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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is an action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks and the Take-Two Interactive division 2K Games. Oblivion was released on March 20, 2006, for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360, and later for mobile phones and PlayStation 3. In the main storyline, the player character thwarts the fanatical Mythic Dawn cult from opening the gates to a realm called Oblivion. The player can travel anywhere in the game world at any time, develop the character's skills, and ignore or postpone the main storyline indefinitely. The graphics were designed with an improved Havok physics engine, high dynamic range lighting, and procedural content generation tools to generate terrain. The Radiant A.I. system manages the complex behaviors of the non-player characters (NPCs). The game features the music of award-winning composer Jeremy Soule. Overall, Oblivion has been successful both commercially and critically, winning industry and publication awards. It was praised for its graphics, expansive game world, and fully voiced, schedule-driven NPCs. (Full article...)

Part of the The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion series, one of Wikipedia's featured topics.

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Did you know...

Rest on the Flight into Egypt

... that the Rest on the Flight into Egypt is a popular subject in Christian art, but the earliest known example (pictured) only dates to about 1379?
... that Narinder Kumar Mehra identified that a subtype of the serotype HLA-DR2 made humans susceptible to diseases such as leprosy and tuberculosis?
... that the 17th-century German hymn "Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan" has been described as "one of the most exquisite strains of pious resignation ever written"?
... that Canadian Football League player Randy Ambrosie helped oversee the league's expansion into the United States?
... that despite the loss of Trunajaya's rebel court at the Battle of Surabaya, his forces captured and sacked the Mataram royal court one month later?
... that Chris Cate is the first Asian American to serve as a San Diego City Council member in decades?
... that a protostar in the Sh2-297 nebula is driving an outflow of gas more massive than the Sun?
... that suffragist Jane Maria Strachey was born on a ship off the Cape of Good Hope in 1840?

In the news

Chuck Berry

American guitarist, singer, and rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry (pictured) dies at the age of 90.
A colossal ancient Egyptian statue, discovered in Cairo, is preliminarily identified as depicting pharaoh Psamtik I.
The VVD, led by incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte, wins the most seats in the Dutch general election, but the governing coalition loses its majority.
Disputes over a Turkish constitutional referendum trigger a diplomatic incident between Turkey and the Netherlands.
South Korea's Constitutional Court removes President Park Geun-hye from office.

On this day...

March 20: March equinox (10:28 UTC, 2017); Nowruz in Iran, Central Asia, the Bahá'í Faith, and Zoroastrianism (2017); Independence Day in Tunisia (1956)

Napoleon Bonaparte

235 – Maximinus Thrax succeeded to the throne of the Roman Empire, a so-called barracks emperor who gained power by virtue of his command of the army.
1600 – Five advisers to Polish–Swedish king Sigismund III Vasa were publicly executed, effectively ending his reign in Sweden.
1815 – After escaping from exile in Elba, Napoleon Bonaparte (pictured) entered Paris, beginning the period known as the "Hundred Days".
1944 – World War II: Four thousand U.S. Marines made a landing on Emirau Island in the Bismarck Archipelago to develop an airbase as part of Operation Cartwheel.
1993 – The Troubles: The second of two bomb attacks by the Provisional IRA in Warrington, England, killed two children.

Isaac Newton (d. 1726) · Amanda Clement (b. 1888) · Fernando Torres (b. 1984)

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John Wallis held the position from 1658–1703.

The position of Keeper of the Archives at the University of Oxford in England dates from 1634, when it was established by new statutes for the university brought in by William Laud (Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of the University). The first holder of the post was Brian Twyne, who prepared an index of the archives in 1631 as part of the preparatory work for the statutes: he was appointed Keeper of the Archives as a reward for his work. The archives were moved from the University Church of St Mary the Virgin into the Tower of the Five Orders in the Bodleian Library under Twyne and his successor, and some of the storage cupboards built at that time are still in use. The archives include charters, title deeds, university registers and records, and other official documentation from the university (but not from the colleges of the university, which keep their own archives). Most of the material dates from the 19th and 20th centuries, with few photographs and no sound or video recordings. In total, 21 people have held the position. (Full list...)

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Panaeolus semiovatus var. semiovatus is a medium-sized buff-colored mushroom that grows on horse dung and has black spores. It is widely distributed and is present in many temperate zones of the world. While some guides list this species as edible, a few people experience gastric upset after consumption.

Photograph: Jörg Hempel

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