"As many of you know, possibly the biggest weakness of the previous Elder Scrolls game was the insane vastness (I regret for using such idiotic phrasing, I really do) and complete open-endedness that made the game much less focused than it should've been [Says you and nobody else -Paul]. Many players would give up on the quests soon after realizing that they'd actually have to travel miles and miles (virtually) in order to get anywhere in game. Consequently they would lose focus, and then that sense of having too much freedom would actually limit their enjoyment of the game. This is something Tod and the rest of the team are definitely looking to change in Oblivion."