Tag: rpg

The Demonic Realm of the Oblivion Gates: Oblivion Remastered’s Incredible Graphics and Style

Oblivion Sigil Tower

In comparison with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Oblivion is very different game in its style. Skyrim takes in a time of change, and it seems that the Septim Empire is no longer the great juggernaut that it once was. It is a time of the Nords reawakening to their ancient imperial past and the Imperials are finding themselves in an age of much greater competition than had existed in Oblivion.

The catalyst of this imperial decline and turmoil? The Oblivion Crisis caused by the Mehrunes Dagon, the Daedric Prince of Destruction. Unlike the other Daedric Princes, he is blatantly a chaotic and vicious entity and the amount of damage he caused by his armies descending upon the Septim Empire can’t really even be seen in the game. However, if we were to think about it realistically within the confines of the lore and culture, the Oblivion Crisis severely weakened the whole empire, causing the Mede Dynasty to come to power and the metaphysical strength of the empire gone and various Mer and Beasts rising to power in their various realms.

Unlike the Dragons in Skyrim, the Oblivion Plane of Mehrunes Dagon is a land of contrast with the land of milk and honey in Cyrodiil in spite of the bandits and the dangerous creatures walking around in that area.

When you enter the Oblivion Gates, the graphics of the Remastered Version showcase the power of the original design with a new coat of paint.

Many games do not even come close to how powerful this demonic realm appears to the player, especially in the new version.

Here is a gallery of photos showcasing the immense weight of the Oblivion Realm.

While it does not have much color variation, the details in the Remastered version are incredible; this is also only on the GeForce Now version. On more powerful computers, the quality must be even higher. The Oblivion Gates are huge contrast to the world outside; everything is twisted and vicious. Even the plants seem demonic and more akin to violence than giving life in this realm. There are no butterflies, no flowers, no lilac pads of any kind. It’s just black rocks soaring into the sky with rivers of lava everywhere.

This is a truly unique experience. It makes you understand why saving the world outside the Oblivion Gates is so important. Unlike the Dragons which are so easily hit by arrows in Skyrim, the separation of the Oblivion Gates from the regular world helps to provide the importance to the mission of the hero in this story.

There is nothing greater in Oblivion than being able to close those gates and reenter the world of Cyrodiil knowing you are standing against the forces of Mehrunes Dagon and engaging in a great struggle of survival.

It is what makes the game interesting and have the weight that has kept it fresh for so many years after its original release in 2006. Oblivion Remastered show that age on a video game can truly make some great wine that everyone wants to enjoy.

The interactivity of NPCS in Starfield vs other Bethesda titles

The release of Starfield has come and went and we gamers are having much fun with it. It has become one of the highly anticipated games of the year and I am itching to get my hands on it. This is going to be a game that everyone is going to be talking about for many years just like Skyrim. One of the aspects of the game that really interests me is the Artificial Intelligence in the game. While ChatGPT came too close to release for it to have any real impact on Starfield’s development, I am very interested to see what type of interactions we can have with the many NPCs in the game. 

The interactions between NPCs are one of those things that I love to see in other games. I will just spend time just walking around, taking a look at the people and machines interacting with each other. It is a true delight to see such technology in action, especially in games such as this.

NPCS in Starfield: Mixed results

While the Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind was well known for having very static NPCs that really did not really contribute to a living and breathing environment. However, within a span of a couple of years, Bethesda released the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and showed what AI can do in video games. 

The NPCS in Oblivion all had their own times they woke up and then when to sleep. They had routines and would do certain things in the game like reading books and performing magic spells. I would just love spending time just watching NPCs walking around and acting out the illusion that they had a greater role in the game than just being set dressing for the environment or a resource for the player.

Skyrim would continue the trend of giving NPCS something to do than just being set dressing for the environment. The game would tone down the level of conversations but emphasize the jobs that people had in the world of Skyrim. This was one of my most favorite parts of the game because it showed how the NPCS had something to do other than being window dressing like in the Morrowind games. These were people with lives outside of the player.

Starfield is a massive game that cost some 200 million dollars to make. Of course, Starfield can’t be everything to everyone. However, Bethesda has tried very hard to accomplish this. As I have played the game, Starfield has this jack of all trades vibe to it. It is a jack of all trades and a master of none.

This is okay, considering that Starfield has modding support and can be turned inton whatever the player wishes.

What I wish the game had been more interactive npcs. It is somewhat disappointing that they do not seem to have schedules but I eventually came to the conclusion that Starfield is more about the game not necessarily the experimental simulations that we saw in Oblivion. 

Starfield is a great game and these issues with the NPCs will be resolved with modding. The developers should be applauded for giving us players and prospective programmers a great canvas to build our own adventures in the game. This will provide the game with a great amount of longevity and replayability in the years to come.