The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Q&A

Boomtown has published a Q&A with Bethesda’s Gavin Garter, in which The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion producer offers answers to a large batch of questions about the RPG. Take a look:

Q: Thrown weapons have been removed in favour of bows and arrows. Can you explain the reason behind this decision, and does it represent an overall restriction to the fabulous sensation of choice usually offered by the Elder Scrolls series?

A: There will always be an uproar whenever any feature that was present in previous games, no matter how small, is removed. But let’s face it – when you talk about ranged combat in an RPG, you’re talking about bows. We really wanted to focus all of our development efforts on bows and get the feel of those as close to perfect as possible. So we took bows and added in Havok physics, so arrows arc through the world and fall off with gravity. And we made arrows stick in enemies’ bodies, as well as in materials like wood, while they will bounce off things like stone. You can even pluck spent arrows out of your enemy’s body. We’ve added in a skill-based bow zoom to help out higher level characters pull off some slick sniper shots. Stealth bow attacks have their own animations. We’re really excited about our bow implementation and think players are going to really enjoy using them.