Rock, Paper, Shotgun

The Elder Scrolls Online Teases Us Ouroborosly

By Jim Rossignol on May 4th, 2012 at 3:34 pm.

AGAIN!
I would have gone for something about teaser trailer / TESer trailer, but it just wasn’t working. Well, make your own headline, anyway: here’s the promise-filled logo-panning teaser for The Elder Scrolls Online. It has Michael Gambon’s voice tell us about the empty throne and the alliance of dark forces, which seems like a pretty good basis for getting excited about anything, but really acts as little more than a signpost back to things we already know about it. It emphasises the acute appropriateness of a WoW-like MMO having an Ouroboros as its logo, too. Ponder on that, below.

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97 Comments »

  1. 04/05/2012 at 15:38 aemskelley says:

    HNNGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!

    That’s as constructive as I can be about this game right now.

    SCREENSHOTS BELOW – generic fantasy mmo? Check.

    http://www.allgamesbeta.com/2012/05/elder-scrolls-online.html

    • 04/05/2012 at 15:42 RedViv says:

      Stated eloquently enough.

    • 04/05/2012 at 17:12 dontnormally says:

      Reply-jacking, because I feel like it’s worth being sure this list is near the top:

      http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=472749

      ^ All the reasons why this is going to suck. Hard. Suck hard.

      • 04/05/2012 at 17:35 Brise Bonbons says:

        I read the Game Informer article and found it absurd. I swear they spent more time rationalizing and preemptively defending their technical limitations and conservative, dated design choices than they did describing why the game is cool.

        It will have to stand as one of the least convincing pitches for a game in recent years. At some point I just wanted to punch the computer screen and shout “if every other word out of your mouth is an explanation of why an MMO can’t support a fundamental feature of an Elder Scrolls game, maybe you shouldn’t fucking make an elder scrolls MMO?“

        • 04/05/2012 at 19:49 MagpieMcGraw says:

          I glanced at the gameinformer link, and about 7 lines in saw this:

          “-Third person perspective
          -The game uses a hotbar to activate skills like other traditional MMOs
          -Visually it looks like other Hero Engine MMOs like SWTOR”

          Is this for real? Because I facepalmed so hard I have two black eyes now. An Elder Scrolls game, MMo or not, should be in first person. It should be essentially like Skyrim or Morrowind or Oblivion, but with many people. Those 3 lines I quoted make it clear that it’s going to be a WoW clone with the Elder Scrolls name on it. This is not a game, Zenimax are trolling. Trolls are to be ignored.

        • 05/05/2012 at 05:24 scatterbrainless says:

          It’s almost as though they believe that what is compelling about TES is its super-generic fantasy setting, and endless, wall-of-text lore exposition; as opposed to its open world freedom, immersive first-person, and background, action-based leveling system.

    • 04/05/2012 at 17:58 morgofborg says:

      At least they outright acknowledge in the trailer that the factional alliances in this game make no sense.

  2. 04/05/2012 at 15:38 MattyFTM says:

    I’m glad I’m not going crazy. I thought that was Michael Gambon’s voice, but I tweeted about it and no one confirmed it.

  3. 04/05/2012 at 15:41 Freud says:

    If I can’t one-shot everything with a bow sneak attack, it isn’t an Elder Scrolls game.

  4. 04/05/2012 at 15:42 icupnimpn2 says:

    That’s not an ouroboros. It’s more like the dragon centipede.

  5. 04/05/2012 at 15:43 int says:

    If they are going with the ouroboros why not use Lance Henriksen’s voice?

  6. 04/05/2012 at 15:46 Glottis1 says:

    Dumbledore?

  7. 04/05/2012 at 15:46 Sigvatr says:

    Maybe it means you will play the game forever.

    • 04/05/2012 at 16:08 gritz says:

      Looking crazy generic. If it weren’t for the Kagouti, I never would have associated any of those shots with TES.

      Why is it that medieval armor in MMO’s has developed a certain look that you don’t really see anywhere else?

