Bethesda E3 2015 conference live report
Fallout! Doom! Some other stuff? FALLOUT!
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How much do you love Fallout? If it's a get yourself up at 3am BST on a Monday then you should totally join us for what promises to be a blowout on what's sure to be E3's biggest title.
What more can we expect? Doom's a dead cert, as is more information on Battlecry - the somewhat forgotten part of Bethesda's line-up. Can we expect confirmation of Dishonored 2 on top? There's probably no better platform to announce it in the near future, for sure.
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
Oh hello! I'm just having an iced latte in the blazing LA afternoon and looking forward to tonight's show. As you might have spotted, we probably can expect a Dishonored 2 reveal tonight, thanks to this almost-too-perfect gaffe.
Bratterz: So in the UK, it'll be starting at 2:30AM with a pre-conference show. 3:00AM is the actual conference.
This is correct, by the way, so be sure to get online half an hour earlier if you want to see... um... I don't know what happens in a games industry press-conference pre-show. Geoff Keighley, probably. To be crystal clear, that's 3.30am pre-show and 4am start for (most of) Europe.
Sammoore: Who'll be covering this?
Martin's in a hotel somewhere in France sleeping off Le Mans (really) before driving back to Brighton to be with you for tomorrow's conferences - so it's probably going to be me live from the event, assuming I can get a connection in there!
We're seated in the Dolby theater! (Here 24 hours and I'm already spelling like an American.) It is unexpectedly funky-kitsch in here - they're spinning Prince (Controversy, tune) and Chaka Khan. Really loud. I would've thought Bethesda were more, I dunno, NIN?
Major buzz coming in here - hype with a hint of aggression, in that quintessential LA way. The queue was mad. There's a real sense of event - the press conference round has settled into a bit of a routine the last few years, so a new player in a location up in Hollywood has got everyone stirred up.
Bethesda's doing the whole light-up wristbands thing. Nice try, but it's no space poncho. Hashtag Kinect reveal 2010 never forget.
By the way, if you guys have trouble with the official Twitch stream embedded here, try youtube.com/e3. It's a one-stop shop for all the press conferences.
ashleyrichardson: What games do you want to see revealed tonight that haven't already been announced or leaked, Oli?
My answer for this is (almost) always the same: new IP! I don't think we're going to see anything we don't know about, though.
By the way, there's some debate on the E3 grapevine today as to whether it's to be Dishonored 2 we see or a remaster of the first game. Imagine if it's the latter they'll at least confirm the former, though.
Fallout 4 is going to dominate tonight of course, but I'm really excited to see Doom. I don't know why, I just have a good vibe about it. No-one's really nailed the unique flavour of a Doom game since Doom 2.
I can't watch the livestream in here (my precious mobile data!) but I hear Adam Sessler is threatening/boasting about how loud it's going to be. And we're in the Dolby Theater. I fear for my poor jetlagged bowels.
The Prince and Chaka has given way to flatulent EDM in here, which is disappointing but par for the course.
That's our view here in the swanky Dolby Theater. Wristband update: currently flashing all sorts of blue and purple.
I have removed my wristband for unobstructed typing. I hope the hashtag police don't throw me out.
"PLEASE STAND BY" on the screen. HUGE cheer.
ONE MINUTE.
Everyone counting down the seconds and hollering. Madness!
Vox pops with Bethesda employees. They seem normal.
This crowd is HYPED. They make the Sony crowd seem reserved.
Highlights reel: Wolf, Fallout, Battlecry, Dishonored, Elder Scrolls online, the works.
Pete Hines, PR and marketing chief, arrives to an operatic intro.
He references that this is the venue for the Oscars - "We aren't here to hand out statues but we are going to have a celebration of our own with blood and guts and stuff blowing up." Video games!
Pete's gone for the casual end of E3 presenter fashion - cowboy boots, nice boot cut jeans, black shirt. It's working.
We're starting with Doom!
Built on id tech 6 engine - "or as we call it, id666"
Here's id's Marty Stratton to introduce us. Interesting popped collar on suit jacket choice.
He's promising big f-ing guns and fast moving action - that's what we want to see!
Everything is red. Good start.
The gory melee attacks are making the audience make loud groaning noises.
Beautiful old-school shotgun action.
I can tell that plasma rifle feels great. It's clearly all about the guns, as Doom should be.
Chainsaw time! It's... messy. But what I really want to see is a river of neon green goo and 20 Cacodemos heading straight for me to be honest.
Gets a big response. This audience really does love a good old dismember. I loved the guns, didn't really get that sense of pedal-to-the-metal speed I was hoping for.
Multiplayer time!
Now THIS looks fun. You can turn into the shoulder-minigun-skeleton-guy.
But, says Marty, we wanted our fans to be able to do more. "What if every player had the ability to build and instantly share their own creations?" Co-op, single-player challenges, death match... Make it all with Doom Snapmap.
That does actually look like a usable map editor! And you can edit game logic too.
