Roles and Worlds in the Hybrid RPG Game of Oblivion

Abstract

Single player games are now powerful enough to convey the impression of shared worlds with social presence and social agency. Unfortunately, there are few clear definitions of "world" as it applies to commercial computer games, or as it could be used to help improvements these games. With that in mind, this paper will explore a framework for defining virtual worlds and then apply it to Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion in terms of phenomenological, social, and cultural aspects. Even though it is a single player game, several key features allow Oblivion to be considered as a social world. Despite these promising features, Oblivion fails as a rich cultural world. It could be further improved as a social world and perhaps even as a cultural world through various techniques.