The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Q&A

Telefragged has published a Q&A with Bethesda’s Todd Howard, in which the lead designer addresses several questions about The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. A snippet:

Q: Marksmanship was fun to use in Morrowind, but in a lot of ways it was also a big hassle. With Oblivion, will Bethesda be overhauling the system to make it easier to use while keeping it comparable in damage to melee attacks or spellcasting?

A: Marksmanship was one of many things we completely overhauled. The way bows and arrows work now is much, much more realistic than anything we’ve done before. Our goal was to provide a combat system where you could play and finish the game using only that weapon (or magic) if that’s what you wanted to do. It’s much less geared toward melee combat and is more balanced to allow players to play the game however they want.