Gamecloud - Even though it can be played in first person, Oblivion is supposed to be a true RPG rather than an action-RPG. How hard is it to make the game a real role playing experience?

Pete Hines - Well, most good RPGs have action. Somebody is always whacking someone or something with a sword or axe or blasting them with a gun or whatever. The trick is to find a balance where the player controls the action and understands what’s going on, but the skill of the person playing the game doesn’t override the stats and abilities of the character they’re playing. The way we handle that is to have combat that feels natural and realistic.

You swing or block when you want, if the sword hits the enemy, or the shield blocks an attack, it hits or blocks. There are no "to hit" rolls or anything like that. Instead, the stats govern everything that happens after that. How much damage you do with a sword or a magic spell, how much damage your shield absorbs…all of that is determined by the stats of your character. So it feels both natural to the player (understanding everything they see happening on the screen) and at the same time, we’re able to keep it as a true role-playing experience where, ultimately, the success or failure of your character will be based on his/her stats, not yours.​