Bethesda’s Todd Howard on Dawnguard, the future of Skyrim, and Steamworks success

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim game director Todd Howard and his team at Bethesda Game Studios are weeks away – if things go according to plan – from releasing the game’s first DLC ‘Dawnguard.’ Speaking with Joystiq, Howard detailed the balance between quality and timing when planning new content for its critically and commercially acclaimed RPG.

“There’s this weird line between – if you do DLC too early everyone’s pissed off. We have found, if you wait too long, they’re pissed off,” Howard laughed. “We have a very smart audience,” he continued, noting that Skyrim players deserve content that adds more than just a few extra quests or features. “We do feel the pressure to make sure it fits into the game smoothly.”

To ensure DLC doesn’t remove players from the experience, Dawnguard won’t notify players when the additional content has been purchased; players must find it for themselves.

“One of the potential negatives to like ‘Joe Consumer’ is they’ll buy it, they’ll load up Skyrim, they’ll be like, ‘Where is it?’ Well, you gotta go find it,” Howard explained. Dawnguard adds a new, detailed quest-line focusing on vampires, new weapons like crossbows, and even a Werewolf perk system.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ‘Dawnguard’ is currently scheduled to arrive on June 26 for the Xbox 360.Bethesda’s Todd Howard on Dawnguard, the future of Skyrim, and Steamworks success originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 06 Jun 2012 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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