Former Skyrim lead and Bethesda Game Studios veteran Bruce Nesmith would look to RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 for inspiration while developing new games like The Elder Scrolls 6, if he were working on them.
Or, at least, he seems to reveal as much during a recent interview with Press Box PR. He begins by explaining how Bethesda's games have evolved over time – and how they still could.
"Bethesda games in the last decade have become less dynamic in order to meet the needs of what the games needed and audience expectations," he describes, "but to be able to have the world be more fluid, I think that would be very cool."
He then cites Baldur's Gate 3 as an example of a game that ticks all the boxes – and, honestly, I'm not surprised he picked it. It made history with all of its GOTY wins and smashed just about every number possible. It also currently sits with an average rating of 96 on Metacritic, so… yeah. It is the RPG that comes to many minds, I'd argue.
As Nesmith puts it, Bethesda could "look at Baldur's Gate 3 and draw lessons from that smash hit." He says that "part of what made it so popular is that it felt like all choices were meaningful because you made a choice and it made a big difference in your play."
Bethesda, according to Nesmith, has "maybe pulled back from doing [those meaningful choices] a little bit." The studio's focus has shifted from such choices, but this takes away from the "impact" a game can ultimately have.
"The focus is on putting your toys away, but in these games, you do something in the Thieves Guild quest line that completely changes what becomes of the Mages Guild, for example," he continues. "The world and the game are changed because of your choices. Have it make a real impact."
Although Nesmith himself no longer works with Bethesda, he would try to bring the sort of spark Baldur's Gate 3 has to its upcoming RPGs.
"If I were in a position of being able to make the decisions, that's something that I would look to be doing because I think the gaming community has spoken and said they want games like Baldur's Gate 3 where their actions feel like they have impact in a broader sense," as he concludes.
While I do personally enjoy Baldur's Gate 3, I also feel The Elder Scrolls has a unique vibe of its own that keeps players hooked.
I just hope The Elder Scrolls 6 has the same – and I wouldn't be opposed to seeing some of that decision-making flair Larian Studios' own RPG is so beloved for, either. Only time will tell, and sadly, there'll be a lot of it still to come.
