The Elder Scrolls Skyrim can be a BEAUTIFUL game if you're looking in the right places.
It's lush landscapes are what keep you wondering around the wilderness for hours at a time,
but it's design and architecture, can be really... dull...
So, what is it that works?
What if Skyrim took things a little bit further, defining the various cultures in Tamriel a
little bit more through creative design choices?
The Dwemer (also known as just Dwarves) are an extinct race of Elves not present in Skyrim.
They were mysteriously whipped out long before the game took place.
However, they left behind a whole slew of ancient weapons, armor and architecture that
look drastically different than anything else in the game.
These are items meant to look like they're from a different time, so they have to be
designed using a different set of rules.
The most obvious theme here is the bronze color.
This is supposed to be rare and highly advanced technology so NO!
It's not BRONZE.
In the Elder Scrolls canon, this metal is supposed to LOOK very similar to bronze, but
it's actually Dwarven Metal created using a special technique that died along with the
race, hence why it's so rare.
Now it could be the texturing or the graphics but
to ME it looks like a dirty or rusted gold, which I guess is what bronze looks like sometimes
anyway.
You wont see much else in the world of Skyrim that's this color.
Hell, most of Skyrim is pretty colorless.
Lots of dark grays with slight earth tones.
Throwing in some yellowish orange, ESPECIALLY in the architecture, REALLY stands out.
The design work sprinkled around the world of Elder Scrolls is largely based on ancient
Scandinavian art.
Lots of swirls and interlocking patterns.
The designs in Skyrim seem a little more random.
Almost like an afterthought.
They might not have been expecting someone to get this close.
And that's certaining understandable.
But I SURE DID BECAUSE IT'S MAH JOB.
This design aesthetic bleeds into all of the cultures in Tamriel, even the Dwarven patterns.
However, the Dwemer have a little bit of an art deco influence, which is VERY out of place
in a Nordic setting.
Art Deco was a design movement popular in the 1920s and 30s.
If you don't know what art deco is, think Batman or The Great Gadsby.
Bronze and Gold fit perfectly in this design era.
Even more telling are these geometric patterns seen in the drapery, or in the doors.
Much different from the random swirls we're used to in the rest of the game.
I think these straight lines are supposed to be a call out to how advanced Dwemer culture
is.
A smith couldn't get straight lines like this by hand.
These were MACHINED.
The automaton, while obviously very steampunk, have the same sort of art deco influences
in the face.
Very reminiscent of the 1927 German film Metropolis, which is famous for inspiring the design of
C3PO.
My point is that there are many cultures in the world of Tamriel.
And the Dwemer are really the only ones with an aesthetic that stand out to me.
Shouldn't they all have their own unique histories?
They're own unique art and design?
Sure they're all Nordic inspired, and can half Scandinavian undertones, but why not
make them all more unique to separate the cultures better?
The closest we can get to some semblance of a unique design aesthetic is with the Dwarven
design and architecture, and it clearly shows in how much their design stands out against
the rest of the undersaturated, muted tones.
What if there was MORE design culture built into the lore of Skyrim?
Take the Orsimer for example.
A primitive race with very primitive technology.
This shows in the design of their weapons and architecture.
At a glance, these items are more or less indiscernible from the rest of the items in
Skyrim.
When they're not silhouetted and we mix them up can you tell the difference?
Can you even tell when they’re NOT silhouetted?
Because of the muted earth tones and the relatively ambiguous patterns it's pretty hard to tell
but it's these ones right here.
I guess we're supposed to know by the slight green tint?
The shield is more green than the other pieces though.
We see some blades made of bone, and uncut wood holding everything together.
We also see some rough looking metal, but it's only vaguely rough looking.
Just because they're primitive doesn't mean the Orcs can't have some sort of art history.
Why not add some tribal designs?
A little splash of color couldn't hurt.
I'm thinking white or maybe red to signify the blood of their enemies. I don't know.
Just sounds right.
We can even include some slight Native American influence since Native American culture has
a distinctly primitive aesthetic that's still visually appealing.
Now you can look at this at a glance from far away and go "yup, that one right there
is Orcish."
Not to mention it makes the world, and the life in it, that much more interesting.
We can do the same thing with the High Elvish Armor.
In the concept art for Skyrim this armor is shown in much more of a White-Gold.
This would have contrasted it better against the Dwarven goldish-bronze.
Other than that, these feather-like designs are great.
It gives the armor a flowy, elegant look.
The high elves are a very civilized race after all.
It would be nice if they ran with this aesthetic a little more.
The flourishes are much more prominent in Elvish weapon design.
Maybe it needs a little more contrast too.
Now THAT is distinctive.
Now you can look at this and go, DAMN that's elvish.
And I'm not alone here there are mods that show a similar desire to add some detail.
I know these details seem trivial in such a massive game that took an IMMENSE amount
of work to make, but it's a game that's so focused on lore and culture.
Art has a very big role in that.
With a little more design work placed in the right spots, we can emphasize the game's lore
and make these different cultures and ideas stand out.
It's important to be constantly reminded that every little thing in this world has a backstory.
Separated design aesthetics could help us follow along with these backstories easier,
and put faces to the names we hear over and over throughout the campaign.
Not to mention, it adds a little more color to the world.
That's something that Skyrim could definitely use.
SO WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK about the distinction between the different cultures in Skyrim?
Do you think it could be made a little more obvious?
Are you cool with how it is now?
Leave it in the comments below and if you liked this video don't forget to take the
2 seconds out of your day to tap that like button.
I would like to give a shoutout to MAH DRY BREAD.
He's another YouTuber that helped me out a ton on this video.
I'm a little bit of an Elder Scrolls noob and he helped me out with the idea and lore and getting footage.
He was fantastic. He does a lot of Let's Plays on his channel and he streams on Hitbox almost everyday.
So check him out, give him some love from me and from ShoddyCast.
SOME people got to see this video early and they got to tell me how YOU'RE WRONG SKYRIM'S
BEAUTIFUL ALL OF THE TIME EXACTLY HOW IT IS IDK WHAT YOURE TALKING ABOUT.
If that sounds like something you'd like to do consider joining the SHODDYCAST PATREON.
For just $3 a month you can see these videos early and give us critical feedback that we
honestly take into consideration before the floodgates open up to the rest of the YouTube
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Alternatively you can hit me up on Twitter @bobwulff.
That's another direct line to me.
And give me some ideas of what you want to see in the future.
I'm writing them all down I promise.
Anyway thanks for watching guys and I'll see YOU in another video HAVE A GOOD WEEK.