Bethesda's Todd Howard on the State of the Industry

[@RealRanton]

just imagine Todd Howard alone in his room at night standing there in his underwear infront of his PC applauding to Portal's credits

[@ConnerOwen1]

fuck

[@ozricaurora6943]

Great. Now I'm turned on

[@jayeezus]

@@ozricaurora6943 😕

[@Kaboomboo]

@@ozricaurora6943 Dude same. Todd Howard is hot asf.

[@AbuHajarAlBugatti]

Sorry I dont want the FBI knocking at my door for fantisizing about adolescents

[@headkills117]

I like how Todd appreciates other games and other companies and it doesn't seem like he thinks of the gaming industry as a competitive kind of thing, he just loves this stuff.

[@rgvgunner7935]

Ahh its Makarov star of Modern Warfare 3

[@iLAMV]

and that is one of the reasons why he's a legend

[@KingLouis420th]

Tell me lies tell me sweet little lies

[@capnmoby9295]

too bad he can't direct his games anymore

[@zeeshu2562]

Ohhhhhhhhh, tell me lies

[@WardSennes]

3:02 "sneak skill raised"

[@benzzodude]

Anıl İŞBİLİR Lol!

[@collinaull1950]

Yeah to like, 2. Everyone saw him. He's like" see ha bitches, I'm leaving while he's distracted! Oh crap he's sitting right there"

[@puffwad]

+Anıl İŞBİLİR LMFAO

[@Ezio999Auditore]

+Anıl İŞBİLİR huh, must've been the wind....

[@BubblegumDog_]

+Anıl İŞBİLİR Its kinda funny, because in fallout 4 (for example) you could kill everyone in a room, except the last guy (dont let him notice you). And he will just be like "Huh, must have been my imagination", and its funny because everyone he ever knew, just like all his family is just laying on the ground, and he is just thinking it was his god damn imagination

[@rolsonDotcom]

Todd Howard seems like the kind of guy you would want to work for/with. He reminds me of an old boss I had. You can tell he has passion about what he does and through talking about it can get you excited about it too. Elder Scrolls: Skyrim was and is still a great game. So much so, I'm still playing it 4 years later. Looking forward to seeing what else Bethesda puts out.

[@OdahGlim]

Randy Olson duuude I think you must be THIS hype now :D

[@rolsonDotcom]

ok

[@mrhoapro1]

Michael Kirkbride (morrowind writer) also speak highly of him, and the time he worked in Bethesda.

[@reddiamond8136]

@@mrhoapro1 He does, yes

[@Ronam0451]

@@rolsonDotcom what's your problem?

[@thewelshcomedian]

Todd Howard is the kind of guy who you would want to introduce your parents to.

[@phoenixzappa7366]

If your parents wanted their wallets stolen

[@invalidcrazy7034]

No, so that they can ask him for a refund.

[@Flat_Earth_Sophia]

no

[@thewelshcomedian]

@@Flat_Earth_Sophia speak from experience?

[@Flat_Earth_Sophia]

@@thewelshcomedian Yes.

[@CerpinTaxt1983]

Todd Howard is the reason why Bethesda is what it is which is one of the best developers and publishers and he is also the reason why I love Bethesda so much.

[@lBluefellow]

Bethesda is a pretty bad, money hungry, careless developer :P

[@lBluefellow]

***** How come they never bother to patch the countless errors in their games? Instead they rush on towards the next DLC for their game? Look at the unofficial community patch fix list, it's pathetic. They have yet to fix some core issues in their games like the physics and quest errors. What about the lawsuit against Interplay? Do you think it's a coincidence it happened around the same time as Elder Scrolls Online? It sure helps not having the competition. How come they haven't made any progress on improving the animations significantly since Morrowind? Compare their facial animations to any other modern game. And they still have the stiff unnatural animations that do not match the terrain the model is on at all. How come Elder Scrolls Online will have a $15 monthly subscription fee on top of an in-game market to buy items? Normally if you have an in-game market, you get rid of a subscription fee, and a lot of the time make it free to play. How come they lied about Skyrim featuring an all new game engine despite the fact that the application references Gamebyro more than the previous games and contains very similar code to the previous games?

