Pete said Todd doesn't tweet.

No he doesn't he says Dawnguard will be released during the development of TESO, which it will..

Personally, I think this thread needs a name change and a sticky.

Leaving aside the amount of time and influence BGS is going to put into this over Zeni's shoulder, if the title was changed to "Zenimax, not Bethesda, are making TESO" and sticked up front, maybe half the threads wouldn't be a variation on "why beth why !!11ONE1!!!" Although I expect it would be largely ignored and the knee-jerking would continue.

As for the amount of influence, I'd say it depends. I doubt money and designers are crossing the hall, but it wouldn't surprise me if a TES writer or two of the past pops in to fact-check and advise on plot matters.

Name change:
Not to rain on your parade..: But it already has changed names. Mods made this into a merged threat. The tweet thread did have another name.
I don't agree with your sticky comment.
People daft enough to think that BGS is losing time or manpower to Zenimax will still pollute threads like this even it was made sticky.
When the game is released it will level out...

I know it had it's name changed, I was just moving for something a bit more forceful. And I know it'll keep going. Sad fact of the internet is that the anatomical order of non-pormographic websites is first knees, then fingers, then brains. Knees jerk, fingers type, brains do nothing.

And I doubt it will level out for at least a few months after it comes out. This is just based on Oblivion, actually, but when that happened, there were a few months of complaints and rages with varying levels of factual accuracy and politeness. Internet, instant communication for people who may, or may not, need to use the letter in a drawer method.

Please god I hope people read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenimax

Todd Howard is helping. Somewhere within the first minute he clearly states that Todd Howard is very important.
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/05/09/the-origins-of-the-elder-scrolls-online.aspx

So yes its the same bloody company that made TES games. It's a new team created specifically for TESO, but in the end its still Zenimax.

I dont know where is the news here. Nobody of you played morrowind? In the very first screen it says "BETHESDA SOFTWORKS. A ZeniMax Media Company" ...

http://i1-games.softpedia-static.com/screenshots/The-Elder-Scrolls-III-Morrowind-Mod-Video-Bethesda-Logo-Re-Make_1.jpg

I like you fhynrood

Well, the first time I readed all of the people asking "ZeniMax? Who are they???" I remembered the first video screen of Morrowind, and the word ZeniMax was there so.... I just refresh it up
(and we are talking of something 10 years old now)

It's not the gameplay mechanics, per se, that define TES series, but the gameplay philosophy.
This here has been Bethesda's philosophy for TES series, since TES II: Daggerfall. Seriously, try to think of another company with this philosophy for their games. I bet that you'll end up with less than a hand's worth (5 or less) of companies.

"What's the story?"
One of the pleasures of writing on the follow-up to a hugely successful and critically acclaimed role-playing game is having interesting questions to answer. People who play role-playing games need more than some pretty graphics and nonstop action to whet their claymores; they want depth and character and wit and drama. They want the thickest, most involving novel that they've ever read translated to their 15' screen, with themselves as the hero. That's why i love people who play role-playing games. They're so reasonable.
During the years between the release of Arena and the publication of Daggerfall, we've danced around the answer to the question "What's the story of Daggerfall?" We've said we haven't the time to go into it, that we don't want the competition to find out, that we're still ironing out some details, that it might have something to do with this or maybe that. The truth is simply this: we don't know yet.
When players ask what the story of Daggerfall is, i imagine Macbeth asking what the story to Macbeth is before the play begins. You are the protagonist, the hero of the game - the story is what you decide to make it. There are going to be foils to your character: people who will try to stop some of your more grandoise goals, and people who are there to help if it serves them. But it is your aims and ambitions that frame the story. After all, role-playing games are plays in which the stars are members of the audience. Given a large, well appointed stage, a supporting cast of improvisationalists, and an alert backstage crew, they are capable of anything. And the best thing we game designers and programmers can do is give you what you want, and get out of your way.
You have a challenge ahead of you in Daggerfall, in more ways than one. This is a game designed to encourage exploration and reward curiosity. There are opportunities to do great and heroic deeds, and, likewise, possibilities of indulging in less...virtuous activities. You are not required to follow a path of righteousness nor a path of depravity, but both roads and everything in between are open to you - just like in real life. Unlike real life, you can switch off potentially offensive scenarios if you wish by using our ChildGuard feature. Who says virtual reality can't be better than reality?
In the world of computer role-playing games, it is considerably more difficult to create a book with blank pages than one where the story is complete. Daggerfall is a heartfelt group effort by all the programmers, writers, artists, and designers who worked on this project. Special thanks are merited by a group of our dearest friends (and harshest critics) who have the official title of "beta testers", but who contributed to everything from writing fables for the bookstores to designing shop and castle interiors. And, of course, we would not have known what direction the Elder Scrolls needed to take without the letters, posts, and telephone calls from the fans of Arena.
And so we turn the question back to you, "What's the story?" It is not for us to answer. Follow your own spirit and tell your own story in your own way. We hope only to help you make it real."