when The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind Released on May 1, 2002, my adolescence was nothing more than a string of impulses dripping from my underdeveloped brain like an embarrassing ooze. Pants that look like dungeon walls are who I am. The only difference between one day and the next is whether or not my health teacher will draw dicks on the whiteboard in health class. (He often did.) I was aloof and sheltered, floating in a hell that looked a lot like a Garden State Plaza, until one day I woke up on a boat as a prisoner born on a certain day, from uncertainty parents.
I’ve always been drawn to games that seem to be free.travel through the cloud Arcadia sky Exciting, like running around ShenmuYokosuka, ask strange hostile NPCs about the whereabouts of sailors. There are invisible walls and locked doors, but I can go where I want to go most of the time, unconstrained by the consequences and the judgment of others.
Morrowind Hardly my first video game, but it was my first true love. When I crave meaning and life is at its most unsalted and unsalted state, this is a flavored fried goldfish. I’ve played the game before, but this is more of a replacement for reality. Long before the open world became ubiquitous, it was open beyond comprehension. My small and mundane existence was replaced by the same degree of possibility, mystery and terror. The game fundamentally changed the criteria for judging subsequent open-world RPGs. It changes everything.
Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon
I had no friends at school, but the residents of Waddenfell were not worried about my lack of social status. They just wanted to criticize my outsider status, or run around naked, or keep them away from the important work of winding a 5-foot radius and staring blankly into the distance. The game’s voice acting is also very limited, with dialogue mostly delivered through text boxes. This has an interesting bonus of allowing me to assign whatever tone I see fit to the NPC chatter – I’ve often overly offended and murdered many innocent townspeople, screwing myself up for future questlines in the process .
Playing as Morrowind, I’m Colonel Kurtz’s snail crawling on the edge of a straight razor
That’s one of many miracles Morrowind: You can fuck yourself in ways you can’t imagine. In fact, Morrowind Provides the freedom to break the rules of the game. Some modern games offer branching decision trees under the veil of agents, but end up getting everyone to the same conclusion anyway.but in Morrowind, no such gimmick. In fact, sometimes there is no failure state at all. There’s no end-game screen after you’ve killed a shady moon sugar addict and “severed the thread of the prophecy.” You may have played for dozens of hours before realizing the impact of dropping a key item somewhere down the drain. The creators of Bethesda didn’t think about protecting us from ourselves.play MorrowindI’m Colonel Kurtz’s snail crawling along the edge of a straight razor.
Subverting your better judgment doesn’t always lead to failure, though. In some cases, it led to further adventures. If one feels particularly timid, they can kill the god-king Vivec and head down the rabbit hole of a completely alternate main quest path. This information was not telegraphed to the player at first. Instead, rewards only known to those arrogant enough to kill gods.The lack of clear direction is MorrowindThe genius design of the Breath of the Wild and Eldon Ring. Like those games, new missions Morrowind It is discovered organically – through dialogue and actions, rather than running to the nearest map icon.
Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon
Curiosity, not waypoints, drove the exploration of Waddenfell Island. Morrowind It came before we were all indoctrinated into cults Quality of Life. Convenience can ease frustration, yes, but it can also turn an otherwise rich experience into something unconscious. Morrowind Save the magic by stubbornly refusing to spoon-feed its players. A physical map, often ambiguous (and sometimes straightforward) directions shared by quest providers, and the player’s own dubious intuition aid navigation. Fast travel options are available, but only to specific locations. And you’re standing most of the time, so the island feels huge – even though the game’s draw distance is horrendous.
With so much to explore and discover, serendipity is to be expected. After discussing the sweet rolls with the tax collector, you can proceed beyond Seyda Neen’s village and hear a loud scream. It was a wizard who fell from the sky to his death. On his corpse is a diary outlining the hubris that led to the shattered corpse in front of you. Along with the spell that intensifies the acrobatics to dangerous levels, Tahir’s final moments evoke a general sense of awe that adds color to the entire journey forward. It seems that anything can happen, not bound by specific tasks and tasks, as long as you’re in the right place at the right time. The map is full of possibilities.