[@lBluefellow]

***** Bethesda is a subsidiary of Zenimax, I hope you can understand the context I was them in, as it was related to their past products, and their IPs. The community did what Bethesda didn't care to do. While I didn't do it, you can see other people who patched the game fine. Compare their animations to Grand Theft Auto, Metro 2033, etc, and you'll see how far behind they are. They claimed it was an all new engine. They lied. Adding carriages and other new features to an engine does not count as an all new engine. Look at Valve's Source engine, when they added dynamic shadows, a brand new particle system, DirectX 10 support, HDR, etc, they never called it a new engine, because it isn't. They are even willing to admit that it is based on the GoldSrc engine which is in turn based on the Quake engine. Fact is Bethesda claimed it was new engine built in house, and it clearly wasn't.

[@lBluefellow]

***** I called them money hungry and careless, because I knew before Skyrim was released it was going to be plagued with issues from the previous game, like the physics. A major issue that is still not fixed. And of course I knew there'd be expensive DLC coming out. I do not know of any other major title that has such a big community patch project, and it's consistent with every game developed by Bethesda. Daggerfall was nearly an unplayable wreck. Morrowind wasn't too bad, but still had it's fair share. Oblivion is the worst of the "modern" ones. Fallout 3 has well more than any game should. And Skyrim of course is full of bugs.

[@lBluefellow]

***** Call of Duty takes two years to develop due to the developer rotation. So three years really isn't a whole lot longer. Which Oblivion to Fallout 3 was 2 years. Motion capture isn't always more expensive, and also not always superior. Motion capture is not meant to be used in dynamic environments either. And having an outside group record a song is pretty common for a video game. I don't know how long they spent creating the dragon language. But again, that doesn't impress me. Kate Bush made a new language for just one song that lasts 6 minutes. They use many repeated items and characters. We've been using the same weapons in Elder Scrolls for a decade now, reading the same books, etc. I don't see them taking the time. If they took their time, they'd delay the game until they fix the pot and pans that murder you. Instead they release a games price of DLC without the content of a game. Compare them to the respected developers, id Software, Valve, and the like. Developers who are willing to delay a product, give the community full support, (id Software releases their source code for their old engines even), continue to support a product well after its release, offer free content updates, etc. The kind of things Bethesda would never contemplate.

[@RUdigitized]

3:00 Sneak Increased to 17

[@nukinwalruses5508]

lmao

[@RUdigitized]

Mcotton Games Man i'm dissapointed I thought this one would get more likes. Thanks Mcotton you're the best

[@sagieay]

That was awsome xD U got my like

[@lievenvanloo6011]

+RUdigitized there's already a comment way older than yours that says pretty much the same thing with almost 200 likes. Nice try though ;)

[@pentiumradeon]

7:45 Fallout Shelter confirm

[@dragonuv65]

Brodo Swaggins I was just about to say that hahaha

[@WaffleCake]

Honestly the whole video is interesting given that Fallout 4 was beginning development at this time too

[@TheItalianoAssassino]

7 years later: TES for mobile announced at E3

[@Soloman274]

And?

[@B59h]

SOLOMAN mobile sucks, it’s for people who aren’t true fans or collectors

[@BarenziahSimp]

@@Soloman274 Todd said that he wouldn't want a TES game on the phone, and years later Blades comes to the phone.

[@ozricaurora6943]

@@BarenziahSimp You say that like he's a traitor who's broken some sort of promise to you. People change their minds and it wasn't his decision anyway

[@ozricaurora6943]

@@B59h At least they have given us other content with it. Both BGS mobile games we've gotten have been extra content along with a much bigger project. Fallout shelter was announced as they were announcing fallout 4 and blades was announced as they were announcing Fallout 76. They didn't do what blizzard did with diablo and go "Hey guys it's the next big elder Scrolls game you've all been waiting for! Blades on mobile yeeeyy!"

