"Lead the way, Vilja!"

November 1, 2024 4:38 AM

That Time Sir Terry Pratchett Modded Oblivion is a surprisingly moving 12 minute video essay by YouTuber ShadesOfSlay about how the author of the Discworld series and other books contributed to the Vilja Mod for the computer role playing game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. He contributed lines of dialog and suggested features that could help him keep exploring the game even as Alzheimer's affected his short term memory. The video is based on a 2019 article by Cian Maher, who interviewed the creators of the mod, Emma, who also voiced the character, and Charles "CD" Cooley.
posted by Kattullus (6 comments total)

Don't mind me, have a litle dust in my eyes is all
posted by AngelWuff at 6:30 AM on November 1 [5 favorites]

I'm not a gamer, but my husband is. And I watched him play Oblivion. Sitting beside him on the couch for all the hours over all the months. (I have not had the patience to do that with any other game, really. Not even the later Elder Scrolls games, though also, I was older and busier when they came out.) Oblivion had so many good story lines, each side quest was like a new episode of a TV show I liked, with character development and moral dilemmas and growth, not to mention the rich world building and tense battles.

I'm also a huge Terry Pratchett fan (if you click on my username you'll see he's mentioned in my "about" description, and has been since I created the account in 2011.)

So I like this story. But also, I feel a little sad that this game he loved and eventually helped contribute to, and which fascinated me even as spectator, no longer really gets played. I wish video games had a longer lifespan. Or maybe Bethesda could offer Vilja's creators some money and credit, and incorporate her into the next game in the Elder Scrolls series? So this part of Pratchett's legacy could live on...
posted by OnceUponATime at 8:27 AM on November 1 [5 favorites]

I did a bit of Elder Scrolls modding back then and cdcooley was probably the nicest and most competent programmer in the community. Exactly the person who'd work on this sort of project and get it working- coercing that game engine to do stuff that it wasn't meant to do was basically witchcraft and he really was a master at it.
posted by BungaDunga at 8:58 AM on November 1 [4 favorites]

GNU Terry Pratchett
posted by humbug at 9:33 AM on November 1 [8 favorites]

Heard this tale from another source at some point and the memory choked me up a little. Really cool slice of life and fantasy from someone who provided so much to so many.
posted by GoblinHoney at 7:25 PM on November 1 [2 favorites]

So I like this story. But also, I feel a little sad that this game he loved and eventually helped contribute to, and which fascinated me even as spectator, no longer really gets played. I wish video games had a longer lifespan.

All the older Elder Scrolls games are still available to play on desktop via Steam. I may well see if I can get Vilja to run, I never did the Thieves Guild stuff on my console play-through, so if there's Pratchett dialogue in there it's all the more motivation to give it another crack.
posted by Jilder at 10:26 PM on November 1 [3 favorites]