    • 04/05/2012 at 16:12 Booch says:

      “You may be doing it from a third person perspective and using a hotbar to activate skills…” aaaaannnndddd I’m no longer hopeful :(

    • 04/05/2012 at 17:01 irongamer says:

      While it is a little difficult to tell from the scans the lack of clutter in the environments (aside from the store/house) is already disappointing. It does look very generic.

  9. 04/05/2012 at 15:50 wuwul says:

    I think it’s the worst “trailer” I ever seen.

    Not sure why they even bothered putting together this crap.

  10. 04/05/2012 at 15:50 Nemon says:

    Nemon scrolls down to read the pun comments.

  11. 04/05/2012 at 15:51 Tridae says:

    Is it just me or does anyone else have this feeling that the gaming pastime of ours is being destroyed bit by bit by over-commercialization and ever growing mega publishers sucking the joy out of franchises we love?

    Sure I get excited about the next game in a series just like any other person would but in the back of my mind there’s this awful nauseating feeling that I’m being ripped off somehow, that they really couldn’t really care if the product is any good or if I’m happy with what I bought – just that I went out and bought it.

    I purchased BF3 on discount the other day, although I’m enjoying the multi-player there’s so much wrong with it still – simple things, which leads me to feel like I’ve been ripped off even at the discount rate I paid.

    This MMO seems no different, MMO’s are the in thing, Skyrim made it big, why not cash in on both using a formula that’s been tried and tested even though it’s outdated and loathed in places. . .

    Gamers are losing to consumers. Sad sad times

    • 04/05/2012 at 16:05 Azdeus says:

      “Is it just me or does anyone else have this feeling that the gaming pastime of ours is being destroyed bit by bit by over-commercialization and ever growing mega publishers sucking the joy out of franchises we love?”

      No, you’re not alone.

      “This MMO seems no different, MMO’s are the in thing, Skyrim made it big, why not cash in on both using a formula that’s been tried and tested even though it’s outdated and loathed in places. . .”

      If it’s not a MMO variant, it’s always online DRM’s, Steam or Origin that’s shafting us.

      • 04/05/2012 at 16:23 Tridae says:

        Then how do we fix this? I’ll support any indie game that delivers a quality experience, heck I’ll buy multiple copies. . . but our beloved franchises still go to waste. Battlefield will still get never ending DLCs, Mass Effect has already died. The COD franchise continues. . . Do we just step out an miss out? Isn’t there a way to be part of the solution instead of avoiding the problem?

        • 04/05/2012 at 19:55 Aezay says:

          The only solution I can see is avoiding the problem, over time the publishers and developers will hopefully get the picture. There is however always a huge lag in development when it comes to game fads. The biggest example I can think of is the 3D fad in the mid to late 90s, every game just had to be 3D, even though it devalued a lot of games. Rayman is one of those games which suffered from this, Rayman 1 was a great 2D platformer, which was followed by a couple of 3D sequels. It’s not until recently 2D platformers are on its way back.

          ZeniMax Online Studios was formed in 2007, so the game appears to be have been in development a long time. Back in 2007, MMOs was a huge thing and they were popping up everywhere, it seems this is a response to that fad.

          The biggest redeeming point is that the vast majority of comments I’ve read in response to the announcement of this new Elder Scrolls MMO, has been less than positive. My biggest fear though, is that this MMO will still sell a lot, causing them to completely miss how much the loyal TES fans are disliking the MMO route.

    • 04/05/2012 at 16:26 hench says:

      That’s why I’ve practically given up all hope on the AAA market.
      The only games I see as worth playing are the few and far between good indie games. And of course Valve titles, but they don’t have to answer to any superior, so are they AAA or indie? Or both?
      Anyways, what’s Lord British up to these days? Will he be the messiah to bring back MMOs to their once former glory?