[@Desaxion]

I really like the part where he talks about Japanese rpgs. Can totally relate

[@joebaggins8850]

Desaxion yeah, fantasy needs to feel gritty and real to me, like it makes sense In that universe and you can believe it actually happened. Like an ancient past.

[@TheManeymon]

fantasy "needs to be real and gritty". ok

[@wdhtpdominic]

its called suspended disbelief and its an actual thing were if somethings fantasy but looks real enough like it could be real its actually cooler than something thats pure fantasy

[@koopk1]

watching this in 2021 after cyberpunk came out, the point about room for growth in the RPG industry for npc's reacting while the environments are pretty solid really hit home

[@StarCrusher.]

"See that industry? You can climb it."

[@la4ever12]

He always wanted to add a voiced protagonist to make a good story.

[@Lukeredacted]

Todd Howard is seriously my hero. His passion for his company and his games is unparalleled. I would LOVE to meet this guy. Maybe some day.

[@immune85]

That didn't age well. 😂

[@ViktoryGamingNetwork]

I love how Todd is just plain and simple a gamer at heart and shows appreciation of other companies and games he gives credit where and when credit is due he doesn't care who made it or when it was released he just acknowledges if the game was a great experience we need so much more of that in today's gaming industry. Competition is good but we need a lot more friendly competition.

[@johndoe-xu1on]

this dude is famous, i dont watch too many movies soo.... i am literally only playing fallout all day.

[@Slayer209]

This was the first tease for Fallout Shelter

[@xkalomn2068]

And anti-hint to Blades/Skyrim on Switch

[@brickman409]

Man, these are some awesome interviews that GameInformer got back in 2011. I'm just seeing them for the first time now. I like how we see the first hints of Fallout Shelter in this video.

[@AllanElMelon1043]

7:25 holy shit he was right. I bet the corporate overlords force him and his team to develop Blades.

[@youss7317]

Its sad how he takes the blame for how everything turns out to be where in the end he is just a passionate game director, whats even sadder is how corporate snakes like Zenimax hide behind them and avoid the blame for everything. I can't blame the average gamer for not being aware that this is how it is, in the end Todd is the face of Bethesda and so he will get the blame for everything regardless of whether he is responsible for it or not He was clearly not very caring about Fallout 76 either, deterring the conversation whenever people talked to him about it and changing it to revolve around the SP games even before F76's release

[@victorkreig6089]

Nah Blades was a good idea, it was an attempt to see what else they could do with mobile that wasn't just a rehash of fallout shelter But it was still limited like Todd actually talks about here

[@victorkreig6089]

@@youss7317 The people who shit on bethesda are the same ones who don't say a single bad thing about anything other devs do despite them having plenty of flaws. Really comes off as aggressive envy almost

[@youss7317]

@@victorkreig6089 Gamers just have really damn short attention spans and very self entitled, they will ignore Bethesda's 5 massive successes in a row and focus on the last one being F76 lol. Whenever Fromsoft or any other currently praised studio messes up badly, they will get treated like they ruined gaming.

[@RenegadeForces]

His voice

[@FrostKittyPaw]

6:51 *announces Elder Scrolls: Blades, a mostly traditional Elder Scrolls experience, in 2018 for primarily phones and VR* haha xD

[@Galaxy-rj1kj]

FrostKittyPaw You do realize this was 7 years ago.. IPhones are as powerful as laptops rn..

[@HenrikoMagnifico]

We need a new one of these with Todd in 2024

[@RedGuajiro]

One of the few people in the industry I still have confidence in/ root for. Great work, smart guy.

[@Y2K4Y]

2:33 "That's a B I G N U T!"

