Should ZOS and ESO dabble in Mature Content?

Naor_Sarethi · March 2015

Yes, ESO should include more 'Mature' content and make full use of its current ratings.

MornaBaine wrote: »

redeye_38rwb17_ESO wrote: »

I think walking on slightly darker path (content wise) would be great imho. As others mentioned, this was one of the major draw cards for me with Age of Conan and they did a brilliant job with it. I also feel it added more imersion for me as well.

I have always loved ESO's darker side for many years as well (since Daggerfall). Imho there are just way to many games out there right now that just turn me away with there care bear stance on mature gaming content. To many companies want to make a game where one of the primary objectives is killing players/creatures BUT are unwilling to add blood, darker themes etc because imho they are trying to cater to as large an audiance as possible to further line there pockets (ya it's biz thats what they do i know) and thus end up creating another bland carbon copy of so many others before them.

Nothing more satisfying than decapitating another player with a deathblow! RAAWW

Yes, some will say "erma gerd gratuitous violence nooo!" but hey the game is M rated. I'm an adult and prefer to have a choice as to wether or not i want to be in care bear land. That is why i always come back to ESO/Teso games, because they are not afraid to walk on the dark side a little and i don't feel like i'm playing a childrens game.

Sry for wall of txt, but a great topic/thread that i really hope the dev's takke seriously. Massive kudo's to the OP

As someone who played a Necromancer who belonged to a cult of Stygian Set worshiping zealots in Age Of Conan and a Sith in SWTOR I can't tell you how much I miss the ability to play the bad guys here in ESO! I'm a woman and heck I even miss the bare boobs in AoC in all their ridiculous bouncy glory. A judicious helping of sex and death in an M rated game is a GOOD thing. Instead, ZOS decided to make the smexy Redguard light robes we all know and love into nuns' habits. This does not bode well for those of us who were under the impression we were actually buying an M rated game.

Ha ! seems we played the same things in both games

Every game has something they market the most.
SWTOR could market the dark and light side of the force and delivered.
AoC clearly advertised its mature themes, gore, nudtiy etc... and delivered that.
ESO had two things it sold us, 1) nostalgia and 2) PvP.
The nostalgia factor being, feeling like we're in the same old world again, but with a different story.
Problem is, it doesn't feel like the same world.
Morrowind, being by all means an old game, felt more dark and gritty than ESO.
And the most gore i got there was a few splatters of blood and well... Better bodies 2.0

And yet it was the quests, that put you into surprisingly amoral (not saying "bad", but just a lack of good and evil) position, that made it so interesting.
So why not learn from the success from others, including the success of games coming from the same studio?

And now that you've mentioned Necromancer.
In a world full of Zombies, Liches and Daedric summoners....how do we not have entire quest and skill lines involving lichdom, necromancy, binding of souls etc.
All TES games since Morrowind always had one amazing Lich/ necromancy mod without which i would not start it up.
It really deserves a place in this game.

arena25 · March 2015

No, the game's content theme is fine the way it is.

I think that it's fine as is, but as they say, agree to disagree.

Naor_Sarethi · March 2015

Yes, ESO should include more 'Mature' content and make full use of its current ratings.

@arena25 Which gives me the idea, that we could have an option for it.
Turning nudity on/ off, same with gore.
Quests and choices should always have an option to please both sides, something that's still also lacking.
The more they try and keep everyone happy, considering it's a 49/51 situation, the better.

edit: ok it's 75/25 in favour of it

still... the 25% still should have the options.

Pallmor · March 2015

Yes, ESO should include more 'Mature' content and make full use of its current ratings.

If Dragon Age Inquisition can do it, ESO can too. Are there really that many kids playing a complex, open-world MMO anyway?

Naor_Sarethi · March 2015

Yes, ESO should include more 'Mature' content and make full use of its current ratings.

With an M rating, there shouldn't be.
No point watering a game down because of bad parenting.

NotSo · March 2015

Yes, ESO should include more 'Mature' content and make full use of its current ratings.

Would not mind having a "blood and gore" option in the menus.

Forestd16b14_ESO · March 2015

No, the game's content theme is fine the way it is.

