world?
Skyrim has five major cities and a bunch of smaller towns and villages, but in terms of specifics for these locations, we’re not yet getting into that yet. That being said, if you look at a map of Skyrim, you can make some assumptions about the various locales.
The recent Skyrim trailer shows off a vast array of unique environments. How large is the world of Skyrim compared to Oblivion in both size and feel? (Does it feel a lot larger than it actually is or vice versa?)
The map is comparable in size to Oblivion, but in some ways it feels bigger because of the large mountains you'll be traversing up and around. Terrain has a big impact on how big a space feels.
Throughout the trailer dragons can be seen looming in the distance and flying overhead. How many dragons are in the world and what determines an encounter with them? (Is it only quest based, regional, or anytime anywhere?)
There's a significant number of dragons in the game – there's definitely more dragons in Skyrim than Super Mutant Behemoths in Fallout 3. Beyond that we aren't getting into specifics.
Do you have any additional statements, announcements, or messages to the community?
On behalf of everyone at Bethesda Softworks and Bethesda Game Studios, we want to thank you guys for your continued support – whether it’s modding, creating fan fiction and art, or just playing the games.
In my three plus years at Bethesda, I’ve always been impressed with the content on Planet Elder Scrolls. Congrats on your 10-year anniversary!
Thanks, Matt, for the compliment and for taking the time to answer our questions!
Quando ho letto "Deadly Reflex Mod" ho pensato subito ad una cosa: danni localizzati?
no1
si, sempre jeremy soule (il grande e in grande spolvero)
in italiano poi