[@DrJones20]

snore

[@Eresdimed]

I like how he's not afraid to talk about other developer's games and how they contributed to the gaming industry. Makes him look more modest if you ask me.

[@genericyoutubecommenter5130]

I agree with Todd about JRPG's. I have tried to get into them but I just can't. I love the art styles and colourness of the games but I always prefer games like Elder Scrolls, Fallout

[@hyypersonic]

6:46 Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive are exactly what Todd was talking about there.

[@MarchOfTheMastodon]

Todd is the man for the job becuases he creates games that HE wants to play. Not games that will make the most money. It just turns out that the games he wants to play are the games that I and many other people do to. a win win

[@Klemeron]

Ever since I was 4 I loved games and created detailed phantasy/sci fi worlds, imagined cutscenes in my head while flailing around my room like an idiot, though of gameplay elements, sometimes even create whole games on paper like designing the interface and stuff. I also imagined sounds, textures, maps, I also designed complex to complete clusterfuck stories like from murder mysteries to ethernal corruption. As of now Im still studying and I hope that one day Ill be able to work for Bethesda

[@Crytica.]

I think everyone can see them self in the stuff he's saying and i think that's why we like Todd so much, he's not all corporation and money and business like. He appeals to us because he's still acting human and we can see our self in him with the stuff he's saying about games.

[@Nightgaunt616]

Well, other than the discovery of dynamic ray tracing, video games haven't moved much further, especially story-wise.

[@SatchelStreams]

Would love to hear what he thinks about the industry today.

[@youtubesuresuckscock]

He knows nothing about the future of the industry. All they do is regurgitate old junk now. In fact, once his contract ends, I bet he's going to retire. There's no way he sticks around for very long after the Microsoft acquisition.

[@dookcurruff9047]

he says the industry is going through sort of a business bubble, and when it pops that it doesnt damage the state of the industry too much, he said it recently too on IGN i believe

[@dookcurruff9047]

@@youtubesuresuckscock ur not smart are you lol

[@youtubesuresuckscock]

@@dookcurruff9047 Genius actually but thanks for playing.

[@user-pe3fk1fb1o]

@@youtubesuresuckscock r/iamverysmart

[@azurabayta133]

It's interesting to hear him say that they would never do a mobile Elder Scrolls game. Because there were like three of them made back in the day.

[@777static777]

Right at the end - that had to be a reference to Fallout Shelter

[@timgo5829]

My P.E. teacher looks almost just like Todd Howard and even has a tattoo of vault boy on his arm since he's been a fallout fan since the 90s. Like what are the odds?

[@Jaxon.Hammond]

7:20--it’s 2018, and Skyrim is going to be on mobile soon, I guess not SKYRIM but y’know, The Elder Scrolls. Funny how stuff like that happens.

[@primordialbias8711]

I'd give my right arm to work for Todd at BGS. I wouldn't give my left hand though, I kinda need it to write stuff down.

[@j800r]

Besides, love him or hate him, Steve helped revolutionise the tech industry. Todd Howard just helped make a few really great games. Steve achieved a hell of a lot more with his life.

[@gerardzuidam6310]

Todd is my Idle and the one man that I look up to

[@tysonnelson525]

*idol

[@nenirouvelliv]

I don't always idle, but when I do, I go full Todd Howard.

[@richiesspeedshop82]

Bet you feel the same about him now........

[@darudesandstorm6078]

it is good when you do a quest that changes the landscape or changes peoples actions

[@jakethreesixty]

7:26 now it's 2018 and they do have a mobile Elder Scrolls a lot changes in 7 years

[@bebo2629]

Better tech and it still is not really Skyrim.

[@Galaxy-rj1kj]

Tomte thank you someone smart

[@monkeeee]

“That’s a big nut” -Todd Howard

[@Crytica.]

I'm just picturing him talking to no one lol. The other employees are like, oh shit there he goes again...

