The latest Elder Scroll game is shaping up to be a groundbreaking foray into fantasy and open world settings, and if you’ve watched any of the gameplay videos released for it so far, you’ve no doubt seen a few dragons flying around making things miserable for everyone without a set of wings.
But surely these dragons are misunderstood creatures, longing for that one human to come and set things right and lead the world into a new age of harmony and co-habitation, possibly with some kickass dragon-riding thrown into the deal, right? Not so says Bethesda boss Pete Hines.
Speaking to Gamespot, Hines explained how dragons were something to be feared and hated in the world of Skyrim. “In general, dragons are evil. Their return is a very bad thing,” Hines explained.
“Might there be exceptions and nuances to that? Possibly. I wouldn’t want to say anything beyond that. But this is not a game where, like, ‘no, dragons are our friends and we just have to learn to get along!’
“This is not How to Train Your Dragon. This is how to kill a whole bunch of very mean things that have come to kill and hurt people.”
Hines then spoke more about the games Radiant Encounter feature, which shapes the storyline of Skyrim to include different locations, quests and characters depending on their behaviour. Hines gave an example of a battle with bandits that left the player dead, but after a quick reload, there would be someone different waiting at that spot, such as a hunter or a practicing wizard.
“It’s subtle, we don’t ever want you to know or notice when you’re experiencing something that’s got radiant story”, Hines said. But when you’re around the watercooler the next day and everybody’s talking about what they did, even if you did the same quest you’ll be like ‘hey wait a minute, I went to a different dungeon, which one did you go to? Mine had waterfalls.’”
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim launches November 11 on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.
Last Updated: October 19, 2011
