With Morrowind set to release for?The Elder Scrolls Online this summer, many gamers are looking forward to revisiting the lands and adventures of The Elder Scrolls 3. With Morrowind on the horizon, many gamers are interested to see how it compares with Skywind, a community-created mod for Skyrim that will open Morrowind up to Skyrim players.
Game Rant recently spoke with Skywind coding lead, who goes by Kninja50, to discuss what the modders can learn from Morrowind and what they have planned for the future of the Elder Scrolls franchise. Speaking about Morrowind for The Elder Scrolls Online, Kninja50?said:
“It's another way for fans to explore one of the coolest places in the lore and it has potential to show the Skywind team more material we can take into consideration for our project, so I think it's pretty cool that Bethesda is revisiting Morrowind in a way.”
Skywind isn’t currently available for the general public, but with the Morrowind expansion set to release for The Elder Scrolls Online in June, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Skywind become available as a beta around that time. That said, Kninja50's comments about learning from Morrowind on The Elder Scrolls Online may mean the mods are hoping to gain insight to incorporate into Skywind before launching the mod to Skyrim players.
Kninja50 expanded on some of the lessons the mods have learned from the Elder Scrolls series, as well as what the mods have learned from Bethesda’s practices. Interestingly, one of the most notable observations Kninja50?made has to do with the NPCs in the Elder Scrolls games. Kninja50?said:
“Working on Skywind has shown me that the games have become more complex with each release. For example, in Morrowind a lot of NPCs stood still and never moved to sleep or eat or close up their shop, but with Skyrim's engine we can implement those things to make Morrowind feel more alive. Bethesda's dev team has their work cut out for them. Between implementing new features and adding content using the existing features, there's a lot that goes into making (or remaking) an Elder Scrolls game.”
While Bethesda hasn’t yet announced any additional areas coming to The Elder Scrolls Online, Kninja50?has an area in mind he’d like to see tackled by the developer. When asked which area Kninja50?would like to explore in the future, he said:
“Elsweyr. I think that it has potential to introduce unique material to the Elder Scrolls lore like Morrowind did. The Kajiit lore could be expanded on in many different ways, and I feel the same could be said of the Argonians if Black Marsh was visited in its own game.”
As for Morrowind, Kninja50?opened up about his love for the area and why it’s such an iconic area to work on for Skyrim. Kninja50?revealed:
“The enemies, the landscape, the people, the bad guy - there's nothing else quite like Morrowind in the other Elder Scrolls games or even in other RPGs. Oblivion and Skyrim visted familiar themes (Medieval and Norse), but Morrowind gives a mixture that you can't really find anywhere else.”
It will be interesting to see how Morrowind on The Elder Scrolls Online and Skywind on Skyrim compare when both are released to the public. Hopefully both experiences give Elder Scrolls fans an opportunity to revisit and enjoy one of the most beloved regions in the Elder Scrolls franchise.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind will release on June 6, 2017 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.