[@Lukeredacted]

He's not even in charge of that stuff. He's in charge of directing, producing, and designing Bethesda games. In addition to that he acts as a spokesperson for the company. Patches and other issues are handled by completely different people.

[@immune85]

Can we get a new version? 😅

[@Slurpy98]

What an awesome guy... He's just one of the leaders in the industry

[@AlchemistOfNirnroot]

What do you mean, they haven't made it playable like Skyrim on PC (which is what I play it on now).

[@swampsect]

2:54 our god has spoken and his words were true.

[@urameshi4725]

Yet Elden Ring has ate their lunch. FromSoftware is a far superior game developer.

[@MMaRsu]

@@urameshi4725 I love every FromSoft game, but they are totally different and not even comparable.

[@baroquechevalier8516]

​@@MMaRsutodd literally did that in the video by comparing western rpgs with japanese rpgs tho

[@jont2576]

You either die a hero or live long enough to become the Joker.

[@1fanAltairs]

Todd Howard inspired me to be a game director. Wish me luck Todd! :)

[@Speculaas]

Did you do it?

[@kayuanBM]

Oh boy... The last part of this interview sounds so ironic now, post FO Shelter and TES Blades 😄

[@Galaxy-rj1kj]

Kayuan Maeda do you study technology ?

[@kayuanBM]

​@@Galaxy-rj1kj I did study computer networking. Why?

[@PThrizzle]

I am totally on the same page as him with everything EXCEPT environmental graphics and physics. Bushes, trees, plants move with the wind and when stepped on or get cut when swinging your sword or axe, or burn when a fireball is cast. Like in Far Cry 3 plants catch on fire and burn. Plus weather dynamics have a long way to go. Rain causes puddles and mud then where are the footprints? Snow/sand accumulates in building corners or rain falling off rooftops, characters getting wet and seasons differ

[@e-c-dia]

JRPG are way to flamboyant

[@Harkins1721]

Edwin Diaz And does this kill you inside knowing some people like JRPG's and WRPG's?

[@e-c-dia]

Not at all to all their own.

[@Harkins1721]

Edwin Diaz agreed

[@designhasea1774]

Edwin Diaz i love them both, western rpg and jrpg.

[@christopherrankin1468]

I remember the days when I used to have to turn the volume down on my TV so my parents didn't wonder what I was watching on TV. "Yep, our son is gay. Listen to that shit."

[@Encetz]

To me, Todd Howard: president of the current generation of gaming industry. Ken Levine: the crazy magician of the gaming industry

[@peterhoogeveen8482]

He is just awesome. Like the thing he said about NOT playing a racing game on his phone, simply because 'no way are they making a racing game better than Forca on console' etc.. High standards, making something unique and awesome. Being immersed in this epic game world. Ah I wish I could be working there :P

[@abersan6520]

4:14 wish Godd would wrap his hands around me...

[@AmyJackson-_-85]

Abe S You should look at his most recent picture, because he has crows feet around his eyes. He is 46 year old man and has gray hair. yuck

[@moistmeatball5248]

@@AmyJackson-_-85 don't talk about Godd Howard like that

[@reddiamond8136]

@Urn Turn what the fuck is your pfp

[@hip360hop]

wow this dude is a flat out inspiration regardless of what endeavors you want to achieve in life

[@indeedidosir]

Todd was right, nearly every game these days has some level of customization or rp elements. Even linear singleplayer games like bioshock, doom, god of war. People like being able to develop their own playstyle, and developers have realized that. But also developers need to stop taking advantage of peoples desire to customize to try and suck more money out of their pockets

[@masterc9706]

Tell me lies tell me sweet little lies

[@aaronkempster1]

I realized why I always know what Todd Howard and Bethesda are always gonna do and why some theories are stupid and why they resonate with me so much. It's because me and Todd Howard are the same person. We have the same tastes and same hobbies and want to create the same types of games. Also his history of how he got to bethesda is basically my story right now and mayb one day I can work at bethesda, I have some wild ideas.

