No bathrooms in Skyrim (or: the treatment of bathrooms in games?)

[brunothepig]

Yeah everyone, "not being invented" is a good... idea, I mean. But still, in the real world and real world history (us as humans on planet Earth) we didn't have magic. But, the races in TES (at least!) all have magic. So a mage can conjure a fireball, or raise a zombie, or magically heal, but can't, like, create a plumbing system?

And plus, they have sewers, i.e. sewage systems present in the game (at least in Riften right, and there are sewer outlets in Solitude, as well as suspicious drains in Whiterun, Markath and so on), but lo behold, no traces of anything remotely bathroom-like. Or at least toilet-seatish. The Imperial City had extensive sewer network too, but again: no toilets!

And how can the Dwemer dwarfs create their automatons (robots) and not have toilets? Now that I think harder... I may have seen something like an outhouse, or a small toilet house out in the countryside near farms... or I have not, not clear...

So, I think the "it wasn't invented" argument doesn't hold, because: magic, dwemer technology, and widespread sewage systems. Don't get me wrong, now all the buckets make much more sense... And the "bucket on head" maneuver, makes total sense... xD

Unless you think a mage is going to be paid to sit there casting Flush or whatever, magic doesn't really help in this instance. How exactly is plumbing system related to Raise Zombie, Heal and Fireball? Magic isn't a fix-all in The Elder Scrolls, spells have a specific use, they have to be cast, stuff like that. Reeeally stretching it, you could maybe enchant a toilet to cast Flush every time a button is pressed, but then they suddenly need a whole new infrastructure for all this, and again, why would anyone think of this? The sewers could simply be so the town doesn't flood when it rains, not for actual plumbing.

The Dwemer created the automatons through part engineering and part magic. They appear to be powered by soul gems, that's what gives them life. Now, a toilet doesn't need life, it just needs complicated machinations, which the Dwemer may have been capable of. But why would they think of it? Plus, it would be inconvenient, they'd need a renewable water source, or they risk using their drinking water or whatever.

OT: So yeah, there's no toilets in Skyrim because they crap in a bucket, same goes for Dragon Age. It is a bit weird how some games don't have them though.

 

[William Ossiss]

Chamber pots for the win! lol its so easy to forget how hard people had it back then.

 

[DirgeNovak]

...because bathrooms didn't really exist until the beginning of the 20th century? Why would they exist in a medieval-like fantasy setting? You shit in a bowl and toss it out the window. It helps the grass grow

 

[mjc0961]

So what's the deal with this? Now when I remember there are also no bathrooms in Dragon Age too. No bathrooms in ANY medieval/fantasy game I've played so far, not even Fable!

Plenty of Zelda games have bathrooms. Granted, Zelda is not an RPG no matter what some incorrect people will claim, and it's usually one bathroom in the entire game, but sometimes they have bathrooms.

Skyward Sword even lets you sit on the toilet, and if you center the camera while on it, you can pretend Link has dropped his trousers and is taking a shit. He even flushes when he gets up.

Also fun and somewhat relevant:

Spoiler: comic inside

If you really must have toilets in your games, look no further than No More Heroes: they serve as save stations. Every time you take a leak, you save the game - whether it's a child's potty, unzipping behind a bush or taking a dump into the most luxurious lavatory imaginable...

That's what I've heard, anyway.

Same in the Dead Rising series. Go to the toilet to save your game. No kid potties or bushes though, just stalls and urinals.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

The bush over there? That's where the toads of the Mushroom kingdom 'squeeze the fungus'.

 

[Sateru]

Mages have it covered... they magic away the shit from peoples bowels and teleport it all into Oblivion. Why else would the Daedra utterly despise humans with an undying passion? Either that or they dig a hole in the ground, shit in it and fill it back up? Or they hide their toilets in secret places? Hidden in secret rooms that the Dragonborn cannot ever access.

 

[DuX1112]

snip

The Dwemer created the automatons through part engineering and part magic. They appear to be powered by soul gems, that's what gives them life. Now, a toilet doesn't need life, it just needs complicated machinations, which the Dwemer may have been capable of. But why would they think of it?

Why would they think of it? The Dwemer (much like the Dwarves) live underground, so no bucket tossing out of the windows for them. I can't imagine a more needy race than the Dwemer in terms of waste disposal. Plus, you've probably seen their "cities": there are PIPES that work and pump stuff to and fro (my guess is that they pump air in order to areate, i.e. fill with air and keep air circulating in underground spaces), so the Dwems have invented airconditioning more or less, but poop disposal would be a no-go? If they didn't dispose poop some way (or even urine), my guess is that they might find themselves with some pretty nasty civilization-wiping contagion on their as*ess. Which may likely turn out to be the cause for the Dwemer disappearance, hummm...

Edit: + the Dwems have like large bodies of water for them, underground rivers and such.

 

[Reaper195]

look for a bucket in the bedrooms.

Being the technological era that Skyrim (And most fantasy games) are in.....this.

Although I wanted to find some toilets in Halo. Space potties ftw!

 

[redisforever]

Heck, Crimson Skies: High Road To Revenge had a level with an outhouse that Nathan could relieve himself in.

DID IT? In the actual game?! Where?!


OT: Buckets. Oh, and Duke Nukem loves bathrooms.

