Although the Bethesda of today seem to embroiled in controversy with almost every release, there's no denying the influence they've had on the RPG genre. Both the Elder Scrolls series and Fallout have impacted heavily on the industry, but it is the former that kickstarted it all.
The first entry in the series was called Elder Scrolls: Arena, and was so-called because it was originally going to be a tournament based title. It was only later in development that Bethesda began to slowly incorporate RPG elements, but originally, the actual structure of the game seemed to have more in common with Pokémon than the open-ended exploration that the studio have become renowned for.
The actual title also harkens back to the original concept Bethesda had in mind. The player would travel with their companions and partake in various tournaments, while the game would end with the player becoming the champion of the Imperial City.
Had Bethesda stayed their original course, though, it stands to reason that the Elder Scrolls of today wouldn't be half as influential or as adored as it currently is.
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We love teamwork! Who doesn't? This article is a collaborative effort between
Ewan Paterson and Josh Brown.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.
