ESO's Loremaster left Zenimax, what now?

WhiteCoatSyndrome

Emma_Overload wrote: »

Underwater combat!

That's a game engine thing; changing Loremasters isn't going to affect that.

Tessitura

I disliked the lore he wrote for ESO and look forward to a new Loremaster

jmaes wrote: »

I like Lawrence, and so I am happy he is putting his own needs first. Best of luck to him.

Tessitura wrote: »

I am probably the only person in the world that thought the vanilla story was a pile of garbage, and do not care if he leaves or stays. He is as good a writer as anyone else can be. We will probably not even notice the difference. " Other " might have been a better option, but I guess I like to play devil's advocate.

I'm curious to know why if you don't mind? I can't say I agree or disagree because I'm very lukewarm towards all three factions' stories. The initial quests with the Prophet were lacklustre. How the respective faction stories and the 'main' quest tie into each other felt a bit abrupt at first, but otherwise fit seamlessly. The characters were memorable though.

Okay, so, lets dive into this. The game's vanilla main story made two big mistakes as far as I am concerned, one being the inclusion of one of the most epic scheming bad guys Tamriell had ever seen, Mannimarco, and the other, was the use of the Amulet of Kings. Now the reason Mannimarco was a mistake was because there is a high chance he wouldn't be done well, and I personally feel like they failed his character, almost every time I heard him talk he just seemed campy, like a villein on a Saturday morning cartoon. Not to mention how he never felt dangerous as a result. Maybe some people loved that, I didn't. Now I understand this is entirely on the writers and not the lore, but you asked.

Now lets move onto the Amulet of Kings, it just felt like a cheap ripoff of a solution to what should be a huge problem, and the whole fight with Molag Bal in his own realm just felt like a a mess to me, both from a lore perspective and a story perspective, everything about it just screamed cheese and fan fiction, I felt for most of the vanilla game that I was in someone's fan fiction about TES, not in a TES game.

The faction set up, is another thing, and the over use of magic in classes, along with the classes themselves.... I mean everything had a magic effect, why? ( Obviously I am still playing the game, so I got over the classes thing. ) And lets not forget the first adventure zone, Craglorn, the whole concept of which was just super dumb to me, both lore and story wise.

I could go on for a while about the things I didn't like during the first days of the game, but I think thats enough to get where I am coming from. Lawrence may very well have had his hands tied on some of these things, like the factions, after all, if the director won't budge on something, what can he do? But these things still did happen under his watch, and I remember what a wreck the launch was, both mechanically and story wise. Yes it got better, yes he helped bring in some nice things, but a lot of that came much later down the line.

wenchmore420b14_ESO wrote: »

Tessitura wrote: »

I am probably the only person in the world that thought the vanilla story was a pile of garbage, and do not care if he leaves or stays. He is as good a writer as anyone else can be. We will probably not even notice the difference. " Other " might have been a better option, but I guess I like to play devil's advocate.

Just to clarify, he was "Loremaster" not a writer. His job was to take the scripts that the writers prepare and Lawrence would insure that the characters, locations, story-line, etc were in line with the TES universe and would communicate with Bethesda on new material.
Example, Jeb Cook, ( another TSR alumni), wrote the storyline to Morrowind and Sir Lawrence insured that it was true to Dunmer culture, established lore, etc.
He will be sorely missed......

Yes, I am aware, but I can't help how the question is framed, I can only answer it, and to be clear, he may not have written all the story, but the lore that was present in that story was largely him, and that lore was a big part of what I didn't like. The thing with fighting Molag Bal in his own realm was silly to me, very dragon ball z, the solution was just stolen from Oblivion anyway. And, to me the worst bit of lore in the whole game came directly after that, Craglorn. I really thought that Craglorn was the dumbest story and lore I ever had to endure in TES, very fan fiction like to me, being able to talk to the mysterious and enigmatic constellations of TES world just ruined the whole concept for me. He okayed and had a part in all of that. As far as I am concerned, his work is a mixed bag, with a rough start. Some of it I loved, some of it I hated.

Now I don't think any of that makes him terrible, like I said to the other guy, his hands were probably tied on a lot of this stuff. but I do thing whomever replaces him, doesn't exactly have the largest shoes in the world to fill, so I doubt I'll notice it. And to be fair to him, it's not like TES doesn't have a history of guys who do things with the lore I don't personally like. I mean, Kirkbride would have turned the whole series into a Tool song more then likely, which would have killed it for me.

I have always been a very critical person, especially when it comes to TES for some reason, maybe it's because I grew up on it. The dude did alright, the start was rough, but the later stuff was fun, and interesting. He helped bring it around before he bowed out, but I am still okay with him bowing out and someone else taking the reins.

Claudman

I enjoyed the lore he wrote for ESO and would like him to come back

Tessitura wrote: »

jmaes wrote: »

I like Lawrence, and so I am happy he is putting his own needs first. Best of luck to him.

Tessitura wrote: »

I am probably the only person in the world that thought the vanilla story was a pile of garbage, and do not care if he leaves or stays. He is as good a writer as anyone else can be. We will probably not even notice the difference. " Other " might have been a better option, but I guess I like to play devil's advocate.

