Poll: Anyone else hate the Skyrim animal races?

[minimacker]

Argonians look fucking boss in Skyrim. Khajiits? Ergh...meh.

The reason why they feel so out of place is because, well, they're really out of place. Other side of the globe.

I was hoping there'd be more interactions with the Khajiits and Argonians. There's some backstory that they're not accepted in many of the cities, but it's only mentioned amongst the Caravans and then forgotten.

Edit: Guy above me nailed it.

 

[Yal]

I will probably play a Khajiit when I get around to Skyrim, and in Oblivion I played a female Argonian. I absolutely agree that the character models are lazy, the lore explanations are hand waving for technical/budget constraints, and do not even get me started on my Oblivion character's breasts. Apparently I am a man with strong opinions on lizard boobs, who knew.

I played her anyway, because Elder Scrolls races are really boring. Four different kinds of humans? Who needs four different kind of human? I'd happily trade three of 'em, and toss in two mer, for any one more exotic playable species.

They may have half-assed the beast races, but I'm still glad they're there. I would even love to see TES 6 set in Black Marsh. I miss the really alien environment of Morrowind, and Black Marsh sounds like it would dial that up to eleven. Human homelands, almost as boring as the human races...

 

[Saulkar]

How dare you insult my favourite races!!! But in this case you can literally say:

Or in this case a bunch of nut job Gods thus any logical arguments are rendered mute.

 

[Raddra]

Your poll was a dirty trick.

I voted no because you phrased the title of the thread as asking if we hated them, I said no.

Only to find the changed the poll question.

So, assuming many other people made the same mistake, your poll is completely wrecked and no actual judge of the actual question.

Anyway, I voted no out of confusion and only then realized my mistake.

Yes, I like them. Your poll however can't be taken seriously.

 

[mrF00bar]

In exploring Skyrim this last week, I discovered something. I really, really hate the animal races, or anthropomorphs or whatever you want to call them. Conceptually and aesthetically. First of all, they make little sense as a race. I mean really, people who are EXACTLY like regular people but with animal hides and fur? REALLY? What is the evolutionary advantage to that? Why are the changes in physiology restricted to the head and skin? Why aren't their joints reversed like animals legs? Why aren't they more muscular, or more svelt, or taller or shorter or hunchback? It makes absolutely no sense. It's like they just said "Hurr derp, let's stick some random animal heads on our people and call it a day!"

Then they're just ugly and wreak of laziness in design. Because once you think about it, the reason their physiology is the same as regular people is obvious. If their bodies are the same, the same animations and scripts can be used to make them move can be the same as well. And then I just feel awkward looking at them. They're like a furry's wet dream come alive.

So please, somebody tell me I'm not the only one who really can't stand these things?

They were better in Morrowind, you could not wear boots or helmets as a beast race and racial bonuses actually were good then.

 

[oden636]

Ever since Morrowind I have prided myself on killing all the Khajit and Argonians that i find. Those who are quest related are the only ones that get to live the purge. I collect their shoes when ive killed them and put them in a box in a house.
I know its crazy.

 

[Killclaw Kilrathi]

The animal races are part of Elder Scrolls lore, back before the series even really HAD much in the way of animation. Their designs have changed a lot (check out what khajit looked like in Daggerfall), but in most cases their uniqueness and complexity of design have actually gone up rather than down, so the lazy developer thing doesn't really hold up to scrutiny.

 

[JoshuaMadoc]

I find it even more offensive that people are actually willing and are campaigning for fantasy games to have humanlike races and humanlike races only as playable characters, and leaving all the token furries and scalies as the disposable and irredeemable cannon fodder.

Why? Because this is the kind of behavior I'd expect from fans of ZOG's Nightmare. By lobbying for humans, elves, orcs and whatnot to be the races that are the most morally flexible, and excluding everybody else just because they aren't close to looking like humans, you've just taken one step closer to being an anti-furry, pro-human propaganda-spewing Rick Santorum who also enforces uniformity with a bloodstained iron fist, because apparently people are allergic to diversity.

Shit, I sound butthurt, don't I? That's because I am. Not just because of implied anti-furry sentiment, but moreso because I despise fantasy games that only has humans and rubber foreheaded human subtitutes as playable characters. I'm sick to death of playing as human heroes/villain protagonists, and no self-righteous redneck on the internet is going to change my mind about that. Maybe if they tried the same thing with me at gunpoint will work.

 

[Mikeyfell]

I only ever play the animal races.
More than Half of my oblivion characters are Kahjiit.

