I think the Dunmer look pretty awesome, if you tweak 'em a bit. I like the fact that they made them look very distinct from the human models. Sort of emphasizes their 'otherness'.
Skyrim elves look AWFUL :(
- Thread starter Elamdri
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Bethesda don't follow the rules, they make their owns rules.Elamdri said:
In my opinion, Elves should be made of ground-up human eyebrows and loose skin from the armpits, but I don't always get my way and I hardly find reason to complain about it.
Savvy?
I think all the races too really good.. my only issue would be body. My Orc in full plate looks like anything else unless you zoom way in and see his face. I know why they do this, much easier on the rendering if all the bodies are similar. So its minor.. but facially I think the have nailed it. Even New Vegas had bad looking faces/same old ones.. Skyrim has really set the bar with looks.. even hair looks pretty good for once.
So you're saying the elder scrolls SHOULD adhere to high fantasy clichés?Elamdri said:
No.
Nononononononononoonono.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
The notion that 'fantasy should follow rules' is ridiculous. Having 'norms' in a fantasy setting is NOT GOOD.
I am just going to say this (although this is a matter of opinion in the first place). I think it's a bad habit to believe elves are supposed to look like the ones from the tolkien books. Clichés are a bad thing, and pretty almost human-like elves are pretty much a cliché now. It causes stagnation and makes high fantasy boring.
But, I know you're not the only one who wants the elves to look more human. Mods were made on morrowind and probably oblivion too in order to 'fix' it. It's going to happen on skyrim I am sure of it, if it hasn't happened already. Unlucky for you if you play on xbox or ps3. If you want to make an elf, I am pretty sure you can make one that's nice looking with some clever use of the character creation (one that's close enough).
And finally, I think it's perfectly fine to dislike the look of skyrim's elves, but this particular justification is something I really disagree with.
As M'aiq the Liar says, 'M'aiq has heard the people of Skyrim are better looking than the ones in Cyrodiil. He has no opinion on the matter. All people are beautiful to him.'
I think it works especially well in Skyrim and Morrowind, not so much in an idyllic cosmopolitan province such as Cyrodiil. As has already been mentioned here, elves (more specifically, the Aldmeri Dominion) are a secondary villain in the game, outsiders and conquerors with superiority complexes, so it makes sense for them to stand out and look alien. The Ayleid culture that the Aldmeri are trying to bring back was a grandiose magocracy fueled by human slaves - nothing remotely resembling what "traditional" high-fantasy elves represent.
Aren't Elves typically supposed to look like that outside everything Lord of the Rings related?
I mean, I don't think they look great and ended up not being my typical Dunmer class due to them looking odd but I'm pretty sure Elves in lore look like that.
Jutting brows.
Extremely pronounced cheekbones.
Big eyes.
Very very pointy chins and ears.
Kinda like the Joker now that I think about it.
Anyway, yeah, as someone before me said, you've read Eragon/seen LotR too many times.
The elves look badass to me.
I mean, I don't think they look great and ended up not being my typical Dunmer class due to them looking odd but I'm pretty sure Elves in lore look like that.
Jutting brows.
Extremely pronounced cheekbones.
Big eyes.
Very very pointy chins and ears.
Kinda like the Joker now that I think about it.
Anyway, yeah, as someone before me said, you've read Eragon/seen LotR too many times.
The elves look badass to me.
So what you're saying is that innovation is bad and that every fantasy game from now on MUST be a tolkien-inspired adventure? Well, so much for the fantasy gaming industry then?
Look at aliens? The 'default' for aliens are small grey or green men with humongous eyes and frail bodies? Try to insert that in your sci-fi epic without causing moaning and sighing when they've seen it for the trillionth time.
How well would Mass Effect have sold by trying to do that? (I know the salaries are inspired by those things but so are the elves of TES they are inspired but not clones!)
Or Halo and you saw that it was things that look like children with deformed heads that were your opponents.
Look at aliens? The 'default' for aliens are small grey or green men with humongous eyes and frail bodies? Try to insert that in your sci-fi epic without causing moaning and sighing when they've seen it for the trillionth time.
How well would Mass Effect have sold by trying to do that? (I know the salaries are inspired by those things but so are the elves of TES they are inspired but not clones!)
Or Halo and you saw that it was things that look like children with deformed heads that were your opponents.
I love these arguments because they're easy for me to win, and difficult for your to defend.Elamdri said:What the hell was Bethesda thinking? The elves in Skyrim look absolutely HIDEOUS. I mean, they look like something you'd see out of Aliens. I feel like the Khajit and the Argonians feel more human than the elves do! It's become very off-putting.
I can't figure out what's worse. That someone designed them in the first place thinking that they would be aesthetically pleasing, or that someone didn't tell the person who created them that they're an absolute failure and put them in the final release.
EDIT:
I would like to point out that I think the two biggest problems with the elf models are 1: The ridiculous anime bug eyes and 2: The incredibly pronounced brows that they have, I mean, they jut out so far from their heads you could land a Cessna on them. Their skull structure looks like David Boreanaz and Cro-Magnon Man had a baby.
Also, since people keep bringing this up as well: Yes, the elves looked WORSE in Oblivion. That doesn't mean that they look GOOD in Skyrim.
By the way, people keep using this image and I just want to comment:
^That guy looks like he belongs in a DYNASTY WARRIORS game, not TES.
Say it with me:
Beauty
is in
the eye
of the beholder.
Say it again and again until the logic reaches your brain. I personally have actually made several attractive elves, Bretons, Redguards, Nords, Imperials, and even orcs. However, I can't seem to ever make an animal person that I like. I'm not saying they aren't well-done, they look fantastic in a game of fantastic looking races. It's just too difficult for me as a human to have any measure of beauty or aesthetics for such alien races.
They look awful to you, but I think you're in the minority... well within the minority.
The Elder Scrolls is not the Lord of the Rings. The Elves of Tamriel are not the Elves of Middle Earth.
People always complain about this, but no one ever complains about the differences between the TES trolls and LotR trolls. Or anything else in a similar vein, for that matter.
Just because you have a fetish for pretty men and women with pointed ears does not mean you get to dictate that design as standard across the fantasy genre.
People always complain about this, but no one ever complains about the differences between the TES trolls and LotR trolls. Or anything else in a similar vein, for that matter.
Just because you have a fetish for pretty men and women with pointed ears does not mean you get to dictate that design as standard across the fantasy genre.
I really like them. The Wood Elves in particular look really cool. They're creepy. They're a different species, and so look properly different.
I would go as far as saying they are the best looking fantasy elves I've seen in any game. They're not just a human with pointy ears and good bone structure, but are distinctive and striking.
I would go as far as saying they are the best looking fantasy elves I've seen in any game. They're not just a human with pointy ears and good bone structure, but are distinctive and striking.
Don't kid yourself. If it was you and Hugo Weaving in a log cabin in front of a roaring log fire you'd do it. Well I would. He was in V for Vendetta!Googenstien said:Not all LOTR elves are pretty..
