The Beauty of Oblivion’s Map

thegamer.com:

Maps are, by now, de rigueur for RPGs, particularly those with huge open-world systems. So when you think of maps, one of the most immediate examples would probably be that of Ubisoft’s games such as Assassin’s Creed, which are particularly notable for their garish blend of icons, abstrusely plastered over plots of buildings, grids and environments. But even that says something of the map itself: that all these points of interests, all vying for your attention, are equally important, from a shop that you can visit to sell your ill-gotten goods, to a quest-giver passively waiting for your aid. Whether that can be considered as impactful cartography is, of course, up for debate.

Then there’s the map in Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, which at first glance looks like it’s been illustrated, hand-drawn and charted by a real cartographer in the universe. Another obvious characteristic is that the map is very Tolkien-esque, as if drawn by ink and quill on a yellowed parchment. If you take a gander at the maps of Middle Earth in Lord of The Rings, you’ll see that Oblivion took clear inspiration from these maps (most high fantasy games are descended somewhat from Lord of the Rings, anyway). Maps, for Tolkien, were indispensable, used to help him plan the plot of the series, provide readers crucial context to these stories, as well as immerse readers to the universe.

Related: Oblivion’s Broken And Absurd Mechanics Were Ahead Of Its Time

Contrast this to the map of the Lord of the Rings game, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, which is, oddly enough, unnaturally blue and appears more modern, while featuring the topology of buildings as well as axis lines; from its map alone you wouldn’t have guessed that it’s a Lord of the Rings game.

Unlik