Bethesda-Game-Studios posts

A new batch of screenshots from The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim have been released and the new visuals of the upcoming fantasy RPG sequel are certainly stunning. However, folks who plan to get the PC version of the game may be a tad disappointed to learn that developer Bethesda Game Studios won't be using much of DirectX 11's advanced graphical features.

While DirectX 11 will be over two years old by the time the game is released this November, the game's director Todd Howard told Eurogamer that it will be "mostly a DirectX 9 game in terms of how the shaders work." While DirectX 11 will be supported Howard says, "... there are things they get us for free, like performance gains. You're going to get performance gains out of it versus an older version." However he added, " ... the specifics DX11 does, like tessellation and all that kinda stuff, we aren't taking advantage of that right now. That doesn't mean we won't in the future. We aren't right now because we want to author it so it looks great." Meanwhile you can check out the new screenshots in our gallery.

It's not an April Fool's joke this time. Bethesda Game Studios has really and truly released some new and pretty screenshots from its upcoming fantasy RPG The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim. We've put the six new screenshots into our gallery which you can see below.

The six new screens show off a variety of gameplay including the above shot which is an example of the new game's ability of players to use both of a playable character's hands at once during the game. There's also some stealth kills, some ice creatures and generally some great looking locations in the new shots. The game itself is still due for release in November.

How would you like to go to a school where, say, the developers of The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim came by to talk about making the upcoming fantasy RPG? Or perhaps team members from id Software showed up to speak about making its upcoming shooter Rage? If you attend the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, that's exactly what will happen.

Bethesda Softworks announced this week that it has an agreement with USC to have team members from their internal development studios like Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, and Arkane Studios show up to speak to the students who have enrolled at the school's Interactive Media Division. There's no word yet if John Carmack or Todd Howard will be making appearances.

The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim made a huge surprise splash when it was first announced back in December and since then we have learned more aboth the fantasy RPG sequel from Betheda Game Studios. While we have seen screenshots from the game there hasn't been any in-game video footage yet.

That will change on Thursday as publisher Bethesda Softworks now has a countdown clock on its official web site that, when it reaches zero, will reveal the first in-game trailer footage from The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim. Hopefully the video will showcase the game's new Creation Engine and its graphical improvements over previous games from the developer.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is due for release on November 11 and that will certainly be a big day for fans of the previous games in Bethesda Softworks' fantasy RPG series. But it will be a much bigger day for the parents of any baby born on that day. Now Bethesda Softworks is offering ... something ... for any parents who want to name their new child born on November 11, 2011 an unusual moniker.

That name is in fact "Dovahkiin", which in the game's fictional language means Dragonborn. Of course that also means lots of odd stares from folks and misspellings of that name at various government agencies for that kid as he or she grows up. But if any couple wants to go for it, Bethesda Softworks is offering an unnamed reward for those that do so. Our suggestion? A full college scholarship.

The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim is looking sharp, thanks to the game's all new in-house Creation Engine. Today the Bethblog web site released a pack of screenshots from the upcoming RPG. Some of the shots have been seen before in Game Informer's online articles but many are all new. We especially like the looks of the skelton-zombie soldiers in the above shot.

The Bethblog site also has some new concept art pieces from the Bethesda Game Studios-developed title to check out. We will surely be getting a lot more visuals and info from the game before its scheduled release on November 11.

The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim got a lot of RPG fans excited when it was announced last December? But was your reaction to Bethesda Game Studios' next title as passionate as the guy that's featured in the above mini-animated epic? Somehow, we doubt it. The song that the man sings is worth the price for watching it (which is free so there you are).

The animated short, which is terrific if slightly NSFW by the way, is the creation of UK-based Harry Partridge. He's made a ton of pop culture animated movies in the past few years. Our personal favorite is the introduction for a Saturday morning cartoon for the Watchmen.

[Via Bethblog]

The menu system and user interface features of a game may not be as sexy to talk about as, say, the game's graphics engine or its combat features. But then again the development team at Bethesda Game Studios doesn't do anything halfway. In its latest article on the upcoming fantasy RPG The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim, Game Informer takes a look at the game's menu system.

The feature checks out how the team was actually inspired by Apple's iTunes menu system with Bethesda's Todd Howard saying, "One of our goals was 'What if Apple made a fantasy game? How would this look?'. The article goes into detail about how the game handles your character's inventory, how the in-game map works, and how the menu organizes your character's skills.

Game Informer's web site continues to offer up more info about The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim, the upcoming next game in the long running fantasy RPG series from developer Bethesda Game Studios. Today the site has a lengthy article that goes into detail on the game's combat features.

The article talks about some features that have been revealed before, such as having your character wield two weapons (one for each hand) or even be able to use two spells at the same time. There will also be effects like camera shakes in melee combat in order to make it look and feel more realistic. There will also be special kill animations and finishing moves that will pop up depending on your weapon, the enemy you are facing and the surrounding environments. As far as spells, there will be over 85 different ones in the game across five different schools of magic.

On Monday Game Informer revealed the first details behind the Creation Engine, the new graphics engine that was made in-house by Bethesda Game Studios to power its next project, the fantasy RPG The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim. But would the PC port of this engine be as mod friendly as previous Elder Scrolls games have been from the studio?

The answer, as it turns out is, "Yes." In a post on the game's official message board forums a Betheda community manager confirmed, "Like the Elder Scrolls Construction Set for Morrowind and Oblivion, we plan to release Creation Kit so you guys can mod Skyrim." It's likely that the mod tools will be made available as a free download shortly after the game is released in November 2011.