Skyrim (2011, Bathesda)
Skyrim is an example
of a western RPG, it has a large open world to explore which has been made to
be as realistic and believable as possible. In keeping with the Western RPG
style it allows you to create your own character when starting the game. You
have a selection of different races to choose from and customise.
High elves
They call themselves
the “cultured people” and generally see themselves as above all of the other
races. They mostly have golden hair and skin and are one of the longest living
and intelligent races in the game world. They are best suited to being magic
users.
Argonians
They are reptilian people
but also have qualities of a fish or amphibian, such as gills behind the ears
allowing them to breath under water. They have natural resistances to diseases
and poisons. They are agile making them good at sneaking and stealing but also
quite intelligent making them good at magic also.
Wood elves
They are very in tune
with nature and generally avoid the height culture life of other elf species,
to a more rural life in the forest. They are excellent archers and are nimble,
fast and witty making them suited to a variety of role. They are carnivorous
but do not harm vegetation.
Breton
They are slight of
build and share ancestry with other human races within the world however when
inspected closely you can see their Elvish heritage, such as high cheek bones
and slanted eyebrows. They make very good mages and have high resistances to
magic.
Dark elves
They are aloof,
reserved and disdainful towards other races. They are known in battle to be
good with a sword, the bow and destruction magic. They have dark ash coloured
skin and red eyes, which makes them look quite intimidating making other races
distrust them.
Imperial
They are well educated
and well spoken, they are also known for their discipline and training of their
armies. They are better at destruction magic and restoration magic; they also
have perks in heavy armour and one handed swordsmanship.
Khajiit
They are race of
feline like humanoids, known for the intelligence and agility. They make good
thieves and acrobats but also make fearsome warriors; they are not known for
their skills to harness magic but that does not mean they cannot use it. They
can see in the dark and have natural clawed attacks when unarmed.
Nords
Nords are a tall
fair-haired race native to Skyrim. They are excellent warriors and have a
natural resistance to frost; They excel in many different types of warfare and
make good soldiers, guards, mercenaries etc.
Orcs
They are courageous
and steadfast, and know to be fearless. Renowned for there craftsmanship, their
armour is regarded as some of the best in the world and is worn by a selection
of armies. They are generally hated by the other nations but are slowing
winning acceptance.
Redguard
They are dark skinned
and wiry haired, and the most naturally talented warriors within the game
world. Their pride makes them independent in spirit making them best suited to
scout, and adventurer roles. They have a natural resistance to poisons.
The races in Skyrim (2011)
while different in many ways, they are all still quite human like. The only
races that stand out against the other are the Khajiit and the Argonians
because of how different they look in comparison to the others, Much like the Charr and Asura from Guild Wars 2
(2012).
Another part of my
research into skyrim links in with my environment research. As our game takes
place in an underground civilisation, which has created this huge structure
underground for people live in safety from the surface, I chose to look at the Dwemer, or Dwarven architecture in the game. The Dwemer no longer exist in Skyrim
but all there underground cities and machines do. Even after hundreds of
years the machines are able to still run self sufficiently with only the
mechanical workers built by the Dwemer.
In one of the Dwemer
dungeons you find yourself in this huge underground cavern filled with glowing
plants and Dwarven architecture, hovering above all of it I a huge artificial
sun, which still shines brightly, lighting up the cavern. It is encased in an
intricate metal frame, when I first saw this place I was awestruck it has to be
my favourite place in the game. This place is inspiration for the lowest level
of the underground structure in our game, which is the place that keeps the
whole place running. I want to include an artificial sun somewhere in the
middle layers of the construct this is where all the cultivation happens and
crops grown to supply the other levels with sufficient food.
In the lowest level of
our construct there are machines working to look after the core and keep it
functioning, I used the Dwarven machines as inspiration for this. The largest
and most powerful being the Sentinels, created as a line of defence.
Looking through the
Skyrim art book that came with the special addition of the game, I found
concepts for one of the towns, it’s only a pencil sketch but it depicted
exactly how I wanted one of the top level towns to look like. It looks a lot
like an old Victorian London street, with beamed building with contrasting
white and dark brown wood on the walls.
Sun ( screen shot from Skyrim)
Other images from the Official Artbook.
