Poll: What region would you like to see in next Elder Scrolls Game?

[Recusant]

Seems everyone wants to just go where their favorite race is from. I don't think these people are actually thinking when they say they want the game to be set in a marsh or a desert.

I don't think that's mattered at all since Bethesda decided "deep jungle" was the same as "English countryside".

So far we had Morrowind, Cyrodill, and Skyrim.

You know, I can appreciate that many younger gamers haven't played the earlier games, but the fact that it's titled "The Elder Scrolls III" really should indicate that there were two earlier games. And there were. Does it not occur to anyone to look up where they took place? We've seen High Rock, and we've seen some of Hammerfell, back in Daggerfall. Some of us were killing dragons in the Al'kir desert before you were born. Even earlier, Arena gave us the whole of Tamriel to play around in. If you want to know what the rest of the continent looks like, Bethesda's put both games for free on their web site.

I'm glad someone else said this before me, my vote goes to Shivering Isles. I'd like to see it explored in a full game rather than DLC.

Glad I could help. Somebody's got the curmudgeon.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

No mention of Akavir? *tsk* That's where I truly want the next game to be.

Agreed.

Unless I'm mistaken, if Elder Scrolls Online is counted, Akavir is the only region left that has not been seen in an Elder Scrolls game.

Not quite. Elder Scrolls games have so far only concentrated on the continent of Tamriel, but there are also the continents of Akavir (as you say), Atmora, Pyandonea and Yokuda (although Yokuda sank, so would only really crop up in a prequel). And just to really be 'that guy' we got to play in all the regions of Tamriel in the very first ES game, Arena (except Orsinium, as Orcs weren't recognised as a civilised race until Morrowind).

 

[Treeberry]

All of them? Of Tamriel I'm quite interested in Valenwood and Elsweyr. Valenwood with its interesting flora and the Green Pact, Elsweyr for the glorious arid landscapes and the intriguing Lunar Lattice (I'd love to see different types of Khajiit!).

I read that certain Khajiit can pass for Bosmer, which if true, makes the racial tensions in Leyawiin all the more juicy.

If they set in it Elsweyr wouldn't the setting be two provinces due to the split? Or perhaps they'd set it in one of the 'new' provinces.

I wouldn't mind going outside of Tamriel but I bet certain people would ***** if it was set in Akavir...That said I don't mind revisiting a province (obviously ignoring Arena) or region at all. I want to see how ruined Cyrodiil has become. (I want to see if my statue is still there *cough*)

 

[Vicarious Reality]

Definitely Summerset, i already planned my next character as High elf for some reason
I have been to Elsweyr in a manner of speaking... unfortunately i had an incident with an Imga and got stuck there

 

[kris40k]

Summerset Isles, so I can get to work with a flame spell and a crowbar.

 

[Xeros]

I've always rolled Breton, so it'd be nice to finally see my homeland.

 

[Recusant]

Elder Scrolls games have so far only concentrated on the continent of Tamriel, but there are also the continents of Akavir (as you say), Atmora, Pyandonea and Yokuda (although Yokuda sank, so would only really crop up in a prequel).

Not a prequel; just a game that takes place earlier. Remember, this series isn't a single story. Even less than before, now that Uriel Septim VII's dead. And while Yokuda did "sink", we have very little idea of what that actually means. It's very likely that "sank" and "was submerged" are metaphors; at the very least, we know that there are skill Yokudans, and trade between them and Hammerfell, in 2E 864, several centuries after the continent was "destroyed". (Okay, you know that if you played Redguard, but even I am not going to hold it against you if you didn't). Most likely, there are still some appreciable chunks of land; perhaps a series of archipelagos scattered amongst treacherous waters (assuming the sinking was literal, the highest ground would still be above the waterline; slightly less high ground would make approaching in large ships (like the kind you'd need for an intercontinental journey) a difficult gamble at best. There's interesting potential for a setting there (it'd be nice to finally see if those sea serpent rumors are true), but I doubt if Bethesda's current crop of writers can handle anything as complex as Redguard culture is supposed to be.

Alinor, or as the lesser races call it - Summerset Isles. I want to see High-Elven craftsmanship and how things are in the Thalmor homeland.

It would be nice to get a sense of how much is elven arrogance, or deserved superiority too; it would change some of the context of previous entries in the series I think.

