Qt3 Games Podcast: Skyrimfall

Posted by on December 26, 2012 in Game Podcasts

Chris Hornbostel joins us to close out the year by helping us answer questions such as how is it that Battle of the Bulge on the iPad has better multiplayer support than Hot Shots Golf on the Vita? How could any self-respecting fan of League of Legends and all things hobbit hate Guardians of Middle Earth? How do you pronounce the “Eador” in Eador: Genesis and why would you play it instead of a game with a much more pronouncable name like Heroes of Might & Magic? What do Spec Ops: The Line and Sonic Transformation Stars All Racing have in common? What will War Z be called when it can no longer be called War Z? And when you get back into Skyrim, should you play on the PC or the 360?

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  • Broooski

    I’d like to point out that all the necromancy mechanics you described in the Eator game are very much the way it works in the Dominions series. This is because both games are good historical simulations of necromancy.

  • wisdomchild

    I totally understand where Tom’s coming from re: wanting to play the game “as the developer intended.” I have yet to try any mods for that same reason. As an avid birdwatcher, however, that birds mod sounds too good to pass up.

    It would be awesome if the bird models had accurate vocalizations. It would be even more awesome to have a “Field Guide to the Birds of Skyrim” as a book you could pick up and peruse in-game.

  • tomchick

    You know, I am not at all joking when I say that this sounds like a great idea. Why hasn’t some open-world game used bird-watching for one of its collectibles? I love the idea of collectibles that encourage you to look closely at the game world (the glyphs on the landmarks in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, the car collection in Grand Theft Auto IV). Bird-watching would be ideal for this.

  • Randall Davis

    Makes me wonder why Bethesda doesn’t work with some of the more popular mod teams/creators to release “official” versions of some of the more sought after game changes/modifications. Something that balances the idea of weight or better weather effects/hypothermia or birds with the actual game as it is developed?

    Seems like a way to continue adding content (to at least the PC version) for some time to come while still making $$ and appealing to the slightly less hardcore.

  • MikeO

    The Butterfield Bulge game has me seriously thinking of finally breaking down and buying an iPad. I consider him one of the great game designers. And the fact that there is going to be a series of these games is killing me.

  • wisdomchild

    I agree! Maybe something along the lines of Xenoblade’s Collectopedia, which was a feature I loved. An “Ornithopedia” if you will.

  • Pogue Mahone

    Well, GTA IV had bird shooting as a collectible. Which, I guess, is much more Rockstar’s style.

  • tomchick

    Oh man, I remember that! Those damn pigeons. Urk.

  • http://twitter.com/gndwyn Urthman

    Occasionally, you’ll get a game that gives you a camera and rewards you for taking pictures of creatures in the game — Bioshock, the Endless Ocean games , some of the old Rare games (either Banjo Tooie or Donkey Kong 64) — but I also would love to have a birdwatching collectible mechanic in an open world game.

  • Mygaffer

    There is not “as the developer intended”, there is on the game as is. Even within a stock, no-modded game watch 10 different people play and you will see 10 different ways to play. You see people who doggedly follow the quests, people who ignore the quests, people who love combat, people who avoid it, etc. etc.

    Now one could also argue that mods are how the developer intended the game to be played, with the inclusion of the construction set.

  • Mygaffer

    It always bugs me to hear how hung up some people are on this risk/reward thing. Risk/reward is great in terms of moment to moment gameplay, i.e. “should I extend my lines to capture that resource and risk breaking my line”, not in overall difficulty of a game.

    The people who mod this type of stuff in do it because of the intrinsic reward. They find that type of game play more rewarding than the vanilla, stock game play.

    Also, a lot of mod authors tune their mods as well as Bethesda has tuned the mechanics in their games. I think you make a big mistake by assuming that a mod author can’t do the same type of tuning the Bethesda or any other developer can do. The majority of mod authors can’t and don’t, but many do.

  • Rob Harvey

    Ouch, that bus was heavy. But in fairness Guardians of Middle Earth is very far from flawless. I see it more as a tantalizing proof of concept sitting in the open field now waiting for someone to pick up the console MOBA ball and run with it.

    As to the next Vita game, I am watching for reaction/ buzz for the soon to be released Earth Defense Force 2017 portable (PSN digital only with multiplayer).

  • skywardshadow

    IIRC, Beyond Good & Evil had something like that.