Yet another E3 walkthrough for ESO, and another one from Massively.*** Click the link. Highlights:
I loved the detail of the town, just as I loved the detail of the forest. The NPCs talking out loud made the place feel alive, and the design struck a nice balance between too fancy and too dismal. The town looked lived-in, functional, and believable. I thought my character could reasonably be a part of this place. My favorite touch was being able to go into houses; since the houses weren't merely facades, I was able to enter each house I tried. For me this added to the "alive and functional" feeling more than anything else.
I think it's worth noting that while I explored the town, I found myself clicking on NPCs just to hear what they said. Their dialogues were interesting and well-acted enough to make me curious. This stuck in my mind because it's completely opposite my typical MMO playstyle. I skip cutscenes, I don't read quest text, and I go to new areas as soon as possible. If it's not giving me experience, I'm not doing it. But there I was, in a demo with limited time, clicking on a guy near some chickens hoping to hear about his farm life.
** Correction, this write-up was actually by Joystiq, Massively's parent site.For me personally, my hands-on experience pushed me over from the camp of "cautiously optimistic" to "genuinely excited." Every time I've played an Elder Scrolls game, I've enjoyed myself but quickly felt lonely and ended up abandoning it early on. I enjoy online gaming more than anything, and despite appreciating how rich and detailed each RPG I've tried has been, I swiftly end up back in a world populated by other players. My time with The Elder Scrolls Online rekindled my hope for an MMORPG with a heavy emphasis on RPG that still manages to make me feel right at home.