Hmh so all the sexual stuff, alcohol, cursing, and jokes only mature players would know isn't enough? What you want blood gushing out from paper cuts and naked girls? If that what you want go play Dragon age or mod the bloody bloody out of Skyrim. Plus the bad guy Molag Bal is know as the king of *bleep* how many T games do you know even invole the word *bleep* let alone a guy who is the god of it. ( *bleep* in no way is fun or should ever be done. It is a horrid crime. Molag Bal title is for pure entertainment only and again should never be done or try to "achieve" his title. Any who does try belongs in jail rotting away. )

zdkazz · March 2015

Yes, ESO should include more 'Mature' content and make full use of its current ratings.

My favorite mmo of all time has it (Mortal online, but eso is a close second)

Madness1 · March 2015

Yes, ESO should include more 'Mature' content and make full use of its current ratings.

Yeah, I think more mature content would be great although I can't ever seeing it go that way. Think about it, this game for over a year now has been purchased by young teens and some may not take kindly to the added "dark themes". There would also be an issue with re-classifying the game, thus removing all physical copies in stores world wide among other costly downsides.

If they do manage to figure something out like adding the feature to purchase in the crown store, or giving us a whole new DLC pack marketed towards an older more mature audience then that would be cool. It would definitely have to be a non essential and paid for piece of content though as doing otherwise could be a PR disaster. I would suggest making the change client side also but that is too accessible to modding and altering so anyone could do it, doing it this method though could potentially be great as it would apply through the entire game and not just certain regions/stories.

Naor_Sarethi · March 2015

Yes, ESO should include more 'Mature' content and make full use of its current ratings.

@Forestd16b14_ESO It's M rated. Not T. That's the whole point.
It is also not a fairytale universe. There is *bleep* there is drugs and slaves and gore.
There is also always a choice. Atm this thread deals with the fact that there is little to no choice in this game despite its rating, except the do goodie type, such as yourself that forces you into a playstyle that bores many.
To refer to Molag Bal as "the bad dude" is basically the essential problem here.
If you want to grind stereotypical bad guy bosses, there are also a good many games out there to satisfy those needs.
TES is a universe older than many others, and goes far deeper than most.
As such it takes a certain amount of professional neutrality towards its content to do it justice.
If as a dev you get offended by the lore, it's not your job to force your personal feelings on people but to simply recontruct this universe in an MMO style and leave the choices open to the player.

What i *do* know is that as much as i like the TES series, if the next content update doesn't make some drastic changes, i will have to say good bye to the MMO version of it and wait for ES VI.
It would hurt since i was expecting a lot more from it, but i don't see a point playing a game that shoots itself in the foot over and over by not using its full potential.

And finally, when i started playing TES Morrowind i was perhaps 14.
And the ES universe has since then fascinated me.
I don't think you will see any decrease in younger players by implementing most of the above mentioned ideas in this thread.

Grebnu · March 2015

No, the game's content theme is fine the way it is.

There has never been full sex, only hints. That is what makes this series great. I hate DA, it sucks, mostly because of that "mature" theme. They tried to copy Witcher, that game did the whole thing better, because the source material is very dark and gritty. DA is only a cash grab, selling well because of L-sex and emo darkness

TES has always been very clever series in that regard. I'd prefer to keep it that way. If you want to see full nudity and pork (-k +n) in Tamriel, mod your Skyrim.

Just because others are doing it is a very bad reason. That will only make the game shallow, because easiest way to attract customers is violence and nudity. HBO knows that, that's why their series are so popular (and hugely overrated).

Naor_Sarethi · March 2015

Yes, ESO should include more 'Mature' content and make full use of its current ratings.

Watched the latest ESO live and it almost doesn't touch at the subject, except for one Q & A without giving an answer whatsoever.
"It's morally ambiguous and a grey area".... yea well... it ain't.
Not in this form. Whatsoever.

Snowgoons · July 2015

ZOS should dabble in whatever the players want, as we pay their salaries.

newtinmpls · July 2015

Yes, ESO should include more 'Mature' content and make full use of its current ratings.

Naor_Sarethi wrote: »

this thread deals with the fact that there is little to no choice in this game despite its rating, except the do goodie type, such as yourself that forces you into a playstyle that bores many.

I'm not sure what game you have been playing - 'do goodie' certainly doesn't describe the game I've been playing.
There are far too many places where the PC is duped, where no choice is truly ethical, where sometimes the only option that doesn't leave me wanting to be ill is to abandon quest and walk away.