I'm curious to know why if you don't mind? I can't say I agree or disagree because I'm very lukewarm towards all three factions' stories. The initial quests with the Prophet were lacklustre. How the respective faction stories and the 'main' quest tie into each other felt a bit abrupt at first, but otherwise fit seamlessly. The characters were memorable though.

Okay, so, lets dive into this. The game's vanilla main story made two big mistakes as far as I am concerned, one being the inclusion of one of the most epic scheming bad guys Tamriell had ever seen, Mannimarco, and the other, was the use of the Amulet of Kings. Now the reason Mannimarco was a mistake was because there is a high chance he wouldn't be done well, and I personally feel like they failed his character, almost every time I heard him talk he just seemed campy, like a villein on a Saturday morning cartoon. Not to mention how he never felt dangerous as a result. Maybe some people loved that, I didn't. Now I understand this is entirely on the writers and not the lore, but you asked.

Now lets move onto the Amulet of Kings, it just felt like a cheap ripoff of a solution to what should be a huge problem, and the whole fight with Molag Bal in his own realm just felt like a a mess to me, both from a lore perspective and a story perspective, everything about it just screamed cheese and fan fiction, I felt for most of the vanilla game that I was in someone's fan fiction about TES, not in a TES game.

The faction set up, is another thing, and the over use of magic in classes, along with the classes themselves.... I mean everything had a magic effect, why? ( Obviously I am still playing the game, so I got over the classes thing. ) And lets not forget the first adventure zone, Craglorn, the whole concept of which was just super dumb to me, both lore and story wise.

I could go on for a while about the things I didn't like during the first days of the game, but I think thats enough to get where I am coming from. Lawrence may very well have had his hands tied on some of these things, like the factions, after all, if the director won't budge on something, what can he do? But these things still did happen under his watch, and I remember what a wreck the launch was, both mechanically and story wise. Yes it got better, yes he helped bring in some nice things, but a lot of that came much later down the line.

wenchmore420b14_ESO wrote: »

Tessitura wrote: »

I am probably the only person in the world that thought the vanilla story was a pile of garbage, and do not care if he leaves or stays. He is as good a writer as anyone else can be. We will probably not even notice the difference. " Other " might have been a better option, but I guess I like to play devil's advocate.

Just to clarify, he was "Loremaster" not a writer. His job was to take the scripts that the writers prepare and Lawrence would insure that the characters, locations, story-line, etc were in line with the TES universe and would communicate with Bethesda on new material.
Example, Jeb Cook, ( another TSR alumni), wrote the storyline to Morrowind and Sir Lawrence insured that it was true to Dunmer culture, established lore, etc.
He will be sorely missed......

Yes, I am aware, but I can't help how the question is framed, I can only answer it, and to be clear, he may not have written all the story, but the lore that was present in that story was largely him, and that lore was a big part of what I didn't like. The thing with fighting Molag Bal in his own realm was silly to me, very dragon ball z, the solution was just stolen from Oblivion anyway. And, to me the worst bit of lore in the whole game came directly after that, Craglorn. I really thought that Craglorn was the dumbest story and lore I ever had to endure in TES, very fan fiction like to me, being able to talk to the mysterious and enigmatic constellations of TES world just ruined the whole concept for me. He okayed and had a part in all of that. As far as I am concerned, his work is a mixed bag, with a rough start. Some of it I loved, some of it I hated.

Now I don't think any of that makes him terrible, like I said to the other guy, his hands were probably tied on a lot of this stuff. but I do thing whomever replaces him, doesn't exactly have the largest shoes in the world to fill, so I doubt I'll notice it. And to be fair to him, it's not like TES doesn't have a history of guys who do things with the lore I don't personally like. I mean, Kirkbride would have turned the whole series into a Tool song more then likely, which would have killed it for me.

I have always been a very critical person, especially when it comes to TES for some reason, maybe it's because I grew up on it. The dude did alright, the start was rough, but the later stuff was fun, and interesting. He helped bring it around before he bowed out, but I am still okay with him bowing out and someone else taking the reins.

I'm pretty sure Schick wasn't even around during the time of the vanilla stories and quests...

TelvanniWizard

I disliked the lore he wrote for ESO and look forward to a new Loremaster

I´d like a more conservative approach to lore in the future. Don´t think we´ll see that

Tessitura

I disliked the lore he wrote for ESO and look forward to a new Loremaster

Claudman wrote: »

I'm pretty sure Schick wasn't even around during the time of the vanilla stories and quests...

He has been there since long before launch, he was part of it.

maboleth

Loved his input, but Zeni feels like a sinking ship that most guys tend to leave. Where is the director? Haven't heard of him for a while?

And current patch notes' bug fixes are laughably small for all DLCs and past "chapters", meaning those guys are either fired or moved to another project. There's definitely a sense that ESO has reached its time and will be more of a cash grab, milking every last drop of coin, rather than investment for Zeni.

wenchmore420b14_ESO

Other

I made a toon years ago based on Sir Lawrence..... Shall cherish this character now.....