The island was full of people. The geography ranges from the swamps to the grasslands to the grey hell of the Red Mountains, with vibrant mushroom plants along the way.Skyboxes are usually spectacular, if they are not obscured by a group of itinerant cliff racers (shots of these creatures are in Clockwork Orangeaversion therapy). And water.Everyone’s brains exploded far crywater, and Morrowindof never got the recognition it deserved. It’s shiny, rippling, and looks wet – everything you want in good water. Beneath the surface is a blue void containing treasures, shipwrecks and skeletons.
Architecture is as diverse as geography. Each of the three large houses has a prevalent design aesthetic that reflects their unique sensibilities, and discrete sense of place. I love the twisted towers of the Taiwani family, carved from giant mushrooms, with vertical halls that require levitation to navigate. House Redoran’s buildings look like insect carapaces, and House Haraloo’s style is the least dreamy (though I do have a soft spot for it, since Balmora, which is allied with Haraloo, is my character’s hometown) . It’s worth noting that most of the cities in the game line up with the rest of the map. No loading screen when entering a settlement means you might stumble upon one.
Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon
Maybe Morrowind It felt familiar and comforting because just like real life, there was no shortage of places that made me feel unwelcome. The Demon Temple is as dangerous as they look, made of twisted piles of sharp black metal and cage-like structures. The Dwemer Ruins are abandoned industrial halls where you can observe the remnants of a once prosperous society. There, you might encounter a rising sleeper, a Lovecraftian nightmare of eyeballs and tentacles (and the nickname I gave myself two hours after consuming an indica-based diet) . In addition to these sprawling ruins, there are plenty of smugglers’ caves and tombs in which I can explore, loot, and die.
Elden Ring may represent a natural evolution of Morrowind’s side quests and character interactions
Every game session produces something new and exciting. Hop along the small patches of land scattered across the coastline and meet a perpetually drunk and extremely wealthy mud crab merchant. You might meet a lone Nord, tricked by a pampering witch, and wander the land naked and angry. These brief interactions and tangential adventures will draw attention to even the most dedicated explorer. Eldon Ring may represent a natural evolution of the idea, the density and complexity of its world design represents Morrowindside quests and character interactions. These games are like dining at one of the conveyor belt sushi restaurants, where every whim is thoroughly indulged.
Streamlined progression systems tend to reduce modern RPGs to action games, Morrowind In a sense, it’s a role-playing game. Player abilities are second only to player characters. The success of an action is determined by probability, hence why you can unfortunately swing your sword on killing fish and not do any damage. It’s tabletop-inspired cosplay that makes this both maddening and so rewarding. Skills increase with use, so if you pick a lock, your security increases. Player characters are more specialized due to skills and domination attributes. They are less likely to assume a vague jack-of-all-trades role when progress in all things is inevitable.
Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon
I have a strong sense of ownership of my characters because they reflect my decisions rather than an arbitrary distribution of skill points. However, the system is not without its drawbacks. On the one hand, it is easy to exploit. Only a player’s commitment to role-playing can prevent them from jumping to their destination instead of walking, greatly improving their acrobatic skills. Having said that, my Nerevarine is Easter Bunny themed – so this behavior makes perfect sense.
Morrowind The perfect thing at the perfect time. It uncovered my sad goth girl identity and split my life into two halves: one defined by insecurities and apathy, the other touched by the face of (Daedric) God. It awakened me to the possibilities of video games, not only in terms of technology, but also in terms of how they affect me as a player.The game has come a long way in the decades since its release, but I still find myself defying impossible standards in everything Morrowind put.Although there are some games coming to an end, I’m still in constant pursuit of someone whose freedom can inspire the same wonderful feeling Morrowind It was given to me 20 years ago.