Naor_Sarethi wrote: »

To refer to Molag Bal as "the bad dude" is basically the essential problem here.

Perhaps this is the one place we agree. Molag Bal, especially as described in Morrowind, has a rich history and lore; most of it quite adult, that is cheapened and mostly ignored in this game. Its a pity.

BuggeX · July 2015

Yes, ESO should include more 'Mature' content and make full use of its current ratings.

I remember some "mature" Content from skyrim

Flynch · July 2015

If we can have NPCs melting from poison or burning to ash from fire (which we do), then we can have more dramatic last-mob finishers imo.

pgorbas_ESO · March 2020

I want the game to show more nudity and gore where appropriate.
I also want to see a lot more DYNAMIC quest.
I.E. Hero seduces tavern maid ( with a dash of nudity and sex ) then said maid becomes pregnant, angry brother hires an assassin to kill the man who seduces his sister.
OR
Hero then marie's tavern maid and has a family. Family occupies players house. Kid are born and grow up.
The wife get kidnapped and needs to be rescued.
The son gets bitten by a werewolf.
The daughter falls for a "bad boy" only to learn the bad boy is the leader of a slave ring.
Excetera..

Lumenn · March 2020

Woah, almost 5 years......

Glurin · March 2020

Yes, ESO should include more 'Mature' content and make full use of its current ratings.

Well, ok then, but did you really have to resurrect a thread from 2015 to say that?

StormeReigns · March 2020

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Just cause you shouldn't, doesn't mean you can't.
A new thread/poll would have been better.

SirAxen · March 2020

Yes, ESO should include more 'Mature' content and make full use of its current ratings.

Leaning a little more into the 'M' rating would separate it even more from the other MMORPG's. Not saying we should have naked people everywhere, but definitely less shying away from mature themes and dialogue.

Zulera301 · March 2020

Yes, ESO should include more 'Mature' content and make full use of its current ratings.

if you're gonna sport an M rating at least earn it. All that gratuitous gore, and yet unless you wear a costume or pick one of the 5 (out of over 350) motifs/styles, you can't even show a bit of leg. What is this, Victorian Scrolls?

(and to those who claim it would be lore-breaking, look at Oblivion or Skyrim, or even some of ESO's very own concept art. don't even get me started on Arena and Daggerfall).

I wouldn't mind a bit of extra gore as at least an option. long as those of us that have potatoes can turn it off.

but again. for F's sake, you couldn't even let the *official* art of the Altmer Hero go uncensored. y'all need to fire whoever the Victorian on the design team is, to keep them from making more bad decisions. #FreeTheLeg

Lysette · March 2020

No, the game's content theme is fine the way it is.

No, because it would add nothing to the game what a mature person would need - we don't have to cater to immature boys desires.

Dusk_Coven · March 2020

The ESO community includes griefers who go around mudballing RP'ers for literally hours https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/517147/the-player-rper-issue-with-the-mudball-snowball-memento-and-harassment-of-rpers

So, no. It's just gonna make things worse. If they had GMs that actually patrolled and enforced TOS more rigorously, maybe.

RefLiberty · March 2020

Yes, ESO should include more 'Mature' content and make full use of its current ratings.

We
Need
More
Skimpy
Armors

Both males and females.
Lets be honest, why Skyrim was and is so popular, to kill dragons, please, it is a Nexus Mods and vast amount od armors, outfits and customization options.
And since this topic is about M rating that ESO already have, well the heck, start using it.

> watch the player-base rise.

ZaroktheImmortal · March 2020

Yes, ESO should include more 'Mature' content and make full use of its current ratings.

I thought it was already pretty mature what with people being killed and what not heck there's even a dark brotherhood thing. It's not like adding more violence or whatever will bother us I'd think.

Glurin · March 2020

Yes, ESO should include more 'Mature' content and make full use of its current ratings.

Lysette wrote: »

No, because it would add nothing to the game what a mature person would need - we don't have to cater to immature boys desires.

Oh please. Girls like looking too, you know.

[Deleted User] · March 2020

Hello everyone,

This post is to let you know that we've felt it necessary to put this thread down, as it seemed to have died some time ago. At this time we'd like to try and keep Draugr threads from roaming around the front page, pushing down newer and more lively threads.

Thank you for understanding!