I like the prisoner thing, but the hero part is getting old. Sure, make a "main quest" or whatever, but focus more on the other aspects of the game and don't send us on an urgent mission starting the MQ immediately and without much space to avoid it.

Who says you have to be a hero?

I'm a thieving, murdering, necromancer, vampire, cannibal.

I just saved the world to get people off my back so I can continue to steal, murder, raise dead, drink blood and eat people.

Ha! True, you CAN complete the main quest at level 1, but that doesn't negate what I said- you still need to get the shouts, do the quests and kill dragons. You can't complete the main quest roleplaying a farmer in his field every day, or running your shop. You'd have to leave and complete things. You would still be a hero in the end.

And casual for the meal, unless you just like wearing a tie.

I agree with blade watcher. Its a fresh start and allows for unlimited role playing options.

Honestly, I dont mind the whole prisoner set up to the games. Its not like you are always the same character. Saving the world, then comitting some crime, like fork theft, and getting sent back to prison. If that were true, it might get a little annoying.

If you'll allow me to mention a different set-up, look at Baldur's Gate. Looks like you're an ordinary, run of the mill orphan. But as you progress the quest, holy crap! That revelation hit me like a ton of bricks.

I like the whole prisoner theme. It's a perfect beginning for basically any story. You can build an infinite amount of varying characters and background stories without it conflicting with the start of the game. From getting sentenced innocently on the whim of corrupt officers and thirsting for revenge to turning life around and traumatized by the the behind the jails experience, becoming a peaceful monk. In Skyrim you could probably role-play as a Dunmer who made sweet love to an Argonian several times in Morrowind and when that was discovered, he was forced to flee and cross the borders to save his life. That's probably the [censored]tiest story idea ever but even that can make sense through this anonymus prisoner prologue. I vote to keep it.

I thought of a cool intro just for fun. Just wanted to share it.

Starts with a fade in of a horse galloping full tilt, and a thunderstorm all around. The horse can be heard neighing as though it is freaking out.

Visually we fade in on a first person perspective of the player character riding the horse. The player cannot stop the horse and it is following a road, but the player can gently steer the horse left or right and choose different paths at certain forks in the road.

Occoassionally NPCs walking along the road will make comments that allude to something being terribly wrong with the person riding the horse. Also the camera will occassionally get fuzzy and begin to drift down and to the right, as though the rider is trying to stay conscious.

The scene leads to the rider and horse evenutally coming across one of the game world's settlements where the guards run out to the horse, calm it and begin calling for help, before beginning to question the rider as to who they are beginning the character creation process.

Here's music and thunderstorm sounds to help imagine the scene with! They are synced for added drama.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRLdhFVzqt4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3z2UXIWBLs&t=0m42s

+2

Thats an idea...............but

What about the Barbarian character I want to play, that has no intention of using spells, let alone test them for a wizard?

Thats my character broken after about 10 seconds of the game.

THIS!

They did that- when you leave the cave, you're told to 'split up' right at the beginning. No other instruction, just a suggestion (which turns into a quest) to talk to someone when you get to town. They haven't done that in the previous two games- Oblivion "I'm dying, take this to this person NOW!", or Morrowind, "Here, deliver this package as your first quest".

It really took the pressure off the main quest I thought.

It's a tradition, I want to keep it. It works fine anyway.

The whole "prisoner" thing is about as old [and tired] as the "you all meet in a tavern and decide to adventure together" thing.

Edit: I like the "you wake up at the healers with amnesia" thing. It may be old but at least it's a little different.

Prisoner beginning isnt just a skyrim thing. AoC did it, and I think dnd online as well. Probably a long list of others if I had a better memory. Its used because it works.

Ok keep the prisoner but lose the destined hero...at least give us a choice. I think the main quest should have 2 diffetent outcomes based on choice..you could either help save the land or watch it burn. In skyrim it would've been nice to have the choice to be a dragon helper instead of dragonslayer

As for those who say you can chose to avoid the main quest, why should i avoid the main course and fill up on appetizers? I came to skyrim to taste it all and shouldn't have to avoid certain flavors because my character is allergic

hope you understand my food anology

The flaw becomes when they choose to do another Elder Scrolls game- whatever you did is part of history now. Look at Oblivion, the story is not only told in the books and lore, that event helped shape the politics that led up to the civil war.

How do you do that with two outcomes?

you know the aldmeri don't want the storm cloaks to win read ulfric stormcloaks dossier they say that no matter what there can't be a stormcloak win

In the next game you just pick what possibilities you want to be canon and which possibilities to ignore. Tons of games do that so why not TES.

...

...

What's wrong with...

Black screen
Character creation
Black screen
Fade in
Dragon attacks Helgen

Game on!

...
No forced backstory; You were in helgen, PERIOD.
No prisoner, no reason -- that was where you were at the moment, figure it out for yourself, end of.

...because TES games have one story, one lore? I understand the appeal to change history and all that...but one of the things that sets TES aside is that it has SO MUCH lore and history tied to it. Very few game franchises can say that. What you're suggesting is that the lore is expendable to gameplay, which is akin to blasphemy

There is no forced back story. All you know is you were apprehended at the border- what's the difference? You're not IN JAIL, you're not labeled a lawbreaker or a prisoner. Doing it this way, having you ride in on the cart, gives you a sense of what's going on, gives you a taste of backstory with Ulfric and the division in Skyrim.

What you're suggesting would still need some sort of introduction, to give the player a tutorial on controls and what to do.

That would be terrible.

And it shows how much you know about immersively introducing someone into a book, movie or game.

p.s. You could start the game like that, technically, but you`d need to then do a flashback later to tell the Player how he got to where he got, so you`d go right back to the intro scene anyway.

Baldur's Gate starting
/thread

I used to be a prisoner, but then I took and arrow and shot a hero in the knee.

History forgets lots of details both in game and in real life. They just need to write future games' historic lore such that the civil war choice you made is irrelevant and forgotten. There are lots of possibilities that could overshadow it.