TES VI and the future of Elder Scrolls; Should we be worried?

Preface: I've been a longtime fan of the The Elder Scrolls series, dating as far back as Daggerfall. Technically Oblivion is the first TES game that I've beaten, Skyrim the second, and Morrowind (I know, I know! - late too the party) was my third. Because of this I feel like I can offer a unique perspective to the whole "Skyrim BAD, Morrowind GOOD!" debate that has been on going for years, and with the various public snafus surrounding Bethesda in the recent years - I thought now would be a good time to take a good look at the Elder Scrolls series as a whole.

                      The Elder Scrolls 1990's: The Beginning

Screenshot from Moby Games

Originally released by Bethesda Softworks in 1994 for MS DOS-based computers, Arena was the first in a series of Action/RPG games that would span a little more than two decades, and would lose more of the latter while developing more of the former game play elements.

Honestly I do not know that much about Arena from a game play perspective other than that it is the predecessor to the still hugely popular or infamous (depending on who you ask) Daggerfall. I know the lore and plot surrounding the game, however aside from that it is more or less like its successor in that it is a medieval role playing game with huge emphasis placed on character & class development, and role or backstory.
Daggerfall would continue this trend two years later in 1996, though its initial launch would be met with much ire from the player base due to a buggy mechanics, bugged quests, and just an overall bugged experience that could actually prevent one from completing the game.

Screenshot from Abandonware

Released in 1996 for MS-DOS computers, The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall boasted a massive worldmap supposedly spanning "the size of Great Britain," or approximately 209,331 square kilometers. Built using the XnGine engine, Daggerfall was one of the first fully 3D-rendered games, an impressive feat of its times. However, as mentioned earlier a buggy launch would leave much of the TES fanbase angry at having paid $50 for a game that doesn't work and disgruntled at best.

A patch was released by Bethesda that fixed most of the more serious bugs , and most of the game-breaking bugs that would render the main quest unwinnable. Occasional bugs could still occur and ruin quests and potentially break the game, though a fan patch released by the Daggerfall community would fix most if not all of these.

Daggerfall's detailed character and class creation formed a trend that would continue for the next two Elder Scrolls games, albeit slightly streamlined.

Daggerfall received a huge update recently with the new Unity Project having been completed and ready for download. Unity itself is more or less a remaster of classic Daggerfall, having updated textures, graphics, lighting and sound making the game more appealing to a 2020's gamer.

                    The Elder Scrolls 2000's: The Middle

Screenshot from Mobygames

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind released in 2002 for Windows-based PCs and XBOX consoles, introducing a new generation of Elder Scrolls players to the franchise, while familiarizing returning players to the almost decade old series, though many fans of the Arena/Daggerfall era were unimpressed with Morrowind's "advancements", believing that they somehow "dumbed the series down", and was not nearly as intricate and immersive as its predecessors. So basically the "Morrowind GOOD, Skyrim BAD!" prequel edition.

Morrowind took what Daggerfall was doing and upgraded it to full 3D, rather than just placing lenticular  2D sprites that move as you move. The improvements are vast and many; the weather and environment changes are more realistic such as rain, wind, snow, day and night effects.

Combat was tweaked significantly, whether it is considered an improvement at this time is up for debate. Many returning players already criticized the game for "dumbing" down the franchise, and that Daggerfall's combat while difficult at first was easier to learn, while Morrowind's is pure D&D roll-based, though improvements in certain attributes could remedy this.

Speaking of dumbing of down, the detailed character creation from the days of Arena and Daggerfall returns in Morrowind just not quite as in depth as before. You can answer a series of questions and have a class randomly assigned to you based on your answers, your can choose from a set of premade classes or you can customize your own class. What is missing from this schema were the negative and positive attributes or "pros and cons", such as making your character phobic of spiders or undead but being resistant to magic.

NPC interactions of course return in Morrowind, along with a long list of premade topics such as "Solstheim", "Dark Elves", and "Tribunal Temple" pretty like how it was back in Daggerfall. Disposition works in Morrowind more or less like it did in Daggerfall, certain guilds, races, and classes will have an impact regarding certain NPC relations. You could bribe people with gold, which is the fastest and easiest way to get their disposition up.

Morrowind is also a first for Elder Scrolls to introduce "DLC" to the series with the Tribunal and Bloodmoon Expansions, that expanded the world of Morrowind and prolonged the adventures of the Nerevarine. 

One feature that was used prominently was fast-traveling, Morrowind replaced the map-based fast-travel system with a series of different traveling mechanics ranging from local Silt Striders, to Mark & Recall spells. With overall improved graphics, Jeremy Soule as composer and an ironclad plot it's easy to see why Morrowind is considered to be one of, if not the best Elder Scrolls games in the franchise and is more or less universally beloved.

Screenshot from Steam/Mobygames

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, released in March 2006 on PC and Sony & Xbox consoles brought players a return to a fully 3D Elder Scrolls world. Like its predecessor Morrowind, Oblivion boasted a large fleshed out world, with improved graphics such as lighting, fire/water effects, day & night, etc. Improved sound and an impressive soundtrack with the returning Jeremy Soule, and a combat system that is an actual agreed upon improvement.

Oblivion might be known more now for it's less than stellar character generations (Oblivion Character Overhaul for PC!), that acts more or less as a meme template (ala "NPC dialogue") but its contributions to the Elder Scrolls series and its place as its own unique fantasy RPG experience should not be overlooked.

Oblivion brought about a return of horses, which were absent in the horse-less alien world of Vvardenfell (TES III: Morrowind). Oblivion also made its own tweaks to the ever changing character creation system, though most additions introduced in Morrowind were left unchanged such as the ability to choose a birth sign, which was absent in both Arena & Daggerfall and is replaced by the Standing Stones in Skyrim for some reason.

One of things many players loved about Oblivion was its rustic User Interface, which was a huge improvement from Morrowind's bland straight black screen with gold-yellow borders. Each time you interacted with the menu, it really felt like your were reading through your journal and only added to players' immersion.
Fast Travel also returned in Oblivion via it's paper-looking world map (which could be made more beautiful looking using mods on PC). And the devs were even nice enough to allow you to immediately fast travel to any of the major cities from the start. One could argue that the decision to make these immediately visible by default as laziness on the devs part, however the argument could be made that the devs were appeasing the fans who wanted traditional fast travel back.

Oblivion is by no means a perfect game, it suffers from the same streamlining as its predecessor in Morrowind and even levitation was removed because of some bizarre meta reasons (though handwaved as being "officially banned" in Cyrodiil, though doesn't explain why its still absent in Skyrim).

The traditional dialogue system from Morrowind returns, though more streamlined and tweaked to fit the "here and now" relevancy of the topics of the game (such as "Prophet", "Grey Fox", "Emperor's Assassination"). Lots of lore topics that were present in Morrowind were removed, likely because Oblivion being a fully voiced game, would require more time and of course more money to individually record each line of dialogue and Oblivion's dialogue was already clunky to begin with:

Like its predecessor, Oblivion also came packed with DLC in the form of microtransactions such as the infamous "Horse Armor", "Spell Tomes", and various player homes for your character depending on your moral or faction alignment. It also introduced us to the Shivering Isles, Sheogorath's daedric plane of oblivion and arguably one of the best Elder Scrolls DLCs.

Horse Armor only $5.99!

Traversing the wilderness of Cyrodiil, with the sunlight gleaming off your Imperial Dragon Armor, the beautiful fields of wheat dancing in the breeze while "Through the Valleys" plays accompanying...all of these things coupled makes questing in TES IV: Oblivion a remarkable experience (ok I am a bit biased), and it truly makes Oblivion a standout game.

               The Elder Scrolls 2010's: Now and Beyond

Screenshot from Mobygames

Released on November 11, 2011 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is the latest and current mainline iteration of the Elder Scrolls franchise.

Ah Skyrim, where do I begin? Many believe that Skyrim is the worst of the series, the most obvious offender being the removal of the traditional class and birth sign system from the previous Elder Scrolls games. The once heavily detailed character customization system from Daggerfall was streamlined to a very basic perk tree, no more agonizing over which attributes to place where, no the game will do that for you and all you need to worry about is pressing Y to choose whether you want to increase health, magicka or stamina and then allocate 1 perk point.

The NPC dialogue system from the past two games is missing, and in its place is a very basic interaction menu of asking about topics relevant to specific NPCs (such as Lucan Valerius's Gold Claw) or asking Arngeir about Paarthurnax and the Greybeards over and over.

