Getting a large variation of responces here.. I'm guessing there isn't actually an OFFICIAL reason?

You almost sound like you're begging for a fight. I will, however, not oblige. =p

But yes, forget everything you think you know, this isn't the real world.

haha, i just want a heated discussion ! suppose that is the answer to everything though - bethseda just didn't really think about the scientific side of things.

Nope. They used to be just like normal elves, but one of the gods cursed them to look like the freaks of nature they are.

All Mer (Orcs=Orsimer) come from the same race, Aldmer, for some reason or another they all break off. The Orsimer, like the Dunmer, is do to a curse after Trinimac became Malacath. Trinimac/Malacath is the diety of the Orsimer, so when he changed they were changed as well. That however is all coming from memory, and I'm a little fresh to ES lore.

but why GREEN? my mind is unable to comprehend why some god would make a particular race green.

Because it's a curse! By giving them the horrible teeth, the pig like features, and making them green they became ugly, horrible things compared to their former selves. That's what a curse is, makes bad things happen...

personally i think they would look more ugly if they were poo coloured or something.

They range from many different shades of green =p from Poo-Green to Lime-Green!

This.

I didn't know poo was green.

can't-tell-if-sarcasm.jpg

One popular theory is that we all started off the same colour then through natural selection and interbreeding we changed. It's wildly believed that all the human race looked asian and once we spread out from Mongolia or Africa our ancestors meet and interbreed with neanderthals who wore furs to protect against the cold of the ice age and there was no need for the skin pigment to darken to protect against the damage of the sun. It has actually been proven that a good part of the "white" population has a neanderthal ancestor some where in the family tree and this is where the light pigment of our skin comes from along with alot of our physical traits. To be honest, "white" people are a genetic mutation from the original Asian/Native look, which was what the human race originally looked like.

oh its realistic bro. The gods USED evolution to create us

yet again i can't tell if thats sarcastic or not.. but if its not, do you have any evidence of that?

They eat orichalcum cereals for breakfast?

If our ancestor's didn't move from the forest to the plains then we would still have tails and fur, if one of our ancestor's didn't decide to eat meat we would not have the brain power that we do today. And the traits are not gone, nature just improved on them, you can still be born with a tail, or fur, the ability to move ones ears is a inherited trait and it steams from when we had ears like a animal.

'cause purple is reserved for Barney http://pbskids.org/barney/children/storytime/please1.html

Well, if they were cursed in a similar manner as the Chimer to display their hearts, then the Orcs probably turned green and brutish due to their war-like nature. Gorilla Warfare benefits from natural shades of the skin. If I remember right from Daggerfall, there was a lot of greenery, and heavy metals in the mountains. If you've noticed, their metal of choice is also greenish, with a hit of gray (which they also can show).
I would say, they were cursed to show their warlike nature, and green was best suited.

Also, anyone else noticed that Orc random event in Skyrim? the one looking for a "good death". Seems like they prefer to die in their combative prime.

Of course, given their personalities and beliefs, it might be less of a curse and more of a blessing.

It's like asking, Why are Asians yellow? It's best not to question things and let the mind just accept it. Finding a logical answer is absurd sometimes.

because orcs think green skin and large tusks is hot as that is how evolution works

Based on the character creation options, none of the orcs are actually green.

Why is the Hulk green? Radiation? Same for Orcs, they spend all day in the sun that the radiation has gotten the best of them (that would take A LOT of radiation).

The Orcs in Oblivion remind me of Shrek. They look much better in this game.

orc's are green from either to much nose picking and eating or bathing in toxic green waste