Oblivion is Hell?

Post » Thu Mar 07, 2013 11:04 pm

So I've seen it argued over and over that Oblivion isn't hell and that Daedra aren't demons. There was even a book in Morrowind that made the point clear I think. The Daedra=Demons thing is commonly understood as an error of Imperials or humans generally who are superstitious. Other cultures revere and worship the Daedra.

Another common theme is that the creatures are not evil. They are morally ambiguous. Good and evil are said not to exist in Tamriel, the Gray Maybe.

But then I found http://www.gamespot.com/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion/previews/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion-qanda-overview-character-development-fallout-6111720/:

The story itself deals with the death of the emperor and a demonic invasion into this world from "Oblivion." Oblivion, in the Elder Scrolls world, is essentially hell. It's another plane of existence where the evil gods live. So the game takes place in both Tamriel, the land of men and elves, and Oblivion, the land of demons.

Oblivion is directly conflated with hell and Daedra are called evil.

Maybe I'm reading to much into this. The interview was meant for a general audience that doesn't necessarily have any knowledge of TES lore. Still, it seems lazy to make the comparison so stark and without any added nuance.

A slightly more careful answer would have been preferable:
"Oblivion is another plane of existence where certain divine beings live. While some of these beings are worshiped as gods by some cultures, they are also often considered evil. The one you will be dealing with in this game is almost universally considered evil."

What do you think?
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Amber Hubbard
 
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Post » Fri Mar 08, 2013 9:53 am

I'd take it with a few grains of salt because it's Todd Howard doing the interview, even if it weren't meant for a generally new consumer base.

And remember that during the days of Oblivion, Bethesda distanced itself from the weirdness and uniqueness found in Morrowind as much as they could without divorcing the series from Oblivion on from what came before.
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Chantelle Walker
 
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Post » Fri Mar 08, 2013 2:35 am

oblivion is oblivion
hell is hell

they are basically the same thing.
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Nomee
 
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Post » Fri Mar 08, 2013 12:05 am

He's just trying to put it in a way most gamers will understand.

I wish they would have played up the fact that the CoC is essentially an astronaut rather than the "demon-hunter" thing.
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jasminĪµ
 
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Post » Thu Mar 07, 2013 10:30 pm

Ya but I guess that's why it bothers me. Makes me feel worse, not better.
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Darrell Fawcett
 
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