The Elder Scrolls has a habit of placing players into the role of a prophesized hero, but Elder Scrolls 6 could increase its immersion by turning the player character into an everyday citizen. While playing as Skyrim's Dragonborn or the Hero of Kvatch provided players with an inside view on the important happenings of Tamriel, it’s an astoundingly convenient (and overused) plot device. Instead of making players famous by destiny or divine intervention, forcing them to earn their fame or encouraging a low profile may be a better route for ES6's roleplaying mechanics.
Little is known about Elder Scrolls 6, and with its release date years away, fans of The Elder Scrolls are unlikely to fully understand the project for many months. There is much speculation surrounding the game’s setting, plot, and characters, and many details are shrouded in mystery. Unfortunately, Bethesda has announced their intention to fully develop Starfield before releasing Elder Scrolls 6, likely pushing the game’s release date back several years. It’s unknown whether the advertised title screen released in 2018 still holds relevance to the project, but its desert theme suggests players could explore settings like Hammerfell or Elsweyr. Despite the lack of confirmed information, there are several notes that Bethesda could take from its previous projects.
In many fantasy RPGs, players are often left grappling with destiny or battling against divine intervention that propels the game’s storyline, but The Elder Scrolls could embrace a new protagonist. While the Daedric Princes of Tamriel may still play some role in the game’s lore or quests, focusing on mortal conflicts can ground Elder Scrolls 6 in a more manageable method. Additionally, there are many unanswered questions and mysteries from Skyrim and other Elder Scrolls titles, offering the opportunity for ES6 to explore a prequel era or focus on the myths and lore of the game series. No matter what Elder Scrolls 6’s plot explores, players deserve to experience a world where they’re a simple citizen, traveler, or lost soul trying to survive to improve the game’s base roleplaying experience and immersion.
Elder Scrolls 6 Needs A Reputation System
Without the dependence on a heroic role such as Skyrim's Dragonborn or Oblivion's Hero of Kvatch, Elder Scrolls 6 could implement a reputation system. Skyrim toyed with this mechanic by forcing players to earn different factions’ trusts with certain questlines or ranks, such as when players have to complete prerequisites before receiving the required item or access to different locations. However, a dedicated reputation system adjusts players’ ability to interact with NPCs in various cities, towns, or organizations. Similar to Warframe’s reputation systems, factions should embrace different relationships with one another and prevent players from befriending every organization or faction. Bethesda can balance out players’ power and influence with consistent, hostile forces and organizations seeking to undermine them by implementing a reputation system.
While Elder Scrolls factions like the Thieves Guild or the Dark Brotherhood provide alternative activities to the main questline, adding a reputation system with influential characters can improve Elder Scrolls 6’s immersion and roleplaying experience. Player characters frequently interact with NPCs of status or power, such as High Queen Elisif and Jarl Ulfric in Skyrim or Emperor Martin Septim in Oblivion. By designating different dialogue options or in-game choices with consequences in relationships, ES6 could force players to engage in various strategies and consider actions without reckless destruction and death. Oblivion and Morrowind engaged in similar consequences but only restricted players from wielding certain weapons due to activities or affiliations with organizations like the Dark Brotherhood. This mechanic vastly changed playthroughs and increased replayability, encouraging players to pursue different choices in Elder Scrolls 6.
Elder Scrolls 6 Could Build Off Player Origins
While there has been some discussion for an origin system in Elder Scrolls 6, the series hasn’t experienced a true player origin independent of the player’s race. The iconic Skyrim introduction provides players with vague reasoning for their presence in the country but fails to expand on their lives before becoming the Dragonborn. At various points throughout the game, players may answer questions that vaguely shape their backstory, but it ultimately fails to alter gameplay in any significant way. Games like Dragon Age: Origins make player origins a substantial piece of players’ gameplay experience by assigning unique missions based on race and combat class. The player’s origin story also reappears several times throughout the game’s campaign. While it’s unlikely for Elder Scrolls 6 to include such an in-depth system due to the current cost of developing video games, a system that improves players’ individual stories could vastly improve the game’s immersion.
Combined with a dependable reputation system, Elder Scrolls 6 could implement player character origins to affect the world’s view on the protagonist. Previous systems used in Skyrim have some characters react to the players’ race and vaguely tackle the issues of inequality and racism, though in an underwhelming and non-meaningful way. Origins could incorporate social class that boosts reputation with the corresponding caste, while species and country of origin could provide players with unique opportunities and relationships based on those from the same region. These relationships could extend to shopkeepers and organizations, enabling access to discounts or secret missions. Bethesda could improve roleplay and immersion in Elder Scrolls 6 by gracing players with cohesive backstories.
The Elder Scrolls 6 Doesn’t Need Another Hero
The Elder Scrolls has repeatedly threatened Tamriel with world-ending disasters throughout its mainline games, centering its many campaigns around the world's fate. While this provides Bethesda with a convenient method of implementing high stakes in each game’s narrative, it can become repetitive for players to endure. As the sixth mainline game of the franchise, Elder Scrolls 6 should embrace a new kind of protagonist by leaving the heroics to someone else. Combined with player origins and a reputation system, Elder Scrolls 6 has the potential to immerse players in a world that doesn’t immediately bow to their will. While playing as the hero can be an exhilarating experience, building a legacy through persistent effort is far more rewarding.
In Skyrim, the Dragonborn becomes a hero of legend as soon as players slay a dragon outside Whiterun. They are then summoned by the Greybeards to High Hrothgar and begin fulfilling their destiny in earnest. While Skyrim’s opening scene portrays the player character as an unfortunate traveler caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, the luster of playing a nobody who needs to fight for their future is quickly interrupted. In addition to giving mortal conflicts and current events with The Elder Scrolls’ Aldmeri Dominion more attention, Bethesda should consider making players a piece of a bigger picture instead of the one-man army trope embraced throughout previous titles. A focus on cooperation and collaboration with the world around the player could also vastly increase immersion.
While Elder Scrolls 6 is still in development, Bethesda has the chance to deviate from its mainline game clichés. Despite Skyrim’s success and continued popularity in the gaming industry, its age has begun to show in an era of open-world games with stellar graphics and dynamic storylines. Additionally, Bethesda’s continued resale of the title has tainted the game’s initial success with halfhearted remasters and a significant lack of new, exciting Elder Scrolls content. Elder Scrolls fans may have a long wait before Elder Scrolls 6’s release, but hopefully, the studio can learn from its past and improve its future products.