The next TES needs a fresh story as that's getting stale IMO. If they must keep the prisoner beginning then i think it should be a revenge story where you are trying to rebuild your life as you seek those who took it away...no longer a hero but rather a soul searcher seeking destiny

what do you think?

I think the whole prisoner - TES thing is an in-game joke. Lots of people have stated what you're stating, yet here we doing it all over again.

Who says you have to be a hero here? You could be very self interested, but someone who's simply skilled, and pragmatic about the overall mission that's fallen on you. I mean, you could interpret a lot of dialogue in the game as being just that. The imperials call you "auxiliary", set you apart from other soldiers, and know your "resourceful" in questionable/unofficial ways. Sheogorath takes a liking for you. Sanguine thinks "you're going places". It all sounds like a comical anti-hero story to me.

If too much of a back story is provided, then it can limit the character that you want to develop. Instead, you will be playing someone else's character. I agree that the prisoner theme is getting a bit trite, but what would be an alternative blank canvas?

1. Amnesia as you wake up at a healers house (Done in New Vegas and it worked, but the role was defined to an extent before you got there)
2. Grow Up during the opening sequence (Done in FO3, Fable, and a few others but it is about as trite as the prisoner)
3. ?????

1.The prisoner start is a signature move of the Elder Scrolls stories. It`s also quite original not being your typical cliche fantasy starts `young man who`s parents gets murdered, goes on revenge` or `intrepid heroe sets off from home to find fortune`...

2.It`s also perfect for setting up the character because it allows the Player to `roleplay` why he`s where he is. Is he really innocent? Did he actually commit a crime? what happened?

3.Stepping out from time in jail is like starting a new life which again is perfect for making a `new` character trying to make good.

I would think it`s sad if they changed the basic `being a prisoner` start.

+1

maybe fi they don't make the intro scripted and long next time?

No, I like it because you it fits in well if you end up being a murderer-for-hire and a thief..Besides, this ain't DA2.....

Blade Watcher made some good points. There are many ways to make a character from a blank prisoner anyways. Maybe he didn't know the way in Skyrim and was just travelling with Stormcloaks, or maybe he was a known killer who tried to flee to Skyrim, or maybe he did some things in the past that finally caught up to him but wants to change that Paarthurnax style.

I like the prisoner intros. It works with my backstory in the game: A young Thalmor agent in their spy outfit purposely allows herself to get captured so she can serve the Stormcloaks and help bring about the ultimate undoing of the Empire of Titus Mede.

It was a much shorter intro than Oblivion had.

Exactly. This is why it's stayed. To much backstory limits the overall character. Then we'd get complaints over the game being far too linear and forced upon the user.

Amnesia forces or makes a backstory worthless - not a good option.

Shipwreck Survivor works best... If you are a character afraid of ships, it still fits in-character because you can assume you were forced on the ship, and have even more reason to justify your fears.

Because of the points that Blade Watcher just noted, I don't really have a problem with the opening/beginning as a prisoner. I do, however, have a quandary as to why every game needs to make you a hero. Why do I always have a destiny or a fate that's been foretold for hundreds of years. Why do I have to become the Champion of Cyrodiil, or the Dragonborn? Why can't the stories be a bit more complex, where you don't play the foretold hero fulfilling his/hers destiny and everyone seems to admire you even from the start?

For once I'd like to be the common man/woman caught in the middle of it all, trying to figure things out as best he/she can, not necessarily being the center of attention. With a great story that develops neatly and makes me feel that I'm actually making progress.

I'd like to see that for a change.

The closest I've seen that come to is Dragon Age II. Although Hawke becomes a hero in a way, it's an ineffective, helpless hero at best. He/she can only seem to fix mundane problems and close friendships. edit: Also, most people hate it for this reason (I don't... stories like this should be told too).

Shipwreck survivor couyld work. Survivor of any kind really. For instance, in Oblivion, if your character had started as a survivor from Kvatch that too would still have worked. Just as long as the backstory isn't forced upon the user it's fine.

The Elder Scrolls: Akavir

You start as any of the Tamriel races, washed up on a beach. No backstory, no knowledge of the land in which you now inhabit.


Edit: Heh, you could roleplay the ship you were on that sank was a prison ship!

The game really does not force the Main Quest on you, even though it throws it in your face during the opening sequence. After you leave the cave, you are free to do whatever you want, including ignoring the MQ. I will say that the opening kind of pushes you toward the MQ more so than the previous games did, but you can still ignore it.

You don't have to become champion of Cyrodiil.

Really?

Oblivion: "Quick, the is the most important thing ever, go find this person and give him this!"

Skyrim (Emerging from the cave) "We should split up."

I thought it was a major improvement.

Is there anything less important then the first 5 minutes of a tes game?

Who cares? At the end of the day, it's a 10 minuite introduction to a game that has easily has 500+ hours of gameplay in it. They might as well keep the prisoner intro for nostalgia's sake, it's not like a different kind of opening would change anything.

Given the 200 years between Oblivion and Skyrim, that was at first my feeling when I began Skyrim. I entered in this new universe with whole things turned upside down: the Empire is relentlessly destroyed by the Thalmor, the Aldemri Dominion has emerged again and basically, a lot of thing that happened during the previous Elder Scrolls games is irrelevant. And obviously, you don't know anything about Skyrim.

Just an excuse to get you to go someplace on the map, like in Morrowind with the Orders to report to Cosades.

Yes, but in Morrowind you were told to go see a guy. The first thing he says is to go and get experience and learn the land. In other words, don't start the main quest yet. Skyrim encourages the same exploring aspect because the guy you escape with tells you to split up, also encouraging you to have an adventure before you begin. Oblivion was "Quick do this part of the main quest!" Then "Oh noes! You'll need to do this other part of the main quest! Everything depends on it!!!1!11!"

I found it very hard NOT to do the main quest in Oblivion from a roleplay perspective. Skyrim, I'm encouraged to be going in any direction, other than the main quest.