[@delvinc822]

Aaron Kempster im sure you'll get there by playing COD cause each new title in the series is ground breaking.

[@tzbenetti1000]

I think in Japanese RPG, Soulsborne game are the only exception. In fact, from software games always played like western rpgs...

[@scrustle]

I would buy an Elder Scrolls game on the iPhone in a heartbeat. Sounds like a great idea! It's not like they haven't done something like it before. They started work on a PSP version of Oblivion which they never released. They could make a new Elder Scrolls Travels game or an Elder Scrolls Adventure game like Redguard! It would be awesome!

[@chase_h.01]

ohhhhh ur a sneaky son of a bitch Todd ;) Hinting at Fallout Shelter like that.

[@monkonyx7171]

I like how he uses alot of words to describe his feeling twords games rather than the regular game company tellin u its good buy it or it's bad.

[@ballergames101]

when he talks about moble games it sounds like he is taking the exact words from his e3 presentation last year

[@orrinization]

3:00 Guy sneaked so good I barely saw him.

[@SoundtrackofGaming]

I loved Todd Howard, and he plays red dead and portal? Two of the best games in this generation

[@chrno6]

Western rpg offers you freedom and choices but it most certinaly doesn't do well in the story and emotional attachment to characters caterogies. Jprg like suikoden 2 and chrono trigger actually makes you care about the story and characers. The story in fallout 3 is laughable and one most certainly do not feel any sorrow when the progonist's dad got killed.

[@lbster6088]

This tells us lot about the industrial society and it's future

[@dogeofdojima3813]

Theres something about him that separates him from other devs. I cant think of the word

[@PapagenoDispo]

I love Todd, but Bethesda is really letting everyone down. I hope they get back on track.

[@QuantumGenetic]

I bet he will like the vr enough to make something for it

[@Cathalion]

Fallout Shelter :)

[@Cathalion]

***** They said it will be in a few months. I'm on Android as well so I feel your pain lol. :)

[@TheAndiePerson]

God it's always the weirdest thing to hear someone talk about how their kids play video games, and then compare how they play them. I must have grown up really old-fashioned or something cause in my house games were a child activity, and taxes were an adult activity. And it even influences the way I think as an adult, I feel like I should put down the controller already cause I'm too old for video games, so it's really weird to hear people talk about their kids and themselves gaming.

[@PhoenixxxHailx]

awesome man

[@Harry_Bingus]

All jokes aside, Todd has a great point about the big nuts in the gaming industry.

[@AmyJackson-_-85]

6:46 Switch? mmm 🤔 You can't tell me he didn't know, based off how close he has helped Nintendo so far in the last year.

[@PashaDefragzor]

Serious business, and great games, what can be better

[@MudCrabMagistrate]

With the way the cameras are placed, it seems Godd Howard is giving his sermon to an empty room.

[@ThRealOJT]

Crazy science fiction only in Japanese RPG's? Well, someone called a Dovahkiin shouts at someone, he goes flying then he gets his hand and starts making a forcefield with it. Haha, I love Skyrim but common' Tod;)

[@Dominos_Japan]

he just said that they aren't his thing... I personally like both, you CLEARLY like JRPGs and he doesn't, and that's ok

[@deathGod252]

i like it when developers talk about other games.

[@fminyoutube]

Fallout Shelter is what you were talking about Todd, i see it now ;)

[@whatisiswhatable]

I want to know what Todd thinks of Red Dead Redemption 2

[@whatisiswhatable]

@Amer really good story, though and likeable characters

[@troposphere9574]

@@whatisiswhatable masterpiece

[@Markel_A]

I feel like his attitude towards realism in fantasy is what's made The Elder Scrolls less interesting as a series. Morrowind was so distinct because it managed to pull of being a believable world while still being such a crazy fantastical setting. Skyrim and Oblivion just try to make everything too relatable, too much like earth. The settings aren't nearly as imaginative any more.

