The creators of the Elder Scroll series happened to reduce the size of the game worlds from iteration to interation, with the explaination the game world was much more finely crafted.  Well, if this trend continues, there would have to be a place where they won't get any smaller.  So, while it is absurd to think of a version of the Elder Scroll series taking place in a closet, what would one expect the size of the game world to eventually get down to?

Nonsense. Oblivion was larger than Morrowind, and only smaller than Arena and Daggerfall because it was designed, rather than being randomly generated. I have no doubt that the explorable area in Skyrim will be larger than that of Oblivion. Yes, Cyrodiil is larger than Skyrim, but perhaps parts of High Rock or Hammerfell, or even Cyrodiil itself, will be explorable.

Quality over quantity my friend.

I never even explored all of Oblivion or the Fallout games for that matter.

Part of the reason I didn't bother exploring everything is because it gets boring exploring areas that aren't much different from many other areas. WIth that said, I'm not opposed to a smaller world if it means we don't see a world of copy pasta.

To the best of my knowledge, this isn't just incorrect, it's staggeringly incorrect - I think the area in Morrowind was twice as large as that in Oblivion? Maybe more?

If I remember correctly, Morrowind was 8 square miles, while Oblivion was 18. I'll try to find a link.

Bah, I can't find it. But look at this:

Cyrodiil is only slightly larger than the entirety of Morrowind, but Morrowind the game only took place on Vvardenfell, and Cyrodiil is definitely larger than that.

Morrowind was 6 square miles, Oblivion 16. Daggerfall was like 60 squaremiles...

Maybe, but who cares so long as they keep all the bugs intact? "More glitches per square inch than any other game!" There's your bulletpoint!

even though i doubt it would happen, but i would not have a problem with a RPG taking place in a single dungeon or tower.

RPG's did that before and they were great

The games don't follow the proportions of that map at all though, not even close.

Daggerfall took place in Hammerfell and its (procedurally generated) area was more than a thousand times bigger than Cyrodiil.

Anyway, Morrowind landmass was significantly smaller than Oblivion. Oblivion was 32 square miles. Morrowind can't remember exactly but around 20 sqm.

OT: do you know howbig or small Skyrim will be? I have the same fear, they'll make it significantly smaller than Oblivion but it's partly due to backlash they got after Oblivion. People complained it was too empty, so they made Fallout 3 smaller but more dense.

Yeah, Skyrim will be smaller than Oblivion and tighter á la Morrowind.

Fallout 3 was a little on the small side, but I agree that Oblivion might have actually been a little too large. You won't end up setting foot in the majority of Cyrodiil. I think this would have been nice; the western and southern tips are irritating.