Poll: Anyone else hate the Skyrim animal races?

[Muspelheim]

And to add some furry-perspective to it all, here comes I. (Disclaimer: furry as in likes anthropomorphic animal characters, I wouldn't be caught dead anywhere near a suit, unless I'm robbing a bank)
Khajiits and Argonians have been around since pretty much day one, long before there even were some sort of underground fur-lobby to placate to up the sales.
Yes, it's true they looked a bit more defined in Morrowind, and although I think it was a nice attempt... It just looked awful. Stick up the butt-awful. So reverting back to regularly jointed legs was probably for the best. It looks a bit less special, but... It doesn't look "special", either.

Also, on the subject of the Argonian lassies. I haven't actually researched that, myself, but do they actually lay eggs? If they actually do, I can agree with their breasts being rather unnecessary. Or it could just be aestetics over sense, which is honestly a fair trade in fantasy for me.
And with that out of the way, let's go to what I suspect is the crux of the situation, one of the main irritations: the sexualization. And let's just get that out there. If the realization that someone might find something attractive bothers you, then you should really just delete Skyrim off your harddrive, along with most other games. And trust me, less people are going to be drooling over Ms. Lion as there are people drooling over Bretons and Nord lassies and whatnot. Hell, somewhere in this world of ours, someone is likely turned on by your coffee brewer, or your vaccuum. Such is our world, always has been and always will be.

And what does it matter? You've got dragons to kill and graves to rob!

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

Zhere'Khan will be down the valley to gather the loot, yes?

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.

Aye, that's my hope as well. While Elsweyr is a rather unlikely candidate (consisting of two Thalmor puppet-states and so utterly weird and messed up according to the fluff that it'd be -very- difficult to do justice in game-form), Black Marsh seems a rather inviting target.

Speaking of... Heh. I get a warm, big grin on my face each time I stumble into more Dunmer refugees. "See, ash-eaters?! That's how it feels like!!"

 

[Char-Nobyl]

I was just showing an example of how those legs could work, I did not say that the beast races should necessarily become dinosaurs. I also don't think it's right to assume they would need to meet the exact same requirements to have two legs like that, given that dinosaurs were creatures of gargantuan mass.

...and why would that be? There are plenty of mammals with back-canted legs. So why don't humans have them, too?

Here is a better video.

I will admit, yes, that is a better video. But that's what people call 'damning with faint praise.'

I am actually surprised that the dog is able to even hop and skip, and dogs aren't even designed to do this.

Wow! It's almost as if living creatures are able to compensate for disabilities, which should in no way be confused with naturally being adept at doing something.

I would have loved the Kahjiit to be a bit more like this (technically they were in morrowind).

You'd have loved for them to walk like crippled dogs?

I do however acknowledge that an animal who has legs and walks like this probably would not be able to outright run this way. But if their overall body design is still very animal like, I don't see why they can't get on all fours and floor-it.

...right, here's the thing: that dog doesn't walk on two legs because it wants to. And did you notice how it never actually stopped and stood still? It was always walking, however slowly, and when it did stop it was to crouch or something. It never stood still and upright because back-canted legs are terrible at keeping things balanced and upright. At least sharks have evolutionary reasons for the 'never stop moving' thing. This dog? From the look of it, it was born without front legs, and the fact that it's alive today is the exact opposite of evolution in action.

Technically speaking, if that dog was somehow given working front legs, it could still walk upright if it wanted to, but then it would also be able to run alongside any other dog on all fours. That would have been a good design for Kahjiits.

It would be a terrible design. Here's a fun historical fact: Franklin Roosevelt was, as I assume you know, wheelchair bound for most of his life. As a result, it was observed that he had the upper body strength of a boxer, but his legs were unable to support him without steel braces.

Now apply that here. That dog can only reliably walk on two legs because it had a choice between learning to do that or dying, and even then, your average child has a better sense of balance than Faith does. In fact, take a look at that video, look past the adorable puppy and inspiring whatever, and ask yourself one question: in a state of nature, would Faith be good at being a dog?

The answer is a resounding 'NO.' She can't run, she can't hunt, she can't keep balance, and in general, she's what Darwin would call an evolutionary dead-end. Limbs that are good for running are rarely as good at manipulating objects, hence why our feet don't look like hands. And, oh, look, she doesn't even have hands, either.

So, remind me again: why would kahjiit evolve to walk upright with legs that aren't built for walking upright, and then still have forelimbs that allow them to run on all fours? And for the record, the body structure of a quadruped isn't interchangeable with that of a biped. You can't switch out arms for legs or vise versa and expect optimal performance in either. Quite the opposite, actually. You'd get horrific joint damage in a reasonably short time. As crass as it sounds, I imagine Faith has/will have quite a few medical bills pertaining to her hind legs.

 

[Char-Nobyl]

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.

Especially since the elves look like space aliens now. And apparently they only contributed their awesome magic genes to the Bretons, who ended up just looking like western Europeans instead of the half-elves they're often touted as.

