Earlier this week I wrote about my late-night nerdy tendencies. I’ve spent a lot of nights playing video games into the wee hours of the morning.
The Elder Scrolls series was one of the main reasons I stayed up late playing video games. Oblivion and Skyrim are two of my favorite video games and I have poured hundreds of hours into exploring those different areas of Cyrodil. I loved closing Oblivion gates and hunting dragons.
Unfortunately I don’t love Oblivion and Skyrim’s predecessor.
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind came out in 2002 for the original Xbox. I bought the game when it first came out. Even though I also bought the game guide, I had no idea what was going on. I didn’t really know where I was supposed to go, I didn’t really know anything about joining guilds and I didn’t really know how to level up.
Earlier this week I decided that I wanted to give Morrowind another try. I learned how the Elder Scrolls series works through hours spent playing Oblivion and Skyrim and figured that I was more than capable of conquering Morrowind.
I was wrong.
After playing Morrowind for a couple hours, I’ve realized that I’m not going to be able to conquer Morrowind. It’s not that the game itself is too difficult, but the gameplay is so far behind Oblivion and Skyrim. The story is still fantastic as are the open-world mechanics, which are really what make Elder Scrolls games so great. And in 2002 I’m sure that the gameplay matched the excellent story. 12 years later, though, the great story and open world need new gameplay to match.
Even though they’re filled with Daedra, magic and violence, the Elder Scrolls games can actually give us some insight into the eternal truth of the gospel.
The Elder Scrolls games have always had a great story. To make the most of that story, though, it needs to be placed in modern games with more updated game mechanics.
Jesus compared the gospel to new wine and new wine couldn’t be put in old wine skins. The truth of the gospel is constant but we should always be looking for new ways to present it. The Elder Scrolls needed updated graphics and gameplay and the gospel may need new technology and new means of communication.
I love the simple and eternal truth that God loves us and sent his son to live and die for us, so that we might be reunited with our creator. That truth is so astounding that we should do anything we can to communicate it to as many people as possible.
What are some of your favorite game series that have made significant advances?
Just as a note, there is a total conversion that rigs Morrowind to run in the Oblivion engine, with Oblivion game mechanics (and a graphics level somewhere in-between, mostly meaning that people don’t look quite so much like scarecrows when they move). I believe it’s called Morroblivion; give it a shot, see if it makes it a bit more to your liking. 🙂
Of course, the other thing about Morrowind is that you’re fairly aimless there at the start. That can be a challenge all its own, but there’s ways to make that aspect better as well.
Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I’m running it on my Xbox 360 off of the original Xbox game, which doesn’t allow for mods, unless I’m wrong.