This.

Plus why was I the only one who had the arrow in the knee comment...

Are you being sarcastic? If you think this forum is negative, you should have seen the Bioware Social Network after DA2.

Despite DA2 being disliked or hated by the majority of people, the developers still discussed the game with their fans. While I hated DA2, I still have to give credit to the devs at Bioware for communicating with the customers.

Probably because the number 1 example for a question you gave is already biased?

But seriously, what kind of developper makes a game, and then goes to the forums to explain it!?

And I'm sorry you were disappointed with the game, but it seems LOADS of people are satisfied. Hell, I have over 20 people close to me that [censored] love this game

Oh and BTW Todd didn't sell you the game. You saw the game, and decided to buy it of your own accord. Stop blaming other people for your own mistake.
Hell, with skyrim being set in the land of the nords, I was hoping to see a little more acting like a man, and a little less acting like a kid...

A mod makes a post. The post has rules. The people who post against the rules get warned/banned and their post gets deleted. The mods close the post. Todd reads it. Todd provides a few answers. Zomg why is that so hard?

Edit: @ onfir: I only generalized my questions because I wasn't going to sit there and list them all. It was for an example. I also happen to like Skyrim, or I wouldn't be here all the time. If I didn't like the game, I wouldn't have that much to say about it. I just really want to know what the hell they were thinking with at least some of these IMO terrible decisions.

It has nothing to do with selling the game, because the same number of people would have bought it if Todd had told the truth about everything.

Maybe, as an alternative, Mr Howard could just trot out an intern who is studying game design or whatever and say, "Go, my son/daughter, go out and meet the people you will be making games for. See what they are like. Talk with them, get to know their hearts. The fond memories will keep you warm in those lonely hours whilst you huddle over your keyboard late into the night to create the next game for them to consume."

that would be cool too.

Oh please, they used to be here until people on the forums began making one to many accusations of them. If you guys are going to continue treating them like trash why would you ever expect them to come back?

Laidlaw went away for a few months, but some of the other devs like John Epler and Stanley Woo continued communicating with the customers.

Seriously, Todd Howard is not a computer generated entity that exists on your PC.

He's a real human being and maybe he just doesn't want to answer your questions. Ever think that he just doesn't want to read your comments? Like, it's a bother to the man? Do you also think that since Skyrim shipped, he and the other people at Beth are hanging out on big comfy chairs relaxing all day at work??

Are these really your questions OP? If you had a moment to sit down with your homme du jour would you REALLY ask "Why did you decide to break away from your PC fan base?" If that is so, I'm really not interested. Adios.

Oh believe me, I know it was negative...You should have seen the Battlefield 3 forums, that was...really bad. I hope these forums never sink to that level. Regardless, I remember that the questions they answered weren't questions like "Why do you hate the PC community?" or "Why can't we have the game tailor made to our preferences?"; questions that I feel would be commonplace here.

Healthy doses of self-entitlement ensure that anyone demanding a Q&A will in-fact continue to consider Todd a computer generated entity who's sole purpose to ensure their every whim is fulfilled.

I'm pretty sure that's what they were doing before it released. They're probably taking turns taking a vacation while someone holds down the fort.
Yes, I'm pretty sure he doesn't care about the community, you hit that one on the head.

Edit @ ThatOneNwa: sure, the sole sponser and director, who sold us the game, who spent most of his time near release speaking about the game, should just disappear once he gets our money and show us all that he doesn't give a crap.

Certainly 1 measly hour of his time isn't too much to ask.

The "we are doing them a favor" attitude rears its head yet again.

Guess what folks? We are the consumers - they are the business.

Of course there is a difference between what is LEGAL and what is MORAL in business practice.

I say this because inevitably the response will be "Well, sir, if you look carefully in subsection 7b-a423 of your EULA that you agreed to when you installed the game, it will be quite clear to you that they are in no way obligated to provide you with customer service, and in fact they will be along shortly to reposes your house and take your children as slaves because that was in the EULA..."

You imply that somehow they are justified in cutting off customer service to their customer base because some users were... treating them like trash? What about all the users with valid complaints? Too bad for them, Bethesda just took their ball and went home because their feelings got hurt? Really?

I didn't say that he didn't care about the community. I said he didn't want to read your questions and comments on the boards because that would be a bothersome activity. If your level of maturity is such that you equate not giving you a chance to have a one-on-one with him with his not caring about the community or even about you specifically, then I predict that you will see major disappointments in many facets of life, not just gaming. I think you may need to start looking at things from viewpoints other than your own.

You -really- think you'll get honest..well let me not say honest because the honesty would probably be less than "Cheerful". but seriously Todd and co have been very beating around the bush, and more marketing than honest developer. and they more or less couldn't give a worth with the amount of money they shelled in its disgusting, not the money swimming mind you, they made a game it sold like hotcakes ok but the..whats the word evasive and canned responses people get from them as a whole, I mean you'd think with the MASSIVE SUCCESS they pulled out of the sky they'd take the time to say heya, this, this and that. but right it seems the general thought is that if you dare ask for a statement your all of a sudden self entitled so I don't know really.


There is a company I know, F'd up bad, REAL bad, like, really, really really bad on their release, they didn't beat around the bush they were straight up in their responses and vowed to fix things and they are. so much for "on the fly" patching from Beth since these guys where able to dish out 5 in half a month that ACTUALY FIXED STUFF NOT CHANGED WEDDINGS...

They have customer support though!
It's clearly labeled under CUSTOMER SUPPORT on their Website.
These forums are not their customer support area. Even the bugs forum as you can see is filled with rage posts rather than actual bug reporting.

because he doesnt want to get called out on his lies?

If you think that the OP was about "having a one-on-one with Todd Howard, you need to practice reading comprehension. It was about the community having some of its questions answered.

He would answer that they did not move away from the PC fans but they widened to consoles so that more people could enjoy the wonders of gaming in the TES world. He would say that they made all quests to the best of their abilities. And he would say that they did test all character levels and they found it to be balanced. I ten hope he would also inform you that although you and a handful of people may think a certain thing about a certain game, that does not make your opinion the only right and true one. I hope he would say that the vast majority of people do enjoy the game very much, and that although there may be a few minor flaws, the game is still very playable and enjoyable and that nobody forced you or tricked you into buying the game.

I bet he doesn't even read these forums, nor do I think he really cares.

Wish they'd put more time into making their games as good as they used to be (Bioware). And it's layman's terms.

Because the answers to your "honest" questions have answers that people wont like to hear. Your questions are far from "honest" anyway... I mean "Why did you turn away from your PC fanbase" is unfounded and leading. It would get you tossed out in any court in the land... because even to respond to it would imply that he has "turned away". It's like the standard example "Have you stopped beating your wife?" Yes means you once did, and No means you still are... both are admissions of guilt.

pretty much this, its a polite way of saying something not so polite, me thinks you should have taken a gander at the FAN Q&A and see a sample of how the response would be.

Oh, so we have to only ask Yes or No questions? Is that what they do in a court of law?