I'm somewhat of a Elder Scrolls: Oblivion junky. I got the nice, deluxe 360 edition with the fancy coin and book, and I can't even count all the hours I've spent in the game. I've downloaded every subsequent pack to be released, and now I'm the leader of the Knights of the Nine. However, though I've spent so much time in this world, I still want more (and I've yet to still even see everything). Thankfully Bethesda keeps pumping out the content, and soon will come the Shivering Isles expansion, which looks to be the largest yet, and I can't wait! We got to ask some questions to Bruce Nesmith, Design Director for the game, to see what all we can expect when it is released rather soon.

1. What's the general story of Shivering Isles and what will be the main story quest?

The player begins the Shivering Isles expansion by answering the call of the Daedric Prince Sheogorath. Sheogorath is the Daedric Prince of Madness, one of the incredibly powerful beings in the Elder Scrolls pantheon. When the player encounters him, Sheogorath is in search of a champion—there is an impending threat to his realm, and because of the nature of the threat he needs a mortal’s help. The player will need to rise in the ranks of the Court of Madness in order to earn the respect of the citizens of the Shivering Isles and eventually repel the threat. Along the way, the player will unravel the mystery of the Greymarch and the motivations of the Daedric Prince.

2. The game takes place in the Realm of Madness, but where does the title of the expansion pack – Shivering Isles – come into play?

The Shivering Isles is the Realm of Madness. It's what Sheogorath has (most recently) named his domain.

3. From what we've seen so far, everything in Shivering Isles seems to be one massive (and insane) head-trip. What was it about the human psychology you really wanted to explore with Shivering Isles?

There are a number of themes that are touched on, though duality and schisms are certainly the most prominent themes. One thing we wanted to look at was the effects of change on a place that is, to mortal eyes, immutable. How do gods react to change? Can they? Having a world full of lunatics made for interesting viewpoints to explore the theme.

4. Can you talk a little about both the two main realms that inhabit Shivering Isles: Mania and Dementia? What is it about each realm that makes that specific area different than the other, and where did the art style for the two realms come from? Because it is certainly a lot more twisted than what people have seen in Oblivion so far.

The lands of Mania are bright, vibrant, and colorful. It’s quite a departure from the woodlands of Cyrodiil, and we wanted to evoke a bit of an Alice in Wonderland feeling. Dementia, on the other hand, is dark, dank, and a bit spooky. Those areas have much more of a horror theme, and the plants, creatures, and architecture all reflect this.

5. Between the two areas is a town called Split, which has a very interesting story. What's the story behind Split and what we can expect to accomplish in this town in particular?

Without giving away too much, Split is a town right on the border of the Mania and Dementia regions of the world. Because of an event (and there are a couple of versions of what might have actually happened), the residents in the town were each divided into two--a Mania version and a Dementia version of themselves. The player will decide which version deserves to stick around.

6. The game seems right offhand to have a very twisted sense of dark humor, since it does play off the ideas of psychology and insanity, and it seems that reaches to the NPCs that exist in this realm as well. How fun was it to gather the dialogue for the characters, because I imagine some hilarious line readings took place and assume we'll run across a wide variety of crazies in the game?

It was a lot of fun, and it led to some bizarre recording sessions. Having such a wide range of divergent personalities really gave the designers a lot of latitude to develop some interesting characters. It was a tricky balance, though, because we didn't want to make any of the characters so crazy that they weren't useful. The player still should be able to have meaningful interactions with them.

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