Bethesda Game Studios
It has been quite the week leading up to E3 2015 with a steady stream of incredible reveals, leaving you wondering, “What exactly will there be to announce at E3?” From the “Fallout 4” reveal, the return of rhythm gaming, and YouTube taking on Twitch; the gaming industry is charging full speed into its biggest week of the year. Fortunately, the fun hasn’t stopped. Bethesda kicks off E3 as the first developer conference, the first conference this year period, and their first E3 appearance ever. Now that “Fallout 4” is already out of the bag, what else can we expect? Here is everything you needed to know about the 2015 Bethesda Press Conference, live from E3 2015 on Sunday, June 14.
The conference launches with a brief montage of Bethesda’s hits, including “Dishonored,” “Fallout,” “Skyrim,” “Doom,” and some others – likely a hint as what’s to come. Following the video, Vice President of PR and Marketing, Pete Hines, takes the stage with some Skyrim Music. He takes a moment to thank everyone who is in attendance and thank everyone who’s worked at Bethesda for all their hard work. Now it’s time for the details.
Hines hypes the audience with a discussion on the original “Doom.” The first big announcement comes with that talk of a brand new “Doom” game. Hines introduces Marty Stratton, Executive producer at id software, to talk about the new game. This new title will be built on the idtech 6 engine and looks for great influence from the original “Doom” games. Stratton promises “Badass demons, big effing guns, and moving really, really fast” – otherwise known as the keys of a great “Doom” game.
The trailer starts with a first-person perspective of a soldier putting on a helmet and entering a futuristic-looking-yet-very-industrial-and-firey factory. Stratton indicated that you’ve been “activated on Mars to kill demons.” Enemies start popping up from everywhere and anywhere while the soldier goes to down with a shotgun. Things become even more close-quarters with a bloody punch, followed by the soldier ripping off a demon’s leg and smashing his head in to blood and brain matter. Everything he shoots burst into pieces. Demons explode in to bits and pieces while barrels explode into sparks and a fiery blaze. He then enters a room with massacred soldiers and picks up a sawed-off double barrel shotgun from one. This is equally effective in its smattering capabilities. After destroying many more demons through bullets and punching, the soldier picks up a new rifle that shoots bursts of lasers. He then comes up on an enemy from behind and rips his jaw off of his head. Finally, things slow down as he interacts with a few screens. He then picks up a hologram device which brings back the violence, likely revealing what happened to the slaughtered soldiers. Upon discovering the actual victim of the hologram, he rips off the arm and uses it to open a security door. More things are shot and then a chainsaw is found, embedded in a victim. It brutally slices enemies in multiple different sections, showering the screen with blood. He then runs up to a demon, embedding his thumbs into the eye sockets of the enemy, and rips his skull in half. Immediately afterwards, a new enemy flies over, lands on the soldier, and starts ripping your arms off right in front of you. It then cuts to a “Doom” logo and ends the single-player reveal.
Stratton returns to the stage, mentioning the importance of single player, and initiating a discussion on multiplayer. It will be fast-paced and true to many of the classic FPS. A brief multiplayer trailer plays, showing off many other weapons, including a rocket launcher and jetpack with guns. There are also power-ups, plenty of blood, and plenty of explosions. It also appears as if you can play as both soldiers and demons. Stratton closes out the multiplayer tease by promising more information on multiplayer in the coming months.
That still isn’t it. “We wanted to provide more, and allow our fans to do more. What if every player, regardless of platform or past experience, had the ability to build and instantly share their creations?” It then shows multiple user-created game modes, including a horde-style game mode and custom multiplayer slayer-style games. Stratton reveals “Doom Snapmap,” a feature that allows players to easily create and share custom maps, gameplay, and even how the game operates.
