Skyrim elves look AWFUL :(

[Fishyash]

This is hyperbole, but if Bethesda made elves three feet tall, with 7 arms, red skin, and horns, then they can call them elves all they want, but they're not elves.

Ironically enough, this would be CLOSER to classic elves. They were tiny devilish troublemakers before the likes of Tolkien came in and rewrote them.

Sure, but here's the deal. TES is a classic, high fantasy game. Tolkien's elves have been the accepted norm for elves for about 60 years now. Now if you wanna make some deviation from the high fantasy Genre, fine, but when we're talking about TES, there are some expectations I think, and what they've put out don't meet those expectations in my opinion.

Tolkien WON. Elves LOOK like human beings. They may not have to look like supermodels, but they're general appearance should be human. Especially in a game series that bleeds as much Tolkien and D&D as TES.

So you're saying the elder scrolls SHOULD adhere to high fantasy clichés?

No.

Nononononononononoonono.


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

The notion that 'fantasy should follow rules' is ridiculous. Having 'norms' in a fantasy setting is NOT GOOD.

I am just going to say this (although this is a matter of opinion in the first place). I think it's a bad habit to believe elves are supposed to look like the ones from the tolkien books. Clichés are a bad thing, and pretty almost human-like elves are pretty much a cliché now. It causes stagnation and makes high fantasy boring.

But, I know you're not the only one who wants the elves to look more human. Mods were made on morrowind and probably oblivion too in order to 'fix' it. It's going to happen on skyrim I am sure of it, if it hasn't happened already. Unlucky for you if you play on xbox or ps3. If you want to make an elf, I am pretty sure you can make one that's nice looking with some clever use of the character creation (one that's close enough).

And finally, I think it's perfectly fine to dislike the look of skyrim's elves, but this particular justification is something I really disagree with.

 

[tzimize]

Then don't play them, god damn.
I think the elves look great, especially the Dunmer. I've made one that dual wields swords with a very gaunt, triangle shaped face and he looks absolutely sinister (not at all influenced by that one race screenshot of the dark sinister looking Dunmer with two daggers).
The fact that not all the races look humanoid is an absolute bonus. Picking different races should have a very distinct feel to them, and the elves (excluding Bosmer) are completely other worldly.

Agree. I am THRILLED that I dont have to play a Legolas clone. They got their own distinct feel to them, and there is a lot of customizability in all parts of the body and face no matter the race.

 

[Sigmar ov The Hammer]

As M'aiq the Liar says, 'M'aiq has heard the people of Skyrim are better looking than the ones in Cyrodiil. He has no opinion on the matter. All people are beautiful to him.'

 

[zHellas]

...In fact, I'm gonna go with that. Who says all races have to fit a traditional version of "aesthetically pleasing"?

They should at least change that the default Male Dunmer looks like a child molesting drug addicted version of Danny Trejo covered in soot.

 

[Seneschal]

I think it works especially well in Skyrim and Morrowind, not so much in an idyllic cosmopolitan province such as Cyrodiil. As has already been mentioned here, elves (more specifically, the Aldmeri Dominion) are a secondary villain in the game, outsiders and conquerors with superiority complexes, so it makes sense for them to stand out and look alien. The Ayleid culture that the Aldmeri are trying to bring back was a grandiose magocracy fueled by human slaves - nothing remotely resembling what "traditional" high-fantasy elves represent.

 

[Julianking93]

Aren't Elves typically supposed to look like that outside everything Lord of the Rings related?
I mean, I don't think they look great and ended up not being my typical Dunmer class due to them looking odd but I'm pretty sure Elves in lore look like that.
Jutting brows.
Extremely pronounced cheekbones.
Big eyes.
Very very pointy chins and ears.

Kinda like the Joker now that I think about it.

Anyway, yeah, as someone before me said, you've read Eragon/seen LotR too many times.
The elves look badass to me.

 

[Legit101]

................

 

[chstens]

Wah wah wah, the Skyrim elves don't conform to the image of elves I've been led to expect in popular media, wah wah wah. I'm sorry, but that's exactly what it is.

 

[Skekfaer]

So what you're saying is that innovation is bad and that every fantasy game from now on MUST be a tolkien-inspired adventure? Well, so much for the fantasy gaming industry then?

Look at aliens? The 'default' for aliens are small grey or green men with humongous eyes and frail bodies? Try to insert that in your sci-fi epic without causing moaning and sighing when they've seen it for the trillionth time.

How well would Mass Effect have sold by trying to do that? (I know the salaries are inspired by those things but so are the elves of TES they are inspired but not clones!)
Or Halo and you saw that it was things that look like children with deformed heads that were your opponents.

 

[Googenstien]

Not all LOTR elves are pretty..

 

[M4t3us]

"Wealth beyond measure, outlander!" - said in that grainy dunmer Morrowind voice, that's all elves will ever be to me, a set of personalities. The Smug altmer, the annoying bosmer and the scorn-filled dunmer.

 

[Inkidu]

What the hell was Bethesda thinking? The elves in Skyrim look absolutely HIDEOUS. I mean, they look like something you'd see out of Aliens. I feel like the Khajit and the Argonians feel more human than the elves do! It's become very off-putting.

