While the prospect The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered turning out to be a real thing had folks wondering what that might mean for Oblivion remake mod Skyblivion’s release, Bethesda were quick quell fears of a shutdown.
Both sides have been openly chummy since that point, with the studio behind The Elder Scrolls even having the team of modders pop by for a visit around the time their project was being shouted out on the official channels. We’ve now learned a bit more about how that social call went and what the two sides chatted about.
Speaking to cheery RPS fanzine PC Gamer, Skyblivion project lead Kyle ‘Rebelzize’ Rebel revealed that the studio visit came about because he’d been planning a trip to the US around PAX East, and decided that since he was going to be in the area, he’d ring up Bethesda and see if they’d mind Skyblivion folks popping in.
Cue a day at ToddCo HQ that the modder recalled ran from 11AM until 6PM, with Bethesda’s devs and Todd Howard himself chatting to the Skyblivion folks about their work. Naturally, it sounds like the studio’s devs were curious about how the modders have found building their own interpretation of Oblivion using Skyrim’s tools, with Rebel saying that “how we experienced using those tools, what kind of issues we run into, and what we’d like to see in terms of documentation” were all big talking points.
As for the feedback the Skyblivion folks offered, the project lead said he kindly asked Bethesda to consider bringing back the official creation kit tutorial video series it released on YouTube when Skyrim got its tools. If you’ve not watched these vids, they’re basically short how-tos narrated by different Bethesda devs that explain the ins-and-outs of the modding process.
A way to get started with Skyrim modding using the CK by making a basic dungeon, if – as I was when I used these videos for exactly that last year – you don’t know your bum from your elbow when it comes to actually making mods or the navigating the practicalities of game development.
Sure, there are plenty of good tutorials you can find if you’re looking to get into modding more recent Bethesda games like Starfield or Fallout 4, with some even being by high-profile modders, but it’s cool to have the devs who made the thing you’ve been playing talk you through the tools they used to do so. They’re pretty good teachers, and it gives you an extra level of appreciation the next time you delve into one of Skyrim’s dungeons. You’ll know just how much work went to ensuring the enemies don’t all get stuck on the same rock and eliminating void-leaking gaps in the ceiling, and it’ll be good for your soul.