Interviews// Bethesda Softworks: Shivering Isles Interview

SPOnG: Okay, let's talk a little bit specifically about Shivering Isles. Firstly, what's the back story?
Pete Hines: So, the story is that, the Shivering Isles is the realm of the Daedric prince of madness, Sheogorath, who many players will remember from the original game.

Sheogorath is looking for a mortal champion (which is you, the player). The reason for this is because at the end of every 'era' (every thousand years) this thing called the 'greymarch' happens where Sheogorath's realm gets laid to waste. These Knights of Order show up and wipe it out completely, killing everybody and wiping everything out. So, Sheogorath believes a mortal champion (you) can defend his realm against the greymarch.

So, you enter a door that appears in Cyrodiil and enter Sheogorath's realm - which is another plane of Oblivion - every Daedric prince in the game has his own realm that he rules over. And you are sent basically on a series of quests to prove yourself to him, that you are up to the task, to increase your standing in this court that he has… so that the people of the Shivering Isles accept you for being his champion and their champion… so you are doing things in preparation for defending the realm against this 'greymarch'.

SPOnG: Is this the long term plan for the series now? To bring out similar sized expansions to the game every so often?
Pete Hines: No. This is the only thing we have planned for Oblivion. We don't have any other expansions planned. Shivering Isles is going to be the only one and then we're moving on to other projects.

SPOnG: What are these other projects?
Pete Hines: Well the next big project is Fallout 3 a totally different sort of RPG. We acquired the license a couple of years ago. We were big fans of the original series. Nobody was doing anything with it and we felt we could pick it up and bring it back to the forefront of role-playing… doing something new and compelling that's a bit like what we do with the Elder Scrolls but at the same time very different, thematically and setting wise and so forth.

SPOnG: But there are still plans to return to the Elder Scrolls?
Pete Hines: Oh, sure, yes. It's been so successful there is no chance we would not do another one. But right now it's not on our immediate radar.

SPOnG: So, the realm in Shivering Isles is divided into two areas - Mania and Dementia? Can you say more about these?
Pete Hines: Yeah, the realm in the Shivering Isles is really a reflection of Sheogorath himself. As the Daedric Prince of Madness, he's got a bit of both sides in him.

He's got the 'happier' insane side - you know, almost like an insane artist. And then he's got the darker, more demented side in him - more paranoid, twisted and slightly frightening. So, the world is very much representative of his two halves. It's a world created in his image. So, you can travel across the land back and forth throughout these two halves as you progress through the game.