      • 04/05/2012 at 17:09 Brise Bonbons says:

        This is my solution. It’s easy for me because I’m not invested in any of the big-name IPs for one reason or another, but I do feel for those who have a passion for these established properties, only to watch them ridden into the ground by soulless, hyper-conservative publishers.

        That said, I don’t think it’s any different from the other media industries. Conveniently, by following the indie or underground scene you’re also directly supporting small creators, and have access to a constant supply of new and fresh talent. I find it’s a much more exciting path than playing the same sequels, reading the same author, or listening to the same band for decades. But it is a bit less comfortable and requires more work as consumers.

      • 04/05/2012 at 17:22 jon_hill987 says:

        Even Valve are cashing in, compromising the art style of their games to make a quick buck with an item shop.

      • 04/05/2012 at 18:54 HothMonster says:

        “are they AAA or indie?”

        IIIndie?

    • 04/05/2012 at 16:46 greenbananas says:

      Welcome to the late twenties?

      I keep telling myself that my taste is getting more and more exclusive and that I’m getting more and more cynical as I grow older, but I’ll be damned if the games aren’t getting worse. It’s out with the gameplay, in with the context sensitive buttons and drawn-out cinematic crap. Out with games “by gamers; for gamers” (to steal from Interplay, I’m sure Herve doesn’t mind at this point), in with games “by wannabe movie directors; for everyone”.

      And these MMOs… Blimey. If you got xp or some pointless virtual trinket for it, I reckon you’d find a whole bunch of people that would swear to their mother’s souls that reading the yellow pages backwards looking for typos is actually fun.

      • 04/05/2012 at 17:23 Brise Bonbons says:

        I honestly believe that game design as a craft has gone off the rails. Similar to what has happened in film, where commercial considerations have so corrupted stylistic and narrative theory that many professional directors aren’t actually capable of making a film correctly.

        I think it’s similar to the criticisms Ursula Le Guin has leveled against the modern creative writing establishment. For that matter, examples can be found in every artistic form and era, when young agitators rebel against the complacent, established wisdom of their time.

    • 04/05/2012 at 18:18 Shooop says:

      The only major release the past 5 years I paid full price for and felt I got a good deal out of was The Witcher 2 and maybe Serious Sam 3 (I forget if I got a pre-order discount from that one). Everything else has been a “wait until discount” buy if there even is a buy.

      I’ve made it point to never buy a game from a major publisher unless I’ve played a demo of it or test-drove the full game by other means. So far I’ve dodged several 3rd degree consumer burns.

      Games are regressing into Dragon’s Lair, only with the proper button flashed onscreen so you have no excuse not to fail and continue watching the set pieces the developers force you to watch. Mutliplayer is doing no better – maps are shrinking, controls are simplified to being “press X to dodge bullets and score”, and who needs team coordination of any kind?

      The worst thing is how plain-faced dishonest developers are about it. Remember, “You don’t beat CoD by being CoD, you beat CoD by being better than CoD?” EA then went and proved themselves wrong by making BF3 just CoD with some vehicles tossed in. Their entire hype machine for BF3 consisted only of two things:
      1) It’s not named CoD
      2) The graphics are near-photo realistic
      And yet so many poor deluded idiots still insist it’s a whole different game that’s fresh, original, and “for hardcore gamers.”

      If games really were made by gamers then we’d be even worse off. Because look at who gamers are: they’re children screaming “FAG!” at each other through shitty headsets.

      • 04/05/2012 at 21:18 Tridae says:

        Now that you mention it. The Witcher 2 has been my single most satisfying purchase ever. I genuinely feel like they care about what they put out there. Everything feels nicely rounded off and not tacked on. I got the enhanced edition which includes a map, the soundtrack and a full 100page or so glossy quest guide. That’s how customer satisfaction is done!

        I haven’t had that warm fuzzy feeling when opening a game like that since the old ‘games in a giant box filled with goodies’ days.

    • 04/05/2012 at 18:52 HothMonster says:

      Love the game not the franchise. Someone will fuck it up eventually, they always do.

