I don’t remember where I first heard of the Elder Scrolls. It was in a computer magazine, I think, or maybe a gaming magazine. It was telling about a new game coming out called Morrowind. As soon as I read the description, I knew I needed to get a copy. The game description sounded like reading a really good fantasy novel feels – like you’re completely immersed in the story and anything can happen.

I do remember when I fell in love with Morrowind. I had finally found the game and installed it on my computer. I was exploring the beginner town and I had just jumped up on a tree stump, because I could and because nothing was making me follow a set path anywhere. I jumped on the tree stump and looked inside and there was an axe! And I laughed in delight at the creative and fun minds behind a game that played exactly how I’d always wanted an RPG (role-playing game) to play.  My only complaint with the games was that they left you feeling like the fantasy world  needed more real people in it, not just NPCs (non-player characters). TES created a series of 1-person RPGs that played like they should be an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game).

Since then, there’s always been an Elder Scrolls game on my computer – well, until last year, when I got a Mac, and Skyrim was only out for PCs.

That’s why, when a friend shared about the Elder Scrolls beta, I jumped at the chance. And why I was so excited when I received the email that I’d been chosen to participate in it. Of course, when I went to download the game, I was disappointed – there was no version out yet for Macs, although we were reassured thatone was in the works.

So with each invite to a beta weekend, I’d go check again … and again … and yet again. Until finally, after many invites and a transfer into the super-top-secret testing group, the Psijics, which gives the opportunity to play on the PTS (Permanent Testing Server), (which is finally, thankfully, allowed to share our experiences with the game), after all this, I finally received a notification that the Mac version was up and running.

Even better, and this made the wait so totally worth it, it’s running on its own, not like so many other games that are PC games wrapped inside a Mac outer layer. In my personal experience, it does make a difference. This is the first large game I’ve run on my Mac that runs like a game is supposed to. There are some bugs, of course, otherwise they wouldn’t need us to test it, but all in all, it flows, it’s immersive. It’s like almost like (and getting closer all the time), the first time I played Morrowind and discovered my favorite fantasy game world.