'Discworld' Creator Terry Pratchett Was An 'Oblivion' Modder

Most know the late great Terry Pratchett for Discworld, a series of novels so riotous that they escaped the confines of their paper prison to spawn an equally hilarious series of video games. What most don't know, however, is that Pratchett's branching out into the video game landscape didn't come for monetary reasons, but out of love for video games. His video game path is also very interesting, as this man made the first two Discworld games, then went darker with Discworld Noir, and then treaded the unexpected path of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion modding. 

Why the hell would a person successful enough to make his own games decide to just make mods for someone else's made-up world? That's as if, say, J.K Rowling decided to start freelance blogging for the Daily Stormer or some other outlet that aligns with her, uh, fantastical beliefs. Well, it turns out it's because Pratchet loved Oblivion, yes, but even more importantly – because he friggin loved the modding scene. Yeah, in a piece of news that'll probably sadden the awesome Elder Scrolls writers a great big deal, Pratchett cared less about the game's story and way more about Oblivion and Skyrim's potential for expansion via fanmade content.

Pratchett's mods successfully helped deal with a problem present in most single-player-focused games: solitude. He wrote hundreds of lines of dialogue for Vilja, a naturally well-written NPC that will accompany players throughout their quests in Oblivion. It can still be downloaded here. Anyone who misses Vilja on Skyrim can also get Vilja's great granddaughter as a companion here. Terry's love for games also infected his daughter's heart, as Rhianna Pratchett is the main writer behind some sweet narrative-heavy titles like the Tomb Raider reboot, Rise Of The Tomb Raider, and Surgeon Simulator 2.

Terry Pratchett sadly passed away in 2015 at the age of 66, he would probably be over 200 years old by the time they release Elder Scrolls VI

Top Image: Bethesda