f you weren’t already overwhelmed with the dizzying array of content contained in Oblivion, through the main questline and various downloads, look out—Bethesda is poised to release its Shivering Isles expansion pack. The expansion lets players explore the fractured world of Sheogorath, one of the Elder Scrolls’ most memorable characters. We spoke with Oblivion’s Executive Producer Todd Howard about the expansion, and he gave his take on downloadable content and a little Fallout info, too.
Game Informer: In Shivering Isles, the art styles of Mania and Dementia seem to pull from Morrowind a bit—the colors, mushrooms, etc. Was Morrowind the inspiration for the new look?
Todd Howard: No, not at all. I think when people see a mushroom they go, “Morrowind!” It’s more doing high fantasy, so Morrowind is more high fantasy. The idea with doing an expansion pack is that people have seen that, and with an expansion pack you can do something to visually set it apart. Instantly, even in one screenshot, it’s like, “That’s different.” We wanted to go more high fantasy—that’s really where the look comes from.
GI: Is there anything in particular—without any spoilers—that players should know about the relationship between Mania and Dementia and how Sheogorath is at the center of this light and dark contrast?
Howard: The players get to pick. You know, when you get into the land of madness, it’s typically you doing things that are more horror based. It sounds kind of evil, so we really wanted to balance it to where the player goes in and there can be this whole creative side to madness—the mania. Creative painters and people who throw opulent dinner parties with really odd things—stuff like that is actually in the game. That’s what it was about, and those are both sides of Sheogorath. If you’ve played the Sheogorath quests in Oblivion, when he’s raining dogs on the people, it’s kind of funny that he’s raining flaming dogs on the people, but it’s also disturbing. That’s sort of the spirit of the two sides, and it also gives players a very tangible choice, where it’s not just someone describing something—they can see it.
GI: How much of the new content is tied directly into the story versus standalone quests?
Howard: About the same percentage—no, it’s probably higher. I’d say 60% to 70% is the main story, and the miscellaneous quests are the other 30% to 40%. But the other miscellaneous quests are tied into that theme, whereas in Oblivion the Fighter’s Guild is doing their own thing, the Dark Brotherhood is doing their own thing, in this, everything feels more connected, which was our goal.
GI: One of the things people seem to be most excited about is the weapon and spellcrafting. Can you explain how this is all going to work?
Howard: Well, there is an armorer in there who will build armor for you if you collect pieces. Truthfully, I think it’s gotten overblown. “You can make your own armor, you can make your own weapons.” They’re really in select areas. But they make for good collection quests. I get this stuff and I can go there and they can make something unique just for me, as opposed to just finding that thing. That’s really what it’s about.
GI: Are there any particular monsters that you’re excited about?
Howard: I like the Grummites, because they seem to be more than monsters—they seem to inhabit this world. They have a little bit—as much as you can for guys who come out and attack you—it seems like they have some culture. They seem like they live there. They’re more believable in the environment, as opposed to Joe Creature who just pops up. Even though they’re all rooted in the environment, those, more than the others, feel like they live there, which always makes it feel a little more believable for me.
GI: We’d love to have a house on the corner of Mania Avenue and Crazy Lane. Will there be any new mushroom houses for sale?
Howard: Mushroom houses? No. There is a town called Split, which is right in the middle. Half the people are Mania and half the people are Dementia, and they have to actually have duplicates, and the one side wants you to go get rid of the other. It’s a fun town. And that’s just a miscellaneous quest, but it’s an example of how it ties in.
GI: Can you bring your horse into the portal?
Howard: No, there are no horses.
GI: Are there new mounts?
Howard: No. We’re less a fan of the horses than most people.
GI: Why?
Howard: Truthfully, I think they’re nice—people in a game like this want to ride horses. But they probably don’t do everything they could do. They never, for me, got to the final level that I think they could have, as far as how they feel, fighting on them--other things like that. They’re good for quickly riding around the world, and that’s fine. You do, when you play the game, see, “They could do this for the horses, or they could do this for the horses, and it doesn’t.” So, we kept them out of this.
GI: We know you can play the Shivering Isles with both a new or high-level character. In your opinion, which would be the best way to explore the new content?
Howard: Higher level. We do expect that people who are buying it have played Oblivion a lot, because that’s usually the case with an expansion pack. It does gear more higher. You can go in as a first-level character, but it’s probably not going to have the same impact. The stuff you’re getting, how the ingredients mesh with other things, it’s designed--thematically and how it’s balanced--for someone who’s put a good bit of time in Oblivion.