It uses very inventive shades of brown. Also, most brown games are set in the real world, making them too dull. The inherent dullness of the brown pallette successfully grounds the fantasy setting, making it more believeable. Hence the praise for Morrowind and my complaints about Oblivion.

In related news, I lost myself in my imagination for a while (It happens a lot. Everyone retains something from their childhood as an adult. I kept playtime), initially thinking of a satire of Skyrim that exemplified everything good about RPGs that Bethesda was shying away from. I got carried away, and several hours later (11:00pm to 02:00am) I had enormous skill tree. From 12:30 pm to 7:00pm that became a skill bush, then a monstrous multi-tentacles skill mass. Now I have 81 Arts with Mastery Bonuses (coincidental result of my powers-of-3 layout, but could pass it off as joke at Skyrim's pitiful 18), 27 Methods, 9 Schools, 3 Paths and an insufferable aura of inexplicable smugness and satisfaction. It was inspired by Morrowind, Arcanum and D&D, and I'm convinced that every fantasy character in existence could be created through it.

As that paragraph probably implied, I'm now obsessed with a game which does not and likely never will exist. Nevertheless I may well mock up a screenshot and post it with explanations of the skills in NOA&L.

Not bad for a game that's just functionless skill tree.

Do different types of swords work very differently from eachother?

Is there differing disciplines of armed combat?

Are there things like muscle memory?

I imagined in the game that sabers would get speed bonuses to slashing motions, and broadswords would get faster damage charge (as in holding attacks to build strength). Things like claymores would have an all over damage bonus, but would need two hands and be slower than their one-handed counterparts.

Hell yeah! The Combat Path is split into Offense, Defense and Movement schools, Offense is split into Blunt, Blade and Unarmed, Blade is split into Dagger (also covers shortswords and those ninja fork things), Sword and Spear (also covers pikes and halberds). Each of those has a mastery ability (Fencing being Sword's), and that's just one example. Everything is split into 3.

There is a Reflexes Art in Magic > Body > Fortify. Combat > Defense has a few things about blocking, and Combat > Movement > Dodge has 3 skills based around that sort of automatic reaction thing.

I'd have to get the sprawling double-A4 spread down to explsin properly, and try to read my sleep-deprived handwriting. Also, would you like to join my imaginary development team?

I approve.

I grin.

Will I be expected to do, you know, actual work? Because I don't think I'm quite up to that this early in the semester.

You'd just have to ask pedantic questions. That's the best way to iron out problems in anything. Come to think of it, you're welcome to actually do that after I post the skill tree here.

If anyone says 'What are you, bipolar?', I think I'd have to say 'Probably'. These sorts of inspiring highs are getting more and more frequent*. Honestly, I always thought my future lay as an artist, painting disturbing images of aberrations and grotesques, but now I think I could actually have games developer potential. This isn't the first game I've made up, but it's the first I can adaquately sum up with a picture and a paragraph. I don't have skill, I don't have ability, but I have vision.

*Along with the lows, unfortunately. Guess which one inspired Jelly Bean Theatre!

Asking pedantic questions is something I'm very good at. I'll gladly be your chief of quality control.

The game's called Art Of War, by the way. I really want to emphasise the varied skills thing.

Back on topic, the game will also feature:

• Enemies that attack each other, as well as you.
• Snowfall that accumulates on objects.
• NPC's react to you appropriately depending on your previous relationship. No more grieving widows of people you killed politely wishing you goodbye, then.
• Fluid animations and a smoother physics system.
• Better third-person mode.
• A side-quest management system that will direct you to areas you’ve yet to explore by placing quest objectives in unvisited locations.

Will we be able to brew intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions that make us intelligent enough to brew even better intelligence-increasing potions
until we are smart enough to stroll into the local blacksmith, forge a sword the likes of which these lands have never seen and use it to slay the final boss at level 6, thus becoming The Singularity like in Morrowind?

