Oblivion Overall Rating: 17/20
![Picture](/uploads/4/9/3/6/49361479/7355948.jpg?489)
About five years after the release of Morrowind, Bethesda came out with its fourth installment in The Elder Scrolls series. Oblivion is part of the power trio of the series, with Morrowind and Skyrim, which are still regularly played today. Just like Morrowind, it was formatted for the gaming consoles as well as PCs.
Visual Design Rating: 5/5
The visual design of Oblivion blew away its predecessors. The time between Morrowind and Oblivion's releases was well-used. The leap the game made in graphics was considerable and it was reflected in the gameplay introduction. Sweeping panoramic shots of the game’s capital city just served as an introduction to the advances Bethesda had made. The entire walk-through was conducted with the player’s comprehension in mind.
The color-scheme for the informational boxes made the text easily readable and was aesthetically pleasing, while the character creation screen utilized “slider” bars to show the player the range of options. These sliders were simplistic but efficient since their purpose was easily deduced by the structure of the screen and placement of text.
Visual Design Rating: 5/5
The visual design of Oblivion blew away its predecessors. The time between Morrowind and Oblivion's releases was well-used. The leap the game made in graphics was considerable and it was reflected in the gameplay introduction. Sweeping panoramic shots of the game’s capital city just served as an introduction to the advances Bethesda had made. The entire walk-through was conducted with the player’s comprehension in mind.
The color-scheme for the informational boxes made the text easily readable and was aesthetically pleasing, while the character creation screen utilized “slider” bars to show the player the range of options. These sliders were simplistic but efficient since their purpose was easily deduced by the structure of the screen and placement of text.
![Picture](/uploads/4/9/3/6/49361479/7028679.jpg?486)
Instructional Clarity Rating: 5/5
The clarity of the visual design complimented the instruction delivery. With lightly colored text boxes and dark text, the instructions were easy to read. Plus, the directions were given in two five line bursts, alleviating most of the confusion that came with bulky instructions.
The delivery also benefited greatly from the usage of precise wording. Instead of rambling sentences, the lines were packed with purpose and since there were no words wasted, there were no ambiguous meanings.
The gameplay tutorial was performance based, meaning that the player had to perform actions that showed their understanding of commands before progressing. This alleviated the tendency of the past games to leave the player wandering around the game, disoriented and unsure what to do. Forcing the player to complete tasks to get to the next checkpoint ensured their understanding and thanks to the storyline of the tutorial, the player is able to watch the NPCs (Non-player Characters) demonstrate.
The clarity of the visual design complimented the instruction delivery. With lightly colored text boxes and dark text, the instructions were easy to read. Plus, the directions were given in two five line bursts, alleviating most of the confusion that came with bulky instructions.
The delivery also benefited greatly from the usage of precise wording. Instead of rambling sentences, the lines were packed with purpose and since there were no words wasted, there were no ambiguous meanings.
The gameplay tutorial was performance based, meaning that the player had to perform actions that showed their understanding of commands before progressing. This alleviated the tendency of the past games to leave the player wandering around the game, disoriented and unsure what to do. Forcing the player to complete tasks to get to the next checkpoint ensured their understanding and thanks to the storyline of the tutorial, the player is able to watch the NPCs (Non-player Characters) demonstrate.
![Picture](/uploads/4/9/3/6/49361479/4900362.jpg?507)
Appeal Rating: 5/5
Just like every other Elder Scroll game, the appeal of gameplay is undeniable. The emperor of Tamriel – The Elder Scrolls universe – is being sought by assassins and he has foreseen you in his dreams of the future. You have been imprisoned for some unknown transgression, but you escape since the emperor’s secret escape route is only accessible from your cell. You split off from the emperor and his decidedly antagonistic guards’ mid-tutorial, but there is never a dull moment down in the deep recesses of the escape tunnel.
Length Rating: 2/5
Oblivion’s intro, though excelling at the three previous categories, was a bit long. There was no way to circumvent first dungeon. You were forced to follow the escaping emperor and his guards, branch off on your own, completely exterminate a goblin camp, and then meet back up with the emperor. Though this definitely drove home the basics of the gameplay as well as the finer points, it did seem to drag at points. However, given the choice, the understanding of the game mechanics with a longer tutorial is preferable to a short, but unintelligible gameplay intro.
Just like every other Elder Scroll game, the appeal of gameplay is undeniable. The emperor of Tamriel – The Elder Scrolls universe – is being sought by assassins and he has foreseen you in his dreams of the future. You have been imprisoned for some unknown transgression, but you escape since the emperor’s secret escape route is only accessible from your cell. You split off from the emperor and his decidedly antagonistic guards’ mid-tutorial, but there is never a dull moment down in the deep recesses of the escape tunnel.
Length Rating: 2/5
Oblivion’s intro, though excelling at the three previous categories, was a bit long. There was no way to circumvent first dungeon. You were forced to follow the escaping emperor and his guards, branch off on your own, completely exterminate a goblin camp, and then meet back up with the emperor. Though this definitely drove home the basics of the gameplay as well as the finer points, it did seem to drag at points. However, given the choice, the understanding of the game mechanics with a longer tutorial is preferable to a short, but unintelligible gameplay intro.
Conclusion
The visual aspect of the instructions greatly aided their delivery, as did the succinct wording. The forceful prompting of the player to learn the game controls ensures understanding, which some of the earlier games struggled with. However, greater emphasis on understanding can negatively affect the brevity of introductions.
The visual aspect of the instructions greatly aided their delivery, as did the succinct wording. The forceful prompting of the player to learn the game controls ensures understanding, which some of the earlier games struggled with. However, greater emphasis on understanding can negatively affect the brevity of introductions.
Images belong to Bethesda Softworks, LLC