If there’s two things I learned in 2006, I’d sum it up by saying:

• Santa and laser whips don’t mix
• If a video game has a location called Smuggler’s Cove, there better be more than 30 gold coins there

I’m talking about Oblivion (not regarding the laser whip, that was in The Polar Express). I really enjoyed Oblivion, and I’m actually still in the process of enjoying it. But the first cracks I ever saw in it’s otherwise perfect armor was when I finally jimmied the five-pin (hard) lock on the entrance to Smuggler’s Cove. Now that Bethesda has announced the Shivering Isles expansion pack for it, I’ll take some time to talk about the minor complaints I hope the fix, and why it was a problem.

Smuggler’s Cove

One thing I really love about great RPGs is how they can be expansive outside of their major questline. I love exploring alleys, trails, and ruins to find treasure, surprises, and other interesting bits that really make the world feel alive. Console RPGs tend to lack this kind of depth, which is why when GTAIII nailed it, it took the console world by storm. But players of Ultima and Elder Scrolls had known this feeling for quite a while.

And that’s how I was feeling when I happened upon a small locked door tucked away on the underside of cliff; the door to Smuggler’s Cove. From a game design standpoint it was perfectly executed: A hidden door, a remote location, a difficult lock, and a sinister name that conjures up exotic treasure and lowlife scaliwags. It was off the path enough to feel like I really had discovered a bonus area specially made for curious players like me. I had to leave without unlocking it because the lock was just too difficult, but this only increased my interest in what was inside. Days later when I finally became adept at picking locks I ventured back to it.

But the payoff sucked. Inside Smuggler’s Cove was a bunch of containers, containing a grand total of 30 coins. I think there were a few weak weapons. The highlight of the cove was a cheesy book about an apprentice lockpicker who tricks her cruel master. It was at this point where I felt that I might never get a decent payoff in Oblivion. I mean, if a place calledSmuggler’s Cove doesn’t have cool stuff inside of it, what will?

After doing some searching on the Internet, I believe that the Smuggler’s Cove issue is another engine problem. It seems that all of those containers throughout the game are dynamically generated as you open them to make sure their payout matches the player’s current standings. The best they’ll ever give you will be only slightly better then what you already have.

It’s possible the game designers did this in an attempt to fight the single-player equivalent of Mudflation. A system like this can make sure the player is paced correctly and doesn’t outgrow smaller payoffs too quickly because they encountered big ones early.

But this is a mistake in my opinion. It leads to situations like Smuggler’s Cove. It was a setup with no payoff that ended in a letdown, and it caused me to lose faith in the design of the land. Even when dealing with bonus content, it’s important to get this setup and payoff right, or players will simply stop looking for it. And context is huge part of the setup. If the door had simply been labeled “door” instead of Smuggler’s Cove I wouldn’t have been let down, but if I take the time to pick lock after lock of unlabeled doors and I never find anything good, I’ll eventually stop trying. Wow, I’m starting to sound like Dan and Raph.

Dynamic content can have a place in virtual worlds, but it shouldn’t be implemented in a way that cripples the level designers to a degree where they can’t make Smuggler’s Cove a cool place.

Now, here’s my beef with Laser Whips …

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