Levitation is once again missing, what's more the entire Mysticism branch has been abolished for reasons beyond me (presumably something to do with mountains or engine limitations)

Horses returning with mounted combat was a nice bonus (added in Update 1.6), something I wish had been in Oblivion and makes the game play more fun and intuitive and makes Skyrim stand out a bit more from the rest.

Combat like from Oblivion is a big improvement (save for the psychic ninja dodging all enemies seem to possess), which is one of the things universally agreed upon. The addition of a sprint button was a godsend, and very helpful when outrunning annoying enemies (I'm looking at you wolves), as well as implementing it for horses.

Graphics of course are a big improvement from the previous Elder Scrolls games, though I dare say that Oblivion's graphics were nicer or "prettier" to look at, and Skyrim while breathtaking at times, is usually bleak and gray most of the time (though with more information regarding ESO: Greymoor having come out, the bleak look is undoubtedly intentional).

The physics engine is still bugged much like it was in Oblivion, where you can enter a previously unentered room or building and see plates, cups, cutlery, and food go flying across the room as if a bomb went off.

There are of course recurring bugs, I don't mean the same bugs carried over from Oblivion, but similar quest bugs that can occur on any new game or character. One example being discovering Leifnarr's corpse in Broken Helm Hollow, and being unable to initiate the miscellaneous quest from his wife at Heartwood Mill to find him or discovering any of the stolen/missing Bard's College Instruments (such as "Finn's Lute" from Stony Creek Cave) before joining and talking to said professors, and being unable to return them and having instruments forever stuck in your inventory. This particularly problematic for players as exploration is one of the main attractions of Elder Scrolls games, and bugs like these have most likely made explorers less adventurous for fear of bugging a uninitiated quest.


Skyrim reintroduced DLC like its predecessors, though unlike Oblivion - having had released an onslaught of microtransactions, Skyrim released a humble 3 whole DLC, seemingly having learned from the last time.

But wait there's more! In 2016 Skyrim was re-released for PC and XBOX One & Playstation 4 consoles, WITH the inclusion of community-created mods hosted via Bethesda's lackluster server, of course with the caveat of paid mods via the much ridiculed "Creation Club".

Like Oblivion, Skyrim itself has become a meme at this point, the ever-present joke being "I can't wait for Skyrim 2 or Skyrim Ultimate Very Special Platinum Edition!" or Skyrim for Toaster Ovens! Really this is the fandom coming together and making fun of the many Skyrim re-releases, though honestly if all collected releases are accounted for there are only 4 standout re-releases; The Original Skyrim, The Legendary Edition, The Special Edition and Skyrim VR (if the latter even counts). Mostly it's just longtime and new players impatiently grumbling for a new TES game, specifically The Elder Scrolls VI.

                                         And...Onward

Official Bethesda teaser

There is a kind of funny gate-keeping phenomenon that occurs on some Elder Scrolls topics. Players that are new to the series (possibly having started with Skyrim) seek out advice or ask questions regarding the next Elder Scrolls game. These topics usually either derail into meme threads or longtime TES fans downvoting and telling the OP that "literally NOTHING is known about the next game, so speculation is pointless!" essentially shutting down a topic that people don't want others to actively engage in for some reason.
This practice is known as gate-keeping, and the fans who are actively doing this to others among the community are part of the problem. These fans if they can even be considered that, are what I imagine to be Bethesda & Zenimax's ideal customer; they will buy whatever Bethesda puts out no questions asked, and when others in the community have an issue with the game it is their problem, not the developers.

Bethesda's track record as of late has left something to be desired. A botched Fallout 76 launch scandalized the Fallout community, largely those who had purchased the Collector's edition and expecting everything that was pictured in the description; an actual canvas bag (the bags were not shipped at launch and were not even made of canvas), among other grievances all of which were waived with an offer of five whole dollars in-game currency. Then there's Fallout 1st which is a whole other can of worms...

So where am I going with all of this? The question that has been framed in the title of this very article, but has yet to be asked? Should we be worried? Well...kind of, yes. Granted Bethesda hasn't been doing so well in regards to customer service lately, but they haven't released any complete garbage games (I'll withhold comment on Blades & 76 because I haven't played them - and the main controversy has been lootboxes and the Fallout 1st/launch debacle).

It's been almost twenty years since Morrowind's release, I think it's safe to assume that some things will be changed/removed to fit Bethesda's vision of an ideal modern game. The UI will most likely be changed again (hopefully to something less black and bland), the attribute/leveling system will be changed (hopefully to a more traditional one, though not likely if judging by Fallout 4's level/perk system).

My main concern with how Bethesda is handling these games is the massive amount of streamlining which has been done in less than twenty years. In between Daggerfall and Fallout 4, the character attribute/level system has been so watered down that the game does all of the hard attribute allocating FOR you, and you merely need to press a button to allocate a perk. That's it. People complained when Skyrim added quest markers to the game, believing that it held your hand too much and removed any modicum of challenge from the game. Oblivion had quest markers in a sense, but in the form of revealing an unvisitable location on your map, which you would have to travel to on your own.

What's next for the Elder Scrolls? Perhaps TES VI will have an "auto fight" feature, or a TL;DR feature for impatient gamers who simply don't have time to sift through all of that pesky dialogue. Maybe the game will come with an auto play feature, wherein the game will play itself for you, so now you no longer have to worry about going on those long tedious expeditions in abandoned mines or caverns and can avoid that boring main quest altogether. Do I sound like I'm being sarcastic? Am I being sarcastic, who knows?!

Fetch quests will undoubtedly make a return, they're ever present in almost every modern Role Playing Game out there and they're not going away. The magic system can't get any worse unless Bethesda decides to remove Illusion and/or Alteration or streamline all of them into one magical item like what Lionhead did with Fable III.

Creation Club will most certainly be a thing in TES VI, in fact it just might be the ONLY thing. Bethesda's found a way to monetize mods (albeit unpopular), and their obvious lack of support/interest in maintaining the Skyrim Special Edition & Fallout 4 mod severs show that they really only want people using their own paid mods. A prime example being is whenever the mods section of Skyrim/Fallout 4 is downed, it will take ages for Bethesda Support to rectify it. Conversely, whenever the Creation Club, ESO, Blades, Legends or Fallout 76 severs go down - Bethesda Support has them fixed almost within the hour, and definitely within the same day.

Mods had been down for several days at this point

Honestly, the amount of streamlining that Bethesda can do to this game is limitless and we probably shouldn't worry too much about the streamlining of features UNTIL we see more of the game proper, such as game play videos with a focus on NPC interactions, user interface, and leveling up. At that point we can vote with our wallets and choose not to buy into Bethesda's narcissistic bullshit anymore. For now, we should speculate about the land wherein TES VI will take place, the inhabitants, the plot, the factions, and the potential of mods (which always makes what Bethesda does actually work). Basically I'm urging people to be cautiously optimistic, don't set your heart on anything and definitely DON'T pre-order.

The casualization of a franchise; my concern for The Elder Scrolls VI

Let me preface this by saying that I know this topic has been done to death, and that not everyone shares my opinion (which is fine, disagreements make the world go-round) but I wanted to get my 2 cents in while we're in a friendly subreddit where we don't have to worry about a gatekeeping hivemind trying to shut us down.

I realize that every game that Bethesda (and by extension every game developer) releases, is in experiment. Skyrim was an experiment that proved to be hugely successful, dare I say it is the most successful Elder Scrolls game in history.

Now Skyrim is a good game, it introduced to us some new elements, rehashed older ones, and was an all-round fun experience. With mods you could even transform it into a completely different game. Now with that being said, is it a good 'Elder Scrolls game'? In my opinion, and in may others' opinions, no. Skyrim as an experiment was catering to the casual playerbase (at the time COD, Candy Crush, etc) - basically people who were not seriously vested in video games, only played them once, played mobile games when were bored at work, etc.

But Skyrim the experiment proved to be so successful and so addictive that it's hard to draw a line between saying "this is a game for the casual gamer" and "this is a good RPG", the thing is that Skyrim seems to be both, at least in regards to its approach-ability in that players from every known franchise have played Skyrim at least once, and the console players who missed out on the opportunity to play with mods jumped at the chance to try it for the first time on XBOX, Bethesda knows this, they have the receipts to prove it.

So basically we went from Arena/Daggerfall - very oldschool, Bard's Tale-esque 1990's D&D player's dream to Morrowind (which at the time was divisive among Daggerfall fans) to Oblivion - a mix if I may say, between Morrowind and Fable (and imo the game with most balance between good RPG & gameplay elements that cater to everyone) to now Skyrim; a legendary beast of mythic proportions so ridiculously streamlined, yet so ridiculously successful.

