Here is a concise summary of the provided text, focusing on key points about the Elder Scrolls series:
**Series History**
* The Elder Scrolls series began with Arena (1994), initially conceived as a gladiatorial game, later transformed into an open-world RPG.
* The series grew in popularity, with each installment building upon the last, to become one of the most popular video game franchises.
**Game Development Insights**
* The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall and Arena had remarkably large map sizes, with Arena's being over 6 million square kilometers, generated mostly through procedural generation.
* Bethesda considered adding children to Oblivion but decided against it due to the controversy of making them killable or invincible; they later included invincible children in Skyrim.
* A hidden feature in Skyrim allows killing children, revealing unique death noises, suggesting this was once a considered gameplay element.
**Easter Eggs and References**
* Fish sticks are a recurring meme in the series, originating from a 2001 forum joke, which Bethesda incorporated into games like Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim.
* A reference to the Norwegian fairy tale "Three Billy Goats Gruff" is found in Skyrim, complete with a dead troll under a bridge.
* The Eltonbrand sword in Morrowind is an extremely well-hidden Easter egg, requiring specific actions to unlock, named after NBA player Elton Brand as a nod to a developer's favorite team.
**Lore and Universe**
* The Elder Scrolls universe is vast, with each game set in a specific province of the continent Tamriel, part of the planet Nirn.
* Nirn has two moons and exists within the mortal plane of Mundus, created by divine beings known as Aedra and Daedra.
* Oblivion, a realm of supernatural entities, is interpreted by mortals as the vastness of space, with stars being portals to the realm of Aetherius, the source of magicka.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text, without opinions, with each fact numbered and in short sentences:
**Game Series and Development**
1. The Elder Scrolls is an open-world action role-playing game series developed by Bethesda.
2. The franchise began with the release of The Elder Scrolls: Arena in 1994.
3. Initially, Arena was not intended to be an RPG but a gladiatorial game.
4. The game's direction changed during development to focus on quests and dungeons.
5. The name "The Elder Scrolls" was added to Arena to give it a more RPG-sounding title.
**Game Release and Popularity**
6. The Elder Scrolls: Arena initially sold only a couple of thousand units in 1994.
7. The game's popularity grew through word of mouth, leading to a sequel in 1996.
8. The franchise has since become one of the most popular video game franchises.
**Game World Size**
9. The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall's game world is over 160,000 square kilometers.
10. For comparison, Daggerfall's world size is almost the size of Florida or two-thirds the size of the UK.
11. The Elder Scrolls: Arena's game world is over 6 million square kilometers, comparable to Australia's size.
**Game Development Decisions**
12. Bethesda considered adding children to Oblivion but decided against it due to potential negative press.
13. In Skyrim, children were included but made invincible to avoid controversy.
14. If invincibility is disabled in Skyrim, children can be killed, and they have unique death noises.
**Easter Eggs and References**
15. Fish sticks are a recurring Easter egg in many Elder Scrolls games, originating from a 2001 forum meme.
16. A stone bridge in Skyrim references the Norwegian fairy tale "Three Billy Goats Gruff".
17. In Morrowind, the sword Eltonbrand is a well-hidden Easter egg, referencing NBA player Elton Brand.
**Cut Content and Unreleased Games**
18. The Windhelm Pit in Skyrim was cut from the game but can be accessed via console commands.
19. The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Eye of Argonia was a canceled game, referenced in Morrowind's Tribunal expansion.
**Lore and Universe**
20. Each Elder Scrolls game takes place in a specific province on the continent of Tamriel, except for Arena and Online.
21. Tamriel is one of several continents on the planet Nirn, which has two moons, Secunda and Masser.
22. The planet Nirn exists within the mortal plane known as Mundus, created by the divine being Lorkhan.
23. The Mundus is divided into Aedra (those who helped create it) and Daedra (those who did not), with the former becoming the eight planets and moons.
24. Oblivion is the home of supernatural entities known as Daedra, existing beyond the mortal plane.
25. The stars, including the sun, are holes reaching from Oblivion to the realm of Aetherius, the origin of Aedra and source of magicka.