I can't figure out what's worse. That someone designed them in the first place thinking that they would be aesthetically pleasing, or that someone didn't tell the person who created them that they're an absolute failure and put them in the final release.

EDIT:

I would like to point out that I think the two biggest problems with the elf models are 1: The ridiculous anime bug eyes and 2: The incredibly pronounced brows that they have, I mean, they jut out so far from their heads you could land a Cessna on them. Their skull structure looks like David Boreanaz and Cro-Magnon Man had a baby.

Also, since people keep bringing this up as well: Yes, the elves looked WORSE in Oblivion. That doesn't mean that they look GOOD in Skyrim.

By the way, people keep using this image and I just want to comment:

^That guy looks like he belongs in a DYNASTY WARRIORS game, not TES.

I love these arguments because they're easy for me to win, and difficult for your to defend.

Say it with me:

Beauty
is in
the eye
of the beholder.

Say it again and again until the logic reaches your brain. I personally have actually made several attractive elves, Bretons, Redguards, Nords, Imperials, and even orcs. However, I can't seem to ever make an animal person that I like. I'm not saying they aren't well-done, they look fantastic in a game of fantastic looking races. It's just too difficult for me as a human to have any measure of beauty or aesthetics for such alien races.

They look awful to you, but I think you're in the minority... well within the minority.

 

[Imperiused]

The Elder Scrolls is not the Lord of the Rings. The Elves of Tamriel are not the Elves of Middle Earth.

People always complain about this, but no one ever complains about the differences between the TES trolls and LotR trolls. Or anything else in a similar vein, for that matter.

Just because you have a fetish for pretty men and women with pointed ears does not mean you get to dictate that design as standard across the fantasy genre.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

I really like them. The Wood Elves in particular look really cool. They're creepy. They're a different species, and so look properly different.

I would go as far as saying they are the best looking fantasy elves I've seen in any game. They're not just a human with pointy ears and good bone structure, but are distinctive and striking.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

Not all LOTR elves are pretty..

Don't kid yourself. If it was you and Hugo Weaving in a log cabin in front of a roaring log fire you'd do it. Well I would. He was in V for Vendetta!

 

[Ranorak]

Kinda sad, isn't it.
That we have to follow rules how fantasy creatures look.
That even in make believe, people are still whining that it doesn't look like it is suppose to.

Even though there is no way to point out what "suppose to" really is, besides 'other people do it like this'.

 

[Ephixa]

Then don't play them, god damn.
I think the elves look great, especially the Dunmer. I've made one that dual wields swords with a very gaunt, triangle shaped face and he looks absolutely sinister (not at all influenced by that one race screenshot of the dark sinister looking Dunmer with two daggers).
The fact that not all the races look humanoid is an absolute bonus. Picking different races should have a very distinct feel to them, and the elves (excluding Bosmer) are completely other worldly.

Agreee with you 100% , i mean i like them because they look more dark and dangerous and of course not all races have to look like humans that wouldnt be so interesting.

 

[Robert Ewing]

Actually, it's more how they wanted the elves to look. If you look at their concept art.

In Morrowind they almost nailed it, but the graphical horsepower was... Yeah. But in oblivion they couldn't make the elves wacky and wonderful like in Morrowind, because their engine didn't really allow it. They even specified this that they lost the feeling of an alien world in Oblivion.

Their elves don't look like Tolkien's elves... Tall, slender, beautiful...

The elves of Tamriel are quite warlike, and definitely not benevolent. A lot of Elf races are actually rather tyrannic, corrupt and even evil.

The only Elf race that doesn't have a particularly bad name are the... Erm Dwarfs, or Dwemers.

Yes, Dwarfs In the eldar scrolls are elves but steampunk'd. If they can get away with that, then they can get away with making their other elves look like the bad guy out of Aladdin.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

Actually, it's more how they wanted the elves to look. If you look at their concept art.

In Morrowind they almost nailed it, but the graphical horsepower was... Yeah. But in oblivion they couldn't make the elves wacky and wonderful like in Morrowind, because their engine didn't really allow it. They even specified this that they lost the feeling of an alien world in Oblivion.

Their elves don't look like Tolkien's elves... Tall, slender, beautiful...

The elves of Tamriel are quite warlike, and definitely not benevolent. A lot of Elf races are actually rather tyrannic, corrupt and even evil.

The only Elf race that doesn't have a particularly bad name are the... Erm Dwarfs, or Dwemers.

Yes, Dwarfs In the eldar scrolls are elves but steampunk'd. If they can get away with that, then they can get away with making their other elves look like the bad guy out of Aladdin.

I say they have a bad name simply because they leave their damn robots all over the place to repeatedly murder me whilst im trying to steal from and desecrate their former homes

Also the dwarves tried to create a god, thats what lead to them flat out disappearing, not sure if you see that as bad, but its worth noting

 

[Tyrant T100]

The fact is the Elder scrolls series never was traditional high fantasy.
Morrowind was unique and that's the reason people liked it far more than oblivion because it was fresh and new and not Tolkein copy and pasted 100 times over.
Oblivion came along and was just another fantasy game which led people to be disappointed.
With Skyrim they've thankfully made a proper sequel to Morrowind which brought back the hatred between the races, the fact the empire are dicks and the fact that nobody likes the elves.