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Something Redeeming from Oblivion

Joined
May 29, 2015
Messages
24
A lot of worlds, characters, and stories are really well crafted in many RPGs, and just thinking about one game in particular recently got me thinking about how finding just the littlest detail can show how in depth and interesting the design of many of these are.

So, the one that kicked it off for me was from Oblivion. Yaah, honestly so I'm not even going to comment on the general quality of the game or most of it's aspects really, but in reading all the lore books as I often find myself doing I noticed something particularly cool regarding the Mysterium Xarxes, perhaps on face value one of the least interesting in game texts, it's a few lines of boredom in spooky arrangement, right? The text itself is all deciphered here: http://www.imperial-library.info/content/translating-mysterium-xarxes . Well, I noticed something rather cool actually, that made me proud of whoever thought of it:



In my opinion, the text is really all a guide to achieving CHIM. I've gotten some supplamentary information by reading some of Vivec's Lessons online, but I didn't want to read too much because I want to read the books of Morrowind by playing it again now that I'm older and could appreciate more, but alas I've run into trouble with my computer. In particular though, in the 21st commentary it states that Aurbis is a wheel of static change that is Sithis, and that the Divine are the bones and spokes of the wheel, but also that it is thus a circle and that circles are confused serpents biting themselves. Then, it describes that sideways it is a tower, and in it's center is a hole, a second serpent. The heart of this second serpent holds a secret triangular gate. This secret triangular gate holds a second secret tower, which viewed sideways is the only true name of God, I.

Look at the pages (that we can see) of the Mysterium Xarxes. It is a circle, with 8 lines within it. In it's center is the Daedric letter O, which contains a dot (or 'hole') in it's center. Then on the second page, it is a triangle. Now, putting this all together, the first page clearly shows the known universe, and the second page shows the 'secret' or inner universe that is the secret to seeing the true name of God and achieving CHIM, or apotheosis/enlightenment. It's fantastic because if you read the commentaries it's all about CHIM, which creates this interesting literary thread through lore established in Morrowind.

I've even worked a bit on analyzing the commentaries, which are very very rich with sub-surface beauty relating intricately to a lot of lore established in Morrowind. Anyways, I just thought was an interesting thing, and it shows there were some good writers working on Oblivion, even if the best writing is simply in books in the game instead of, well you know.
 

Leitz

Learned
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Apr 13, 2015
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350
Sounds boring. Doom still had the best lore without books, NPCs, cutsenes etc., when will the devs learn?
 

Jools

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Something Redeeming from Oblivion

Joined: Today

2/10, trying too hard.

Welcome to the Codex
Obligatory Friday Bub Tax
redhead-amp-big-boobs-lovely-beauties-1378503642k4g8n.jpg
 

Cthulhu_is_love

Guest
Jools some redhead fetish?

Keep up the good work!

Also:

Why so obvious?
 

Jools

Eater of Apples
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See, if a night of mind-blowing sex with Lucy Collett was included with every copy of Oblivion, and 4999.95$ in cash, and an Oil Well in Qatar, it still would be way beyond redemption.
 
Joined
May 29, 2015
Messages
24
2/10, trying too hard.

If I actually wrote that before and just copy pasted, is that, worse, better? Eh, whatever I just figured I'd throw it out there and see what happened.

Welcome to the Codex

Thanks indeed.


In fairness, I don't think I'd say I liked Oblivion, but it successfully convinced me to waste my time on it for a while, and I must admit that I did enjoy my reading a lot. Is that redeeming? Perhaps a strong word. If my favorite part of your game is reading the books you wrote in it, that's probably a bad sign.
 

Somberlain

Arcane
Zionist Agent
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Messages
6,202
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Basement
Seems like Codex's quoting function is too complex for those whose brain has been irreparably damaged by Oblivion. I'm sorry that you found Codex too late to prevent this from happening, Chester :negative:
 

Night Goat

The Immovable Autism
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No Fun Allowed
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Codex 2013 Codex 2014
A lot of worlds, characters, and stories are really well crafted in many RPGs, and just thinking about one game in particular recently got me thinking about how finding just the littlest detail can show how in depth and interesting the design of many of these are.

So, the one that kicked it off for me was from Oblivion. Yaah, honestly so I'm not even going to comment on the general quality of the game or most of it's aspects really, but in reading all the lore books as I often find myself doing I noticed something particularly cool regarding the Mysterium Xarxes, perhaps on face value one of the least interesting in game texts, it's a few lines of boredom in spooky arrangement, right? The text itself is all deciphered here: http://www.imperial-library.info/content/translating-mysterium-xarxes . Well, I noticed something rather cool actually, that made me proud of whoever thought of it:



In my opinion, the text is really all a guide to achieving CHIM. I've gotten some supplamentary information by reading some of Vivec's Lessons online, but I didn't want to read too much because I want to read the books of Morrowind by playing it again now that I'm older and could appreciate more, but alas I've run into trouble with my computer. In particular though, in the 21st commentary it states that Aurbis is a wheel of static change that is Sithis, and that the Divine are the bones and spokes of the wheel, but also that it is thus a circle and that circles are confused serpents biting themselves. Then, it describes that sideways it is a tower, and in it's center is a hole, a second serpent. The heart of this second serpent holds a secret triangular gate. This secret triangular gate holds a second secret tower, which viewed sideways is the only true name of God, I.

