Rich Lambert, the creative director of Elder Scrolls Online, commented on the multiplayer game during an exclusive conversation with Dexerto, recalling its conception, the subsequent less-than-ideal launch, where things stand now, and of course, what the future holds for the Elder Scrolls community.
Fans were both excited and nervous about Elder Scrolls Online when it was originally unveiled in 2012. After all, the series is renowned for its expansive single-player adventures. It was an entirely novel idea to introduce this Fantasy franchise to the online world.
Rich Lambert, the creative director of Elder Scrolls Online, explained the origins of the game in an exclusive interview with Dexerto. Continue reading as we go deeply into the journey of Elder Scrolls Online, almost ten years after debut, from early concept concepts to choosing when and where to situate the title inside the Elder Scrolls series, and figuring out the logistics of the multiplayer experience.
pestering Todd Howard to play an Elder Scrolls game online
With over two decades of expertise at Bethesda, Lambert was a leader in the development of the Elder Scrolls multiplayer experience, promoting the idea from the start. The process of getting the game up and running, however, took a whole year.
“Oblivion was the first game I worked on there, and I frequently visited Todd Howard’s office to tell him that the game ought to be made available online. Later, he summoned me to his office. In essence, Matt Firor was there to create ESO and an online studio.
Lambert was an obvious option to work on Elder Scrolls Online because he was one of the first to express this notion and idea. “Todd begged him to bring me because, I believe, he was getting sick of me entering and saying, hey, we should turn this into an online game. After about four hours of conversation that day, Matt hired me, and the rest is history.
Position of Elder Scrolls Online in the franchise’s overall lore
Elder Scrolls is a fantastic fantasy franchise with a ton of deep mythology. While each Elder Scrolls game takes place in a certain era of the constantly growing universe, exploring gives players a better grasp of the past and all of the different races that can be discovered there.
One of the most crucial and challenging decisions for Lambert and the Elder Scrolls Online team was selecting when the game would begin.
There wasn’t much material available on that time period, the interregnum, so Todd and Matt decided on the second era, a thousand years before to anything else. There was complete pandemonium for something like 400 years. So, we really got to work figuring out what it might be and how.
A difficult launch permanently altered the course of ESO
The game was finally released in 2012 after years of development. The initial response, though, was one of perplexity. Many people had trouble connecting at first, which Lambert acknowledges was primarily because the development team was still working out what they intended Elder Scrolls Online to accomplish.
“The launch game we had was sort of this strange Elder Scrolls/MMO mix, and it didn’t really fit either of them. Therefore, we needed to go back and reassess what we wanted it to be. Is it the first MMO? Is it the first Elder Scrolls game?
The team immediately came to the conclusion that the most important thing was to make sure that the core elements of ESO remained entwined with the heart and soul of an Elder Scrolls experience.
“We chose the latter; Elder Scrolls was our top priority. So everything we did after that was directed toward “its Elder Scrolls.” You are welcome to play it alone.
Even though the team may have had a clear direction going forward, the game—like the majority of online experiences—has always been and continues to be a work in progress. The team’s proactive and adaptable attitude over the course of the game’s nearly ten-year existence is demonstrated by the improvements and updates to Elder Scrolls Online.
It’s work all the time, right? There’s always a problem to solve. It takes a while to develop these stories because there is always room for improvement. Building a zone takes roughly 18 months. While Necrom was just released in June, we are already planning the chapter for the following year. Actually, we have been working on it for a long.
Elder Scrolls Online’s future: beyond the 10-year mark
Elder Scrolls Online is getting close to its ten-year anniversary, as was previously announced. The achievement of this milestone is significant to Lambert and the other developers. one that will be much celebrated.
“In November, we might learn something. A celebration of the game’s ten years of existence. Several members of the team have been engaged in its development since its inception, which was in 2007, you know.
“So we want to celebrate the game and the community with this. Nowadays, it’s pretty uncommon for a team to work on a game for as long as we have. There aren’t many games that have been around for ten years. It’s pretty special because many games have just shut down and didn’t even last the full ten years.
When eventually questioned if Elder Scrolls Online will slow down after ten years or to make way for the upcoming single-player experience, Lambert quickly assured that they would do everything possible to maintain introducing new and innovative ideas to Elder Scrolls Online as long as gamers wanted it to continue.
We are developing features for the fourth quarter of the following year. Stories for 2025 and 2026 are currently under development. We keep adding new content to it, and we’ll keep doing so as long as people want to keep playing ESO.
The Elder Scrolls Online still has a lot to offer its players, especially with a fresh patch on the way and the hint of more fantastic content. Be sure to check out all of Dexerto’s Elder Scrolls Online coverage here for the most recent information and articles about the venerable video game brand.
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