After 20 years, Oblivion devs reunite to watch making-of documentary. „It was as awkward as I thought”
Bethesda brought together the original team responsible for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for a t look at „awkward” footage of the process of creating the iconic RPG after nearly 20 years.
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The Oblivion was released. To celebrate the release of the updated version of the game, the team responsible for the 2006 title organized a nostalgic event, which turned out to be quite embarrassing for Todd Howard.
The reaction to the making-of video for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was recorded and published on Bethesda's official YouTube channel. The head of the studio, Todd Howard, told the developers straight away that the material was going to be "damn awkward to watch." It's easy to guess that it's related to observing younger versions of themselves - the creators comment on how they have changed in of appearance, and one dev (hired as the 42nd person in the company) notices that after two decades she still wears the same necklace.
The team recalls how important the launch of Oblivion was for the studio back then. After all, it was their first such large production, which delighted players. The creators also recall that the presentation of the fourth installment at the big game show was their first public appearance.
The material shows several fragments from the original Oblivion and even a street that was the first to be created in the game. One of the devs compared the process of making the title to a stressful summer camp:
Watching [the documentary] feels like we were away at summer camp. A really cool, stressful, summer camp. We didn't know we were about to ship Fallout 4 - said Ashley Cheng, the senior developer of the original Oblivion.
Todd Howard also didn't hide his slight embarrassment while watching the old footage. With a smile on his face, he observed his 20-years-younger self talking about friends who didn't understand his fascination with game creation and preferred that he return to the chess club. The current head of Bethesda commented on the entire video as follows:
It was very difficult to do what we wanted back then. It was as awkward as I thought. In so many ways, when I see it and look in the room, it feels the same.
