In the history of entertainment, video games are incredibly young; many of the features we take for granted in our modern games were unheard of only two decades ago. The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind is famous for being the game that put the franchise on the map; it was a game changer in so many ways.
One of those ways was by launching a feature that changed the way developers approach open worlds forever, allowing for a new level of depth and immersion not previously possible.
Morrowind’s Day and Night Cycle Was Revolutionary
Morrowind was one of the first games to utilize a real-time day-and-night cycle, where time progresses as you play and the days shift. Of course, it was by no means the first game to use day and night; The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask featured a 3-day game cycle that would count down to zero.
In an interview, Howard explained how Morrowind’s systems would be different from other games, with real-time lighting and shadow effects and different regions on the map.
Players will be able to light torches and see their shadows on the walls; it’ll be cool, trust me.
Along with a revolutionary day/night cycle system, Elder Scrolls 3 looked to change open worlds forever.
Pretty much every single open-world action-adventure game released today has a day-night cycle built into it. It is usually expected that a new game will have day and night cycles. Marvel’s Spider-Man for the PS4 surprised many when it was revealed it would not feature real-time day/night cycles, instead opting for the time of day shifting with the story.
Day/Night Cycles Changed How Games Could Work
The day/night cycle did not just provide a way to have the game world look different; it also allowed for new approaches to mission design and player agency. NPCs nowadays can have their own routines that play out across the course of an in-game day.
In The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, for example, NPCs will go to bed at night, making them easier targets for robberies or stealthy assassinations. In the Assassin’s Creed games, outpost guards will change shifts at night, creating new opportunities to gain an advantage.
The day/night cycle makes for much more dynamic video game worlds to be created and leads to even more interesting related systems. One such example is Red Dead Redemption 2’s weather, directly tied to its time of day.
Nowadays, we take day/night cycles as a given, but sometimes it is good to sit back and reflect on what could have been if a few things went differently.
But what do you think? Did Bethesda change the game by pushing for day/night cycles? And will it pioneer some other new system for Elder Scrolls 6? Let us know in the comments!
