Not only has Morrowind been named as One of the Most Wanted Games of 2002 by GameSpy, they have now put out a new wallpaper section and RPG Vault just recently added a new Developer Q & A, #16. If the game looks as good as the wallpaper, count me in! Morrowind Developer Q&A #16 Off The Beaten Path January 17, 2002 Released in 1993 and 1996 respectively, Arena and Daggerfall are the first two episodes in The Elder Scrolls series of CRPGs. These award-winning titles incorporated many different features and strengths, but they are probably best remembered for their very open-ended style of gameplay and the sheer scale of their gameworlds, both within the original fantasy-based world called Tamriel. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind takes place in the province from which it takes its name, specifically on the large island of Vvardenfell that surrounds the towering volcanic Red Mountain, also known as Dagoth-Ur. This is a vast area, albeit not as large as the environments in the earlier titles, offering great variety in terms of terrain, locations, monsters and other game elements. At the E3 trade show last May, Morrowind made an extremely positive impression on those fortunate enough to receive invitations to see it demonstrated in it Bethsoft's private room. At that time, the company also began to release more information about the game. As you would expect, we were already following the game as closely as possible, but since then, we have learned much more about it, including the high importance the team has placed on filling the entire world with content. For this Morrowind Developer Q&A #16, we thought it would be interesting to find out about some of this content. Seven of the developers were kind enough to take time to tell us about something enjoyable, interesting or special that lies off the game's critical path. Jonric: Please describe a location, item, monster or some other game element that is not on the critical path, but that you consider especially interesting, intriguing or enjoyable. Todd Howard Project Leader I enjoy the Daedric Shrines. High risk, but high reward. You find them out in the wilds, and they're some of the coolest areas in the game. A good place to find daedric weapons as well. They can be tough though, so avoid them if you aren't butch enough. Mark Bullock Artist The "Forgotten Vaults of Anudnabia, Forge of Rolamus". The manner in which its elements came together during its creation was very pleasing. The method in which the player discovers the area should prove entertaining. Great treasures await those who are willing and prepared for a proper exploration. Just don't forget to bring your Potion of Rising Force. Mark Nelson Designer In testing, I've been finding a lot of things interesting. For example, I learned that if you artificially inflate your Acrobatics skill to about 1,000 you can travel Incredible Hulk-style across the landscape, jumping from city to city. This is fun. There are some pretty cool things to see playing the game straight up, too. Some of my favorite locations in the game are the Daedric Shrines. The architecture and lighting is dark and otherworldly, they often are filled with killer creatures, and many of them have these incredibly huge statues dominating the center room. Plus, there are some sweet quests that start in these places (if I do say so myself). Ken Rolston Lead Designer Hmm. Something NOT on the main path. [Where I spend ALL my time.] And something intriguing [but that I won't spoil its suspense by describing]. Okay. The weather. A perfect example is something Todd Howard called me up to tell me about. He was planning a difficult journey into the wilderness, and he popped into the exterior and said, "Oh. Ash storm today. I think I'll wait for a clear day." And then he caught himself, and said, "Wow. I just decided to wait for a clear day to make this trip. That weather is really something." I know just what he is talking about. Once I decided to make a tough overland first passage through unfamiliar country. And, like an idiot, I decided to travel in the dark. In an ash storm. As a result I became Extra Lost. The trip took a long, long time. And I never reached my destination. And I managed to walk right past the doors to various lairs and ruins. And, when I happened to come back along that route again later, I didn't recognize it at all. Sure. The clouds and sunsets and lens flares are pretty. But the weather here genuinely gives you a sense of place. Especially inside the Ghostfence, where the weather is ALWAYS terrible. Matt Picioccio Programmer Somewhere off the beaten path in the Ascadian Isles, a beautiful green land of giant mushroom-trees, there is a door in the side of the mountain. Once inside, I look around a bit and find... veins of ebony! Score! Ebony is worth a lot of money to an early-level character, and that always helps. Something was wrong... why weren't there any miners here? Some minor creatures had taken up residence, but nothing that a third-level spellsword couldn't handle. Though I already had lots of ebony (slowing me down quite a bit with its weight, in fact), my greed directed me to the last side tunnel that I had not explored. I turned a corner into a large, pitch-black room where I could not see how big the room was. Red flame stood out, and moved back and forth a bit - then it came right at me! A Flame Atronach! I ran as fast as I could, burdened as I was, and I eventually had to dump almost all of the ebony in order to run fast enough to avoid getting my head handed to me. I barely got out of there with my life. Mike Wagner Bethesda Softworks' Art Director and Webmaster Well, I think that the Shrine of Azura is especially interesting visually. It is Morrowind's version of the Statue of Liberty and resides on the Southeastern coast of Vvardenfell. There is just something cool about a massive statue that stands upon a rocky cliff, looking out onto the ocean. Noah Berry Artist One of my favorite aspects of Morrowind is the depth of detail to the world. Every handcrafted item, person, or place was given careful consideration and checked with the extensive history of the Elder Scrolls lore. What's really refreshing while playing is stumbling across a hidden, tucked away area that's not necessarily in a design document on our network somewhere. Whether it's a small shack out in the middle of the boonies, or secret underwater cave seen in passing out of the corner of my eye, it's always a reward to happen across a cool little scene, person, or item that my fellow team members have constructed. There's a lot of personal touch to Morrowind that brings the game to life like never before. As Morrowind progresses toward its release, which is widely projected to occur during the first quarter of this year, the level of anticipation among RPG fans and gamers in general continues to build, in large part because more and more information is available to attract their interest. We look forward to learning even more during the weeks ahead, but for now, we once again than Bethsoft and the team members who took part in this latest Q&A in our long-running series.