'The Elder Scrolls Online' Accepting Beta Testers

by UInterviewJanuary 23, 2013, 12:00 amNews >

The Elder Scrolls Online is preparing to enter its beta-testing phase, and avid gamers who want a crack at testing out the latest incarnation from the immensly popular Elder Scrolls video game series can apply online here.

The Elder Scrolls Online, from Zenimak Online Studios, will mark the franchise’s first foray into the MMORPG field, placing it alongside other popular MMORPG titles like World of Warcraft and Star Wars: The Old Republic.

The game, which takes place 1000 years before the events of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, is based on much of the material contained in the books littered throughout the Elder Scrolls games, and it will cover the virtual world of Tamriel, which has been featured in bits and pieces in the different game titles Skyrim, Oblivion and Morrowind.

“Questing in Elder Scrolls Online was built around a pretty simple concept, and that was that we wanted the player to explore," creative director Paul Sage told IGN. "And we wanted, when the player explored, for them to be able to see something around the corner and say, ‘Oh, well I was on this quest, but I see something over that’s really interesting.' And so they have this decision point of, ‘Which thing do I do next?’ And that’s really where we want the player to go. It’s not,’What do I do next?’ It’s ‘Which one of these things do I do next?”

—Hal Sundt