To top it off, the conference returns to single player and explores “hell.” Although it’s not industrial, there is still plenty of fire everywhere. There’s also lots of demons running around and, again, brutally being blasted into pieces. This time, it’s more about showcasing the details of the experience, such as the minimal HUD and a weapon-selection wheel which drastically slows down the gameplay while you pick your weapon of choice – similar to “Mass Effect.” The preview shows off the wide variety of weapons in the arsenal, but also makes the enemies seem… relatively incompetent, perhaps relying on sheer numbers and power rather than smarts. It then comes across a classic mini-boss who takes a lot of damage without going down. The enemy is finally defeated by ripping out his own heart and feeding it to him. More explosions, brutal executions, and the return of the fan-favorite rocket launcher. An enemy shows off his stealth capabilities and the demon that made the final kill in the first trailer returns, this time being blasted out of the air easily, with a shotgun, while he floated on a jetpack. There’s a brief peek at a huge boss and the teaser ends with a cut to the “Doom” logo again.
Hines makes a return to the stage and announces a new digital platform called “Bethesda.net,” which will be the home for all Bethesda games as “one seamless experience.” This will support things like “Doom Snapmap” and is already being used to support “Elder Scrolls Online.” It will also have forums, news, and other features.
Battlecry Studios is now taking the stage, via a pre-recorded video, as design director Lucas Davis talk about their self-titled debut, “Battlecry.” It’s an online action game focused on team-based combat and intense tactical warfare. It has an art style somewhat reminiscent of “No More Heroes.” The alpha has already been underway, but you can sign up for the global beta now at battlecrythegame.com. If you sign up before June 18, and you’ll receive priority access and a special in-game reward. It follows with a trailer which emphasizes its cartoony style. It also shows off the classes, such as gadgeter and infiltrator, and their differing abilities. It will be playable is playable at E3.
Arkane Studios flashes on the screen, followed by Harvey Smith and Raphael Colantonio, Co-Creative Directors, taking the stage. Colantonio is wearing a “Dishonored” t-shirt under his jacket, likely indicating the reveal that is about to take place. After jokingly starting off in French, they briefly talk about the history of the studio and how great of an experience “Dishonored” has been, followed by a thanks to the fans. A trailer begins, showing a skull falling into the water and a very Dishonored-esk locale. The protagonist, referred to as “Emily,” is shown working her way into the apparent villain’s fortress, which shapeshifts as she enters. She freezes times and shoots off an explosive crossbow weapon. She then gets into a sword fight with one of the robot enemies. As the villain thinks he has her beat, his robot henchmen falls into a trap placed by Emily. He then escapes and the logo for “Dishonored 2” appears. You can play as Corvo or Emily, the new character, each with their own unique style. Like the previous game, you can play how you choose: guns blazing or without ever firing a weapon. They briefly state that it will be coming to PC, Xbox One, and PS4 before saying more details will be coming soon. No release date was mentioned. Until then, “Dishonored Definitive Edition” will be released on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, including all of the original content, DLC, and enhanced graphics – standard fair for these “definitive editions.” It also indicates it will be a while before we see the sequel.
Next up is a brief, pre-recorded video update on the recently launched “Elder Scrolls Online.” It includes a few new locations, Imperial City and Orsinium – a real of the orcs. The trailer is largely just wide-angle shots of the new environments with various quick close-ups of random actions which aren’t really important to the gameplay, such as a character taking a drink and an animal roaring.
Hines returns again to introduce an all new game based on the “Elder Scrolls” universe. Building upon the legacy of “Skyrim” and “Elder Scrolls Online,” “Elder Scrolls Legends” is a strategy card game that will be coming to PC and iPad later this year. The trailer was completely CG, but showed off various races form the universe which will likely be key elements in the game. It will also be free-to-play.
Joking that the conference is over, Hines beckons the crowd to groan and scream for more “Fallout” information. He then introduces Todd Howard, Bethesda game director. Howard discusses his origins at Bethesda, beginning 21 years ago, and how E3 wasn’t even a thing. He then discusses the unique opportunity games have, delivering content in a way no other media can.
“Fallout” flashes on the screen and Howard mentions that development for “Fallout 4” began in 2009, immediately after “Fallout 3,” coinciding with “Skyrim” development. A ton of concept art is shown, ranging from environments and vehicles to characters. Howard shows the level of detail with which each texture in the game was created. The dog is also shown along with various spaceships and armor – many things which were shown in the reveal trailer.