 

[Thoric485]

Yes, but that's because i'm a Stormcloak.

 

[Freechoice]

I think the Khajiit are ascetically pleasing _._

Good, because if you found them indulgently pleasing, we'd all point and laugh at you and call you a furry.

OT: Uncanny valley will not help the fuzzy-wuzzy scaly-waly monster hybrids as the graphics improve.

 

[AppleShrapnel]

Good, because if you found them indulgently pleasing, we'd all point and laugh at you and call you a furry.

Oh? You do not think Khajiit is cuddly and warm? Silly human is sorely mistaken... and rude. Lydia turns into jelly on cold nights while in this one's arms. Had you been nicer, Khajiit might have put in a good word with its sister, but no. You will cower alone, shivering tonight.

Skooma could help, though. Perhaps you are looking to buy? If so, perhaps Khajiit is selling... but perhaps it is not. :3

 

[Freechoice]

Good, because if you found them indulgently pleasing, we'd all point and laugh at you and call you a furry.

Khajiit might have put in a good work with its sister

Hmm, how good was the work?

God, spelling errors make my day.

 

[AppleShrapnel]

Good, because if you found them indulgently pleasing, we'd all point and laugh at you and call you a furry.

Khajiit might have put in a good work with its sister

Hmm, how good was the work?

God, spelling errors make my day.

Apologies, this one's claws do sometimes have a mind of their own. This error has been fixed.

But if typos make your day, Khajiit pities you. Not so much that you should expect to see its sister anytime soon, however. /:3

 

[Freechoice]

Good, because if you found them indulgently pleasing, we'd all point and laugh at you and call you a furry.

Khajiit might have put in a good work with its sister

Hmm, how good was the work?

God, spelling errors make my day.

Apologies, this one's claws do sometimes have a mind of their own. This error has been fixed.

But if typos make your day, Khajiit pities you. Not so much that you should expect to see its sister anytime soon, however. /:3

Boy, you best stop these shenanigans or by Akatosh, I WILL get a spray bottle. Consider this a warning.

 

[AppleShrapnel]

Boy, you best stop these shenanigans or by Akatosh, I WILL get a spray bottle. Consider this a warning.

Khajiit will leave you alone, for all know how scary a fine mist of water is compared to bared claws... this one is being sarcastic, of course. /:3

Spritzing it is no more effective than bonking an ancient dragon on the head with a lit torch, so, sadly, Khajiit cannot consider that a "warning".

You are, of course, free to try again. Khajiit will humor you, for Khajiit likes humor. :3

 

[Black Arrow Officer]

I hate the Khajit because I just have a weird grudge against wandering nomads. I don't know, people in unguarded camps who are "too" accepting of strangers are just begging to have a dagger thrust into their spine while they're sleeping.

 

[ZombieMonkey7]

Ya they are pretty lazily done, but at least they are different. I mean what separates a nord from an imperial or a red guard. They all suck

 

[Kahunaburger]

They look ugly basically because their heads don't work on a human-shaped bipedal body. This is generally okay to me because "ugly" is basically the Elder Scrolls aesthetic for character design.

 

[acturisme]

If you don't like it, change it. There's a big mod community out there. Someone's got to have thought about an all human game mode.

 

[JoshuaMadoc]

Someone's got to have thought about an all human game mode.

Oh god, you mean someone made a mod to make the game more boring? I feel like drinking acid knowing that.

 

[PatrickXD]

I think they were better in Morrowind, the walking animations were changed for the Khajit and Argonians. But they were restricted in that they couldn't wear full face helmets or boots, so generally although it was much better in terms of role-playing they were fairly nerfed without any noticeable advantages.

 

[acturisme]

Someone's got to have thought about an all human game mode.

Oh god, you mean someone made a mod to make the game more boring? I feel like drinking acid knowing that.

Orange Juice!

 

[Cannibal Johnson]

Half and half. Basically I like the Argonians, but on the other hand I think the Kahjit are just plain stupid. Anyone agree with me on this?

 

[bojackx]

You seem pretty pedantic to me...

So what if they used the same animation? So what if they look like humans with animal faces and tails? I still think argonians and kahjiits (I sure hope that's spelt right) look really cool, hence why I'm playing through the game as an Argonian warrior and a Kahjiit assassin. If you don't like their appearance, then fine, but there's really not that much wrong with them...

 

[AppleShrapnel]

I think, lore-wise at least, the Khajiit we saw and played as in Morrowind aren't the same subspecies we saw and played as in Oblivion and Skyrim. I think I remember reading that a Khajiit's appearance could range from bestial (Morrowind), to humanoid (Oblivion/Skyrim) and even more Elvish... I think?

Sharing animation and resources between all ten races might come off as a bit lazy (lazy seems to be a part of capitalism and corporations, already, so that's not really news), but it frees up more time for Bethesda... I won't say they spend this time on polish or bug squashing, as that'd see more flames than Anduin did in his entire lifetime, but if nothing else it means we get the end product in our collective condescending, over-critical hands that much sooner.