Man, did you people even play the same Skyrim that I did? It is, very thoroughly and in all but name, Nazi propaganda. Did you not see those Thalmor SS outfits?

Black Marsh would be my pick. I want to see how the slave trade and foreign wars of occupation have shaped Black Marsh. What problems and opportunities have arisen at home, and for whom? I want to see a dark society with different values and social structures. What does an Argonian fortress look like? How do they make war? What does their political infighting look like? What tensions exist within Argonian societies and how are they changing?

Don't forget: what are the details of their relationship with the Hist? How exactly does their anatomy work (seriously, Bethesda; you've kept me wondering for seven games now, tell me why your lizards have breasts!)?

High rock. I think the orcs are pretty good candidates for stirring up the next type of trouble. Malacath could rally his people to reclaim the glory of Orsinium... which would almost certainly mean marauding around for plunder.

I don't have any other reason for having it there though.

I do! It'd be nicer to have a deeper look into Orsinium's culture; remember that, as a nation, it's only existed on and off. Bethesda had Blizzard Orcs before Blizzard did; it'd be nice if they remembered that and showed us that they, too, could give the guys credit as more than Tolkien's generic evil thugs.

I've always rolled Breton, so it'd be nice to finally see my homeland.

I have fantastic news for you: you don't have to wait another minute. Head on over to Bethesda's site (http://www.elderscrolls.com/daggerfall), and you can download it right now. For free. Bundled with DOSBox, so there's no heavy technical difficulty. Assuming a decent download speed, you can, in under ten minutes, be enjoying the deepest character creation system the series has ever had- want to make a character whose primary and secondary skills are all languages? Take damage from holy places (which, in Hammerfell, includes the Fighter's Guild, since their culture treats it as one? Slap a critical weakness to paralysis on a race that's naturally immune, granting yourself enough leveling speed to gain 30 hp per level and still level faster than average? Possess a phobia of animals so intense that you'll later find yourself slashing through a half-dozen daedra seducers, then turning and running in terror from a bat? Hide from said bat in a moat because you also took the "regenerate health while immersed in water" advantage, only to die from being bitten by a slaughterfish? It's all there and available RIGHT NOW.

One warning, however: the dungeon map is three-dimensional. I repeat: the dungeon map is actually 3-D. It takes a little getting used to, especially since (1996 was a long time ago, remember; computers were much slower back then) it can only hold so much of the dungeon at a time, but once you adjust, you will forever find yourself swearing at other games with inferior mapping systems, asking yourself why twenty-first century technology is unable to do what we could nineteen years ago.

 

[Xeros]

...daggerfall...

Oh, I'm well aware of Daggerfall. Played it a lot while I was in high school when DOSBox was about as "gaming" as my laptop could muster. That said, Daggerfall is hardly a proper representation of High Rock as compared to the modern titles. Granted there are regions that have yet to appear in an Elder Scrolls game that should certainly take precedence over my personal preferences, but it'd sure be nice to see it in all of its fully-fleshed, HD glory.

Edit: As opposed to a ton of randomly-generated flat ground with "High Rock" on the label.

 

[Akjosch]

I'd like to see a proper Cyrodiil. You know, with half of it covered in jungle, and the Imperial City actually looking like it was described, not the tiny walled circle of three dozen houses or so.

 

[Unspoken_Request]

ANYWHERE BUT AKAVIR

I don't think Bethesda could pull off Akavir, the lore behind that place is so extensive and interesting that I want it to be this neat little gem hidden in the lore. Bethesda couldn't even do Cyrodiil right and Cyrodiil was basically just a Jungle with Romans in it.

Hell, I don't even want them to do Hammerfell. In lore the culture of Redguards is so varied, you've got some aspects of African tribalism, Arabic styled art and craftsmanship with Jamaican style spiritualism. I doubt all of this stuff would translate from the lore of The Elder Scrolls to a game set in Hammerfell.

They couldn't even put the proper pantheon in Skyrim. They just copied the Cyrod pantheon and sprinkled in some references to the Nordic pantheon.

Plus, I doubt the Nords would ever stop venerating Shor, the god of mankind. Unarguably the most important god in their culture apart from Alduin. Couldn't even find a shrine to him!

I agree that Bethesda's recent track record for fleshing out more alien cultures is not as good as it used to be, but then I look at the world-building made in Morrowind and I yearn for something that foreign and engrossing. I do not know if Bethesda still has the talent to pull off this type of crazy worlds nowadays, but that is what I want most.