Like I said, Skyrim IS a good and fun game, it has its flaws as all ES games do - but it is still a VERY different animal compared to the past TES games. Now I expect people to chime in with "but every ES game has been different from the other!" and you're right! Oblivion had (in many an opinion) improved combat and map system, Morrowind had an all-around better guild and quest system than Daggerfall, and Daggerfall...(I'm not sure how different Daggerfall was from Arena so we're skipping them). Now you may be wondering why I'm so worried for TES VI, I'm not worried that it'll be a bad GAME, because as others have said TES is Bethesda's baby, its cash-cow they won't mess it up or seriously go too far with it unlike Fallout. I am however worried that it won't be a good ELDER SCROLLS game, the difference being that it retains the feel and options and experiences of past TES games (those options seemingly minimizing by Oblivion and completely vanishing by Skyrim).

I'm not talking about Todd Howard Molyneuxing about skyrim having "1000 endings" Things like leveling up, journal/record keeping, questing, etc. were all heavily (for lack of a better word) "dumbed down" by 2006, and were streamlined into 1-click after thoughts by 2011. In Daggerfall, people could spend up to an hour or more customizing their class, which you know - determined their play style and how the flow of the game would go more or less. In Morrowind people would spend hours on quests, irritated sure, but many would come to be appreciative of the experience (myself included, I hated the no fast-travel at the time but grew used to Vvardenfell's way of life, being a Roman in Rome as they say). Oblivion - again I reiterate the idea that Oblivion brought gameplay equality to the Elder Scrolls; perks, leveling, journal, questing, etc. were all more or less taken directly from Morrowind and just revamped a bit - everything else of course could have used some TLC.

And again Skyrim, a controversial cash cow of a game, and Bethesda's pride and joy (I say Skyrim is Beth's pride & joy because it has outsold every other TES game in the catalogue), so insanely popular that many gamers asked when a "Skyrim 2" would be released (either casual gamers who don't understand how sequels in the TES franchise works or are just inferring TES VI).
Skyrim is divisive among TES fans, mainly between Skyrim and Morrowind fans for many reasons. I'm not worried that TES VI will become a Skyrim 2.0, I know it won't because the devs will be catering to the current loudest majority of gamers (twitter, facebook games, gacha players, casual gamers who play one time and quit) but will season the game with enough nostalgia and lore to hopefully lure old school fans and the 1% of TES gamers who started with Oblivion or who are neutral on the franchise's current standing.

What is my worry then? My worry is that with Bethesda obviously catering to the twitter, instagram, etc. crowd, they will be once again streamlining options and features to make the game more appealing to said demographic. I'm going to be brutally honest, the majority of people who live on the twitter app - are always on the go, and don't have time to sit down and emotionally and intellectually invest themselves into a video game, it is just not their modus operandi. These casual gamers will play the game once to completion, post a review of it either being "1/5 = a dumpster fire or 5/5 = amazing best game ever made!" Are some of these people hard core Elder Scrolls fans? Of course, I bet lots of people who follow Bethesda on Twitter and tweet/retweet Oblivion memes are old school fans of the franchise, the issue is that the vocal majority is screaming "less is more, so let's take out more stuff!" (i.e. the completely watered down perk/leveling system in Fallout 4).
Maybe that's just the sign of the times, that things change and people either adapt or drop it, but I really fear that the TES VI game that Bethesda delivers to us will be extremely shallow. The "games as a service" model and the constant attempts at monetizing mods, and streamlining/watering down content (press 'A' to level up, follow the pointer to get the magic lamp) is going to create a less old school fan friendly and more general/casual one-time player friendly.

I think TES games can and do appeal to everybody to an extent, I don't necessarily believe that you NEED to remove longstanding traditions and gameplay elements in order to be inclusive to everybody. I still feel that regardless it WILL be a great game, just that whether it's a great Elder Scrolls game greatly depends on Bethesda, and whether or not they decide to leave in or take more features out.

Basically, long story short, tl;dr - I fear this game is going to be as or more watered down than Skyrim, but will still be a good game nonetheless but not necessarily a good TES game.

Anna Castiglioni Interview PT-2

A little over a year ago I had the pleasure of interviewing Anna Castiglioni; a bright mind with a voice to match. She has lent her voice to various Skyrim-related projects including her very own mod "Anna NPCs", and has narrated several audio books.

I had the privilege of being able to set a time and date to have another sit-down (via Facebook) with Anna for an update on her on-going projects, as well as to get her opinion on current developments in the modding community as well ask some questions that were not asked last time.

In today's post we'll be cover the following topics:

• Creation Club
• Skyrim Special Edition Creation Kit
• Mods for consoles
• The Elder Scrolls VI
• Dragon Age...and more!

It is my pleasure to re-introduce Anna Castiglioni, voice talent & mod author for our sequel interview.

Photo from Interesting NPCs (Old Site)

AedanStarfang: alright first off thanks for agreeing to do a second q&a with me

Anna Castiglioni: My pleasure :)

AS: Not really a question, more of an observation; I've seen a youtube video of your recording lines in action do you usually record from home or at a studio?

AC: In home studio
I built up the walls with padding, the thick pyramid kind.

AS: Your voice acting is professional quality and it shows in your mods that you voice (like Anna NPCs), I don't think everyone realizes just how professional your VA modding is.

AC: Well thank you very much!  I try to always put out the best quality I can, both in voice acting, and mods.
I've taken a lot of training, workshops, and learned a lot in doing the audiobooks, always trying to get better at my profession, because it's something I really love doing (and happen to have some skill in!)

AS: I'm surprised BioWare hasn't contracted you out to run lines for the next Dragon Age game

AC: HAHA I wish!  From what I've found out though, is video games, like animation and cartoons, seems to be very competitive, and to get into anything BIG you need to have an agent who's in there.  I'm still trying though...

AS: I bet building up a nice repertoire with excellent VA-work for top-notch mods couldn't hurt, and you also do audio recordings (books on tape?) as well right?

AC: I would REALLY love to voice in DA dreams
Yes audiobooks, so far I have 25 across multiple genres. I just started number 26, a sci-fi novel about aliens and futuristic human society.  The Jakkattu Vector, by P.K. Tyler

AS: What is your favorite genre to read/record for if any?

AC: Fantasy, definitely.  I love getting to create voices and personality for creatures, like Dragons, fairies, nymphs.  I also really enjoy narrating mysteries.  The tone is often completely different, and the suspense is fun.
Third favorite might be romance.  I never was much of a romance reader for fun, but oddly, it's quite fun to narrate, lol.

AS: Back to mods, what was your very first mod you ever made?

AC: A small quest mod called Loves Labors Avenged.  That was also the first time I voiced a character I wrote, and recruited other VA's.  Learned a lot in that mod.

AS: Was that for Skyrim?

AC: Yes, I've only really modded for Skyrim.

AS: Was that your own creation, or someone else's mod?

AC: Mine... you asked what was my very first mod I ever made :) Actually that's not true, my VERY first one was a vanilla male Wood Elf companion, and a fetch quest to get his stolen flute. Classic Creationkit.com tutorial.

AS: Seems like you know your way around the CK rather well, did it take you very long to become accustomed to it?

AC: Yes. I actually stayed up all night trying to figure things out, messing it up, trying to fix it, and sometimes I hit stride, and got excited and stayed up b/c I was so engrossed and suddenly it was 6am... I actually never pulled all-nighters before, not even in college!
There's still plenty I don't know though... but for what I want to do, I think I know enough, for now at least.

AS: Making followers is usually the go-to mod when it comes to Skyrim, lots of people want to know how to do it and too many give up because it's too confusing and you definitely seem like you have a handle on it. Anna NPCs as an example of a mod that flows so natural it could be part of the base game

AC: Thank you, a lot of that came from Shrike too, my modding partner. He figured out the Sandboxing thing from Serana, and did a lot of the fancy AI, like riding their own horses and wardrobe function.
(He's also a programmer IRL so I'm sure that helped! ha)

AS: Speaking of Anna, did you work with anyone else with the voicing besides Michael?

AC: Yes several others.  Jessica Osborne, Christian Gaughf, they are all listed in the Voice Acting section of the Credits article on the Nexus page, and on the Blog.
Michael certainly did the most though, 2 main companions and some side characters.

https://annafollowers.wordpress.com/credits/

AS: Will Anna be receiving any new updates?

AC: Yes, I've got some plans to flesh out some of the characters, and the last quest I added, one based on a DAI quest "Wicked Eyes Wicked Hearts."