I don't like the human races they seem redundant. Nords and Orcs, what's the difference. Who plays Breton when elf's do what they do better.

I was a little ticked off that there weren't any marriageable Kahjiit's in Skyrim.
(I know the marriage aspect was token and shallow, but still)

 

[CharrHearted]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/critical-miss/9225-Highlanders-Anonymous

That is all my friend.

Also, I like the anthro races myself.

 

[Patrick Buck]

You made it so answering the question in the thread title gives the opposite result to answering the question above the poll. I hate it when people do that. Now you don't know which question people are answering in the poll.

Moving on...

No, I do not like the animal races in Skyrim. For one, they're rather uninventive. Dress it up however you like, they're just cat-people and lizard-people.

Secondly, they look ridiculous. Human models with different heads stuck on top and tails tacked on the back. Would it have been so hard to make and animate some proper bodies... oh wait, this is Bethesda we're talking about, never mind.

Lastly, the Argonian faces look derp-tastic.

Spoiler: Derp.

Note to self: Do not run a google image search for "argonian" with safesearch turned off. Yeesh.

I was interested. So I did run a google search.
Now I have to find the brain bleach.
And it's put me off the bloody things now. Eurgh. :/

 

[mechman123]

I don't have anything against them as this is a fantasy setting and from what i have read they do some explaining of why. I also think that the two races look a hell of a lot better in this game than in oblivion, particularly the argonians. That said i also feel that the creators of the series were a wee-bit on the lazy side or uncreative when i found out that the dwarves are really just elves that live underground, but hey i guess they didn't want to use the classical stout version of dwarves. I would personally really like to see some RPGs where there was more than just the standard fantasy races as character options, and more specifically i would like to see some diversity in the actual body types available. For example I wouldn't mind playing as a centaur type creature or some snake human hybrid that slithers. Something that is noticeably different. Yes that would likely causes some problems regarding physical actions they could preform or equipment they could wear or where they could go, but trying new paths and ways of playing is part of the RPG genre. Plus if you want to avoid the shoe problem on a race that doesn't wear shoes, there are always other alternatives. "Are you half horse? Use Horse shoes! Do you slither along the ground, here have a tail decoration! Both can serve the same function as a foot item slot."

 

[Yokai]

I'm sure this has been said in some capacity, but Bethesda didn't just throw them in there to placate the furries or something. They've been in TES since Arena, and if you actually want to get into the ridiculously complex backstory of the series they're very ingrained into the setting. Suffice to say their origins were explicitly magical, and they didn't evolve in the same manner the other races did.

That said, the devs could have gone above and beyond "cat-people" and lizard-people", considering the remarkable creativity shown in much of the setting. And I do wish we'd actually see a little more of the culture they supposedly have, because they've dressed and lived in the same way as all the other races in every game so far. They're pretty one-dimensional at the moment. Although now that Argonians are apparently a major power, perhaps we'll be able to see more of that.

 

[Caligulove]

Man, I guess I shouldnt even ask your opinion about the races in Star Trek

 

[AppleShrapnel]

This one thinks the op needs to jump off a mountain. Khajiit could push you, if you wish... :3

 

[RamirezDoEverything]

snip

I'm a Khajiit. Cha gunna do bout it?

I like the animal races simply because they take a step away from the traditional Tolkien-esque worlds and mix it up a bit.

OOH, an elf! SO ORIGINAL!

Although I do agree with you that they could add a few extra things, like different physiques/features.

 

[him over there]

Kajhiits can go get hit by a car, every last one of them.

Argonians however are dinosaurs, they are my absolute favourites because dinosaurs.

 

[WeAreStevo]

What's funny is that I made this same argument, but in reverse. I feel like the "animal" races are more interesting than the "pick random human with _______ features" that all the other races have. I mean, seriously. What is a major difference between Nord and Imperial besides allegiance? They're aesthetically the same.

Now, that being said, I wish the animal races were more...animal like and not just an animal skin on a human body. THAT would make them more radass, but even as they are, I prefer them to run of the mill regular humans.

 

[TheSteeleStrap]

Are you asking why the aminals in Skyrim are humanoid but covered in fur? I'm going to say it's because Skyrim is a tundra.

Also, it would be really difficult and unnecessary to try to control an animal who walks on all fours when you're trying to use a sword and shield.

 

[MEEBO17]

I wanted to be a Khajiit for the enhanced sneak, but the weird cat feautures just threw me off of the class. I really cant stand how they and the Argonians look