According to Matt Firor, the boss of ZeniMax Online and director of Elder Scrolls Online, gamers are becoming more accustomed to open worlds full of map markers, checklists, breadcrumbs that lead to objectives and a whole host of other useful options, making a game in the style of Morrowind unfeasible for a major studio.
In a great article with Rock Paper Shotgun about how to save the open world, Firor argues that if a company were to release a game like Morrowind today – a game without a GPS-like guide and requiring players to find quests with bits of information like “‘go to the third tree on the right and walk 50 paces’” – then “nobody would play it… very few people would play it, so now you have to give them hints and clues.”
Firor further explains that the current player base isn’t “just PC or gen one console diehards” who want to actively invest a huge amount of time into navigating the environment, as there are “so many other options for players.” The problem is that ZeniMax Online “has to support both those hardcore players – I say hardcore, that’s a loaded term – but also the people who really want to take their time to experience everything and make it difficult, and then the broader audience that really only has 20 minutes,” according to Firor.
If you’re one of those old-school Morrowind fans who still crave the thrill of counting steps to find quests, then the recently released Dread Delusion is a must-try, with a psychedelic coat of paint.
Another Bethesda veteran explained why modern open worlds suffer from growing teams and costs.