Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Developer Diary
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Many of the spells from Morrowind have been given major facelifts, or reworked entirely, in an effort to make the system as exciting and useful as possible. My personal favorite is Detect Life. In Morrowind, this effect placed icons on the minimap indicating where creatures or characters could be found. It was a nice effect but not workable for Oblivion, so now when Detect Life is cast, a magical cloud, which is visible even when the creature is not, will envelop each nearby creature. You can watch these clouds to track potential targets, and usually you can even identify which creature you are looking at by the specific shape and movement of its cloud. This effect is sometimes paired with the new Night Eye a useful combo in our dark, atmospheric dungeons. More importantly, the spell gives the player extra information without breaking immersion, so when you cast the spell you actually feel like a sneaky wizard spying on your enemies. Score!
