Some time around 1992 there was something special brewing at Bethesda Softworks. The company had begun work on the first Elder Scrolls game, Arena, and the world of RPG gaming would never be the same again.
Fast forward 19 years, and the fifth game in teh series, Skyrim, has been announced. Many gamers shared the sentiments expressed within this video:
Thinking back to all the great times I have had in Tamriel, I decided to take a look back at the heritage of The Elder Scrolls series of games, specifically the defining core games (Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind and Oblivion).
The Elder Scrolls: Arena – 1994 – MS-DOS
Initially Arena was not designed to be an open-ended RPG experience. At first players were meant to create a team of fighters, and then travel the world fighting other teams until they became ultimate champions. Thank goodness that was scrapped!
Instead, what was created, was an open-ended RPG experience.
Like all of the subsequent sequels, Arena is set in Tamriel, and it introduced the free-roaming exploration that the series has become known for. Playing from a first-person perspective, melee combat involved dragging the mouse around to perform attacks. Magic was implemented alongside a spell creation system whereby players could mix and match spells to toast up some creatures.
Arena was known for its harsh difficulty, so much so that Ken Rolston, designer behind Morrowind, mentioned that it took him twenty attempts before he even got out of the beginners dungeon. Crazy! They don’t make games like that anymore.
The story revolved around you collecting artifacts to bring back King Uriel Septim VII, who was imprisoned in another dimension by the Battlemage Jagar Tharn, and you are constantly visited by Ria Silmane in dreams, who helps you as you progress.
Despite it being buggy and generally receiving bad reviews, Arena went on to become a cult hit, spreading by word of mouth, selling evermore copies as the months went by.
Bethesda made it free and you can download here.
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall – 1996 – MS-DOS
Most of what made Arena unique for its time was brought forward into Daggerfall. Once again, the game played from a first-person perspective and players were offered an absolutely enormous world to explore. New features included enchantments and the chance to buy houses, boats and other abodes. A robust political system was introduced, making players’ actions really count, and you could even become a vampire, werewolf or wereboar.
For its time, Daggerfall offered a degree of (topless) nudity which “aroused” the morality police. A child lock was also included to remove some of the violence and nudity.
As mentioned before, the size of the world was absolutely huge for its time. Bethesda claimed it was roughly twice the size of Great Britain – 487, 000 square km. It was said that Morrowind, the successor to Daggerfall, was only 0.01% the size of Daggerfall. Now that is amazing!
Daggerfall contained six endings, offering an even greater degree of re-playability. A modding scene also developed around the game offering better textures, changed gameplay and quests, as well as fixing numerous bugs.
Once again, the game suffered from buggy code at release. Luckily, most was patched out over time.
Daggerfall was also made free, and you can download it here.
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind – 2002 – PC – Xbox
Finally, Bethesda really hit gold with Morrowind. Morrowind was very well received and critically acclaimed by the industry in general. Morrowind also received two expansions (Tribunal and Bloodmoon), listed below, and made a debut on a console; the original Xbox.
Morrowind was a smaller and more focused, detailed affair compared to Daggerfall. Visually it was a real treat for players, offering advanced effects for its time, as well as much improved AI.
Set in the less civilized free-roaming island of Vvardenfell, Morrowind’s story focused around a deity known as Dagoth Ur who sought to break the island away from Imperial control. You were tasked with defeating Dagoth as you were the reincarnation of a past hero, Indoril Nerevar.
Skills in-game where largely increased via repetition. For example, striking an enemy with a sword or spell, increased associated skills and, subsequently, the main governing attributes. You could also train with trainers found throughout the world, but this cost quite a bit over time. Books could also be found which could be used to increase skills.
Freedom was ever-present, playing as you saw fit. Whether you followed the main story or went off on tangents, Morrowind had it all. Morrowind also offered many factions to work for, from the mage, thief and fighter guilds, to many religious orders.
Once again, the modding community got behind the game, and numerous game-changing mods can be found here.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Work on Obilivion started just after Morrowind. Bethesda wanted to achieve a degree of realism not seen before, and they achieved it in Oblivion. Visually, Oblivion looked fantastic on all platforms at the time (PC, 360, PS3). Another welcome change, and a rather big one at that, was the inclusion of fully voiced dialogue.
The plot revolved around the death of Uriel Septim VII and seeking an heir to the throne. In the beginning of the game, you were given the Amulet of Kings after the death of Uriel Septim VII. The amulet was tied to an old covenant whereby, if there was a lack of an heir to the throne, the seal to Oblivion was broken. Oblivion was a terrible, place filled with fire and the evil Daedra who spewed forth upon Tamriel. It was now your task to seek out an heir and close the gates to Oblivion before Tamriel was lost.
Once again, players were given a rather huge area to explore, replete with dungeons, towns, and the game’s namesake, the lane of Oblivion. A fast travel system was brought back from Arena and Daggerfall, allowing for faster travel, but only once a place had been discovered.
Leveling up worked very much as it did in Morrowind, with skills and major attributes. Skills leveled up primarily through use, and attributes could be manually upon leveling up. The game’s denizens also leveled up (level-scaling) with you throughout the game, allowing for no area to be “off-limits” due to high level creatures.
Oblivion tried to simplify its mechanics from the previous games and subsequently many skills were dropped, or rather combined for convenience.
Modding is ever prevalent for Oblivion, check some out here:
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Recently announced, Skyrim has gotten gamers extremely excited, to say the least. To be released on 11.11.1, Skyrim will make its way to PC, PS3 and 360.
Set two hundred years after the events in Oblivion, you enter the land of Skyrim which is in the midst of civil war after the assassination of its King. To make matters worse a god, called Alduin, has risen in dragon form to lay waste to the world. As the player, you are the last of an ancient race, Dovahkiin (or Dragonborn), and it is your task to save the lands of Skyrim and, ultimately, all of Tamriel.
Some new features making their way to the series are:
– Dual wielding of weapons and spells.
– Instant switching between item load-outs on the fly.
– Special kill animations, depending on weapon and enemy.
– New skills called “shouts” used to slow down time, or instantly teleport to an enemy. Or even summon a dragon to fight for you.
– Much improved AI – NPCs will perform daily tasks as mills and taverns, and react to a threat by informing the town guard.
– Whole world is handcrafted for impeccable detail.
Other Titles on the Elder Scrolls Series
An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire – 1997 – MS-DOS
TES Adventure: Redguard – 1999 – MS- DOS
TES III – Tribunal – 2002 – Windows
TES III – Bloodmoon – 2003 – Windows
TES Travels: Stormhold – 2004 – N-Gage
TES Travels: Shadowkey – 2004 – N-Gage
TES IV: Knights of the Nine – 2006 – Windows, 360, PS3
TES IV: Shivering Isles – 2007 – Windows, 360, PS3
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