Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is one of the most eagerly awaited games of 2011, and while we’ve seen a trailer promising dragons (Dragons!) already, we’ve not seen a single glimpse of what the game itself will look like.
That combined with promises of it being based on the Fallout 3 engine had people worried that it would end up looking dated in 2011 even more so than Fallout New Vegas did last year. Fear not though: the first screen is out, along with plenty of juicy details, and Elder Scrolls 5 is looking mighty fine indeed.
That picture of a clifftop castle to the right is the first glimpse of Elder Scrolls 5′s in game graphics, as well as the craggy, northern climes of Skyrim itself. GameInformer’s got the skinny on the graphics behind the game, and developer Bethesda is calling it the Creation Engine. It promises better lighting, foliage and precipitation, so the rough wilderness of Skyrim looks all the more realistic.
Bethesda is also talking up its new Radiant AI, which helps non-player characters (NPCs) behave more appropriately to suit your own characters’ development. NPCs now go about their days performing tasks that make sense – IE villages will be filled with farmers moving their produce. They’ll also behave more intelligently: if you’re friendly to them, they won’t for instance decapitate you the moment you pick up an apple in their house, as all too easily happens in Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion and the recent Fallout games. Side quests will also be generated based on your character and location.
Finally, human and creature animation, which has been a jarring and eery experience in all of Bethesda’s recent games, is getting sorted with what the company’s calling Behaviour technology to code more realistic movements and expressions. GameInformer appears to have been privy to a demo of one of the Elder Scrolls 5 dragons in action, and says the non-scripted behaviour of the beasts looks incredible.
Of course, we’d all like to see the dragons in Elder Scrolls 5 ourselves, but at least our level of expectations has been raised with this. Stay tuned: you’ll be hearing plenty more about Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim throughout the year.
Out November 2011 | £TBC | Bethesda (via GameInformer)