Howard announces that “Fallout 4” begins prior to the nuclear war, something completely different for the “Fallout” series. It begins with a man looking into a mirror, talking to his wife, and he reveals that this is the character creation screen. You simply drag and drop, add and adjust elements, and sculpt anything directly on the face without using sliders. You can also swap places and edit the wife, dictating which character – male or female – you play as, based off of which character you leave the mirror as. Howard also reveals that, if you sculpt both characters, the game even creates a baby based off of the parents.
After leaving the mirror, you walk into the kitchen and talk to a robot, Cosworth. You check the fridge – stocked with Nuka Cola, of course – and find some Sugar Bombs on the table. The doorbell rings and a Vault-Tech representative is at the door, attempting to sell you, what else, but a vault. This leads to you customizing your stats, such as intelligence, luck, and strength. You shut the door in his face before he can even finish talking and you hear a baby cry. Cosworth says “Mr. Howard,” followed by a reveal that they have recorded over 1,000 of the most popular names to include in the dialogue.
We then hear a baby crying – the baby that should be created based off of the parents’ likenesses, and then the TV reports nuclear strikes in New York and Pennsylvania. Everyone leaves the house in a panic, running towards the recently acquired vault. You emerge 200 years later as the sole survivor of Vault 111. As your character exits the vault, he’s overwhelmed by light and color. The environment is so much more vibrant than any other “Fallout” game, courtesy of the next-gen version of Bethesda’s creation engine.
The demo flips between both first and third-person views. Codsworth shows up and apparently recognizes you – likely be voice, which is, by the way, new for “Fallout” as well. You’re given four dialogue options represented by the action buttons on the controller. Dialogue is completely dynamic, meaning you can end the conversation at any point, by walking away or even shooting the person in the face. The player then finds the dog shown in the trailer. After petting him, the dog decides to follow along. You can give him commands by pointing towards the environment. Everything is determined based off of context, such as fetching a nearby item. The player shoots some mole rats, before popping into the VATS system, which makes its return in the classic style. This includes “bullet time” slow-mo shots and, of course, the hit selection.
Next, the video cuts through various environments from the game, featuring all sorts of different areas of Boston. Much of this was in the reveal trailer. There are also more shots of the dog and the main charater.
Howard says “Now to the cool stuff,” and shows a “photo from the future” of the invention of the Pip Boy. It then shows the new version in “Fallout 4,” beginning from where you find it when you leave the vault. He mentions that they put a lot of work into the system, making it more entertaining since the player spends a lot of time looking at it. The Pip-Boy even has games within the game that you can play. He then reveals a real life version of the Pip Boy and announces it comes with the collector’s edition. The “Fallout 4 Pip-Boy Edition” will fit your phone and has an app with it that will create a second screen experience for the game. It has the same interface as the in-game Pip-Boy. The app will be available for iOS and Android, even for those who don’t order the collector’s editon.
Howard announces they’ve made something else for phones as well, a “totally new game.” It’s an FTL and XCOM-inspired 2D game where you can build your own vault, called “Fallout Shelter.” The vault has its own inhabitants you control, who can level up and be given their own unique gear before being sent out to retrieve resources. You get rewarded with loot in lunchboxes and can even build in-vault relationships. The game will be completely free, requires no internet connection, and won’t have any paywall timers. When you build something, it’s instantly built. If you wish, you can purchase lunchboxes of loot, though. Best of all, the game is available now, although only on iOS.
The discussion returns to “Fallout 4” where Howard shows off the ability to rebuild parts of the world. You can use scrap material from elsewhere to assemble anything you want. The player is shown building a two-floor hut and placing furniture inside of it. He also creates a dog house, generators, and lights. Traders will show up with which you can trade food you’ve grown, extra water, or even excess generators. You can also set up gun turrets, which is useful as your village will be acted by raiders. All of this is completely optional, though.
The crafting system, however, carries over to other parts of the game. You can construct scopes for a gun, gathering the parts from various items throughout the worlds – such as an alarm clock or duct tape. Weapons will have over 700 modifications available, including bayonets and different barrels. You can even modify your own power armor. There is a montage of action sequences, some involving the dog, and it looks like your power armor can be modified to have a jetpack. There are helicopters, a fight-club type environment, and plenty of wasteland to explore. The reveal caps with a date announcement, “Fallout 4” is coming Nov 10, 2015.
Hines returns, thanking everyone and bringing the conference to a close.