GET'EM!

It is far too simplistic to say Imperials = Rome, Nords = Vikings etc. Look deeper into the world and Tamriel is about present day America.

"Use your smarts Da said, go to college. How was I supposed to know which one he meant?" Is a line of dialogue that could only come from one place and time - and that is the USA.

Tamriel is a melting pot of cultures. Just like America. TES is made by Americans and it speaks to its American audience about xenophobia, crime, racism and also its immigrant past. I might even suggest that even the writers and devs don't know that they are doing this - it just happens on a sub-conscious level.

I could go on a lot more about it, but I'd just like to say look beyond the clothing and listen to what characters in the game are saying and what their motivations are. The is a good topic called "Nords keeping the Redguards down " which is another way of looking at TES as a commentary on present day USA.

The races all borrow heavily from one or two real world/mythological cultures for a lot of superficial features, which is what I believe the thread was about.

Which is just an overly simplistic way of looking at things...

TES can compare to any culture and any country out there if you want it too. It can compare to Europe, arguably easier then the US, it can compare to Japan or Africa... It can compare to the Romans and the Greeks... Or you know all of those together and none of those exclusively. It just depends on where you look.

The imperials however do share certain visual styles with the Roman Empire and that makes them compare easier to Imperials then to most other cultures for most people, even though they have very different morales and laws.

Really? Try playing as one of the Elf races - you'll find plenty of racist comments & behaviour!

I've said this before. Tamriel is a high magic world and therefore scientific growth would be (almost) non-existent. This is evident in most fantasy settings where magic plays a major role. A good example of the opposite would be "The lies of Locke Lamora" and the rest of the Gentleman Bastard series by Scott Lynch. In this world magic does exist but is limited to a small exclusive group who are not very popular in general and charge an exorburant fee for their services. this world is much more industrialized and progressed than Tamriel because magic takes a back seat. Why would you invent guns if you can just use a scroll of flameball? Why would you study human anatomy when you can just pop into your local church for a quick heal by a priest? Perhaps it's for balance or perhaps it's just popular but when magic is popular science is not. Except in the Warcraft universe. Lol. The Dwemer does raise some intersting questions though. Did they perhaps not have magic ability to the extend that the other elven races did? Or did they perhaps not care to use it much? Most of their constructs are still dependent on magic though, in the form of Soul Gems. They had obviously discovered steam power at least and since many archealogists have discovered their ruins one would think the rest of the world would have adapted at least that much. But again, why build a giant steam powered robot if you can just summon a Dremora with a staff?

One thing I would have liked to see was at least some magical devices for lighting and sunch but again, Skyrim is a part of Tamriel where magic is shunned. Too bad Nords aren't any smarter or they might have discovered science.

I play, i'm not talking sabout comments. But jokes like in Obvilion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=fMSn5DEineY

Skyrim must be America. Everyone speaks English in the game. Since they drink beer and not tea it rules out the possiblity of Skyrim being the UK. And those children! You could only find brats like those in America.

In all seriousness though, the college line is a straight forward joke as there is only one college in Skyrim. Or do you seriously think that only the USA have colleges? There's undoubtly some American references in the game but their are also a lot of other cultured referenced. Or do all Americans speak with German accents now?

Are you saying folks in the UK don't drink beer? Really?

Seriously, Brits are pissed-drunken most of the time. They wuv their beers. Besides that they've actually got meads and ales, besides just pilsner lagers.

No countries stereo-type matches the mighty Australia for beer.

Actually the countries most well known for their love of beer would be Germany and Austria. And since all Nords sound like Arnold Swartzenegger and Skyrim is populated by Nords one can conclude that Skyrim = Austria.

I'm not sure I would call that piss they drink in the UK beer though.

True that. And particularly the aboriginals who live in a perpetual alcohol-induced dream-time.

Just like in Mass Effect, they are talking on other lenguages, but since is a game you need to udnerstand. Why would you want to try to udnerstand a game on an alien lenguage? Imagine the time to create that lenguage also. . Just certain moments can be on other lenguages.

ahem. Canada.

I prefer how they looked back in Oblivion. Now they look silly for not wearing pants..

Scandinavia. Mead halls. Not Ale halls, or Beer halls. Mead. Halls.

* cough * Belgium * cough * Not Scandinvian girly, fruity beer. Real men's beer.

I think we got it: Skyrim is Belgium. It was staring us in the face all the time!

It must be my cat.

One of the things I noticed, and like, about the Redguards was that their culture isn't just a single copy-paste of one earth culture, rather it mixes elements of high north africa/araby with swashbuckling europe and traditional african religion/voodoo. I've wondered why they don't do this sort of mash-up with the other human cultures of Tamriel, blending these elements into something different but strangely familiar.

I was kind of dissappointed that they just copy-pasted norse mythology and vikings and then slapped different names on everything. Sure the Forsworn are different, but you don't really get to see that much of them. They're also a seperate culture from the Nords - If the Nord culture had been changed to add in many elements of Forsworn culture/aesthetic and perhaps some real-world Russian culture, they could have had something original.


After having played Dragon Age, I find it a very refreshing change to see Elves as the oppressors. The racism towards your high/wood elf character in Skyrim is tempered with fear - the very real inquisition that will steal into your home at night and drag you off to be tortured if they suspect you of worshipping a false god.

Actually, I'd say it was when the Palaialogos took the Byzantine empire. They were obviously Greek, not Roman.

Well not wearing pants was the norm for a long, long time in most cultures. You`d look silly in pants to many people in ancient times and medieval for that matter... or trousers as we in blighty prefer to say.

Let me guess... you haven't played Morrowind have you? What's wrong with a game taking inspiration from history anyway? All fantasy draws on history to some extent.

perhaps in practice, but in theory and technicality, they were still called, and still considered themselves, The Roman Empire.

And Belgium doesn't have a huge assortment of girly fruity beers? Lolol.

It might be due to language barriers or because it's the internet but you totally missed the sarcasm in my post.