I want Bethesda to immerse me in a crazy world that I have never seen. In that regard, I hope Bethesda stays away from human lands this time around.

Here is probably my preferred setting:

Black Marsh + most of main land Morrowind (with a good war story focusing on the conflict between Argonians and Dunmers; btw, no need to have a end-of-the-world story again)

 

[wings012]

I've always played Redguard, so Hammerfell. The Black Marsh definitely seems interesting though, from the various TES books lying around. I think there was transport via swamp bubbles and worms or something mentioned somewhere?

Hammerfell will probably provide the biggest scenic change though. And I'm all for flailing a scimitar in the desert and fighting some... burrowing scorpion thing?

 

[BarryMcCociner]

ANYWHERE BUT AKAVIR

I don't think Bethesda could pull off Akavir, the lore behind that place is so extensive and interesting that I want it to be this neat little gem hidden in the lore. Bethesda couldn't even do Cyrodiil right and Cyrodiil was basically just a Jungle with Romans in it.

Hell, I don't even want them to do Hammerfell. In lore the culture of Redguards is so varied, you've got some aspects of African tribalism, Arabic styled art and craftsmanship with Jamaican style spiritualism. I doubt all of this stuff would translate from the lore of The Elder Scrolls to a game set in Hammerfell.

They couldn't even put the proper pantheon in Skyrim. They just copied the Cyrod pantheon and sprinkled in some references to the Nordic pantheon.

Plus, I doubt the Nords would ever stop venerating Shor, the god of mankind. Unarguably the most important god in their culture apart from Alduin. Couldn't even find a shrine to him!

I agree that Bethesda's recent track record for fleshing out more alien cultures is not as good as it used to be, but then I look at the world-building made in Morrowind and I yearn for something that foreign and engrossing. I do not know if Bethesda still has the talent to pull off this type of crazy worlds nowadays, but that is what I want most.

I want Bethesda to immerse me in a crazy world that I have never seen. In that regard, I hope Bethesda stays away from human lands this time around.

Here is probably my preferred setting:

Black Marsh + most of main land Morrowind (with a good war story focusing on the conflict between Argonians and Dunmers; btw, no need to have a end-of-the-world story again)

Michael Kirkbride has stated that The Story of The Elder Scrolls has always been about the downfall of Men and the uprising of Mer and we'll never see Elsweyr or Argonia because the Beast Races are just "onlookers" in this situation. It sucks but he has a LOT of pull when it comes to the story despite him only freelancing for Bethesda.

And to anyone who might say "But MK doesn't have anything to do with Bethesda after Morrowind!"

While it's true he only works freelance for them

OBLIVION

1. He wrote important dialogue, including every line uttered by Mankar Camoran

2. He wrote many in-game books, including Camoran's Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes. A major plot device.

3. The plot for Knights of the Nine and its ingame texts were also handled by MK.

4. He's on the game's credits as part of the writing team.

SKYRIM

1. Heimskr, the shouting lunatic in Whiterun recites lines from "From the Many-Headed Talos" an out-of-game text written by MK.

2. MK created and pitched the concept of the White-Gold Concordat.

3. MK made an in-character post on the forums revealing Thalmor goals to unmake the world. This was later supported in Skyrim through the Winterhold Mage questline. The Thalmor Ancano explixitly refferenced it.

4. After Skyrims announcement MK posted Skyrim and Nord related text on the official forums. These texts introduced concepts later found in Skyrim. Skyrim's game designer, Kurt Kuhlmann confirmed MK's important influence on the game.

5. Painted cows were introduced in MK's out of game text "Seven Fights of the Aldudagga" along with the concept of Kalpa's which is specifically referenced by Paarthurnax.

"Pruzah. As good a reason as any. There are many who feel as you do, although not all. Some would say that all things must end, so that the next can come to pass. Perhaps this world is simply the Egg of the next kalpa? Lein vokiin? Would you stop the next world from being born?"

6. The Companions of Whiterun? The're from the MK out of game texts "The Five Hundred Mighty Companions or Thereabouts of Ysgramor the Returned." The in-game book "Songs of the Return" written by Skyrim writer Shane Liesegang also validates that text.

7. "The book of the Dragonborn" references the Towers (and them going down one by one) Which are concepts introduced by MK in his out-of-game text "Nu-Mantia Intercept"