AS: Ooh that sounds intriguing, I remember that quest quite well actually

AC: I had already had a quest in mind involving a ball and milling with dignitaries, where Elyndra will show the Player around, and after playing that in DAI, I suddenly was inspired and had a jumping off point.  Now, with the appearance of OSA and other animation mods, I hope to add actual dancing and kissing, like in Skyrim Romance Mod.

AS: You've also recently released some new mods both for SSE and Original Skyrim

AC: Yes, Dunmeri Great House Robes, Dunmeri Banners, and 2 Inn mods, Anna's Four Shields Tavern, and Anna's Frostfruit Inn
I'm working on a couple other companion mods too, off an on for maybe a year now.

AS: Were there any influences from Bioware characters on your followers? (I'd love to see a Morrigan & Leliana type)

AC: HA, I have exactly that! Morrigan and Leliana, with Skyrim-lore stories and custom voicing.
I have a Fenris companion out already.  Working on a Brynjolf makeover.

AS: Would you say that Elyndra could be the Cassandra of Anna Npcs?

AC: Sure, she is pretty similar as it turns out. Completely coincidence too if you can believe that
Strong warrior with very strong political beliefs, loyalty, secretly a romantic...

AS: Have you been exposed to KOTOR and/or SWTOR?

AC: noooo, I have no idea what those are

AS: Man if I had the cash I'd send you copies of Knights of the Old Republic I & II (both Bioware games), a Kreia character would be AMAZING! And a snobby know-it-all Bastila type (to counter Anduniel) would be great

AC: oooh!! Knights of the Old Republic! I have seen that on the Bioware site, just didn't know the abbreviation.
Teryn's a snobby know-it-all ;)

AS: So, Creation Club what's your opinion on it?

AC: Haven't really kept up with that at all, but to put it simply, I think modders should be able to make money from mods they create, and people can still choose to use them or not. I believe that a platform (CC or other) that would allow selling mods, and checking they are high quality, could potentially drive UP the overall quality of mods.

I know people who are willing to pay for mods that are high quality. It's not a bad thing, and people who complain that "mods should be free"... well, I don't think they've taken into consideration how much time and effort the modders put into their work.  People either genuinely appreciate the work, or they complain about this or that aspect of it.

AS: Modders, like starving artists still need to put food on the table and Creation Club I think is the only legal method where select approved modders can financially benefit from mods

AC: I agree!

So far I've mostly heard ranting and raving about CC, and honestly, I'm kinda disgusted by it. Granted, I don't know the rules, but modders are generally really nice people who help each other out. Some believe it should all be "free knowledge" and some would like some compensation for their time. Nothing wrong with that.

I suppose it's not much different from someone selling leveled up characters or stats for another game, or hiring themselves out as a DM for hire.

AS: My opinion on the matter is I think if you're using someone else's software/game engine then you need permission from that entity before you can financially benefit from it. HOWEVER, I think more "fans" need to be a bit more generous with their wallets and donate to more modder's fundmes and patreon pages, they should be paid and rewarded for their hard work and time regardless if it's from said entity or by the public.

AC: Well said, well said :)

AS: My personal issue with Creation Club isn't the "paid mods" aspect perse, it's Bethesda's involvement and I'm sure you've heard it before.

AC: I wish I could get more Patreons :)
If it's anything like the Steam Valve issue, where they would take 60%

AS: Like you take several talented modders on their own and they can create a truly magical experience something you most likely will never get from Bethesda these days, because now all you will get is Hearthfires 2.0 and rehashes of the same DLC.

AC: I thought it should be the way around. Yes they created the game and the kit, but the MODDER did the work. THEY should make at least 50%

AS: I agree, the company should get their cut, however the author put in all of the time and effort.

AC: Haha, I still think Dawnguard was the best DLC, the first one.

AS: Well my problem is not the percentage (perse) that Bethseda is taking, but the fact that they are even involved with these modders in the first place.
Like I'm not concerned over paid mods, because let's be honest, an awesome modder like yourself or Enai Siaion - puts out a really wonderful mod people will pay for it

AC: Uh-huh, like they cared nothing about mods in the beginning.
:)

AS: It's the idea that Bethesda is profiting from your hard work, and basically it's lazy DLC (not calling the modders lazy, calling Bethesda lazy for "outsourcing" and underpaying mod authors for work they could have done themselves)

AC: We can please direct those mod people to my Patreon, lol
Yes I totally agree. There have been so many mods that basically FIX problems that should have been fixed in base game: missing quest elements, missing lines, script bugs, you name it.

AS: What about when talented authors get recognized for their work and actually get hired professionally by a game company? Alexander J. Velicky got a job at Valve? I think for his work on Falskar.

AC: Yes he did!
I think though for game design the hiring's a bit different. That would be part of the core team behind a game. Voice acting is added last, and as a short contract, usually.
But yeah I get what you mean!

AS: I think it's probably safe to say that you (and Michael) are probably some of the more versatile V/O talents on the mod scene, I'm confident you all will get picked up onto a mainstream game.

AC: Thanks!

AS: There were a few small things left I wanted to put out there before we call it a day...

AC: Sure, ask away.


AS: how much difficulty (if any) did you experience using the SSE Creation Kit compared to the Original 32 bit Skyrim Creation Kit?

AC: Honestly, I don't like the SE CK. Technically it's really not any different, but it needs to "refresh" itself after every little thing I do, and each time generates a list of errors. Mostly only about 10% of the "errors" even have to do with my mod I'm currently working with, but errors in the basic game. Those weren't a problem in 32-bit CK, but the SE throws a fit about them. It's just too annoying. For that reason alone, I haven't worked much with it, only enough to port the mods I've already developed in "Oldrim."


AS: What's your opinion if any on the mass of recent Skyrim ports (Switch, PS4, etc)?

AC: On one hand I think it's great to be getting it to those other platforms. Don't know much about Switch, but I'm disappointed the PS4 doesn't support external assets, so I can't port any companion mod to PS4 so my friends who have it can play.

AS: then there's Skyrim VR too I wonder if all of this is just to delay us until VI comes out

AC: Skyrim VR, as in virtual reality? Did not know about that!

AS: Yea it's either out now or coming out (I lost interest after SSE lol)

AC: Haha understandable

AS: Speaking of Elder Scrolls VI, do you think you might bring Anna into TES 6 - wherever it may take place?

AC: I'd be open to it of course, would have to see once it comes out!

AS: If it takes place in Valenwood, well you'd pretty much have to.

AC: YES! I hoped it would be, but if I hope too much and it's not, I'd be upset, so I don't hope much. I'll just wait and see.

AS: Maybe port Anna into Fallout 4 as a perky elf-cosplayer lol

AC: Ha, not sure about that. I'd have to buy F4, and since I'm just not interested in that kind of world setting, I wouldn't buy it unless it's SUPER cheap. I don't even have time to play the games I already have, lol.

AS: Aww I'd really recommend trying Fallout at least New Vegas it is the best one (totally not biased lol) after I played it back in 2016 I'd wished I had played it sooner! Same for DRagon Age origins which I knew about back in 2009 but didn't play until 2014

AC: I did try FNV, didn't get very far, got bored...

AS: So do you have any up-coming projects that fans should know about?

AC: Finishing my Frostfruit Inn mod by giving the Bard some songs.
and my Morrigan-Leliana companions
and finishing Brynjolf Companion

AS: definitely looking forward to those Dragon Age companions

AC: Trying to get Morrigan to shapeshift in battle like in DA.

AS: That'll be interesting to see in Skyrim! Are there any other DA-related characters you would like to see in Skyrim, maybe include in a future mod?

AC: thought off-and-on about making an Alastair follower
but that would be well off, after seeing the reception of Morr-Leli
I'd like to see Dorian though!  Dorian and Fenris banter!

AS: You could always top off your Anna NPCs anthology with a Corypheus-like enemy

AC: ha, now there's an idea!

AS: Dorian would be AMAZING!

AC: just have to recruit a good mesh artist to make an outfit made of belts, lol!

AS: Maybe get permission to use the regal huntsman armor?

AC: hm, maybe
I do love that one...

AS: Anna, I wish I had more to ask but I think that pretty much covers it for tonight at least :)

AC: Okay cool, I gotta get to my audiobook recording too. Thanks very much for having me again, I appreciate the continued interest :)
If you want to know anything else just message me!

AS: Thank you for taking time out, I hope we can do another Q&A down the road, maybe after Beyond Skyrim: Cyrodiil drops?

AC: sure count on it!

Links:

• Anna's Youtube Channel
• Anna's Nexus Mod Page (Skyrim)
• Anna's VA page
• Facebook Page

Interview with Voice Actor/Modder Michael Butchin

N'Wah Edition!