Zaiz: Hey, someone made a better version of the Timesplitters map maker.
YES. This is good news. And this one has the internet.
Alright, back to campaign and we're going to hell.
This is getting a bit more frenetic now. The rocket launcher looks awesome.
Huge demons, BFG... Core action looks very punchy, not totally convinced by the level design. I reckon it's all about multiplayer and the map maker community.
Pete's back to tell us about Bethesda.net - a web platform to tie all their games together. Sounds like Blizzard's Battle.net.
And now it's Battlecry time. Beta sign-ups open.
"Team based action combat" is Bethesda's "we're not going to say the word MOBA. Nope. No way." then.
Is Raf and Harvey from Arkane! The Dishonored dudes.
These are some clever game designers. (Raf's also gone for the cowboy boots. Seems like that's a Bethesda thing.)
It's definitely more Dishonored... that distinctive steampunk Gothic look.
Ror: These guys both have a mild case of Bungie Arms.
Could be worse. Could be Mattrick arms. Or Mattrick face.
A lady assassin... It's Emily.
Some first-person shots here, but this is clearly a CG trailer.
Dishonored 2! The art direction's still stunning.
It's "coming" and will be out on PC, Xbox One and PS4. Oh and hey, here's the Definitive Edition remaster of the first game. This fall.
Shame we didn't see the actual game, but a surprisingly muted reaction to that in here.
Now an update on Elder Scrolls Online.
Massive new cities, bosses, and some exceptionally good walrus models. To be fair this looks like a pretty exciting stuff for players.
Aha, here's Bethesda's Hearthstone! The Elder Scrolls Legends, a strategy card game for mobile devices, based on the lore.
Nice trailer, but not much of a clue about gameplay there. To be fair, an E3 press conference is not the time or place. It'll be free-to-play, obvs.
"With that, I'm sorry to say we've come to the end of our showcase." Hah nice try.
And here comes Todd Howard to talk Fallout 4!
Are those cowboy boots? Yes. Yes they are.
Great hair too.
This guy is genuine games royalty, so it's great to see him getting some quality time in the E3 spotlight.
Concept art gallery! Todd's clearly going to take his time with this one.
Some of that was beautiful, actually.
"One of the great things about Fallout is about the world before the bombs fell... and that is where our game starts."
You're creating your character as you look in the mirror... and of course, you can play as a female, either half of a married couple. Very nice touch. "We even generate a baby based on the couple you make."
You create your stats as you talk to a Vault salesman - another nice touch.
No spoilers, but you emerge 200 years later as the sole survivor of Vault 111.
"Player freedom remains our absolute number 1 goal." We expected no less, Todd.
It's running on a next-generation version of their existing engine. You can see the family resemblance for sure. But the art direction has a fair bit more colour and life to it.
Dog! You can tell it what to do! DOG! A polite but respectful round of applause. I'd have whooped it, to be honest.
You can say what you like about the animation, but this world design is absolutely stunning.
New Pip Boy! Layered armour system! This is the real stuff. The Pip Boy even has homages to Donkey Kong and Missile Command on it.
They've made a real Pip Boy. It comes with the Collector's Edition, you can put your phone in it, and there's an app for it, and it works with the game!
"Usually I think of second-screen experiences as stupid gimmicks... but as far as stupid gimmicks go, this is the best f***ing one." Fair play. iOS and Android.
There's a Fallout mobile game called Fallout Shelter! You make your own vault and you're the overseer, controlling everything.
Todd namechecks Little Computer People. Respect. The dwellers are based on that classic Pip Boy art. They'll head off into the wasteland and have adventures inspired by Progress Quest. I think this looks cracking.
Definitely a Sims thing going on too. It's free to play, but no paywall timers and no internet connection. You buy random loot.
And it's out TONIGHT.
I'm already pleasantly surprised, Todd.
Oh, iOS only for now. Boo. But still.
Back to the big game. You can scrap stuff and build and decorate a shelter.
You can build power grids based around generators, including lights and turrets to defend against raiders. Many large sites where you can build multiple settlements.
Now it seems like the rumours of a properly deep crafting system are true.
Insanely customisable guns and modifiable power armour. I'm going to spend all my time doing this.
Fun doo-wop combat trailer. Todd says they've focused really hard on making it feel great. We'll see, but with that much flexibility, who cares really.
And there we go. Now date it. DATE IT.
DAAAAATE IIIIIIIT.
November 10th this year.
That got a bigger cheer than the chainsaw.
Pete's wrapping up... oh we all get some free figures. WHICH WILL GO STRAIGHT TO GAMESAID. Hashtags ethics in oh you know the drill.
Thanks Pete! Fallout is NEARLY WITH US. That makes everything worthwhile. Great debut show from Bethesda I say... a properly deep game demo on the game we all care about.
Right I'm signing off and getting me dinner. See y'all tomorrow for more hot press conference action, and all the developer shoe choice info you can handle.
Byeeee!