      We have way more games coming out in a year then we did a decade or two ago. So it is a little harder to find the good ones but they are out there. Companies have been making shitty sequels and lazy license tie-in games since the dawn of gaming. There is more money going into the industry these days though and a big marketing budget can sell almost any turd so there are just more of them. That doesn’t mean good games are not getting made.

  12. 04/05/2012 at 15:59 Faldrath says:

    So the villains are likely to be the Akaviri?

    • 04/05/2012 at 16:07 Tyraa Rane says:

      Nobody’s said a word about Akavir AFAIK. Mostly it’s going to be the three lorefail factions (well, two epic lorefail, one actually historically accurate–that being the first Aldmeri Dominion) fighting one another, and Molag Bal causing general havoc.

      Because, you know. We haven’t had a story about Daedra trying to destroy Tamriel in so long.

  13. 04/05/2012 at 16:01 Cryptoshrimp says:

    Well, great, another MMO. How excited I am.

  14. 04/05/2012 at 16:07 Bloodymir says:

    A nord, argonian and wood elf walks into a bar…

  15. 04/05/2012 at 16:12 tangoliber says:

    If there really is no 1st person view, then that is the killer for me.

  16. 04/05/2012 at 16:14 Tyraa Rane says:

    The more I find out about this, the worse my headache gets. The uniqueness of the TES lore (not to mention the absurd level of detail and often epic WTFery) is one of the big things I love about the series. So naturally they’re making an MMO that takes said wonderful lore out back behind the wood shed and beats it to an unrecognizable pulp for the sake of more money. Sigh.

    I really can’t see this ending well at this rate. The lore nerds in the fandom are already up in arms, and since it’s PC only the console players are equally as peeved. And then there’s the folks who love the TES gameplay style but hate WoW’s. Pretty sure alienating big chunks of your consumer base isn’t a good way to market an MMO.

  17. 04/05/2012 at 16:17 jellydonut says:

    The only good news is that Bethesda Game Studios will keep making real TES games, unlike what happened to the Warcraft IP.

    • 04/05/2012 at 16:27 sephiroth says:

      We hope

    • 04/05/2012 at 16:43 Syra says:

      What happened to the warcraft IP? I’m sure when Titan launches and the wow subs drift away, seeing as they will probably eventually stop supporting it they will get round to wc4. It’s not like blizzard make sequels in a hurry, sc3 and d3 were a decade after the last iteration stopped being supported in a meaningful way.

      Wc and TES lore will go the same way though:p

    • 04/05/2012 at 16:45 trigonometryhappy says:

      Sniff sniff, don’t remind me. I can’t even mention that I play Warcraft 3 to anyone anymore without it being confused with WOW.

      Warcraft 3 still has no match in terms of small army/hero gameplay. When my fingers rest on the hotkeys for coil & nova I am in bliss.

  18. 04/05/2012 at 16:22 fish99 says:

    Great as that tune is methinks it’s time to write some new music.

  19. 04/05/2012 at 16:25 sephiroth says:

    oi Zenimax NOOOOOOO!!!

    this looks shit

    this will be shit

    MMOs are SHIT!!!!!

    no more elder scrolls games it seems.
    this will either make enough money for them to just not bother with single player versions (would take ‘customers’ from the mmo in publishers eyes even tho it probably wouldn’t) or lose enough money to make a true TES game impossible to fund. IMHO!!

  20. 04/05/2012 at 16:25 Flamekin42 says:

    The peculiar thing about the logo is that they’re basically saying that everyone will suck, regardless of fraction.

  21. 04/05/2012 at 16:30 jkz says:

    You can just tell this is going to be a sub standard WoW clone with a TES skin. MEH

  22. 04/05/2012 at 16:33 Kleppy says:

    Why would anyone make this game I don’t even uhhh

  23. 04/05/2012 at 16:34 Iconik says:

    The forums over there are already unbearably full of negative Nancy’s and naysayers. ON AN ANNOUNCEMENT, I might add.