They've tackled that issue, and no. Not sure how they're going to stop it, but they're going to. I expect as the base attrribute gets higher, buffs have less and less effect.

According to Oblivion's lore, Skyrim is meant to be snowy everywhere. Some snow is good, but...not everywhere.

On the subject of combat, ESV has changed slightly over its predecessors:

• Attacks are now tied to the physics system. You can knock weapons out of hands, and people off cliffs.
• It has finishing moves, not just power moves.
• There are individual weapon skill perks; Maces will crush armour, Axes will cause bleeding, Swords will have critical hits.
• Shield skill perks can protect against types of elemental damage.
• Backwards movement speed is slower than in Oblivion.
• There are 85 spell effects, presumably to be mixed and matched at will.
• Shed a tear - Mysticism is going.
• Spells, weapons and shields take up appropriate hand slots, but can be dual-wielded at will. So you can have a spell in each hand, or two weapons, or two shields (Why you would do that, I've no idea), or any combination of the above.
• Spells can be used to different effect depending on the target. Pointing for a long time will charge it into a torrent - Fireball will become a flamethrower; Pointing it into the ground will spread it appropriately - Frostball will become a slippery patch of ice. Dual-wielding the same spell will increase the effect.
• Spells might be able to effect each other - Ice extinguishes fire, wind blows projectiles off course, that sort of thing.
• Fire burns.
• Ice slows.
• Lightning drains energy.
• Archery will be slower but do more damage.
• Arrows will be more scarce.
• You can now hit people with your bow.
• If you are stealthed but give the game away, enemies will look for you.
• You can now backstab.

Some of that stuff sounds really cool.

I may have to play this one.

Just when I thought I couldn't get any more excited for this freaking game.

I don't see a 'running diagonally has new animation' part.

Christ, you think they'd have fixed that in Fallout: Vegas.

More features:

• Map approximately the same size as Oblivion's.
• Five cities.
• 130 dungeons.
• Slaying dragons makes you stronger as their soul merges with yours.
• The Dark Brotherhood will reprise their role as Tamriel's hitmen.

If anything, the improvements to combat sound really cool but it's best to see some gameplay videos before getting excited.

Personally I'm looking forward to comboing my enemies with a chain of spells to the point where they just can't react. Then, axe to the head like a true nordic warrior!

EDIT: Art direction update, dude clearly acknowledges the tolkien-esque theme of Oblivion and says that Skyrim will be much different stylistically.

Game informer article/video

http://i.imgur.com/Ifs20.png

Is he giving the finger?

Probably. The Nords ae supposed to be quite rude.

By Imperial standards, aye.

I enjoyed the Dark Brotherhood storyline, hope this one will be just as good.

well i'm extra pleased about that. i liked using bows but eventually got tired of blokes running at me with a dozen arrows in their necks. it'd be nice if they make using bows in general very difficult, but once you hit a target somewhere that would probably kill them, they fucking act like they've been hit somewhere that would kill them, instead of running at you like a loon. Oblivion and, i've got to say it, Morrowind dealt appalling with the marksman speciality.

I'll tell you what, I hope they fix levelling so you don't get bonuses for levelling up the same skill more than once, and make Endurance balanced all the way through the game. I hate having to 'maximise' levels. I want to do what I want to do, not what I should be doing.

Also this:

I don't need to write my opinion on that video, do I?

I wasn't expecting most people to like it. I don't particularly like it. I just thought that since it was Skyrim-related I may as well post it for the one person who will inevitably find it funny.

I liked his voice. He had a good voice.

Hopefully they fix the Argonians. Hated their lemon heads in Oblivion.

I hope they fix the fact that every fire spell, regardless of power, is the same puny, golf-ball-sized flame.

Skyrim really sounds like it'll be amazing, but I'm still probably going to buy it few years later from a sales bin and play it for 1 hour and get bored. That's the story with Oblivion for me.