Developer Zenimax Online Studios has released a brand new developer diary video for its upcoming massively multiplayer role-playing video game, The Elder Scrolls Online.
Here is a brief synopsis of the video from Bethesda's Bethblog:
"In The Elder Scrolls Online, the Aldmeri Dominion, Daggerfall Covenant, and Ebonheart Pact are embroiled in a full-scale war, but that was not always the case. What led each alliance to feel that war was the only option? What are their reasons and motives for fighting? Who are the key people and groups involved? In our latest developer video, "Alliances at War", Loremaster Lawrence Schick answers these questions and more."
The game will be the first open-ended multiplayer installment in the franchise and is expected to release at some point this year for the Windows PC and Mac OS. The Elder Scrolls Online will be set on the fictional continent of Tamriel, and will not connect directly to other games in the series. The game takes place 1,000 years before the events of the previous game in the series, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
In a June 2012 interview with Computer And Video Games, Nick Konkle, lead gameplay and combat designer on The Elder Scrolls Online, explained that the studio is attempting to make the game accessible to everyone while still remaining true to the lore of the Elder Scrolls franchise.
"I think what you're are going to find is both the Elder Scrolls lore that you're familiar with, but really brought into a new setting, this online space," Konkle told CVG. "You should be really comfortable with what you find there. It's a game that's accessible to anyone. It isn't the slower paced combat from the previous generation of MMOs. We've really tried to make it feel responsive, tactical, and action-packed, which is what I think a Skyrim player might expect from this type of game."
Here is the game's official synopsis from Bethesda:
"It is a time of strife and unrest. Armies of revenants and dark spirits manifest in every corner of Tamriel. Winters grow colder and crops fail. Mystics are plagued by nightmares and portents of doom.
Four years ago, in 2E 578, an arcane explosion of energy in the Imperial City set off mystical aftershocks that swept across Nirn. Mages died or went mad. Supernatural abominations from the plane of Oblivion, the Daedra, appeared in greater numbers than ever before. The constellation of the Serpent grew so large that it dominated the night sky.
So began the grand scheme of Molag Bal, Daedric Prince of domination and enslavement. His Dark Anchors, vortexes of evil magic, weaken the barrier between worlds, threatening to merge Nirn and Oblivion into a single, nightmarish hellscape.
In the midst of this chaos, three alliances vie for control of the Imperial City and the White-Gold Tower. High Rock, Sentinel, and Orsinium stand as one, united under the rule of the High King in Wayrest, Valenwood and Elsweyr have forged an alliance with Summerset, and Black Marsh, Morrowind, and Skyrim have joined forces and formed their own uneasy pact.
The Daggerfall Covenant. The Aldmeri Dominion. The Ebonheart Pact.
Three armies will take up arms against the Empire, and against each other, to wrest control of the Imperial City and White-Gold Tower from the dark forces of Oblivion itself."
Check out the developer's diary below and tell us what you think about the new game in the comment section.