  24. 04/05/2012 at 16:48 neuroxia says:

    Are they going to leave it on the fans to fix the bugs and balance the game?

  25. 04/05/2012 at 17:01 Fincher says:

    Notch was the last person I expected to see developing an MMO title.

  26. 04/05/2012 at 17:14 Sparkasaurusmex says:

    The thing that always made TES games stand out to me are the mod tools. How is an MMO going to be Elder Scrolls? I seriously doubt they will allow modded servers and clients. So I don’t see how it can be TES in my eyes.

  27. 04/05/2012 at 17:16 Jimbo says:

    The Elder Scrolls XIV!! *fanfare*

    …

    …online

  28. 04/05/2012 at 17:34 deadly.by.design says:

    I’m going to view this in the same light as those other Highlander movies. I could say it’s more like the Highlander TV series, since it’ll have regular updates, but the series wasn’t terrible enough to ignore completely. So… no.

    If I ignore it, it won’t bother me. Right?

  29. 04/05/2012 at 17:45 foda500 says:

    Two bloody posts about an Elder Scrolls MMO but 0 posts about Company of Heroes 2? This is PREPOSTEROUS!

    • 04/05/2012 at 18:09 Bostec says:

      Lots of Ex PC Gamer staff here, seeing as PC Gamer have the exclusive, they are waiting for it to be published? I don’t know, probably talking out of my arse here.

  30. 04/05/2012 at 18:04 Sirico says:

    Sure glad it doesn’t look like every other MMo http://imgur.com/a/d7yCf#0

  31. 04/05/2012 at 18:29 Drumstick42 says:

    Eeegh….

  32. 04/05/2012 at 18:38 Tyshalle says:

    That was the stupidest teaser trailer I’ve ever seen.

    ‘Nuff said.

  34. 04/05/2012 at 19:30 AlwaysRight says:

    I pride myself on well thought out comments, but all this deserves is a gigantic:

    MMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

    And even that had more creative thought than this game.

    (I feel bad for adding such a pointless post. I just want to register my concern for the future of the Elder Scrolls series)

  35. 04/05/2012 at 20:13 Iconik says:

    Everyone!

    Let’s make sure to jump to conclusions over an announcement!

  36. 04/05/2012 at 21:31 Panda Powered says:

    Infinite Emperors.

  37. 04/05/2012 at 21:57 Vernalagnia says:

    So much negativity here.

    This game is headed/designed by Matt Frior, one of the creative minds behind the best/most fun/most engaging MMOs of the early 2000s. It’s been in development since 2007, it’s set in an interesting world, it isn’t diverting resources from the single player TES games, and it’s going to be great.

    Three factions
    Matt Frior
    PvP focus

    Sold. Instantly. Can’t be bad.

  38. 05/05/2012 at 13:47 coblenski says:

    The worst thing about this is that I fear it means no more single player, first person Elder Scrolls games for a very long time. Morrowind will always be one of my favourite games of all time.

  39. 05/05/2012 at 14:42 Bloodswash says:

    Just seems to me they have the location, the races and lore but then will be sucking out the very soul of TES. I play and enjoy WoW immensely, and I play and enjoy Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim immensely. But they are very different beasts and I play them for different reasons. I seriously doubt I’ll play this game as so far it just doesn’t seem to add anything to the MMO genre, and it seems to be so far away from what TES is. If they created a city hub or something for online to recruit friends into an instanced world outside, with all the freedom and gameplay of TES, I’d be in there like a shot. As it is, just seems like a generic game trying to get success off a name and could do great reputational damage to the brand. It will be set in tamriel, but it ain’t gonna be Elder Scrolls

  40. 05/05/2012 at 15:41 kratorix says:

    As a great Morrowind fan, from what I remember from the lore, the argonians were enslaved by dunmer and the nords used to pillage the north of morrowind. So how the fuck do they all ally themselves in the so-called Ebonheart Pact. It’s like having modern day India, Japan and China create an alliance. It’s ridiculous.

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