In a new YouTube documentary, NoClip explores the challenges Bethesda faced while developing The Elder Scrolls: Blades, the new Elder Scrolls mobile title. The documentary is the latest collaboration between NoClip and Bethesda; the documentary makers have previously released videos about Fallout 76, Fallout Shelter, the other Elder Scrolls games, and even Bethesda Game Studios itself.
NoClip’s New Elder Scrolls: Blades Documentary
The new 19-minute Elder Scrolls: Blades documentary begins with NoClip interviewing Todd Howard, who compares Blades’ design to Arena; the very first Elder Scrolls game. It’s worth noting, as NoClip does, that the footage in the documentary was filmed last year. As such, the game has changed in a variety of ways since then. However, NoClip says that they were less concerned with how the game played and more about the design challenges faced by Bethesda in approaching the project.
The documentary covers the challenge of working on a mobile game for the first time for part of the studio which had never worked on a mobile title before. (Fallout Shelter was largely developed by a third-party studio, Behaviour Interactive.) The challenge of realising an Elder Scrolls game on mobile was also a challenge, especially when it came to conserving battery life; “These phones – the latest generation are super powerful,” explains Lead Producer Veronique Bruneau; “but not for a long time. You know, they’re meant to be used in bursts. Two things happen when you don’t do that; they overheat and they use up a lot of battery, so we had to find ways to pace it. So, that’s why we’re trying to keep, let’s say, the quest experience not too long and try to make you move between the different places in the game.”
The documentary also delves into choices made in game and quest design, dungeon approaches, and procedural development. Unfortunately for NoClip and Bethesda, the video has thus far received a poor reception on YouTube. (At the time of writing, it has over 50% dislikes.) Most of the comments suggest that many are unhappy with the current micro-transactions and grinding elements; clearly, Bethesda has a lot of work still to do.