About two months ago, Pete Hines of Bethesda spoke to Gamespot to tell nerds to go fly a kite, because the studio isn’t planning on developing Elder Scrolls 6 anytime soon. He cited a couple of reasons as to why, but excuses can’t fill my existential void quite like the excitement of a new realm to explore in the Elder Scrolls series.
Fans that bought the remastered edition of Skyrim on the Xbox One have something to chew on in the form of “sweet mods” until a more promising update, but schmucks like me that purchased the game under the fascist regime of Sony’s PS4 have to be content with what is essentially the same game released six years ago.
There are small addition of weak mods like one that gives you a wider range of NPCs to marry, but my Dragonborn doesn’t have time to settle down – he’s too busy snorting skooma off the scales of Argonian hookers. So quit playing games, Bethesda, you nefarious tease, no one cares about Elder Scrolls Online. That game’s got more bugs than a draugr dipped in honey. We want numero sixo of Elder Scrolls and we want it now. Here is how you do it.
First off, Elder Scrolls 6 should be set it in Hammerfell, a realm renowned for its eclectic biomes, vast mountainous regions, grasslands, deserts, etc. Beyond how gorgeously this generation of consoles can render such environments, Hammerfell’s landscape affords devs the perfect opportunity to veer a little further from the Tolkienesque aesthetic that has defined the games since its inception. I'd love to see more Scimitars, giant scorpions, Dwemer architecture, and a story that doesn’t involve the end of the world.
Hammerfell’s first era is one of civil unrest and territorial chaos. I think this should be the driving force of the game’s narrative – a sort of Lawrence of Arabia meets Conan availed by the gameplay mechanics established by Bethesda’s previous entries. We can still do the whole “you wake up as a prisoner” business, but ultimately the plot should be a relatively self-contained one. Think an extension of the Nord vs. Imperial side quest from Skyrim, raise the in-game stakes and sub Nords and Imperials for the Forebears and the Crowns. Maybe have the return of the Dwemer factor in somehow, considering they were the ones that first settled in Hammerfell, but for the most part make the fantasy elements incidental, like crossing paths with a Duneripper while dungeon crawling, or fighting a hive of giant wasp on your way to point a to point b.
I'd also like to see the most prominent race in Hammerfell to be The Redguards, a race known for their love of seafaring. How about some nautical action in an Elder Scrolls game a la Assassin’s Creed Black Flag? You could even give it it’s own slot on the skill tree.
So there you go Bethesda, I gave you a good start. Now you got three days to make an announcement or I'm pitching this to Bioware.