Today's blog isn't a game review or geared towards any-one specific game (well today's blog is centered more-so around the Dunmer of TES series ), but rather an interview I had arranged with a talented voice actor/mod actor Michael Butchin.

Michael is a professional editor and proofreader, and an experienced teacher as well having a strong background in literary expertise and is fluent in Mandarin! One of his many accomplishments is his novel "Medousa", which is a fantasy-themed fictional story taking place in real life ancient Greece. So without further ado I am happy to present my VA blog N'Wah edition just in time for ESO Morrowind, let's proceed to the interview at hand!


Starfang: Hi there serjo!

Michael Butchin: Under Sun and Sky, Muthsera, I greet you warmly.

SF: So I figured for this interview we would do a TES Lore: "Dunmer" edition, because a certain birdy told me that you also love Dunmer culture

MB: Heh. this is true.

SF: So first off, how did you get involved in "Anna Npcs"?

MB: Well, I had done voicework for TES IV mods, and I was looking to hget involved with Skyrim also. A friend of mine-- Old Book-- has been involved with the modding community since Morrowind. He put me in Anna's direction.
I sent an audition recording or two, and she liked it well enough to ask me on board.

SF: What mods did you VA for on Oblivion?

MB: Several, in fact; but the one of which I was most proud were "Heart of the Dead," in which I played two roles. I think I also voiced the Big Bad for the final confrontation in the Stoker Wolf mod.

SF: I will have to check those out, I am sort of new to TES modding (Skyrim being the first one I modded/Morrowind being the first I played)

MB: I have a couple of clips on my website. nudnikonline.co

SF: So you voiced Darion Fleetfoot and Teryn Meru for Anna NPCs

Azarian Vedrano (Foreground) & Teryn Meru (background)

MB: Yes.

SF: Was there a lot of Lore research involved in voicing the roles?

MB: Well, for Darion, not so much. But for Teryn, both Old Book and I contributed a lot of lore to his character. Some of it didn't make it into the final mod, but that really was a case of, "Let the story come first."
For example, when Anna asked about a Dunmer style wedding, my thought was that it should take place in one's ancestor's crypts, so that the entire family, living and not, could all witness.
But, we thought that might be kinda creepy for anyone not familiar with Morrowind and Dunmer lore.
Alternatively, it could have been at one of the shrines of the "good" Daedra...
But that would've been a bit clumsy, in game.

SF: Now Darion sings sea shanties, and I have told Anna this the "Winged Twilight" is my favorite and is preferred over "Age of Oppression" or the other bland/vanilla bardic songs.

MB: LOL! I'm flattered!
I wrote that one to the tune of "Donkey Riding," an old Irish shanty.

SF: It's nice because I caught most of all the references, like the Focsle from Anvil

MB: Heh. I knew the Lore-Geeks would grok it.

SF: and a Winged Twilight is a daedric servant/messenger of Azura, lady of Twilight and one of the "Big 3" good daedra of Dunmeri religion.

MB: Yes. I thought of it as a Port Telvannis shanty
So I loaded it with Dunmer referents.

SF: So can I assume that from the mod you
*you've done some singing before?
Professionally or just for fun?

MB: Well, *I* sing for fun on occasion. But my family is a theater family. Three or four opera singers, actors, and a few concert musicians.

SF: Oh wow!

MB: I was raised on opera, in fact. And classical orchestral music, from Bach to Prokofiev.
But I enjoyed working with Anna, cos I also got the chance to write.
A little

SF: Teryn sings an ode to St. Nerevar if If I recall

MB: Well, some of that was Old Book, Myself, and Anna clashing creatively. --And I don't mean to disparage anyone involved! You see...
The Dunmer are culturally very arrogant.

SF: (see Neloth ^_-)

MB: We wanted to bring that out of him, but it was hard to do without making him an asshole. Because--
By the time of Skyrim, Morrowind has been essentially destroyed and overrun.
For an old true-believer in tradition like Teryn, it's rather like a Westboro Baptist Church member confronting irrefutable proof that there IS no God.
He felt betrayed by the Tribunal. He once could walk with, and speak to, and touch his gods. And then they tunred out to be false.
It really damaged his world view, and his perception of his own place in it.
If Morrowind had had a Donald Trump, Teryn Meru would've voted for him.

SF: So Teryn is understandably jaded and more-or-less kind of "over it" with religion more or less.

MB: He's THAT kind of Mer
Well, yes and no; The Dunmer actually interact physically with their gods, whether ancestor spirits, the Tribunal, or the Daedra. They know their gods personally.
So imagine the betrayal when you find out that your gods were mere usurpers of Daedric authority, and then were slain.

SF: So what would Teryn's opinion of the Thalmor be?

MB: He would consider them soft, weak, and corrupted by their decadence.
Remember, the prophet Veloth led his people from the Summerset Isles to Morrowind, to stay true to Azura, Boethiah, and Mephala.
The Altmer had forgotten how to worship their ancestors.

SF: I'm not sure if other fans of the mod noticed this, but I realized that you somehow managed to capture the raspy, ash-riddled tongue of Morrowind-era Dunmer and the British-Cockney accent of Skyrim/Dragonborn and sort of juxtaposed them.

MB: Heh. Yeah-- I wanted to revert to the Dunmer voices of Morrowind. Anna, though liked the South London accents used for Skyrim. So we compromised.
I DID get to go full on 'original' Dunmer for another mod, though, so I won't complain :)

SF: I think it was a great idea because In my my opinion it sounds like how Dunmer SHOULD sound.

MB: LOL! Old Book and I joked that you needed the ash of Vvardenfell to sound like a proper mer. :D That's why the Dunmer of Oblivion didn't sound like 'real' Dunmer either.
They weren't breathing in the ash.

SF: Okay so from Anna NPCs and Skyrim can I assume that you enjoy videogames at least as a hobby?

MB: Yes and no-- I have enjoyed the Elder Scrolls series. But I haven't got a huge collection of video games. I've played KOTOR, and its sequel, and I used to enjoy Civilization.
But I have actually had more fun voicing characters, and writing for mods.
Lately.
I did some work for Qaxe's Questorium of which I am quite fond, in fact.

SF: Have you ever played Morrowind?

MB: Oh, yes. It's my FAVOURITE game of the series even today.
My current install is heavily moddded, of course.
I started playing it back in 2001, when I returned to the United States.
Old Book introduced me to it. He's been playing the series since Daggerfall.

SF: Now have you ever played Arena or Daggerfall?

MB: Not yet. But I did recently purchase the "Legendary Collection" of Elder Scrolls games.
One day, I'll install them.
Alas, my gaming desktop is on the fritz.
But, one day I'll have it repaired, and then I'll have to jump into it all again.

SF: So back to Morrowind, what is it about the game that you feel makes it the best in the series?

MB: Well, the story itself feels far more epic than what came after. Even though, the threat was mainly to Morrowind itself. Dagoth Ur wanted to transform Morrowind, and bring the other provinces under his own Hegemony...

Sometimes, a crisis needs to be a bit more 'local' to help one care. If a crisis is done with huge brushstrokes, like Oblivion and Skyrim, in which the fate of THE ENTIRE WORLD is at stake, it gets a bit overwhelming. ESPECIALLY since you could ignore the main quests with no adverse effects. Now, in Morrowind...

...You could ignore the main quest, but things eventually will get worse and worse, the longer you let it go. But you have to play for a loooong time to see it. In the same vein--
Oblivion and Skyrim go on about how little time is left, and you've got to hurry, and we're all DOOMED-- but nothing ever comes of it.
The dragons just kind of hang out  and act like big beasts if you do nothing. The Oblivion Gates eventually stop opening if you do nothing, and Daedra just kind of wander around aimlessly...
Now, the biggest difference is in the game mechanics.
In Skyrim, for example, you're something of a badass right from the get-go.
In Morrowind, when you get off the boat in Seyda Neen, a mudcrab could kill you.
In Morrowind, although there is a sense of urgency, you are also instructed to take your time-- go out and get some experience. join a guild, explore...
You have to TRAIN to become the Nerevar.
By the end of Morrowind, you have slain two, perhaps three gods. And it feels like you've EARNED it.
Cos the journey to that point took real time and effort.
And the varying terrain and regions of Vvardenfell made it feel bigger than either Cyrodiil or Skyrim.

