The Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion Ventures to PSP

Our first question when we heard Oblivion was coming to PSP was "Whaa?" It was more of a sound than a sincere question, so we gathered ourselves and said, "No. Seriously, How?"

How do you take a game with over 200 hours of gameplay that's designed for next-gen consoles and tiny-size it with any hope of retaining the sweeping, wide-open RPG elements that make it an award-hording game of the year?

We asked Todd Howard, Executive Producer of Oblivion just that.

IGN: Whaa? No, Seriously, How?!?

Todd Howard: Different game, different approach. Not really an option to do a massive gameworld like that, so we're refining the gameplay.

IGN: What parts of the game are in the PSP version? What parts of the game aren't?

TH: When you play the game it's very similar in the things you can do with your character. You have most of the skills, but you lose some like speechcraft. So the game really focuses on the "dungeon exploration" parts as opposed to the "walk around town" parts.

IGN: How are the load times with PSP?

TH: So far, so good.

IGN: For someone who has played through Oblivion on X360 or PC what is the PSP version going to offer to them?

TH: It's set in a different place, so it has an all new story and all new levels. It's really its own game, and of course you can take it with you wherever you go.

IGN: Do you have any desire to bring some of the earlier games in The Elder Scrolls series, like Morrowind, to PSP?

TH: Not really, we're more likely to do something new and more platform-appropriate when it comes to PSP.

IGN: Are there online or wireless functionality for Travels? How about multiplayer?

TH: As of right now, no.

IGN: Will there be any linking up between the PS3 and PSP for Oblivion?

TH: Sorry, but no.

Travels still has a long way to go. The game doesn't yet have a release date other than 2007. Few additional details exist. We know that losing the analog control will make it more of a hack-n-slash dungeon crawler. The controls will be simplified, but the team wants to keep the Oblivion feel. You'll still be able to create your own character with 18 out of the 21 original skills the console version boasts. We look forward to hearing more about pocked-sized Oblivion as it's development progresses.

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