[@Tigerprincess-q4e]

I know it is, I was hot and bothered back when I posted that.

[@alexandergreen4574]

I believe your more custom for wester RPG that's why

[@PacPearson]

I wish Bethesda would've teamed up with irrational games to make a game with the polish of bioshock infinite and the expanded world of skyrim or fallout

[@doodsalot270]

do you honestly think they will EVER get console copies to play like the PC equivalent?

[@kaylubproductions4517]

0:19 “Jason” “Jason!”

[@azaelandy04]

May he rest in Peace. But I'm with you though.

[@BroadwayRonMexico]

"I put down the controller and applauded" >mfw Americans clap after beating a video game

[@BlackForestKaiser]

Yes it's our special tradition right before we invade your country for oil.

[@bigdaddyfrogstat]

I know, I have seen it

[@mrjustmet1]

I wonder if he role played as the cowboys quarterback

[@uberandy666]

Speaking of thing that would be cool on a mobile device... Morrowind on the ipad/android tablet! omg that would be awesome!

[@questionmark14]

I respect him even more now

[@Professor_Bugs]

Still do? :-) (10 years later)

[@LICENFIREFEAR]

@@Professor_Bugs yes yes and yes,he is awesome he is a master of the voice

[@mrman7862]

“It Just Works”

[@megavolt67]

There are in fact many JRPGs which are more gritty and also some that offer you more freedom in terms of their mechanics or exploring the game world, but they were rarely if ever the most popular of the genre. In the west, it was Final Fantasy that most gamers got into, and while those games do offer you a bit more freedom in the endgame, the journey there tends to be more linear and cinematic. Something tells me that Todd's experience with JRPGs most likely is quite limited compared to his experience with western RPGs (has he even at least played Dark Souls? does he think that's too "crazy" compared to Morrowind?). And that, I think, is unfortunate. It also does go a ways towards explaining why Bethesda's Elder Scrolls games really don't deviate very much from traditional swords and sorcery fantasy material nearly as much as he may feel that they do. Also, going to "real places" like in Red Dead isn't always what it's cracked up to be. Personally, I often find it kind of boring (and I was pretty much done with GTA after Vice City). My favorite western RPGs have been mostly non-D&Dish setting ones precisely because they tend to be more willing to embrace more imaginative, more surrealistic elements. Planescape: Torment, still considered by many to have some of the best writing and one of the best stories of any western RPG, actually credits games like Final Fantasy 7/8 for inspiration.

[@joshbaino3087]

Yes but Dark Souls is a westernized JRPG. He's not saying all RPGs that happen to be made in Japan are like that, but Japanese style RPGs. For example, a game like Persona, while still being open and explorable, has a much different kind of "freedom" than Elder Scrolls does. But the point you make about Western RPGs being boring is spot on. Copy/pasting the same mission all over a huge map is not freedom to explore.

[@VT-mw2zb]

Final Fantasy 10 story is the prime manifestation of crazy nonsense JRPG are: you play as a ghost from the future who exists because you are dreamed by inhabitants of a dead city who were suspended in coma to keep the city existing in their dreams. What the actual fuck? But then Japan is where some of the best examples of interactive storytelling were created: Silent Hill 2, Dark Souls, etc ... Dark Souls let me appreciate a game with focus and streamlining. In DS, you can stuff 200 weapon and armor suits down your trousers dragging them everywhere. Not very realistic, but it did saved me from spending 80% of my play time in Fallout and Skyrim running back and forth between the first dungeon I entered and the nearest merchant and my house, either selling loot for scraps or chucking it into a chest in my purchased home. I don't have to do that, but everyone in an RPG is a hoarder who are very afraid of throwing away stuff. So more of my time can be spent exploring, and dying.

[@Ostarrichi996]

God speaks in that video