General:Pete Hines: Collector's Edition

This is a developer diary for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind's Collector's Edition. The diary was originally posted to the old elderscrolls.com website on 7 December 2001.

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When making a high profile game like Morrowind, one of the things we’ve put a lot of thought into is the box. Not just the box itself, but what’s going to go inside it. Since the Elder Scrolls series has pretty loyal (and demanding) fans, we talked at length about what kinds of things you’d want in the Collector’s Edition. We wanted to include things that you really couldn’t get anywhere else. And, because Morrowind is a very artistic game, we wanted to include extras that conveyed that artistic quality.

So, I thought I’d take a little time to tell you – and show you – what’s going to be in the Collector’s Edition of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. First of all, the box itself will be bigger than the regular edition. Not necessarily because it had to be in order to include the extras, but all of us agreed that there is something about a larger box size that is, for lack of a better word, cool. It stands out on the shelf better…sets itself apart from every other game (not unlike the game itself). Also, the box itself will not be the regular box with “Collector’s Edition” on it. Instead, the front and back will be in black instead of brown. Again, we want it to look different. It’s hard to tell with a 2D image on the Web, but the box has a very nice look and feel with the varnish and embossing. We feel it’s the kind of box you should expect for Morrowind.

I should mention that there will not be a collector’s edition for Morrowind Xbox. My recommendation is that you buy the collector’s edition and the Xbox version. In fact, buy the regular PC version as well… just to be safe.

Morrowind Soundtrack CD

Well, we wouldn’t get someone like Jeremy Soule to do the music and then not make it readily available to you (for more information on Jeremy, read our press release and visit his Web site). So, if you buy the Collector’s Edition, you’ll have the Morrowind soundtrack on its very own CD, and you can take it with you in your car or to work and daydream about playing the game. Not that people without the Collector’s Edition won’t dream about playing Morrowind too, they just won’t have the cool soundtrack to go with it.

The first time I came across Jeremy’s work was playing Total Annihilation, which is also the first time I ever listened to a game soundtrack while not playing the game. I thought the score was simply stunning. His most recent work on games like Icewind Dale has only solidified his standing as one of the most outstanding musicians in the gaming industry, and I think you’re going to love what he has in store for you while playing Morrowind.

Ordinator Figure

The Ordinator is a highly prominent figure in Morrowind and we felt would be the most appropriate subject for a figurine. First, he's a dark elf, and since Morrowind is the land of the Dark Elves, well, he's a good choice. Second, he's not just any dark elf, but one of the Holy Guards of the Dark Elven Temple.

Rawcliffe -- who has done some excellent work on figures for Star Wars Classic, Episode I, and a variety of figures for other games -- will be producing the figurine. The woman who sculpted the Ordinator for us, Sandra Garrity, did a fantastic job of putting a tremendous amount of detail into the piece. You can see every link in his chain mail, the detail in his breastplate, the symbols in his shield…everything. The figure will be cast in pewter and stand about 2 ½ inches from the base to the top of the mace. It’s a very nice figure and makes the ones we’ve done in the past look quite pale in comparison.

The Art of Morrowind Book

Anyone who has seen Morrowind in action knows that it’s not only a very beautiful game, but also a very diverse game. Traveling around this massive world you will experience a variety of experiences and cultures. Some of these will be familiar, and some will feel strange and uncomfortable, which is probably what the architects were going for in the first place. I’ve been looking at this game for almost two years, and I still find myself playing the game and saying, “Damn, that’s amazing!”

Before and during the creation of Morrowind, a lot of work went into defining how this game would look. We wanted to share the artwork behind the game by putting a lot of it together in once place as a full-color, 48-page book called The Art of Morrowind. This book is filled with a variety of concept sketches, drawings, renderings, and more. The book is divided into sections, so you get to see early ideas for architectural styles, races, armor, and even some images from the very first “proof of concept” video we did several years ago. No self-respecting fan of Morrowind or The Elder Scrolls series will be able to sleep at night or look themselves in the mirror if they don’t have this book.

Map

While both the regular and Collector’s Edition of Morrowind will include a full-color, poster-sized map of Morrowind, I wanted to mention it here anyway because it’s looking really cool and I thought you’d want to see it. The sample I’ve included is an early draft of the map and shows roughly 1/6th of the full map. Bethesda’s Art Director, Mike Wagner, has done an excellent job of working with the team to put together a map that is equal parts functional and attractive.

You’ll be able to pre-order either the Collector’s Edition or the regular edition of Morrowind, as well as Morrowind for Xbox, through our Web site within the next week or so. If you really want to be the first kid on your block with a copy of Morrowind, you’ll want to pay extra for express shipping. We don’t make extra money off it, but it sure does save us headaches when people are yelling at us because UPS is taking too long to deliver your game.