SF: Right and this right here is sort of where I see veteran TES fans complaining of Bethesda catering to the "casual" crowd. Skyrim is too easy, or it's dumbed down, etc. But you can't deny that Skyrim has quite possibly the largest modding community...ever, and has even turned amateurs (like myself) into hard-broiled lore fanatics by making us want to play and research the older games

MB: Oh, I don't denigrate those who love Skyrim. I also like Skyrim-- though I prefer it heavily modded. It's a beautiful game, and some of the mechanics are a lot of fun. But to me, it's not quite as immersive.
That doesn't mean I don't like it, though.
I've had fun voicing a lot of characters in various mods, and I even wrote a character and some in game literature that kind of bring back the lore.

SF: I agree about the modding, my Skyrim load order is heavily modded because to me vanilla Skyrim is just so...bland. What are some of your "must have" mods to make Skyrim more enjoyable?

MB: Well, there is one I love called "Inconsequential NPCs," or summat like. It adds a lot of NPCs with fascinating stories. You run into them at random in inns, on the road, or anywhere, really. Some of them have little quests of their own that you can help with; but they have their own lives and concerns.

I also like Deadly Dragons and Docile Wildlife, or something (I'm bad with the names). One mod makes Dragons truly legendarily difficult to kill, and horrifically dangerous...
Yet, with the docility mod, they won't attack unless you molest them first.
There are some good adventure mods out there, like Icicle Valley, where you can actually become a Jarl and have a jarl's responsibilities...
And, believe it or not, the Lovers Lab website has a lot of lore-friendly mods available. A lot of them are 'adult' in nature, but the guys there are largely forty-something lore-geeks, and they have written some very good stories.

SF: As a connoisseur of Dunmer culture and using a Dunmer through my main playthroughs I used quite a bit of Morrowind/Dunmer-related mods myself.

MB: The vvardenfell glass armour set is a favourite,.

SF: Azarien Vedrano (pictured) simply must have his Ancestor ghost power (found in Morrowind Immersion project) and Bonemold Armor (Bonemold expansion adds the unique Telvanni helmets and weapons)

MB: Yes! And the chitin armor...
from new Solstheim....

SF: Do you mod the hell out of Solstheim like I do, to make it you know...more Morrowind-ish?

MB: Yes and no. I like the more Morrowind-ish mods... But in game history, Vvardenfell is largely destroyed, and Solstheim was always more Nord than Dunmer. So I don't feel that too much change is necessary.
But I do like the Dunmer in game to be more, well, Dunmeri.
And if Master Neloth of Tel Aruhn has survived, I wonder if Aryon, or Divayth Fyr have survived also.

SF: I've always wondered about Fyr, he was a tough nut to crack - killable along with everyone else (but this was before Bethesda made important characters truly essential in IV & Skyrim)

MB: Yeah. I never liked that.
You COULD kill Fyr, but at the wrong time, you'd make the main quest unfulfillable.
But you could do it.
Kinda kept you from killing strangers at random'

SF: Would you consider yourself an aficionado of Dunmer lore?

MB: I think so. Though I flatter myself.
If you ever play the Icicle Valley mods, there is a character, Voryn Dreleth....
He's a scholar of some note, among other things, and he has written several books that fall heavily into Dunmer lore.
In fact, I think Anna published a few just as stand alone in game books.
But the character himself and more of his works are out there.
Titles include--
"The Political Destabilization of Morrowind Under the Nerevarine,"
"Dwemer Tonal Architecture,"
a collection of Velothi hymns....
and a translation of Boethiah's Pillow Book.
Oh, and "The Complete Spellsword."
along with his personal journal.
and a few letters.

SF: Ah I think I've seen the name mentioned at TES Lore Reddit and on the Imperial Library

MB: Yeah. I contributed a couple of items. Not much interest was shown, so I kind of just let it slide.

SF: Well now that I KNOW about these books, I will for sure be looking for them in-game or elsweyr.

MB: Heh. http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/75451/?

SF: Have you played any other series besides Elder Scrolls, Fallout? Dragon Age? What is your favorite gaming platform?

MB: I have played a little Dragon Age, and I did mention KOTOR...
I like PC games, cos of the possibility of modding....
And I prefer the wide-open radiant AI type games.
Although, the more closed worlds do have more intricate storytelling. It's a trade-off, I suppose.

SF: Are you now or have you been involved with the "Beyond Skyrim" project?

MB: I'm not sure I've heard of it before. What is it? Is it  like Skywind? or Morroblivion?

SF: Well Beyond Skyrim is a HUGE modding event bringing together several teams of modders to recreate basically the whole of Tamriel in the Skyrim engine. So far I know that Morrowind, The Iliac Bay (Daggerfall), and Cyrodiil (Oblivion) are being worked on. Beyond Skyrim Project

MB: Oh! Is that Tamriel Rebuilt, then?

SF: I think so unless they are different projects

MB: I don't code or anything, and although I write, they're just recreating Tamriel. So I have nothing to do on that face of it. However...
I remember sending in some audition tapes for Skywind...And I didn't like the way the creators were working...

SF: That's a shame, I know your voice would have made the mod that much more interesting.

MB: They had selected people to voice particular characters, but then later, if someone auditioned whom they liked BETTER, they would tell the people who had already come aboard that they would be cut.
That's a horrible, underhanded thing to do.
So I decided not to pursue it.
If you select a voice actor, you stay with him/her.
You can't just toss them out on a whim cos you suddenly like someone else better.
Stick with your commitments.

SF: That makes sense, especially when these people are basically volunteering (doing it for free) the least they could get is to see the fruit of their labors in the game. So do you have any hopes or expectations for TES VI?

MB: Well, it might be interesting to go to the Summerset Isle and overthrow the Thalmor, freeing the Altmer and giving Cyrodiil the chance to rebuild.
Or, maybe Elsewyr would be a fun place to go....
TES IV already had some great mods that took us to Valenwood.

SF: I might be in the minority but I am kind of hoping for a Highrock/Daggerfall & Hammerfell/Sentinel (Iliac Bay) setting

A view from atop of Azura

MB: That'd be cool! They might not do it, though, just on the argument that Daggerfall already covered that. Still.

SF: So I don't have too many questions left, I just wanted to ask you what was the process of voicing a mod like "Anna NPCs" like?

MB: Well, first, of course, she'd send me the script, along with a few notes describing the situation in which they are to be spoken-- You know, so I know what kind of emotion to put into it...
And them for the recording, I have a fairly simple home 'studio.' I use a Rode podcasting mic, and Audacity software...
I will practice the lines a few times myself, and then record.
Sometimes might have to hang blankets, to baffle the sound, and keep out ambient noise.

SF: How did you all handle disagreements/misunderstandings with scripts and lines?

MB: Well, I would make my feelings on the matter known, but in the end, I always defer to the author of the mod. It's HER project, after all. There were a few things about Teryn Meru, for exaample, that we clashed on. but Anna was very good about taking my thoughts into consideration, and compromises were usually worked out.

But, again, if there's any real conflict, my policy is to voice my objection, and then do what the author wants.

SF: Now back to Morrowind, what was your favorite quest from the game?

MB: H'mmm.
That's a really tough one.
I think that Oblivion had THE BEST side quests....

SF: We're in agreement there (and with Guild quests)

MB: But I think that in Morrowind, my favourite quest was actually the main quest itself. There were so many different things to do, and you were sent all over Vvardenfell....
and many things tied in to guild and faction quests.

SF: Who was your favorite member of the Tribunal?

MB: Well, until I played Tribunal, I liked Almalexia. Then, of course, I found out that she was as mad as Dagoth Ur.
But I also always had a soft spot for Sotha Sil.
Do you remember a Twilight Zone episode about a guy who was constantly tending and working on some weird complicated contraption in his apartment?
And he said that if he didn't tend the thing, the world would come to an end?
I kind of imagine Sotha Sil like that. That in the end, he retreated into his Clockwork City, constantly tinkering, and going slowly mad, thinking that he was somehow keeping the cosmos running properly.

SF: It's funny because I always liked Sotha as well, despite the fact that we never got to speak to him when he was alive I guess the fact that he was the aspect of Azura speaks volumes about his personality. Being a Dunmer spellsword, I also liked to think Azarien looked up to Sotha who was once a teacher at the Psijic Order on Artaeum, and possibly mentored Divayth Fyr

MB: Yes.
Sotha Sil was the one, after all, who discovered how to visit each and every realm of the Daedra, and did so in order to negotiate agreements with them, regarding the Tribunal.

SF: Lastly I want to touch on a project you recently released, a book entitled: Medousa, about the classical Greek character but from her point of view.

MB: Ah, yes--
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1519383177/ref=pd_rhf_pe_p_img_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=JRN07J30T3GD4HZ8C85Q
In fact, I am working on a revision/second edition. Just tightening up the story, trimming it down a bit. If I'm very lucky, I might even get the one and only Ulorin Vex to illustrate it.

