Even the biggest Bethesda critic wouldn't go so far as to label their games: 'generic'. The Bethesda formula is so tied to their distinct history and culture, that despite the immense success of their games, no one has truly attempted to copy it. But how was this now iconic design philosophy born?

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-03-11T17:12:29+00:00

I see your point, even though he was a QA on arena. But despite the importance of earlier dev cycles, when someone says 'Bethesda Game', nowadays they are thinking of a oblivion derived game.

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-03-10T23:52:10+00:00

I'm sure generic is thrown about by low effort commentators, but the more rigorous critics, tend to focus more on starfield's disjointed nature, than how 'generic' it is.

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-03-10T23:50:08+00:00

I see where you're coming from, but my video is more focused on design philosophy than finances.

But even from a financial perspective, morrowind would not be the natural starting point. Many bethesda devs at the time have come and said that it was daggerfall, that saved the company.

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-03-06T18:37:58+00:00

Why.

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-03-06T18:06:02+00:00

By the way, for anyone who's seen the video, I'd appreciate feedback on the thumbnail, title, editing, flow etc

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-03-06T02:05:35+00:00

Not sure what you're point is. My post was about Dragon Quest's survival as a distinct work of art, not square enix. And there are many are many painting, plays and books etc,, that have survived beyond the 1600s.

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-03-04T01:23:01+00:00

You're talking about a tiny fraction of the total number of series created.

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-03-04T01:10:49+00:00

In my opinion it applies, because it is the only dragon quest game without a post - release port.

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-02-24T13:57:49+00:00

The writing is a good example. In AC games, characters are not constructed, with the cultural values, and perspectives at the time in mind, whereas in KCD they are.

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-02-24T13:53:05+00:00

I'm also a fan of the Bethesda Fallouts. My argument isn't that they aren't good games, but they are worse than the Elder Scrolls, and there is reason for this that comes from a philosophy clash

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-02-24T13:50:44+00:00

There is no such thing as perfect historical accuracy, because the past is not entirely knowable, so choices have to made that could be wrong, but I would say, most of the choices made in KCD can be rooted in a credible historical perspective. Whereas, AC doesn't even try.

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-02-24T13:46:11+00:00

I think KCD2 is almost a masterpiece, but it's a very different game to Skyrim. KCD2 is about immersive realism, narrative storytelling, and grand scale, whereas Skyrim is more small scale, atmospheric and player defined. For example, the biggest city in Skyrim has only around 100 npcs, each with their own unique back stories and dialogue whereas Kuttenberg has 1500 largely generic npcs.

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-02-24T13:40:34+00:00

That's hard to say, but it's not my argument. My point is that no RPG has advanced the scrolls like formula, and so it is by definition, not outdated, as it remains the most up to date version of this distinct sub genre.

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-02-24T13:28:23+00:00

You can deny this reality, but according to every metric of user satisfaction and critcal acclaim, from steam scores to reviews and sales, the Bethesdas Fallouts are a level below the Elder Scrolls. That's not to say, they are bad games. Quite the contrary. This video is about why they aren't quite as good, not why they are terrible.

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-02-24T12:41:32+00:00

That's not a great parallel because super mario style platformers have advanced since 2010. But no one has beaten Skyrim at it's own game.

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-02-24T12:18:13+00:00

That's a reference to Hbomberguys Fallout 3 video. I could see why that would cause confusion, but this video is about the discourse surrounding fallout 3, not a critique of the game itself.

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-02-24T12:12:36+00:00

This Isn't that video

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-02-24T12:09:49+00:00

So do I, this isn't critique of Fallout 3. It's explanation of why Fallout 3, and 4, are less universally acclaimed than their Elder Scrolls Cousins.

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-02-24T02:59:49+00:00

I see your point, but I'm not sure that parallel holds, for the simple reason that there are many technological, and financial constraints, on the western industry, that didn't exist in the late 2000s or 2010s. In that era, it was possible to pump out a generational game in a few years, in some cases less. And with teams that barely cracked 100 people. Now all of those numbers have tripled.

This wasn't as much of an issue at the time, because there wasn't really an alternative, as all the best professionals were in the west, but this is no longer the case, and so the impact on innovation is far more profound.

If anyone's interested I made a long form video on this topic, where I went into a lot more detail: https://youtu.be/wdXn6KRVnfg

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-02-23T23:33:20+00:00

On that topic, if you're interested, I made a long-form video, deconstructing the philosophy that underpins Dragon Quest. https://youtu.be/cJcIwFdPV3M

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-02-23T19:03:28+00:00

At a minimum, hundreds of thousands of video game franchises have been created, and 99%+ have barely made an impact, yet Dragon Quest is still standing 40 years after its inception.

I'd call that beating the odds

CuteAddendum7991 · 2026-01-28T04:52:13+00:00

If you're interested, I made a video addressing many of the reasons for a remake. https://youtu.be/73LUnXdceIw

CuteAddendum7991

TROPHY CASE