You’ll be shocked to know, but it’s been two decades since the release of the Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. Despite the game’s age, it still continues to fascinate fans and gamers with its incredible world design, compelling quests, and, best of all, meme-worthy NPCs.
One of the best parts about Oblivion was its inclusion of fast travel and horses. Seriously, we can’t imagine playing the title without these crucial features. However, they weren’t always a part of the game. That’s right, Bethesda had to add fast travel and horses due to the community feedback.
Bethesda developer explains origin of fast travel in Oblivion
Right before the release of Oblivion, in an interview with Games Planet, ex-Bethesda PR and marketing head Pete Hines talked about the development of the title. Hines explained Bethesda’s approach to the brand-new entry in the Elder Scrolls franchise and how it was setting new highs for the franchise.
While chatting, Hines also talked about the feedback Bethesda received after the launch of Morrowind. He explains how it helped Howard and his team to solve one of the biggest gripes that players had in the game: slow travel.
So we added horses, to make walking faster, and we added a fast-travel map, that let’s you click on the map and instantly travel to any location you’ve already been to, or know about. That way, if you’re bored, you have an option. It’s lets you skip the “down time” and get to the fun faster.
In Morrowind, Bethesda brought tons of traveling methods, such as boats, silt striders, and teleportation. However, gamers always felt that a lack of a direct fast-travel system was frustrating and hindered their ability to enjoy the game.
Bethesda’s developers carefully analyzed the player feedback and recognized the core issue: gamers getting bored of walking excessively. To fix this in Oblivion, the studio brought two unique solutions: horses for faster movement and a fast-travel map that allowed gamers to instantly reach known locations.
With these new features, Oblivion allowed players to explore the in-game world at their own pace and skip all the traveling if they found it too tiring.
Bethesda should remake the entire Elder Scrolls from the start
In the last couple of months, we’ve heard many in the gaming sphere claiming that Bethesda is working on an Oblivion remake. Many even believed that Microsoft would unveil the game during the Xbox’s Developer Direct in January. However, there’s still hope that the game could show up in the upcoming summer showcase.
Sure, an Oblivion remake sounds like a great idea, but there’s even more that Bethesda could do with the franchise. Debuting back in the 90s, respectively, the Elder Scrolls: Arena and the Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall are known as the largest titles in the series.
What was really incredible about Arena is that it allows players to adventure through the entirety of Tamriel. While Daggerfall features two provinces, it still brings more than 10,00 cities, towns, and dungeons.
To make these games possible in that era, Bethesda had to use top-of-the-line technology. However, it would be quite amazing to see Howard and his team remaking these titles with the help of modern technology. Not only will this fix the issues of the original game, but it will also allow the newer generation of fans to explore the roots of the series.
With that said, do you think fast travel was a necessary addition to Oblivion? Let us know in the comments below.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