Oakenaxe

Tessitura wrote: »

jmaes wrote: »

I like Lawrence, and so I am happy he is putting his own needs first. Best of luck to him.

Tessitura wrote: »

I am probably the only person in the world that thought the vanilla story was a pile of garbage, and do not care if he leaves or stays. He is as good a writer as anyone else can be. We will probably not even notice the difference. " Other " might have been a better option, but I guess I like to play devil's advocate.

I'm curious to know why if you don't mind? I can't say I agree or disagree because I'm very lukewarm towards all three factions' stories. The initial quests with the Prophet were lacklustre. How the respective faction stories and the 'main' quest tie into each other felt a bit abrupt at first, but otherwise fit seamlessly. The characters were memorable though.

Okay, so, lets dive into this. The game's vanilla main story made two big mistakes as far as I am concerned, one being the inclusion of one of the most epic scheming bad guys Tamriell had ever seen, Mannimarco, and the other, was the use of the Amulet of Kings. Now the reason Mannimarco was a mistake was because there is a high chance he wouldn't be done well, and I personally feel like they failed his character, almost every time I heard him talk he just seemed campy, like a villein on a Saturday morning cartoon. Not to mention how he never felt dangerous as a result. Maybe some people loved that, I didn't. Now I understand this is entirely on the writers and not the lore, but you asked.

Now lets move onto the Amulet of Kings, it just felt like a cheap ripoff of a solution to what should be a huge problem, and the whole fight with Molag Bal in his own realm just felt like a a mess to me, both from a lore perspective and a story perspective, everything about it just screamed cheese and fan fiction, I felt for most of the vanilla game that I was in someone's fan fiction about TES, not in a TES game.

The faction set up, is another thing, and the over use of magic in classes, along with the classes themselves.... I mean everything had a magic effect, why? ( Obviously I am still playing the game, so I got over the classes thing. ) And lets not forget the first adventure zone, Craglorn, the whole concept of which was just super dumb to me, both lore and story wise.

I could go on for a while about the things I didn't like during the first days of the game, but I think thats enough to get where I am coming from. Lawrence may very well have had his hands tied on some of these things, like the factions, after all, if the director won't budge on something, what can he do? But these things still did happen under his watch, and I remember what a wreck the launch was, both mechanically and story wise. Yes it got better, yes he helped bring in some nice things, but a lot of that came much later down the line.

wenchmore420b14_ESO wrote: »

Tessitura wrote: »

I am probably the only person in the world that thought the vanilla story was a pile of garbage, and do not care if he leaves or stays. He is as good a writer as anyone else can be. We will probably not even notice the difference. " Other " might have been a better option, but I guess I like to play devil's advocate.

Just to clarify, he was "Loremaster" not a writer. His job was to take the scripts that the writers prepare and Lawrence would insure that the characters, locations, story-line, etc were in line with the TES universe and would communicate with Bethesda on new material.
Example, Jeb Cook, ( another TSR alumni), wrote the storyline to Morrowind and Sir Lawrence insured that it was true to Dunmer culture, established lore, etc.
He will be sorely missed......

Yes, I am aware, but I can't help how the question is framed, I can only answer it, and to be clear, he may not have written all the story, but the lore that was present in that story was largely him, and that lore was a big part of what I didn't like. The thing with fighting Molag Bal in his own realm was silly to me, very dragon ball z, the solution was just stolen from Oblivion anyway. And, to me the worst bit of lore in the whole game came directly after that, Craglorn. I really thought that Craglorn was the dumbest story and lore I ever had to endure in TES, very fan fiction like to me, being able to talk to the mysterious and enigmatic constellations of TES world just ruined the whole concept for me. He okayed and had a part in all of that. As far as I am concerned, his work is a mixed bag, with a rough start. Some of it I loved, some of it I hated.

Now I don't think any of that makes him terrible, like I said to the other guy, his hands were probably tied on a lot of this stuff. but I do thing whomever replaces him, doesn't exactly have the largest shoes in the world to fill, so I doubt I'll notice it. And to be fair to him, it's not like TES doesn't have a history of guys who do things with the lore I don't personally like. I mean, Kirkbride would have turned the whole series into a Tool song more then likely, which would have killed it for me.

I have always been a very critical person, especially when it comes to TES for some reason, maybe it's because I grew up on it. The dude did alright, the start was rough, but the later stuff was fun, and interesting. He helped bring it around before he bowed out, but I am still okay with him bowing out and someone else taking the reins.

I agree with you. I'm grateful for his work and I also believe he had his hands tied on a lot of stuff, but I have to admit that I think ESO's lore is a bit simpleton. I understand it's a MMORPG, but I'd love to see a more mature and involving approach.

Anyway, thank you for everything, Lawrence!

Iccotak

They still work with Bethesda when it comes to lore consulting

Alucardo

Other

I'll miss his warming voice for sure (YES I HAVE A MAN CRUSH), but I don't want the new guy to get fired just because of my personal attachment towards Lawrence.. so I'll vote other.