Once Upon an Elder Scroll

When Skyrim was first announced at the close of 2010 fans of the Elder Scrolls series spieled off their lists of what they wanted to appear. Bethesda cleared up their initial intent to recapture what made Morrowind so great. Oblivion of course sold well and was well received across the planet so what made Bethesda draw on inspiration from the past?

A lot of this probably had something to do with Morrowind’s still infectious popularity. Players obviously compared Oblivion to its predecessor upon release and many fans felt the game had been toned down. In fact it’s a pretty accurate assumption; the previous game had been designed for the PC originally and was far more unforgiving then experiences within Oblivion that were tailored specifically for consoles.

Oblivion has a very well known levelling system that allowed players to go almost anywhere right of the bat. Morrowind however tried to tighten the reigns of the player by increasing enemy levels the further a player ventured into rural areas. Where Oblivion held the player hand, Morrowind let go. It was not uncommon for a player to lose track of specific quest progress and it was definitely an unforgiving experience to any player who didn’t take their time to learn the gameplay. After Oblivion went on general sale the developers attempted to ‘fix’ some of these issues by bringing it closer to its predecessor but this never really worked.

The actually world design of Morrowind was less traditional then the standard fantasy affairs of Cyrodiil too. In Oblivion the world held stone castles, brown mud caves and lavish cities. In Morrowind the island of Vvardenfell was portrayed as a much darker region entirely. Cities were individually created and the different houses add a different dimension to the gameplay. Where the cobbled streets stood in Oblivion there were tentacles and vines in Morrowind. Overall the predecessor has a much more original design style that really showed off the direct the game was hoping to head.

Bethesda tried to recreate this illusion with the Shivering Isle content that was released about as year after Oblivion. The new area was a joy to explore and the world design was far better then the main game. Each location had its own unique architecture and character models for both enemies and other NPC’s were much more creative.

Skyrim is set in a region of the same name and draws upon the area in a different way once more. The developers have definitely tried to learn from their mistakes and add both Cyrodiil’s opened expanses and Morrowind’s desolate marshlands. Skyrim is the most northern land of Tamriel and the home of the Nord race. These large pale men and women look like they have been ripped right from Viking lore and are used to swinging Axes both in combat and their day to day life.

The North of Tamriel is full of high mountains of snow, ice and wind. There is also a large amount of foliage and greenery but at the same time Skyrim is a much more unforgiving landscape. The terrain is tough to traverse and the inhabitants are battle strong. Monsters are much more brutal then those found in Oblivion and it is not uncommon to spot a Giant or Werewolf among the trees. As I’m sure you’ve heard, Bethesda have also included Dragons to the open world. These battles will usually be random but there are some scripted circumstances. Each battle with one of these terrifying beasts will require the player to use all their wit in order to the monster in its tracks.

Skyrim has a different architecture style then both Cyrodiil and Morrowind too. Buildings in the main five cities are created mainly out of stone with wood and straw only used as supports and roofing. Because of the cold climate a lot of the locations are dug into the ground and add another interesting layer to the inhabited areas. Along with the five major cities there a many other smaller towns and settlements scattered around the land. These give the whole gameworld a lived in but rural effect that makes the whole place scream with realism.

Following in Oblivion's footsteps the story of Skyrim once again begins with regicide as the High King of Skyrim has been laid to rest. A civil war is raging and is the last in a string of prophesised events that will result in a return of the dragons under the Nord god of destruction, Alduin. We can only guess what will happen as the player journeys through the main campaign.

“And they shall call him Dovahkiin” = Dragonborn = Awesome!