Ex-Skyrim dev grants "most absurd face" award to Oblivion Remastered player's Sir Vancealot: "I think this would have won" Bethesda's internal competitions

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered has finally arrived following months of leaks and release date rumors, and players have been hard at work recreating their ugliest characters from the original RPG – some so ugly, in fact, they've caught the eye of one former Bethesda Game Studios lead.

Jeffery "Jeff" Gardiner, an ex-Bethesda developer who worked as a producer on the beloved 2006 Oblivion and Skyrim, reveals in an online post that fans aren't the only ones who enjoy conjuring up ungodly faces in the RPG – devs do (and did so quite a bit, apparently), too. "Towards the end of development," he writes, "when we were all playtesting Oblivion, we used to all compete to see who could make the most absurd face."

Gardiner then praises a newly viral screenshot of a player's so-called "Sir Vancealot" (yes, a horrifying in-game recreation of United States vice president JD Vance) taken in Oblivion Remastered, admitting that it's just wacky enough to have likely won Bethesda's internal competition: "Have to say, I think this would have won." Looking at the screencap myself, I'd wager the fan's nightmare-fueling Sir Vancealot definitely could've.

The comments see other players nominating their own ridiculous character creations, ranging from Skooma-high Khajiit to neon purple… somethings. Halloween has certainly come early this year, thanks to Oblivion Remastered's true-to-the-original character creator, it seems, and I'm sure it's only going to evolve from here as the new game's already thriving mod scene continues to expand – and I, for one, am totally here for it.

Here's everything you need to know about The Elder Scrolls 6 after replaying Oblivion.