SF: I read the preview and it sounds interesting, the details that you give to the surroundings (rocks, sand, wildlife, etc) is really on point.

MB: Ah, well, I did a bit of research for this one.
Mind you, I didn't pay much attention to real "chronology," if that makes sense.
But apart from the mythological elements, I wanted it firmly set in its own time and place.
I didn't want it to feel like modern actors just throwing on togas and saying "We're in Rome now!"
My website is serializing the first two sections of the book, and there are some blog entries on my writing process, and well as a copy of the Afterword.
This is what I want to leave after me. This book.

SF: It sounds like an enticing read, I know that ancient Greece and Roman cultures are a favorite of mine (aside from the 1930s/Dustbowl era) so I like reading about those and you can't go wrong with Greek Gods/Goddesses.

MB: You may enjoy this one, then. It is a retelling of Medousa's story, from HER point of view. Something like the novel "Wicked."
Also, I had fun turning the myths upside down without actually changing any of their content!
You'll get to see aspects of ancient Sparta, Athens, the legendary Amazons of Themiscyra....
There are a number of cameos from legendary and mythical heroes and heroines as well.

SF: Sounds like it will be a great read for anyone who loves Greek Mythology or Hercules. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers or voice actors?

MB: For writers? I would say the most important thing is get everything down on paper, no matter how fragmented the ideas, and no matter how good or bad you think it. Cos once you have everything written, you can edit.
Just keep writing. Ray Bradbury and Neil Gaiman have great advice in that vein.
As for voice acting, just get involved with the modding community. Participate in discussion boards, and make it known that you're willing and available to contribute voice-work....
Be fast and efficient, though. Honestly, voice actors are a dime a dozen; most modders want people who can code and create things in game....
So you have to be good. Also, there are far fewer women than men doing voice-work. So if you're both a game enthusiast and a woman, GO FOR IT.

SF: Excellent advice! Well Michael I would like to say it's been a pleasure drilling your noggin for Dunmeri lore  :)

MB: It's been a pleasure being trepanned!

Contact Michael:

• Linkedin
• Twitter
• Voice123 Profile 
• Gofundme Page for Medousa

Q&A with Anna Castiglioni

In this week's Interview I have a Facebook Q&A with Anna Castiglioni - voice actor, gamer, and modder! If you listen to audio books you may have heard her reading "Bedding an Assassin" and "Diviner's Prophecy", and if you have played Skyrim on the PC and used mods then you probably have come across her amazing "Anna NPCs mod". My inner fangirl has been outed because I just can't contain my excitement for this interview, guys and gals here is as promised my Q&A with Anna Castiglioni!

Me: "Okay a little backstory, what got you interested in voice acting?"

Anna Castiglioni : "That's a really long answer. I did stage acting as a kid. Then a few years ago I started voicing for some PC game mods. I enjoyed it so much that I started taking workshops and classes, and learned about the business."

Me: "What was the first videogame that you ever played?"

AC: "Final Fanstasy 2 on PC.  No, the FIRST were some Atari games, spelling games and such, lol."

Me: "Mine I believe was ALF for the commodore 64, it wasn't much in the education department but it was fun at least."

AC: "Ah, I also played an Alf on PC. And Tink Tonk Goes to Town or something."

Me: "Okay what genre of videogames do you feel are the most fun to play?"

AC: "My favorites are fantasy RPG, or just fantasy in general. I also really loved Assassin Creed II because it's Renaissance Italy, which is my favorite period in history."

Me: "Aside from voicing mods, you have also read for some audio books like "Bedding an Assassin" and "Diviner's Prophecy". Would you like to talk a little about those projects? Were they any more or less stressful or fun than voicing for a mod?"

AC: "It's fun to be able to voice for ALL the characters, not only females but also the males. I also enjoy the narrative parts. The challenge comes in keeping all of them consistent, and different. It gets a bit stressful if I have whole bunch of males, or from a male PoV in his voice. Then I have to rest more often."

Me: "I can remember listening to like "Heir to the Empire" on audio book back in the day and reading along with it and thinking it was just like a movie, so voicing for an audio book is really cool and inspires some of us (like myself) who are too lazy to read, to read lol!"

AC: "That's wonderful!"

Me: "So...SKYRIM, first off what is your opinion of it? Lots of Elder Scrolls fans (primarily the Morrowind & Before era) think it caters too much to the "casual" masses, but you can't deny that it is easily the one PC game with the single largest modding community in existence."

AC: "I only came to Skyrim by chance, and I had not played previous ES games. My husband bought it b/c he thought it looked interesting. Our entire household was instantly addicted. I think it appeals to so many people because you're allowed to do whatever you want very early in the game.  Then with mods, there's essentially endless potential for replay."

Me: "And then of course, "Anna NPCs" a wonderful follower mod that I must admit I have never not used. Anduniel, she's a Wood Elf (Bosmer) if you notice my profile picture (Robur) is also a Bosmer (a bit more classically Kirkbride)."

"Robur" my Bosmer MC 

AC: "Bosmer are my favorite ES race :)

(except for the cannabilism thing...)

Me: "I have to say I'm not sucking up when I say that Anna NPCs is an essential in my load order, the followers are amusing and useful and the amount of lore used in their conversations is extremely impressive. Did you research much into the lore of the Elder Scrolls while making Anna Npcs?"

AC: "I'm so glad you're enjoying it so much, thank you! Yes I did research for some characters when creating their backgrounds and quests, like Valenwood towns, Redguard history. For Teryn I relied mostly on the voice actor Michael's expertise, as Dunmer are his favorite."

Me: "Now while playing with Anna and Teryn in my party and asking them questions and what not, I noticed that I would gain points sometimes if I said something that they agreed with and this reminded me of Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age, where your actions/comments towards your party members would affect their disposition towards you in some way."

Were you at all inspired by Dragon Age?"

AC: "Oh yes, I love DA! And yes, I said that on the mod page. The party banter is largely inspired by DA banter, though several are more original.  The idea of Approval is also after DA, as well as giving gifts."

Me: "I know that whenever I start up a new game I usually always head into Riften and pick up Anduniel, I love the meadery side quest -- and playing as a Wood Elf (I'm using several Bosmer-related mods such as Bosmer Armor Pack by Maty, Green Pact Armor by ArcZeroEssentials, and ESO Bosmer Antlers) and it kinda feels like I'm running a little Bosmer gang after I get Anduniel and Vahelmin (from the Riften Misfits mod) and proceed to find a location fit for her meadery."

"I also noticed that you have created a compatibility patch for those who play "Moon & Star" so it moved the meadery over towards the Mill
Its pretty cool when mod authors make compatibility patches for other mods, so that gamers don't have to choose."

Anduniel, the central character of "Anna NPCs"; she is a fully interactive & marriageable follower, but like Dragon Age there some demands and prerequisites which need to be met. 

AC: "Have you played with Mareen? She's also Bosmer. And there's Daenlyn from Interesting NPCs. Yes the patch moving the meadery is for Aurora Village and Undeath, but also works for Moon and Star. I don't use any of those, though. However, the standalong Anduniel mod came out long before Aurora Village and Undeath. Shrike is the one who made the patch, as it's easy for him to do. Not easy for me."

Me: "Mareen is the sassy smuggler in Dawnstar?" 

AC: "Yes." 

Me: "Yea I recruit her with my Thalmor-hating Maormer

I'm sorry for the patch mixup, I've had SO many mods in my load order in the past and yea lol :P

Did you write all of the dialogue for Anna NPCs, or did you have help in some areas like with lore and what not?"

AC: "I wrote all except for parts of Teryn's story. Michael (the actor) wrote some of his backstory, and Old Book also chipped in for his Main Quest discussions. I wrote the rest. Sometimes after doing some research I would ask Shrike for an opinion, make sure my lore work, and he said sure.

Oh yes, Old book also wrote a few banter scenes for Darion and Teryn."

Me: "Darion Fleetfoot, the half Nord half Altmer pirate in Solitude"

AC: "Aye!"

Me: "I love his singing
Just listening to the song about the Twilights I could tell I was an TES nerd because I caught all of the references"

AC: "Haha! I didn't :-/"

Me: "Did Michael also voice Darion?"

AC: "Yes.
He wrote the Twilight song (the words. the tune is an Irish tune)."

Me: "It definitely sounds like a sea-shanty, and it's waaaaay better than the in-game bardic songs
I was actually joking a few days ago about petitioning to have them replaced with your versions."

AC: "Oh? Perhaps my "Fall of the Snow Elves?"

