I rather enjoyed my time slaying dragons in Skyrim, despite it being a terribly overrated, broken and buggy mess. Its narrative impetus was lacking, but there was just something terribly appealing about the game’s huge, though admittedly hollow open world. When it worked, anyway.
Skyrim was, for a while, a bug-filled Nordic landscape. But it was also a learning experience for Bethesda, and should help the folks behind Fallout 4 make a better game. So says Todd Howard, speaking to Gameinformer.
“It probably took us a month or two before we really had a handle on it,” he said, speaking of Skyrim’s great many bugs. “The team had to decide how it was going to identify problems before it could figure out how they happened or why they surfaced at particular times.
“All of the updates we did on Skyrim, and all of the DLC – once we sorted [the bugs out] we had a different process for how we checked the content out,” he says. “There will always be some problems.”
And it’s in how those problems are dealt with that’ll lead to smoother development.
“I think we’ve gotten way better there,” he says. “For us, [the player’s] saved game is the number one thing. If the game crashes that’s bad, but it is nowhere near as bad as someone’s saved game being hosed. That’s our scenario that we will do anything and everything to avoid. We made a lot of progress given how Skyrim went, but we did it during Skyrim. This just builds on that.”
Fallout 4 is out this year, but despite the team’s best efforts will likely include a world of bugs and glitches. With games as expansive as the great big open worlds of Skyrim, Fallout and The Witcher 3, bugs of that ilk are inevitable, no matter how much time or money is poured in to development.
The only hope is that they won’t impact the player experience too much. As bad as Bethesda’s reputation is when it comes to bugs, I’m deliriously excited for Fallout 4; the post-apocalyptia is more congruous with the wasteland inside my own head than the high fantasy of games like Skyrim.
I’ve pretty much been like this since it was announced. Because contrary to popular belief I do like things.
Last Updated: July 6, 2015
Alien Emperor Trevor
July 6, 2015 at 15:06
LOL @ alt-text. Way to embrace the stereotype, Geoff. 😉
RinceThis
July 6, 2015 at 17:34
hahahahah
BurninZ
July 6, 2015 at 15:17
So excited for Fallout!! will be my second pre-order this year (cant possible be worse than the first! Evolve – need i say more!) cause i don’t listen to myself when i say “I will never pre-order again!!”.
Jac7
July 6, 2015 at 15:24
Skyrim is still one of my all-time favourite gaming experiences.
Captain JJ Browmehn
July 6, 2015 at 15:31
Agreed. My short list of games that score above 90% for me 🙂
Jac7
July 6, 2015 at 15:34
And I’m still playing it.
Jac7
July 6, 2015 at 15:24
Skyrim is still one of my all-time favourite gaming experiences.
Lord Chaos
July 6, 2015 at 15:25
Id rather go and get Deathclaw eggs before eating dog. Shame on you. 🙁
Geoffrey Tim
July 6, 2015 at 15:26
lolasian.
Lord Chaos
July 6, 2015 at 15:28
*Eats thing that comes out of Giant monster’s ass.
Lord Chaos
July 6, 2015 at 15:28
*Eats thing that comes out of Giant monster’s ass.
Geoffrey Tim
July 6, 2015 at 15:26
lolasian.
Pariah
July 6, 2015 at 15:40
I dunno, with the right spices, dog could be nice. Have you ever tried it? Remember, those burgers you love so much are major no-nos in India. But they don’t know what they’re missing out on.
Dutch Matrix
July 6, 2015 at 15:41
I hope you get attacked by a band of rabid Poodles…
Pariah
July 6, 2015 at 15:42
Me too, I’d love to have options for lunch.
Dutch Matrix
July 6, 2015 at 15:42
Them poodles are vicious. They gonna have YOU for lunch…
Pariah
July 6, 2015 at 15:43
I know this is hard for you, but not all of us are small, weak and inadequate.
Dutch Matrix
July 6, 2015 at 15:44
Oh, I know not all of us are. Only you are…
Lord Chaos
July 6, 2015 at 15:42
There’s a difference between eating a friend and eating a holy thingy.
*Unless that friend is a human female
Pariah
July 6, 2015 at 15:45
I only have 1 canine friend. The rest are fair game. Pun intended.
Lord Chaos
July 6, 2015 at 15:49
*ba dum tsh
Pariah
July 6, 2015 at 15:50
But seriously though, if you’ve never tried dog, there’s no reason to knock it. Same as beef or lamb, they were once wild animals but are now food. Simple as that.
And yes, I’d try it.
Lord Chaos
July 6, 2015 at 15:52
If there were no other alternative, then yes, I’d eat the neighbour’s. Never my own pets.
Pariah
July 6, 2015 at 15:53
In China, the dogs aren’t pets. They’re simply canine cattle. That’s my point.
Blogvader
July 6, 2015 at 15:27
Heh.
I put 200 hours into Skyrim and never even finished the main story. The environment they created was just so darn fun to explore and find things at random, I didn’t really need a heavy narrative to enjoy it.
Captain JJ Browmehn
July 6, 2015 at 15:33
Same here man.
