The Elder Scrolls 6is the next title in a long-running franchise of video games. Because of this, players shouldn’t be surprised if unused ideas from previous games inThe Elder Scrollsseries end up being used inThe Elder Scrolls 6. Some of the cut content from these past games was cut from very early development, meaning very few players were aware of its existence. Going further back to games likeThe Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowindmakes it even more unlikely that players would recognize cut content from previous games.
Cutting content during the development of a video gameis nothing new, and it’s done for a lot of different reasons. Whether it’s because the content was too ambitious for the resources or the engine, would take too long to implement, became impractical, or didn’t fit the tone of the rest of the game, cutting content out is a natural part of the video game development process. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the end of the road for these concepts, and ideas that don’t make it into one game may find their place in a sequel.
Morrowind’s Cut Evil Ending
Such could be the case for a content idea that wascut fromThe Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind. One of the earliest ideas that ended up being cut from Morrowind was the option to join Dagoth Ur,Morrowind’s main villain, in an evil ending. Siding with Dagoth Ur inMorrowindwould have turned the narrative on its head and resulted in a completely different outcome for the game, especially as he’d been speaking to the Nerevarine in dreams during the main storyline. While this would have been an interesting path for the Nerevarine, it would have ultimately clashed with many ofMorrowind’s themes and called into questionMorrowind’s post-story world state. Implementing it would have resulted in an out-of-character moment that wouldn’t make sense with the rest ofMorrowind’s story.
Giving Players More Options
Evil playthroughs are nothing new to RPGs, and have been offered as an alternate path for many of them in some of the most popular ones. Recently, Larian updatedBaldur’s Gate 3to include several new endings for evil playthroughs. While stats from these games show that the vast majority of players still choose the “good” path, there are still enough players who choose the evil one to justify adding it.
Giving The Elder Scrolls 6 a Potential Dark Ending
Bethesda could implement this intoThe Elder Scrolls 6by including an optional evil storylinethat culminates in siding with the main antagonist of the game. Or, instead of an alternate storyline,The Elder Scrolls 6could include themes and reasoning throughout the game that could make siding with the antagonist feel more natural, rather than just a forced evil ending for shock value.
This could also helpThe Elder Scrolls 6improve its story by making it more nuanced and interesting, something that the series has not excelled at in the past. Different endings could also encouragereplays ofThe Elder Scrolls 6. A surprise twist ending foreshadowed in the main storyline could be a memorable way to finishThe Elder Scrolls 6, and it would be possible to implement if it’s accounted for from the start of development.