Look at the pages (that we can see) of the Mysterium Xarxes. It is a circle, with 8 lines within it. In it's center is the Daedric letter O, which contains a dot (or 'hole') in it's center. Then on the second page, it is a triangle. Now, putting this all together, the first page clearly shows the known universe, and the second page shows the 'secret' or inner universe that is the secret to seeing the true name of God and achieving CHIM, or apotheosis/enlightenment. It's fantastic because if you read the commentaries it's all about CHIM, which creates this interesting literary thread through lore established in Morrowind.

I've even worked a bit on analyzing the commentaries, which are very very rich with sub-surface beauty relating intricately to a lot of lore established in Morrowind. Anyways, I just thought was an interesting thing, and it shows there were some good writers working on Oblivion, even if the best writing is simply in books in the game instead of, well you know.
youreafag.gif
 

Angthoron

Arcane
Joined
Jul 13, 2007
Messages
13,056
I thought Oblivion's redeemable feature was the brief uninstall time.

I even wanted to analyze it but it was so quick that I didn't have to.
 
Joined
May 29, 2015
Messages
24

Actually yeah. If there is one really cool thing about Oblivion, it's that the commentaries are one of the most well written in game books, or even religious texts, ever. It's so dense with metaphors and lore well beyond the little clues you need for the end game, and I'd hold it up there with any other work of literature. I've read a lot of religious texts cause that's what I like and none are as dense and well written imho.

Seems like Codex's quoting function is too complex for those whose brain has been irreparably damaged by Oblivion. I'm sorry that you found Codex too late to prevent this from happening, Chester :negative:

Perhaps it was the skooma.
 

Miner Arobar

Educated
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
64
To fellow newfag OP: The "Mysterium Xarxes" was one of a very few contributions of Michael Kirkbride to Oblivion, and yes it's good, but it's not a redeeming feature - it's rather incongruous as it's an interesting text in a lore-wise completely impoverished world. Compare Morrowind's 36 lessons from Vivec the contents of which were a lot better situated in the world and the main quest (telling in some kind of psychedelic vision code about who the Nerevarine really was, who killed the original Nerevar, what Vivec was really up to, etc.) and which was furthermore a bitch to find (strewn out across out-of-the-way ancestral ruins). I'm a bit sceptical about a lot of the stuff that Kirkbride produces that goes way beyond anything represented in actual Elder Scrolls games (anything about "amaranth" or "landfall", etc.) but he can write, and some of his more weird stuff has a way of being incorporated in later games ("kalpas" in Skyrim, and there's an interesting quest involving a young High Elf girl apparently accidentally reaching CHIM in Elder Scrolls Online).
 

Jools

Eater of Apples
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Hmmm, this thread has the potential to deliver a lot. You just need to want it to happen, newfags! Cmon! You even have the equivalent of a "straight ally" ( Scrooge ) who is above suspicion and insulting [female (no cock) + mod + not-newfag + seemingly nice person], who then saw the light (Hello friend, have you come etc etc?), but once was exactly like you.
 
Joined
May 29, 2015
Messages
24
Hmmm, this thread has the potential to deliver a lot. You just need to want it to happen, newfags! Cmon! You even have the equivalent of a "straight ally" ( Scrooge ) who is above suspicion and insulting [female (no cock) + mod + not-newfag + seemingly nice person], who then saw the light (Hello friend, have you come etc etc?), but once was exactly like you.

Challenge taken comrade, instead of arguing that one piece of lore in Oblivion was really good I'll make a much more contestable and interesting to investigate statement, and either go down in flames in the course of debate or maybe prove myself a bit. Alright, so I'm working on gathering all my talking points now, but here's my much more generous premise I'll defend after all my ducks are in order:

Oblivion was in many ways a step in the right direction from Morrowind, changing outdated elements in some good ways, and going back to the series roots in some other good ways (though not all changes were good, and this makes no statements on how fun the finished product was).

So, let's open the floodgates of Oblivion and see what falls out.
 

M0RBUS

Augur
Joined
Feb 5, 2007
Messages
206
The only redeeming feature of Oblivion is that it showed me how rotten and decrepit mainstream RPGs can be, particularly Bethesda.

I actually bought the game on day one at full price back then.

It was all incline from the one, as you can imagine. So in a way I'm kind of thankful for the little turd and what it meant for me.

Skyrim, I think, is even dumber and simplified, and maybe that's the reason I find it to be a better game. In relative terms, of course.

:EDIT:
That moment when I'm the oldest member in the thread. Shit, guys!
 

AetherVagrant

Arbiter
Patron
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Messages
519
I paid $500 for a 360 just a few weeks post launch so i could play oblivion. then didnt buy another xbox game for a year. I didnt regret it...but i felt like skyrim was an HD remake. didnt change the formula, didnt improve the writing or scripting.
but i dont regret that money. after waiting years since morrowind, oblivion was glorious. sunk 120+ hours in, but would never play again. some things are magic the first time only, even if you're already an adult when they occur

the guild quests felt longer and more organic than skyrim.
 

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