Spell making removed from Skyrim, Todd explains.

[DragoFireheart]

Old but here it is:

http://nerdtrek.com/skyrim-details/

Interviewer: One thing that when I was down to see you guys at the studio was stuff related to how spells would interact with each other and that kind of thing. And I would suspect that the results of your experimentation on that would have an affect on whether you have anything like spellcrafting, right?

Todd: “Yeah, spellcrafting is a real wildcard. Something that we’ve done a lot. And there are pluses and minuses to it. We’d like to find… we have some ideas that we really like on how to solve that, and I don’t know where that’s going to go. But the thing that we DON’T like about the previous systems that we’ve done, is it becomes very “spread-sheety.” It takes the magic out of magic. You got to see the game, but your listeners haven’t. There’s a bigger emphasis on how the magic physically acts. Just a spell like fire; there are different spells for how the fire moves. Like putting down a rune that explodes when you walk over it. Or fire you can spray that lingers on the ground, like you’re spraying a wall, and you can spray the ceiling. Or fire that travels like a flamethrower out of your hands. Or a fireball that you charge up and throw and it explodes at a distance. So our main goal is to make magic feel like this arcane powerful thing. And once it goes into a spreadsheet in the game where you can just say I want something at this distance and this power, it removes the illusion of like how this stuff actually works. So we have some ideas of ways around that, but we don’t know where those are going to go yet. We do have the benefit of, we’re really, really happy with how the magic plays in the game, both visually and mechanically. And then being able to do it with both hands. There are opportunities there for combinations and things you can do without getting into the spreadsheet aspect of it. Which I do know some people like, but it does take away from the impact of the spells that you’re finding and mechanically how they work.”

 

[roll-a-die]

Jokes probably already been made but,Dance Magic Dance

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Who cares? Magic is for faggots. Nerds who got bullied all through high school and now want to live out the fantasy that a scrawny nerd can take on the jock warriors with...knowledge and books. El Oh El.

 

[sgc_meltdown]

the magic forms thing is pretty much just a deployment method that should just be another selection on the spellmaking screen, and besides you're creating these fucking spells with an existing tool in the first place

what's this shit about not getting into the spreadsheet stuff of it, people are still going to find the best combo to dual wield spam seriously have you seen how your fans play your fucking games

if you're so fucking afraid the numbers will turn people off just make a 'basic' spellmaking screen with scales of one to ten stars for the magnitudes and stylised representations for each deployment method that's some free innovation for you right there feel free to take it

 

[octavius]

I never used the spellmaker in MW or Oblivion. Felt too much like cheating in games that are already too easy and too exploitable (especially Morrowind). Personally I have the same feeling as Todd Howard about the spreadsheet approach to gaming, but OTOH some players enjoy whipping out their calculators and spreadsheets, so why not leave it in for them. It's not like you have to use the spellmaker.

 

[deuxhero]

Todd is afraid of making a spread sheet based game?


What's the right gif for this?

 

[Edward_R_Murrow]

So they ditched spellmaking because they are making magic spells more unique and less of a collection of generic effects that differed only in magnitude? I can dig that; magic in Morrowind/Oblivion felt really bland.

Question is, why can't magic be more varied and spellcrafting still be implemented? Seems like more of the classic "If it's broken, get rid of it entirely" design Bethesda is so fond of.

 

[Konjad]

So they ditched spellmaking because they are making magic spells more unique and less of a collection of generic effects that differed only in magnitude? I can dig that; magic in Morrowind/Oblivion felt really bland.

Question is, why can't magic be more varied and spellcrafting still be implemented? Seems like more of the classic "If it's broken, get rid of it entirely" design Bethesda is so fond of.

Actually it's more like "Broken or not, get rid of it entirely and call it immersion and awesome"

 

[sea]

I understand the intent, but not exposing the numbers to players is a big problem. The fact is that focusing on making magic feel kinetic, visceral, powerful, arcane, whatever buzzword you want to use, ultimately comes down to presentation. Make the magic look cool, by all means, I'll love it... but from a gameplay standpoint, when you have pretensions of being an RPG, precise control is a must for players. If you're afraid of scaring the mass market off, well, that's what optional "advanced" interface components are for. This focus on providing an immediate and powerful game experience is all great, but as soon as it starts cutting into the actual gameplay and feature set, you're cheapening your game in the long run, in exchange for short-term enrichment.

 

[spectre]

I love that logic of theirs. First you claim to make a freeform sandbox game, then you will railroad me into the right way of playing it.

What's worse, they're taking away shit that made the previous games remotely fun (besides the hiking part).

 

[baronjohn]

Has Toad said anything about mark, recall, levitate, intervention...?

 

[Metro]

So they ditched spellmaking because they are making magic spells more unique and less of a collection of generic effects that differed only in magnitude? I can dig that; magic in Morrowind/Oblivion felt really bland.

Question is, why can't magic be more varied and spellcrafting still be implemented? Seems like more of the classic "If it's broken, get rid of it entirely" design Bethesda is so fond of.

Actually it's more like "Broken or not, get rid of it entirely and call it immersion and awesome"

So true. But, yes, magic was never really impressive in Morrowind/Oblivion. Especially the ability to create spells. Didn't really enhance things in terms of game play just added the option for simulator lulz.

 

[Luzur]

maybe they will implement that "draw the magic signs in the air" style ala Arx Fatalis.

 

[Menckenstein]

I just want to enchant my boots with Icarian flight.

 

[DraQ]

So they ditched spellmaking because they are making magic spells more unique and less of a collection of generic effects that differed only in magnitude? I can dig that; magic in Morrowind/Oblivion felt really bland.

Except I don't buy it.
Pretty much any magic I've ever seen in any game could be accomplished with Morrowindesque or slightly more complex effect system.

They are merely spewing their PR herpaderp - don't gorge yourself on this bullshit.

So true. But, yes, magic was never really impressive in Morrowind/Oblivion. Especially the ability to create spells. Didn't really enhance things in terms of game play just added the option for simulator lulz.

You probably never even tried to use it to any interesting effect.

The worst thing about magic in Morrowind was lack of enemies casting interesting, multi-component spells.
Well, that, plus bugs (soultrap glitch in particular gets in the way of combining on self and on target effects) and badly balanced effects.

Question is, why can't magic be more varied and spellcrafting still be implemented? Seems like more of the classic "If it's broken, get rid of it entirely" design Bethesda is so fond of.

Actually it's more like "Broken or not, get rid of it entirely and call it immersion and awesome"

This.

Also, constantly carrying around two balls of flame/lightning/radioactive demon cum the size of grapefruit in your fists doesn't make magic more arcane. If anything, such cheap showing off makes it more mundane, doubly so when even the most pathetic apprentice does that.

Arcane is when I spend time fine tuning my magic arsenal so that I can make pretty much any enemy jackknife, fall down and cry blood out of his ass without me even touching his precious HPs, or when I can smugly proclaim that stairs are for fags.

 

[curry]