The Death of Creation Engine and the Mysteries of the Dwemer: What The Elder Scrolls VI Should Be Like

The Elder Scrolls is one of the most popular RPG franchises in the world. The last installment released, Skyrim, is still in huge demand today, almost 15 years after its release. But there are plenty of technical complaints about Todd Howard's games.

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The most annoying thing is the abundance of loading screens encountered when moving from location to location — players made this clear after the release of Starfield. And there can be many such transitions, which breaks immersion, even despite SSDs that made them instantaneous. The next game needs to make the game world as seamless as possible.

The reason for the abundance of loading screens is the Creation Engine, which Bethesda uses.

Developers are updating it to version 3.0 (Starfield used Creation Engine 2.0), but the structure has remained the same. The engine is designed to create structured open worlds, divided into locations hierarchically — this is the reason for constant loading screens.

Yes, it's easy to work with when creating mods, which are an integral part of Bethesda games for many gamers. But we need to face the truth — it's morally outdated, as it's based on the code of the Gamebryo engine, developed back in 2001.

Ideally, the next installment should be released on a different engine.

Unreal Engine

Of course, it would be great to develop new software that would also work well with mods but look more modern.

But the most common option now is to follow CD Projekt RED's example and switch to Unreal Engine 5 or its new sixth iteration. Yes, it's a capricious toolkit, but easily refined and modified — CDPR noted that they have already reworked UE5 for their own needs, delving "into the depths of the code" and adding tools from RED Engine.

Bethesda could do the same, especially with the help of colleagues from The Coalition, who have been working with this engine for decades, delivering arguably the best graphics and optimization in the industry.

Yes — the appearance of the sixth "Elder Scrolls" should not just be on par with the updated The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, but surpass it. And Unreal Engine 6 would help with that.

Choosing Unreal Engine would also help with animations. Characters in Todd Howard's games look jerky because they move using skeletal animation. And if we update the graphics, we also need to create smooth animations using mo-cap technologies. Even Alkimia Interactive managed to do full motion capture for Gothic Remake — for Bethesda and its budgets, this would be a trivial task. Otherwise, the "uncanny valley effect" would arise, destroying the magic of this game world.

And of course, we can't forget about the interface. All previous games from the studio were criticized for their very inconvenient and old-fashioned UI. So much so that mods with improved interfaces consistently became the most downloaded. The studio also needs to do something about this aspect.

Exploring Hammerfell

There are few complaints about the gameplay of Bethesda games. They still play well — the Oblivion remaster last year brought me a lot of enjoyment, although I hadn't played the original and am not prone to nostalgia. But I would like to slightly update the gameplay formula.

First, it's worth changing the loot system. Remember how many times you went through another dungeon to the end, found a reward chest, but inside was some useless junk.

I would prefer there to be less loot in the game and for it to be harder to find, but for it to be valuable. This would encourage more active exploration of all corners of the world and provide satisfaction from found rewards, as, for example, in the recent Gothic remake.

Dungeons also need to be handcrafted, not procedurally generated. Bethesda has been guilty of this since Daggerfall. Let there be significantly fewer of them, but let them be interesting and unique. They won't "suffocate" like the monotonous caves of Oblivion or the endless Dwemer ruins in Skyrim.

Progression and Combat System

While the leveling system in the fifth "Elder Scrolls" was good, the world progression needs to be reworked in the future.

The monster auto-leveling system, where they become more dangerous to the player with each new level, nullifies the sense of progress. Especially when a hypothetical crab from the starting location deals no less damage than a zombie relevant to the player — Oblivion was heavily criticized for this at the time. Bethesda didn't abuse it as much later, but the system still remains and works to this day in Starfield. This should either be abandoned or made optional, as in The Witcher 3.

The combat system also needs improvement. In Skyrim, battles were already decent — they gave the player the freedom to be anyone: a knight, a mage, an archer, a healer, or all at once. But today, fights feel very "clunky" and tedious.

To fix this, we need to work on the convenience of battles and the feeling of impact. Make the weight of weapons feel better, the targeting system and camera more comfortable, and the dynamics of fights not sag. Here, we can follow the path of the "souls-like" genre: for battles to be similar, but not exhausting in difficulty. After all, TES is not about that.

