Summary
Few video game series last as long asThe Elder Scrollshas, with the first game, Arena, released way back in 1994. However, with such longevity comes the inevitable draw of controversy. The evolution of each game took many forms, both mechanically and lore-wise, some of which were eventually accepted and well-received. Others not so much.
While there is no such thing as an objectively correct design choice,TESfans felt a little more whiplash from these changes than most others, and unlike most other instances, they couldn’t simply fix them with a quick mod download.
7Cutting Mororwind’s Mainland - Morrowind
Stranded On The Volcanic Isle Of Vvardenfell
The leap in map size betweenThe Elder Scrolls: ArenaandThe Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfallwas immense. While players can explore the entirety of Tamriel inArena, each location is rather small (including capital cities) and generic. WhileDaggerfall’s semi-procedurally generated towns could certainly feel copy-pasted, they are to scale, as the map isapproximately the size of real-life England. Naturally, fans expectedMorrowind’s explorable world to be at least on par.
However, Bethesda took the “generic locations” feedback to heart and opted for a hand-crafted environment. This meant scaling back in scope, and the decision was made to set the entirety of the game on the island to the north, Vvardenfell. Some long-time fans felt cheated by this, despite Vvardenfell’s impressive size, wishing to see all of Morrowind. This sentiment led toTamriel Rebuilt, one of the largest and most ambitious mod projects in the series to date, and one that its developers are still expanding on a voluntary basis more than two decades later.
6The Heartlands Unjungled - Oblivion
Talos' Middle-earth Fan Mod Of Cyrodiil
The lore ofThe Elder Scrollshas always been fluid withregular retcons and new editionsbeing inserted with each game. However, once the news dropped that players would be able to visit the Imperial homeland in the next game,Oblivion, fans poured through every resource they could find. From NPC dialogue and lore books, the seat of the empire’s jungle province sounded like a wild place.
Morrowind’s lore described Cyrodiil as divided between tropical Colovian and grassy Nibenese geographies with iron dragons roaming the skies, enchanting rice paddies, and at its center,a sprawling, palatial metropolisspread across a thousand isles, rising into splendor and disintegrating into ruins as it touched upon an endless jungle. As legend has it,Oblivionentered development around the time Peter Jackson’sLord of the Ringshit theaters, and by way of “Talos modded Tamriel,” the jungle was transformed into a temperate, Middle-earth-like forest, much to the chagrin of the original lore.
5The Levitation Act Of 3E 421 - Oblivion
A More Grounded Adventure
Levitation magic inMorrowindwas not only available but in some places, such as the Telvanni towers, necessary to get around. However, many mage players inOblivionwere taken aback when they found out that one of theirfavorite ways to mock gravitywas absent. This was explained away by the “Levitation Act of 3E 421,” in which the use of such spells was made illegal.
The real reason, of course, was that cities inOblivionwere closed off from the open world, and being able to see beyond these walls would have broken immersion and likely the game. In fairness, although this change was highly controversial, giving players the ability to fly makes the game design of dungeons nearly impossible and can turn the entire map into flyover country.
4The Dragon Break Of The Second Era - The Elder Scrolls Online
Treading On The Scaly Toes Of Time
The Elder Scrolls Online’s place within the larger series is still a controversial one. The fact thatESOis an MMO game puts it on shaky grounds with the fans who prefer the intimacy of a single-player open world, but the most controversial aspect, balance and game design aside, is its lore. BecauseThe Elder Scrolls Onlineis set in the second era, there is always a danger that it will tread on pre-existing lore, and blaming dragon breaks and Daedra can only take things so far.
Although many fans believe thatESOadded plenty of great lore, there are still topics that ignite heated debate. For example, the Nords of Skyrim had always hated elves, and Argonians of Black Marsh had always been considered lowly slaves by the Dunmer of Morrowind, butESOhas them all team up with the Ebonheart Pact.
3Replacing Attributes And Classes - Skyrim
Streamlining Can Have Its Perks
Todd Howard lore has it that the decision to remove classes (including their associated attributes and derived skill levels) primarily came from fan feedback. Although character classes and attributes have been with the series from the beginning, it makes sense fora game that values player freedomto remove this restriction and replace it with an impactful standing stone and perk system.
Dropping attributes likely made certain elements easier to balance (such as speed or jump height) and left more time for Bethesda to create other features. However, many fans still argue that being able to do anything made creating distinct characters difficult, especially when players can easily ascend to the leadership position of every faction.
2The Creation Club - Skyrim (Special Edition)
The Cost Of Exclusive Creations
TechnicallySkyrim: Special Editionwas not an innovation but a rerelease, but it nonetheless came with its own suite of changes. One of those changes was the “Creation Club,” or as some of its harshest critics called it, “paid mods.” Modding anElder Scrollsgame had been popular as early asMorrowind, and the idea behind the Creation Club was to give (Bethesda-approved) modders a way to gain financially from their efforts.
However, the initiative saw scorn from a vocal anti-Creation Club group, who saw it as an early sign of Bethesda cracking down on community-driven content. Thankfully, these fears were proven unfounded, asSkyrim’s modding sceneis still as strong as ever, and creations (many of which were rolled into theAnniversary Edition) are there for those players who want them.
1The Horse Armor DLC - Oblivion
While cosmetic microtransactions are today as commonplace as developer crunch mandates at a AAA studio, games offering digital items for small fees were largely unheard of back in 2006, when Bethesda offered its “Horse Armor DLC” toOblivionplayers. The pack, sold for $2.50, added buyable horse armor made from a variety of materials to the land of Cyrodiil.
The DLC received a huge backlash, in part because Bethesda’s downloaded releases of similar scales had previously been free, and quickly became an internet meme. However, while it was notthe first game to use microtransactions, the move arguably led the way for other publishers to put dollar-sized price tags on a meager digital offering, both in multiplayer and single-player games.
