This misses the point. No one is worried that TESO won’t include new lore books. We are worried about the quality of the writing. Is it unique? Is it surprising? Is it weird fantasy? Or…..is it shallow and short like books in most MMO’s? Are the plots predictable? Is the interesting world we’ve come to love being transformed into a cheap Tolkien Rip-off?
Mind you I’m not complaining or hating here. I myself haven’t gotten to read enough of the lore to judge. The only thing I’ve read so far were the three official stories about the faction leaders. While I was generally unimpressed with those, I hold out hope that they are examples of official biographical propaganda and are intentionally written to be sterile and bland. For an example of what I’m talking about, read the official http://uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Biography_of_Queen_Barenziah and then the infinitely more interesting http://uesp.net/wiki/Lore:The_Real_Barenziah. I’m hoping that we will get something akin to “The Real Queen Ayrenn” to contrast the rather stale “http://elderscrollsonline.com/en/news/post/2012/12/18/the-stories-of-tamriel-ayrenn--the-unforeseen-queen.”
Again, I am withholding judgement so far. I am not one of those who is saying that TESO will destroy the lore…at least not yet. I remain hopeful with a healthy dose of skepticism. Do I expect something on the level of http://uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:The_36_Lessons_of_Vivec? Not really, no, though I would love it if we got something of that quality. That text includes some of the most unique fantasy you will ever see as well as hidden messages and a heavy dose of philosophy inspired by real world authors. Fans of the lore have been pouring over that text for a decade and it still isn’t perfectly understood.
The author of that text is also worried about TESO lore. Here’s what he had to say:
Ugh, so far the Aldmeri Dominion is pretty horrible.
To take the Aldmeri Dominion in general, and the Altmer specifically…
…when these Tolkien-rips were suddenly revised into Nazi Numerically Named Baby Killers, nobody cared. In fact, those that mattered loved the idea. Oh look! An LOTR Inversion. [censored] finally.
This “new” version of them is just… ohai TSR/Pathfinder/MtG/Safeway. And shame on it.
Really. Shame on this [censored]. It’s hackneyed and trope’d and without any literary courage whatsoever.
Ugh.
Queen Aryenn, stepping out of an airport bookstore near you.
PGE1: we weren’t worried about alienating an audience, we were worried about finding one.
Careful what you wish for.
To take the Aldmeri Dominion in general, and the Altmer specifically…
…when these Tolkien-rips were suddenly revised into Nazi Numerically Named Baby Killers, nobody cared. In fact, those that mattered loved the idea. Oh look! An LOTR Inversion. [censored] finally.
This “new” version of them is just… ohai TSR/Pathfinder/MtG/Safeway. And shame on it.
Really. Shame on this [censored]. It’s hackneyed and trope’d and without any literary courage whatsoever.
Ugh.
Queen Aryenn, stepping out of an airport bookstore near you.
PGE1: we weren’t worried about alienating an audience, we were worried about finding one.
Careful what you wish for.
This man, Michael Kirkbride, is responsible for the majority of the interesting lore (my opinion, but many share it). Now I don’t want to overstate things. There are a number of great authors that have contributed to the lore over the years. Kurt Kuhlmann and Ted Peterson especially along with Douglas Goodall and Ken Rolston. Still, Michael Kirkbride is often credited for transforming the generic fantasy of the Elder Scrolls 1 and 2 into the unique vibrant world we know know and love. For a version of what MK would rather have the Dominion be, check out the http://uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Pocket_Guide_to_the_Empire,_1st_Edition/Aldmeri_Dominion. Here’s an excerpt:
“High elves consider themselves to be the only perfect race. Over hundreds of generations they have bred themselves into a racially pure line, and are now almost identical to one another in appearance. The theory that the High Elves do not reproduce as quickly or as often as humans is false. Rather, and to my horror, they kill nine out of ten babies born to them in their obsession for purity.“The Altmer despise other Elves as unsophisticated churls and barely consider the non-Aldmeri races at all. They pay their Imperial tithes, I’m sure, not for fear of war with the humans but rather to keep an invasion from “infecting” their islands.
“Breeding outside the pure line is a terrible, unthinkable crime, and taken as prima facia evidence of the tainted blood of the individual in question- if they were, they wouldn’t have the impulse to do it. Exile to the mainland is regarded as equivalent to a death sentence, since there is no purpose in living outside their ideal society.
“They have a high regard for order and gravitate naturally towards wearing uniforms and speaking in formal patterns. Their trees and their livestock have been bred to be as standard and ideal as they are. They have no real names of their own, only combinations of numbers that, when spoken aloud, sound to human ears as such. They feel no real tenderness for one another and have no concept of compassion.
“They are decadent and self-obsessed, and prize form and their own brand of manners or style as their main value. Aware of their aristocratic position, they surround themselves with riches and treasures, the works of great artists and the finest of everything, but have no real appreciation for any of these things. Each of them is concerned solely with himself, and as a result they do no real socializing; they meet and hold courts only to demonstrate their importance and power to each other. Rarely do they speak to the human ambassadors of Cyrodiil; when they do, their speech is full of riddles, or spell-words that enchant one to a satisfied madness.
“Breeding outside the pure line is a terrible, unthinkable crime, and taken as prima facia evidence of the tainted blood of the individual in question- if they were, they wouldn’t have the impulse to do it. Exile to the mainland is regarded as equivalent to a death sentence, since there is no purpose in living outside their ideal society.
“They have a high regard for order and gravitate naturally towards wearing uniforms and speaking in formal patterns. Their trees and their livestock have been bred to be as standard and ideal as they are. They have no real names of their own, only combinations of numbers that, when spoken aloud, sound to human ears as such. They feel no real tenderness for one another and have no concept of compassion.
“They are decadent and self-obsessed, and prize form and their own brand of manners or style as their main value. Aware of their aristocratic position, they surround themselves with riches and treasures, the works of great artists and the finest of everything, but have no real appreciation for any of these things. Each of them is concerned solely with himself, and as a result they do no real socializing; they meet and hold courts only to demonstrate their importance and power to each other. Rarely do they speak to the human ambassadors of Cyrodiil; when they do, their speech is full of riddles, or spell-words that enchant one to a satisfied madness.
The text also includes the [in?]famous line that Altmeri buildings look like they are built of glass and insect wings.
Personally, I’d prefer this unique representation to a standard fantasy High Elf culture. But if MK is worried, should I be? That’s the question I pose to those who have played the game, but I will probably have to wait and see for myself.