Story and Factions

A separate issue is the plot, because after Morrowind, the main quests in Todd Howard's games are very simple.

Stories offer neither depth, nor interesting characters, nor shocking twists. More often, it is the faction storylines, like the Dark Brotherhood or the Thieves Guild, that surpass the main story. They give the player both interesting gameplay situations and deeper emotions. For example, I fondly remember the space pirates in Starfield and the difficult choice I had to make at the end. It was unforgettable.

Therefore, I want the main story in The Elder Scrolls VI to feel complete, and not like a placeholder for adventures in Hammerfell. For the main characters to be memorable, plot twists to be surprising, and high stakes to force difficult choices and influence the ending — after all, we are playing an RPG!

As before, the game's plot should be closely intertwined with the region where the action unfolds. According to theory, this will be Hammerfell — a province in northwestern Tamriel. It is inhabited by Redguards, a race of dark-skinned people with unusual mythology. We will proceed from this.

Thus, the antagonist could be Satakal — the Great Serpent, appearing at the beginning of all beginnings. He constantly tries to satisfy his hunger by devouring himself, causing calamities. Satakal embodies the cycle of beginning and end — he is both creator and destroyer. The main character could turn out to be an unexpected link in the next turn of the cycle and become the one who breaks it.

Yes, this sounds like a repetition of the story with Alduin, but in a desert setting and with a different mythology, Bethesda could play it out differently.

And the god Ruptga, who, according to mythology, always finds a way to stop the serpent and start all over again, could help in the battle with Satakal. Other gods could also appear in the plot, deepening the lore and adding scale to what is happening.

I would like to see more characters who will help the main character — as in classic role-playing games. For them to have a clear character and full-fledged storylines, so that relationships can be built with them and reputation can be leveled up. At the same time, it is not necessary to turn them into party members.

Skyrim already had a romance system where the player could even start a family by marrying a life partner. But it was all done simply: there were no dates, no deep dialogues, no kisses — it was more of a mechanic that gave game bonuses than a full-fledged love story. And this should be fixed, because getting married to a beloved character is much more pleasant than doing it with a random NPC.

Faction quests should also not lag behind. After all, this is an integral part of Bethesda projects. In addition to the usual guilds of mages, thieves, and assassins, they can reveal the political situation — similar attempts were already made in the fifth installment of "Scrolls."

In Skyrim, it was said that Hammerfell did not surrender to the Dominion. This could be used to create a good side story for the main plot, or to build the plot of some faction. For example, in the story, our actions could disrupt the fragile peace that exists between the Redguards and the Elves after a long war for independence. And then, in a separate storyline, the player would have to deal with the consequences.

It is also worth mentioning the Redguard fleet — one of the strongest in Tamriel. After all, Hammerfell is not only a desert but also has access to the sea. This could be used to build a separate faction — like pirates, about whom rumors circulated last year — or to weave it into the arc of confrontation with the Dominion. At least, stage several impressive naval battles — this theme is currently gaining popularity in the gaming industry.

Another faction chain could revolve around another feature of the Redguards — their combat style. Representatives of this race are considered some of the best warriors in Tamriel, mastering a special technique of the spirit sword. They can be called peculiar desert samurai with a unique philosophy and deep traditions.

Here, the story of the fall of Yokuda — the sunken continent from which the Redguards originate — can be revealed. I immediately associate it with Númenor from Tolkien's legendarium — the potential is enormous!

The lore of the Dwemer could also be deepened, as they also inhabited Hammerfell. It would be very interesting to learn more about this mysterious race. Ideally — to understand where they suddenly disappeared and how they exist now.

Just a Dream Game

Everything described above could make the sixth "Elder Scrolls" if not a perfect game, then a project that has made a huge step forward compared to all previous Bethesda games. It would seem that if you remove the ubiquitous loading screens, better write and elaborate the storyline, and make more variability in the playthrough — and the recipe for a hit is ready.

One wants to believe that Todd Howard and the studio's developers will still draw conclusions from the not-so-warm reception of Starfield by the audience. That right now they are perfecting a project that we have been waiting for 8 years — and are ready to wait even longer if it favorably affects the quality.