Me: "Yes! I much prefer Fall of the Snow Elves over "Age of Oppression" bleck lol"

AC: "Haha, Thank you!"

Me: "So Nadina, she's a feisty Redguard mercenary found in Falkreath or was it Morthal?"

AC: "Falkreath. Lorelei is in Morthal."

Me: "I really like Nadina, I used her when I fought a mini-Numidium in Moon & Star (the only time I used that mod) and she's an awesome combatant."

Robur and his "Bosmer gang".

AC: "Thanks ^.^"

Me: "Aries :( 

I cry a little whenever I see him
I avoid him unless it's my Bosmer (who is more of a dog person anyway), because I don't want him left sitting there in a pond, by himself with spriggans about."

AC: "You know he's got some banter with certain Followers: Elyndra, Anduniel, Mareen, Teryn, Darion, Nadina, Zorya
and Valyen." 

Me: "Who was your favorite character in Anna NPCs to create (voice, script, background, etc)?"

AC: "I really liked creating Nadina. It gave an outlet for my own sarcastic humor. And I loved making Elyndra, my Knight :)"

Me: "Elyndra is a character I found by accident. Like I decided one day "hey let's kill everyone in Fort Greymoor" and then there she was kicking-ass next to me, her backstory was very interesting as well."

AC: ":D" 

Me: "So I got just a few more questions, as I don't want to take up too much of your time."

AC: "No problem!"

Me: "Okay I have a few questions similar as to what I asked Rebecca "Burger Becky" Heineman
What are some causes that you think need more attention in modern videogames?"

AC: "I'm not sure I understand. By "causes" do you mean things like gender roles?"

Me: "Yea like gender roles, sexuality, etc."

AC: "Well, I'll use DA2 as example. From a player standpoint, it seems like the devs made it with a specific Player in mind (male straight Mage), with the other options (female, rogue/warrior) as secondary and with fewer actual consequences of actions. So female players, while we still have "options" it felt like they weren't as personalized. By contrast, Skyrim simply has all options open by way of being vague, no restrictions.

For myself, I generally don't get into those kinds of issues. Elyndra talks about it a little though."

Me: "It seems like your mod is pretty inclusive though, like anyone can marry Anduniel or Teryn if they were interested?"
AC: "Actually Anduniel will only marry a male human or Elf, and Teryn only an Elf, either gender. There are specific backstory reasons for this, and they talk about it. But some of the Followers have no restrictions, because it doesn't particularly matter to their backstory.

The only kind of play I don't offer is a gay male. And that's is simply because I can't relate, and I don't want to just wildly speculate and write a gay male character, and be wrong!"

Me: "Understandable. But all in all Anna NPCs are wayyyy more interesting than most of the vanilla followers, with an exception to Mjoll and Serana.

So....next question, is it true that you are or were working on the "Beyond Skyrim" project?"

AC: "Beyond Skyrim: Yes, I voice some characters in "Bruma".

Me: "I am sooo excited for Bruma to come out like you have no idea! Can you talk a little about Bruma?"

AC: "Lol, unfortunately I only know a bit from the voicing I did. I did an alchemist in the town of... Applegate? Something like Apple. And a few other general voices. I don't even know when it's coming out."

Applewatch as seen in TES IV: Oblivion.

Me: "Applewatch? It was a farmhouse back in TES IV: Oblivion."

AC: "Yeah that could be it.

Last contact I had from the voice manager was that he still needed to finish writing and then post the rest of the lines."

Me: "Do you have any plans for future Skyrim mods?"

AC: "Nothing huge. I made a Brynjolf overhaul and Follower mod but haven't released it yet. I have a few other small tweaking mods I made for myself.

I was thinking of doing something like a Follower male that re-vamps one of hte vanilla voices, like I did with my Fenris mod from DA2." 

The infamous Anti-Mage follower from Dragon Age 2; you either loved or hated Fenris as there was no in-between with him. 

Me: "I tried out your Fenris mod, LOVED it. He really is like DA2 Fenris, and I love how you were able to use what was given in the game files (Gideon Emery's imperial voice lines) to make him."

AC: "Thanks! My Brynjolf is like that, all the functions. plus romance and marriage."

Me: "Have you played any of the Fallout games?"

AC: "I only played F3 and FNV briefly, the intro and a couple hours in."

Me: "I play New Vegas whenever I'm not playing Skyrim, in fact believe it or not I just barely go introduced to the Fallout world like 5 months ago. I've been using this great mod called "Niner" (by Mishaxhi), and "Willow" (by llamaRCA) and I keep thinking something's missing like a touch of Anna"

AC: "Aww.
I've heard of Willow.
You should try out the Panser Follower for F4"

Me: "I think fans of FO3/NV & Dragon Age could greatly benefit from some Anna Npcs-esque mods even if it's just one follower"

AC: "Well, I'll think about it. I have had people asking.

Oh, I tried to mod DAO, but oh my god, the modding system is so hard! Not the kit itself, making a character is easy. The hard part is the programming, getting your character into the game."

Me: "I guess that explains why there are only a handful of follower mods for DAO (I don't have DA2 or DAI for PC)."

AC: "I chatted with the author of the Gilmore mod, who recommended teaming up with a programmer, that's what they did."

Me: "Have you ever played any of the King's Quest games?"

AC: "Kings Quest!  Only number 7, many years ago. I loved it!"

Me: "Yes! VI was my first, but VII was a favorite in my home. It was like my first actual PC game
before I became a "serious gamer" (still not that serious)."

AC: "LOL."

Me: "I also played Torin's Passage, created by Al Lowe (whom I interviewed very briefly years ago) loved it, also Leisure Suit Larry (though more for adults)." 

AC: "I don't know those..."

Me: "Almost done, what goes into creating a mod the size of Anna NPCs?"

AC: "Anna NPCs... A LOT. A lot work.

First I create the character concept and write the script. I voice it any time between that and finishing the mod. I write banter, get ideas for quests. Make the Follower in CK, do the unique programming. Then add the special programming Shrike made to have them interact with the world."

Me: "So is there a lot of back and forth with fellow modders?"

AC: "Some of them have uniqe outfits.  Shrike created Mareen's and Nadina's outfit. I retextured Elyndra's Elven armor.  The making of cells and player homes takes a lot of time. Writing the recording the songs too.

Yes, with Shrike, and some with modders who give me permission to use their assets."

Me: "What would you recommend to aspiring modders? Because I know the creation kit and getting custom followers to work can be a hassle, but you've tried it and wound up creating one of the most beloved follower mods on the Nexus."

AC: "Aww *blush*
Well I did write a book on beginning modding!
Newbies Guide to Modding Skyrim: Tips and Tricks for the Creation Kit on Amazon, print and Kindle." 

Me: "Oh I'm gonna have to check that out!"

AC: "https://annafollowers.wordpress.com/books/modding-book-review-by-urshi/

Amazon links and review there."

Me: "What's your opinion on the controversy surrounding paid mods, mod picker, steam/valve, Bethsoft, mod piracy, etc?"

The Symbol for the "Forever Free" project, paid mods were a controversial subject when they were introduced and subsequently removed years ago and remain a "hot-button" issue today. 

AC: "Ooh. I'll be honest. I would LOVE to be able to make money on my mods. But for that, they would have to be all my material (no extra armors etc.). When Steam did that paid thing I had mixed feelings. I liked the idea, but I hated that they would take 60% of the money. I felt the mod author who actually made the mod should get at LEAST half. It's similar to ACX, the audiobooks platform I work with, they also take 60%. However, a modder buddy on steam loved the idea. He did the numbers and predicted he could make thousands off his mods. Everyone else I've talked with hated the idea of paid mods.

Sometimes people donate to me, and to those I say THANK YOU!"

Me: "Any advice for those of who want to pursue a career in voice acting or who just really love videogames and would like to mod our own stuff (but are extremely amateurish)?"

AC: "If you want to pursue voice acting, I suggest reading some Voice blogs, get an idea of what the job actually entails, and dispell any misconceptions you might have. And practice!"

Me: "Excellent! Thank you again Anna for this Q&A it really has been a pleasure and I hope I can post a chat with Michael for next time 8)

AC: "Thank you! Good luck, and Under Sun and Sky :)







Follow Anna: 

• Twitter
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• Anna NPCs (At Skyrim Nexus) 
• Fenris Companion |Special Edition

Links to Other Mods mentioned:

• Bosmer Armor by Maty473
• Green Pact Armor by ArcZeroEssentials
• Bosmeri Antlers - ESO by DRELDYN & TheDNightshade
• Riften Misfits by VRDaphni, VRApollo, & Tylar