“The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion” is a RPG (role playing game) that is designed to allow the player to do almost whatever they want to. This open-endedness is what makes the game so different from other games; a player does not have to follow a path or a set of rules to win the game. One might even go so far as to say that a person cannot win “Oblivion;” they merely win different “quests.” Although there is one main quest, there are numerous other quests that can be followed, and even then, the player does not have to take part in any of these and can instead explore the dungeons and lands that expanse about 16 square miles (on foot, and in a game, that’s a lot of area).

If one were to rate “Oblivion” on Roger Caillois’s differentiation between paidia and ludus games, it would be quite close to the paidia side (229). A ludus game is much more structured than a paidia game. A player is kept in check by different rules that govern what the avatar can and cannot do. For instance, to continue on with a ludus game, a player may have to win a certain mission where they have to get a certain item from an enemy, and the only way to do that is to kill the enemy. But in paidia games such as “Oblivion,” a player could set about that task many different ways. They could kill the enemy, or they could steal it while the enemy is sleeping, or they could convince the enemy to give it to them under the guise that they are allies. And even then, this whole mission is optional in games such as “Oblivion,” the player can choose not to do it at all. “Oblivion” fits this description of paidia because of its open-endedness. The player has to, much like a child playing “games of make-believe,” be creative in their approach and decide where to make their approach from (229). It is this reason that allows players to immerse themselves in the game and feel like they are actually in the game, driven by their ability to make decisions and carry them out in any way possible.

“Oblivion” is the fourth installment of the Elder Scroll series, and takes place in the land of Tamriel. The player starts out in the palace prison for unknown reasons. The Emperor then arrives to escape out of a secret exit in the same cell as the player, allowing the player to follow the Emperor and his guards. The Emperor is killed, allowing portals to Oblivion (another realm inhabited by Daedra) to open, which results in an invasion by Daedra. It becomes the player’s mission to find an heir to the throne, (the only way to close the portals). Throughout this quest, the player many times passes through the portals to Oblivion, either to close it from the inside or to find an artifact needed to help with the quest. If the player chooses not to take part in this main quest, there are five major guilds that they can join, each one having another (though smaller) plotline. The guilds are another way for a player to advance his skills or gain better equipment, and even gain influence within the game over other characters. If a player chooses not to take part in the guild quests, they can instead roam the land and take part in mini-quests given by NPC’s (non-player characters), or simply go dungeon crawling.
The graphics and landscapes in the game are among the best currently in the gaming world, which certainly helped to raise popularity with the game, and heighten the experience of the player by immersing them deeper into the fictional world of Tamriel.

Another point to be made about “Oblivion” is its character customization and development. There are 21 “skills” that a player can learn, and some of those are split into major and minor skills. Major and minor skills are skills that raise faster than other ones, and are chosen by the player at the beginning of the game. Being able to pick your own skills allows the player to become more a part of their avatar. As Rehak points out, this lets the player see themselves in the character; not just that they are controlling some pixels on a screen but are actually inside of the game, making the decisions that can save or lose their life (105). This “avatarial connection” is made even stronger by “Oblivion’s” character creation process. Besides picking from 10 different races and what gender they wish to be, the player is also given the option of changing the way their character looks completely. You want a fat Dark Elf with light skin, blue eyes, a protruding jaw, and a topknot? You got it. Or maybe a Breton (type of human) with dark skin, short hair, brown eyes, thin eyebrows, high cheekbones, and a goatee; the player has almost complete control of their avatar’s appearance.

“Oblivion” is one of the highest rated games that have been released thus far. With its freedom of choice and (inherently) the decisions that have to be made by the player, it is a perfect example of a paidia game.