Are Western Developers getting Soft, Do CDPR have the right idea with the Witcher 3?
Just something I have been thinking about recently. I have been playing games and RPG's going back to the original Ultima series on the Apple IIE, my first RPG experience on the PC was Arena by Bethesda back in 1994!. Now alot of you would know about Bethesda if you are fans of the RPG game world because they are responsible for the fantastic and highly decorated Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim being the latest and greatest of the series. Now don't get me wrong, I know alot of you guys are fans of Skyrim, I love it too, I have invested over 1000 hours playing different charachters and whatnot on multiple play-throughs. Despite loving the series and having played all the TES games there are some things that have always been tugging away at me each and every time I played them.
The first thing that I constantly noticed is that some Western studios such as Bethesda are not really big on storytelling, yes the MQ follows a storyline of sorts, but it is rarely impressive and there are few politics or reasons to really get invested in the available plotlines. CDPR on the other hand is the opposite! They have quite a complicated but meaningful array of Questlines full of detail with Meaningful charachters that you can really relate to and who you find interesting. Bethesda's charachters on the other hand have never really made an impression on me, its more the exploring aspect that appeals to me the open world and the way the other game mechanics are implemented.
The second thing that I have noticed is how soft Studios such as Bethesda have gone on the Adult route not just in terms of sexual content, but themes and images that appeal to a more mature gaming audience. It's almost as though Bethesda's PR have got together and decided that things like Nudity and Swearing are a no-go as it might push up the games Rating and not allow 12 year olds and below from playing. Early on in the TES 1 or 2 games there were images of a naked though heavily pixelated nymph, in Morrowind you had scantily clad Dancers on stage, then in Oblivion and Skyrim nothing. Its almost as though Bethesda have lost what they set out to do when they think of the game that THEY would want to play, violence and dismemberant are fine as long as there is no nudity or swearing we can still sell the game to kids !!
CDPR have these concerns of mine quashed in the Witcher series! They have openly admitted that they want to create a game that they themselves would love to play and that means WITH a meaningful storyline, meaningful quests (Unlike alot of Skyrims go and fetch this quests) and Adult Material that they would expect Mature gamers to enjoy. Is it becuse CDPR are not Western and restricted by Western limitations, ideals and generally are less prudish? If so I wish all the Western RPG makers would situp, take notice and learn to evolve.
Releasing a Mature game is not a weakness, it is a Strength! Gone are the days where a majority of the worlds gamers were kids, the industry has evolved, Grown up if you will, but I think some game Developers are being left behind! What do you guys think? Have CDPR gone too far or are we just too used to Western ideals?
Just something I have been thinking about recently. I have been playing games and RPG's going back to the original Ultima series on the Apple IIE, my first RPG experience on the PC was Arena by Bethesda back in 1994!. Now alot of you would know about Bethesda if you are fans of the RPG game world because they are responsible for the fantastic and highly decorated Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim being the latest and greatest of the series. Now don't get me wrong, I know alot of you guys are fans of Skyrim, I love it too, I have invested over 1000 hours playing different charachters and whatnot on multiple play-throughs. Despite loving the series and having played all the TES games there are some things that have always been tugging away at me each and every time I played them.
The first thing that I constantly noticed is that some Western studios such as Bethesda are not really big on storytelling, yes the MQ follows a storyline of sorts, but it is rarely impressive and there are few politics or reasons to really get invested in the available plotlines. CDPR on the other hand is the opposite! They have quite a complicated but meaningful array of Questlines full of detail with Meaningful charachters that you can really relate to and who you find interesting. Bethesda's charachters on the other hand have never really made an impression on me, its more the exploring aspect that appeals to me the open world and the way the other game mechanics are implemented.
The second thing that I have noticed is how soft Studios such as Bethesda have gone on the Adult route not just in terms of sexual content, but themes and images that appeal to a more mature gaming audience. It's almost as though Bethesda's PR have got together and decided that things like Nudity and Swearing are a no-go as it might push up the games Rating and not allow 12 year olds and below from playing. Early on in the TES 1 or 2 games there were images of a naked though heavily pixelated nymph, in Morrowind you had scantily clad Dancers on stage, then in Oblivion and Skyrim nothing. Its almost as though Bethesda have lost what they set out to do when they think of the game that THEY would want to play, violence and dismemberant are fine as long as there is no nudity or swearing we can still sell the game to kids !!
CDPR have these concerns of mine quashed in the Witcher series! They have openly admitted that they want to create a game that they themselves would love to play and that means WITH a meaningful storyline, meaningful quests (Unlike alot of Skyrims go and fetch this quests) and Adult Material that they would expect Mature gamers to enjoy. Is it becuse CDPR are not Western and restricted by Western limitations, ideals and generally are less prudish? If so I wish all the Western RPG makers would situp, take notice and learn to evolve.
Releasing a Mature game is not a weakness, it is a Strength! Gone are the days where a majority of the worlds gamers were kids, the industry has evolved, Grown up if you will, but I think some game Developers are being left behind! What do you guys think? Have CDPR gone too far or are we just too used to Western ideals?
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