Agreed. Luckily my wife finished the main quest, so I got to watch what happens before I returned back to my endless exploring and side-questing 😀
Lord Chaos
July 6, 2015 at 15:35
I can just see it, dropped a 3kg piece of armour on your head, now the special one is wandering around in the forest. 😛
Captain JJ Browmehn
July 6, 2015 at 15:40
LOL
– destruction skill increased
Alien Emperor Trevor
July 6, 2015 at 15:43
They should never have removed athletics as a skill. ;P
Pariah
July 6, 2015 at 15:43
Jumping over whole towns? Yeah, that was fun. 😀
Alien Emperor Trevor
July 6, 2015 at 15:51
Now the only way to do that is by getting a giant to give you a boost. But then the landing kills you. Don’t ask me how I know.
Pariah
July 6, 2015 at 15:52
Sounds like it was fun finding out at least XD
Lord Chaos
July 6, 2015 at 15:52
Or there was that one Deidra mission
Matthew Holliday
July 7, 2015 at 10:39
upvoting secretly increases your speech skill.
hammerstyn is over 9000
Captain JJ Browmehn
July 7, 2015 at 12:54
LOL
Matthew Holliday
July 7, 2015 at 10:38
skyrim: “ALDUIN IS GOING TO DESTROY EVERYTHING.”
dragonborn: “brb, gotta craft and enchant more iron daggers.”
Blogvader
July 6, 2015 at 15:27
Heh.
I put 200 hours into Skyrim and never even finished the main story. The environment they created was just so darn fun to explore and find things at random, I didn’t really need a heavy narrative to enjoy it.
Captain JJ Browmehn
July 6, 2015 at 15:30
The community is responsible for a better Skyrim 🙂
oVg "Signs of a Troll" -Geralt
July 6, 2015 at 15:42
lol
Dutch Matrix
July 6, 2015 at 15:43
Your Mom was responsible for a better Skyrim!
oVg "Signs of a Troll" -Geralt
July 6, 2015 at 15:44
lol
Lollies the Laughing Lollipop
July 6, 2015 at 15:44
Your mom was the Skyrim for the Community everyone was exploring her..
oVg "Signs of a Troll" -Geralt
July 6, 2015 at 15:45
Your mom is so fat, she took an arrow to the knee and gravy poured out.
Captain JJ Browmehn
July 6, 2015 at 15:46
Your mom was caught lolligaggin’!!
oVg "Signs of a Troll" -Geralt
July 6, 2015 at 15:57
bwahahaha you went there.
Captain JJ Browmehn
July 6, 2015 at 15:58
Spending time aimlessly? What? Trevor does that all the time. 😀
Lollies the Laughing Lollipop
July 6, 2015 at 15:46
Yo mommas so stupid, she makes restore health potions with nightshade
Lord Chaos
July 6, 2015 at 15:48
As long as it’s fermented nightshade I don’t see a problem.
Captain JJ Browmehn
July 6, 2015 at 15:46
Thanks mom. I guess..
Dutch Matrix
July 6, 2015 at 15:32
But can I romance that Radroach?
Captain JJ Browmehn
July 6, 2015 at 15:32
You’re probably the only person who can.
Admiral Chief's Adventure
July 6, 2015 at 15:52
xD
Dutch Matrix
July 6, 2015 at 15:53
Well, I did romance your mom.
Captain JJ Browmehn
July 6, 2015 at 15:55
There is no line
Dutch Matrix
July 6, 2015 at 15:55
Exactly what she said!
Lord Chaos
July 6, 2015 at 15:56
The royal guard won’t let him back. You should have seen the mayhem.
Admiral Chief's Adventure
July 6, 2015 at 16:04
And here I thought there was hope for you today
oVg "Signs of a Troll" -Geralt
July 6, 2015 at 15:40
I still cant believe such a massive experience was only 3.4gigs on the DVD9. THATS THE SIZE OF A MODERN AVATAR!!!
Captain JJ Browmehn
July 6, 2015 at 15:41
There’s a “that’s what she said” joke in there somewhere.
oVg "Signs of a Troll" -Geralt
July 6, 2015 at 15:43
Monday, just not working 🙁
Dutch Matrix
July 6, 2015 at 15:44
That’s what she said?
oVg "Signs of a Troll" -Geralt
July 6, 2015 at 15:50
lol
Pariah
July 6, 2015 at 15:41
What’s that? A blue guy using a hands-free kit?
Admiral Chief's Adventure
July 6, 2015 at 16:04
Fus Ro Awwwwjissssss
SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5
July 6, 2015 at 16:29
WHAT? FALLOUT 4 IS BEING RELEASED?!?!
That’s a better Fallout. The game that is being released. End.
It could be a buggy mess and I’d still stroke the cover of the game while hissing “my Precious” to the darkness.
Don’t agree? Well… I have one word for you. Repeated many many times…
WHAT?
WHAT?
WHAT?
aj_nator
July 6, 2015 at 17:35
Right.. maybe on pc and 360.. game was still super buggy on ps3 for many months/moons/dragon ages.. Every time I booted up I faced dragons that would fly backwards and never land…ever.
Gareth L (That eXCheez Guy)
July 6, 2015 at 19:49
Oh come now. Every single Bethesda game is released with dozens of bugs, and every single new release of theirs is preceded with the exact same “we learnt from our last game’s mistakes” mumbo jumbo.
Dark_Kitarist
July 7, 2015 at 07:24
And yet I still get the feeling that there will still be bugs… But then again Fallout 4 will be a giant game so they will be forgiven… We always forgive Bethesda…
Matthew Holliday
July 7, 2015 at 10:36
skyrim was responsible for a better fallout new vegas aswell.
PC master race modability baby.