Why Morrowind?
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On Discovering Morrowind
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
My older sister and I discovered Morrowind back in 2005 when my friend bought me a copy for my tenth birthday (one of the Big Bytes collections games). I was a bit too young and lacked the patience and skill to understand the game's mechanics, so I mostly ran around as a level one khajiit, getting shanked by shady mudcrabs.
The 'Big Bytes' version of Morrowind I was gifted for my tenth birthday
My sister is a few years older though, and to me it seemed like she mastered the game. Most of my memories of Morrowind's quests and story were experienced vicariously, watching her play as a Telvanni Mage – always playing as a Breton because their magicka resistance meant they could wear the Boots of Blinding Speed without being blinded. I loved hearing her tell me about the Thieves Guild storyline and their clandestine conflict with the Fighters Guild. I watched her be named 'Hortator' and defeat Dagoth Ur beneath Red Mountain.
She kicked ass.
A Different World
Though I did not master the game's mechanics at the time, it left a strong impression on me. The contrast of familiar medieval fantasy tropes, of picturesque Pelagiad, against the alien, the esoteric and the bizarre of Vvardenfell – these were captivating to me yet wrapped in mystery made more elusive by my lack of understanding of the mechanics of the world. Truly a different world.
I think the Tamriel Rebuilt team capture the essence of what makes Morrowind so captivating best in their design documents:
Themes of Morrowind
II. Themes of Morrowind
It is a world of “savage beauty”, one that is alien, even within the context of high fantasy, a world full of strange things and customs unlike any other. Yet despite this, somehow this world still retains elements and characteristics which makes it relatable to our own. Much like our own world, its people are driven by their own motivations, where a system of complex belief systems can often clash. It is this duality and intricacy that makes experiencing and discovering the world of Morrowind enjoyable.
Modding Morrowind
Besides a brief stint playing Morrowind on the original Xbox in high school for awhile, I didn't return to the game fully until late 2021. I'd known about Tamriel Rebuilt for some time and been intriguiged, but had never managed to get it to work. I got OpenMW, figured out how to install TR, and threw myself back into the province of Morrowind. Exploring the mainland after years spent trapped on Vvardenfell was awe-inspiring.
Warlockracy's videos on Morrowind, TR and OAAB inspired me to dive deeper into modding.
Once I'd figured out how to run TR, it didn't take me long to try out new mods. The next logical step was TR's sister project, Project Tamriel's Skyrim: Home of the Nords and Province: Cyrodiil. Inspired by Warlockracy's videos, I installed 'OAAB Grazelands' by MelchiorDahrk, further expanding upon content in Vvardenfell. From there, the mods just kept piling on.
I didn't come into this with any desire to actually create my own mods. For one, I didn't have any ideas. It wasn't until I started to encounter conflicts between the various mods I'd installed that I looked into how I could fix them, so I began learning how to make patches.
DanaePlays' Construction Set tutorials – the gateway drug to becoming a Morrowind modmaker.
In learning how use the Construction Set and understanding how the game's content was created, I found myself coming up with ideas of my own – now having a toolkit and 'vocabulary' with which to create, I was able to articulate creative ideas and conceive how to implement them. I started creating my own mods early last year (2023) and haven't looked back.
When I rediscovered Morrowind, it was honestly an escape from reality – as in, burying my head in the sand and wishing everything away. I've struggled with addiction for a long time (as of writing this I am twenty months sober from alcohol and drugs, my longest run yet of complete sobriety), and to be clear, video games were intrinsically a part of my addiction. As I got older, video gaming had become more of a solitary exercise; a tantalising, stimulating relief, yet ultimately lonely and unfulfilling. When I returned to Morrowind I was at my lowest point, stuck in a deep depression. A curious thing I've found through learning to make my own mods is that it has turned 'gaming'[1] from an exercise in loneliness into something fullfulling that builds self-esteem and brings me closer to others. Alongside the love and support of family and friends, discovering the Morrowind Modding Community Discord has helped immensely. It's an incredibly welcoming and friendly community of modders. Whereas video games previously had been more of a solitary, isolating escape for me, I now have a community where I can share my work, offer and receive feedback, or help others with troubleshooting. Through it I have made a number of good friends and collaborators from around the world. Community and a sense of purpose are important. I didn't anticipate that I'd find it in modding a twenty-two year old game, but I'm not too picky.
Why Morrowind? I just think it's neat.
'gaming' is a loose term here – I haven't actually played Morrowind for some time now as I've been too busy making mods for it lol. One day I'll do another playthrough, maybe after the next PT or TR release. ↩︎