 

[lovest harding]

Because it's a waste (hehe) of resources for the development team?
Not to say it wouldn't be interesting, just that why should the development team focus on bathrooms when that time could go into more quests or polishing out bugs?

I can also agree with the idea of using buckets. Modeling after a period of time that hardly ever had homes with more than one or two rooms makes not including bathrooms easy. xD

Side note: Sims Medieval has the most awkward potty animations. The ladies quite literally just squat over chamberpots. It's quite scary/hilarious to see.

 

[DuX1112]

Plus, as widespread as the buckets may be... a King would also use a bucket? At least his should be made of gold... ))

 

[Right Hook]

PLEASE tell me you are trolling. The didn't have plumbing back then bro! So no toilet or sinks. They use buckets, seriously some places have a room full of buckets, those are designated shit spots. Otherwise they just go in the woods or a bucket they keep lying around and toss it outside later. As for washing up...yep hopefully they use a different bucket.

 

[brunothepig]

snip

The Dwemer created the automatons through part engineering and part magic. They appear to be powered by soul gems, that's what gives them life. Now, a toilet doesn't need life, it just needs complicated machinations, which the Dwemer may have been capable of. But why would they think of it?

Why would they think of it? The Dwemer (much like the Dwarves) live underground, so no bucket tossing out of the windows for them. I can't imagine a more needy race than the Dwemer in terms of waste disposal. Plus, you've probably seen their "cities": there are PIPES that work and pump stuff to and fro (my guess is that they pump air in order to areate, i.e. fill with air and keep air circulating in underground spaces), so the Dwems have invented airconditioning more or less, but poop disposal would be a no-go? If they didn't dispose poop some way (or even urine), my guess is that they might find themselves with some pretty nasty civilization-wiping contagion on their as*ess. Which may likely turn out to be the cause for the Dwemer disappearance, hummm...

Edit: + the Dwems have like large bodies of water for them, underground rivers and such.

Hey, they can just dig wholes for waste disposal. The pipes are a good point, but I still say they wouldn't really think of it. It's such a foreign idea when you think about it. Oh, at least some of the pipes are actually for steam, most of their tech is steam powered. And even if the Dwemer did create toilets, the other races wouldn't have them anyway. They can't replicate Dwemer tech, they're all retards.
EDIT: Oh, just noticed. In the Elder Scrolls universe, the Dwemer are the Dwarves. In case you were unaware, your second sentence seemed to indicate you think they're separate. Unless you were referring to the archetypical dwarves.

 

[iblis666]

I find it interesting they didnt adopt the roman style toilet which is basically a covered pit much like a modern day out house with a trough of running water in front that you use to wash a shit stick thats a stick with a sea sponge attached to the end

 

[Gatx]

The Normandy 2 had a male and female restroom too. The served completely no purpose other than having the ship's AI tell you you were in the wrong bathroom. It's really no big deal that small things like this aren't in the game, I mean, you don't have to eat or drink either so why would you need to go the bathroom?

 

[SirCannonFodder]

We're not even sure the races in TES urinate. It's not Earth and it's not "medieval times".

Also what would my character excrete? I don't need to eat or drink anything in the game.

What about all those potions you guzzle down?

 

[That_Sneaky_Camper]

They probably went outside. I do.

...

Sometimes.

 

[Shirastro]

Did you ever wonder why there are so many wild flowers and berries in Skyrim, even thou it's mostly winter wasteland?
Or how those farms are able to produce crops?

They are being fertilized!

 

[DuX1112]

snip

The Dwemer created the automatons through part engineering and part magic. They appear to be powered by soul gems, that's what gives them life. Now, a toilet doesn't need life, it just needs complicated machinations, which the Dwemer may have been capable of. But why would they think of it?

snip

Hey, they can just dig wholes for waste disposal. The pipes are a good point, but I still say they wouldn't really think of it. It's such a foreign idea when you think about it. Oh, at least some of the pipes are actually for steam, most of their tech is steam powered. And even if the Dwemer did create toilets, the other races wouldn't have them anyway. They can't replicate Dwemer tech, they're all retards.
EDIT: Oh, just noticed. In the Elder Scrolls universe, the Dwemer are the Dwarves. In case you were unaware, your second sentence seemed to indicate you think they're separate. Unless you were referring to the archetypical dwarves.

It is disputable whether they "are" the Dwarves, or something else to begin with. I've read somewhere that they were named "dwemer" (for "short") by the Giants in the old days, which means they were of human height, hence not "dwarfs". But the name stuck. What they can do however is be excellent with machines and automatons. Anyhow, it doesn't make much difference if the pipes were for steam, air conditioning or water etc., my point was that if they COULD create a network of pipes perforating mountains of solid rock, and all of that only in order to move some machinery around, wouldn't they be (way) more than able to have a plumbing system?

As for magic and alchemy, well, one can easily imagine an ingredient being poured over the excrement which would vaporize the excrement completely, or make it otherwise useful (i.e. for the farm). There are many options but none is obvious of these... There are buckets and sewage systems hinting to possible practices, but nothing certain... Also: no showers and no bathtubs. Would everyone just bathe in the rivers and lakes in the freezing lands of Skyrim? Probably not... Maybe they have bath in barrels.