The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind Interview

AT: Tell us more about the spell system. How much will it resemble the system used in Daggerfall?

TH: It's similar to Daggerfall, but much improved. You'll still be able to make your own spells, but this time you'll have to learn spell effects before you can combine them.

AT: Could you tell us anything about the control system (Can we look forward to swinging that mouse again)?

A guy with a pointy blade.

Wielding the mighy axe.

TH: It's closer to Jedi Knight or Thief this time around. The mouse doesn't control how you swing because it moves your view.

AT: Will the game feature only the first person view, or are you going to introduce some other "cameras"?

TH: It's a 1st person game, but we've recently added a 3rd person option so you can see how cool you look running around. We're concentrating on 1st person though.

AT: You're not going to use the same rendering engine you used in Redguard, are you?

TH: No it's all 100% new.

AT: DirectX?

TH: Yes, it's full Direct 3D.

AT: What about introducing a multiplayer mode? Your development team never seemed willing to introduce it. Why?

TH: We thought about it when we first started. In general, we feel it is better to concentrate on making the best single player game we can, and all the time should be spent making it the best it can be. I think Everquest and UO are much better multiplayer games, and that would be something completely different.

AT: I am really curious about the new Construction set which is supposed to be published with the game.

TH: We've really spent a long time making it great. I'm curious to see how many people use it and create cool stuff. It's very easy to use. It will come with documentation to help people understand everything it can do. It doesn't take very long to learn to use, and it let's you do an awful lot with the game. We're excited to see what kinds of things our fans come up with. They' re a pretty creative bunch.

AT: What point in development did you reach, and should we expect the game any time before the currently set release date (middle of 2001)?

TH: We're finishing up our system phase and entering content creation (building the world). I'd look for the game late 2001. I doubt it will be out any sooner.