The Elder Scrolls : Arena The Elder Scrolls : Arena was released in 1994 and was the first game of the series and 12th game developed by Bethesda Softworks . It was one of the first role - playing video games and one of the largest games created at the time of its release . In 2004 , a downloadable version of the game was made available free of charge as part of the 10th anniversary of " The Elder Scrolls " series , but newer systems may require an emulator such as to run it , as Arena is a DOS - based program . Like its sequels , " Arena " takes place on the continent of Tamriel , complete with wilderness , dungeons , and a spell creation system that allows players to mix various spell effects into a new spell as long as they have the money to pay for it . Although not as popular as the later games , " Arena " generated a cult following , and it was successful enough to spawn a sequel , . Development . Arena was originally supposed to be a game of gladiatorial combat . The player was to take their team of gladiators and would travel about a world fighting other teams in their arenas until the player became " grand champion " in the world ' s capital . Along the way side - quests and various role - playing aspects were added . Eventually these side - quests became more important than the tournament aspects , so the tournament part of the game was discarded , and Arena became a " full - blown RPG " . It sold slowly , but steadily , and despite harsh reviews , general bugginess , and the considerable demands the game made on players ' machines , the game became a cult hit . Because all the material had already been printed up with the title " Arena " , the game went to market as The Elder Scrolls : Arena . The name turned into being a nickname for the world , since the Empire of Tamriel was so violent . Missing their Christmas 1993 deadline , the game was released in the " doldrums " of March 1994 , which was considered a bad time to release a game for a small developer like Bethesda . The misleading packaging further contributed to distributor distaste for the game , leading to an initial distribution of only 3 , 000 units . When the game launched it was initially very buggy , being very difficult if not impossible to complete the main quest in the original , non - patched version of the game . Bethesda released a number of patches to fix almost all of the glitches , making the game finish - able and more stable . Versions . Arena was originally released on CD - ROM and 3 . 5 " floppy disk . The CD - ROM edition is the more advanced , featuring enhanced speech for some characters and CGI video sequences . In late 1994 , Arena was re - released in a special " Deluxe Edition " package , containing the CD - ROM patched to the latest version , a mouse pad with the map of Tamriel printed on it , and the " Codex Scientia " ; an in - depth hint book . The version that was released as freeware by Bethesda Softworks in 2004 is the 3 . 5 " floppy disk version , not the CD - ROM edition . It had gotten a re - release on September 10th 2013 in a collection with the other four games in the main series . It is the exact version as the original , yet unlike the downloadable free version , this bypasses the dosprompt entirely . Gameplay . The actual game - world is substantially larger than , , and together . The game utilizes randomly generated content to generate a massive world ( around 6 million square kilometers ) , without much effort on the developers ' part . The world has hundreds of towns made with actual design , rather than being random , containing businesses with random names ( Examples being " Gold Sword " " Silver Gauntlet " etc . ) As well as several hundred dungeons , along with 17 specially designed dungeons that were part of the game ' s main quest . Due to the enormity of the world , fast travel is essential . Walking to a nearby town could take up to 10 hours of real time , while a far off town in another province could take several days . The game is played from a first - person perspective . Combat is performed by clicking the right mouse button and dragging it across the screen , as if swinging your weapon . Magic is used by clicking on the magic menu , selecting your spell , and clicking where you want to shoot it . There is also the ability to pickpocket people on the street , or break into a store at night . Arena was one of the first games to have a day and night cycle , with stores closing at night , people getting off the streets , and monsters ( Orcs , Lizard Men , etc . ) wandering around towns at night . The actual main quest is completed by finishing all 17 developer - made dungeons and completing the Staff of Chaos , but there are other quests as well . Asking about rumors in a town will lead to someone telling you about someone in a bar that may need help . These " miscellaneous " quests are very simple , ranging from simple delivery missions to finding an artifact item after going through a dungeon . Another notable fact about " Arena " is that it has a tendency to be unforgiving towards newer players . It is easy to die in the starting dungeon , as powerful enemies can be encountered if the player lingers too long . However , this effect slowly withers away as the player becomes more powerful and more aware of the threats that loom everywhere . Even Ken Rolston , lead designer of , says he started the game at least twenty times and only got out of the beginning dungeon once . Plot summary . The Emperor summons the Imperial Battle Mage , Jagar Tharn on rumors of treachery . But Jagar Tharn betrays him , and transports the Emperor into another dimension of his choosing . Tharn ' s apprentice , Ria Silmane , witnesses his treachery and tries to warn the Elder Council , but is killed by Tharn , her corporeal form being destroyed by the Staff of Chaos . After months of planning , Jagar Tharn transforms himself into the image of the Emperor and takes the throne , summoning demon minions and transforming them into the Emperor ' s Guard , and sending the head of the Imperial Guard , Talin Warhaft , into the Imperial Dungeons to die . Ria Silmane becomes an incorporeal form through the use of magic and remains in this world so that she can warn the prisoner of Jagar Tharn ' s treachery and that the Emperor is actually Jagar Tharn in disguise . Ria creates a key for Talin to escape his cell and teleports him to another province through the use of a Shift Gate . The only way to stop Jagar Tharn is to obtain the Staff of Chaos , in which he holds his lifeforce . But the staff has been split by Tharn into eight pieces and scattered across Tamriel . Since Talin is the only one that Ria Silmane could trust , it is up to him to reassemble the pieces and defeat Jager Tharn . Finally , in 3E 399 , after a long quest to reassemble the pieces , which were hidden at the bottom of a dungeon in each province , the prisoner finally reassembles the Staff of Chaos . However , Jagar Tharn was not defeated as they and Ria Silmane had hoped . There was one final piece in the Imperial Palace , the jewel to the Staff , which would make it complete . The prisoner fought their way through the Imperial Palace to the basement level where he fought with Tharn . The prisoner touched the staff to the jewel and they formed instantly , melting Jagar Tharn . The staff creates a portal automatically to the dimension in which the Emperor and General Warhaft are being held . They fall out of the portal and thank the prisoner . The Emperor makes the prisoner the Eternal Champion as a reward for saving them and defeating Jagar Tharn .