Because some believe it's overused and there could be plenty of separate scenarios that went towards the same ends instead of not even attempting otherwise.

Vague, no doubt, but I call Daggerfall a true ES game and it gave you one character trait "Friend of the King". You can imagine exactly how the king acts, how you are friends with him, why he trusts you with the Daggerfall quest, and so on. One little trait can open up a lot of options if it just defines one little bit of your history. What really gets me is that people are so concerned with where their characters come from, but never care how they progress. They're fine with being the Nevararine and the Dovakiin, but tell them they've got to have one single thing before all this and they flip.

What are you talking about? You can think of a hundred ways to get the player to a bookcase.

As a prisoner?

No, what does that have to with the argument I presented?

Starting in prison is a tradition to The Elder Scrolls, and I do not mind starting as a prisoner.

Apparently nothing, seems i quite embarrassingly mistook you for someone defending Bethesda choice to start you in a prison. My apologies.

Well, I think the prison is a great beginning. Even if it ends up not being an official prison (like a bandit clan having taken you prisonner). You can make out a [censored]LOAD of background for your character.
Also, they do it with a twist this time: you're about to be executed!

And to be honest, I don't really care for the start. The only thing I hate about a start is when it CLEARLY states who you are, and pushes it down your throat.

For all of you who dislike the prison idea.. as punishment Todd Howard is going to send you all to prison in Skyrim! For all who love the idea... well.. to prison with you too

I was. I was just saying that the prison didn't really have anything to do with the plot

And you were right. BGS wanted you to meet the emperor and receive the amulet, and tradition suggested a prison start. So they did both. Easy. Technically, you could have missed the emperor entirely and found the amulet later, and it still would have been the same story, though maybe losing some of the urgency. And the fact that you were in prison when you met the emperor is totally irrelevant to the rest of the game.

OP: if you don't like a prison start, fine, you're entitled to that opinion. But arguing that you can't start in prison and be a good/noble/whatever character is just ridiculous. Many people throughout history have been imprisoned entirely because they were "good". I doubt there's a single race, religion, or belief system that couldn't dig up hundreds or thousands of examples without breaking a sweat.

And, not to trivialize my previous statement, but I had a warrant out for my arrest because of an unpaid bicycling ticket in college (the town, and a particular officer at the time took great pleasure in ticketing campus jaywalkers and bicyclists). The officer who pulled me over several years later (I'd moved away and forgotten about the ticket) was actually embarrassed when he saw what the warrant was for. But a judge had issued the warrant, so the officer had to take me in.

No! you were falsly imprisoned or you broke buerocratic regulations to help someone or any million possibilities.

Further in skyrim im pretty sure you get cought crossing the boarder and get in trouble for that. not exactly an evil thing.

So long as I can begin the game without some uber urgent quest, and it doesn't take me an hour to complete a tutorial every time I make a new character I'll be happy.

post in wrong thread sorry

It's their signature beginning. You start from the very bottom and work your way up the social ladder to a well renown hero, or villain.

I don't need a whole back story,but what would be wrong with knowing why you were put in jail !...At least hear a guard talking about it are something. A RPG is not just about role playing,writing and a flesh out story is important also.

M'aiq believes that prisons give men time to think, anyone who doesn't want time to think is stupid.

I like the prison start it allows for multiple threading for how you want to roleplay(i know there are other ways to do this) like if your a good person your back story could be that your wrongfully accused or if your bad it could be tottaly justified. It also helps that the government isnt the entity that is releasing you, but rather your being broken out.

Again I know there are other ways to do this but having a tes game where you dont start out in captivity ( is it acctualy confirmed that you are in prison or just a prisoner that can make a big difference) would be like having a batman game without a cape

No, its tradition, and its not important.

Don't see the big deal...

How did you end up in prison is a better question?

Did you slaughter a town of children?
Did you step in to defend a maiden only to be falsely thrown in prison by a wrathful noble?
Did you pinch a loaf of bread to feed a starving family?

It doesn't have to mean bad. Falsely accused or whatever, it can mean something, everything or nothing.

I find it amusing that you accuse Beth of being lazy, when you yourself are to lazy to even think of a fitting backstory for your character.

Would you wear a Devil Halloween costume on Christmas day?.lol.

I agree with tradition. And with imagination, you can make up your own back story for your "custom" role playing character.

no need to fix something that isn't broken as they always say!

That's not the issue here. He said in that post that "there are other ways", and there are. The biggest problem with the prison plot is that, regardless of your character, you are in Skyrim for some reason. There's many different ways to be taken out of anywhere in the world and be brought to anywhere else. Not only a world of magic, but a world with many underground societies that may indeed be trafficking bodies or the like. So many ways, and they use prison because it was all ready done for them.

The prison start works for me. It's had a different flavor in each game--and will again in Skyrim.

the coolest part is you get to invent the reason your there...

only thing i can imagine havin a backstory would be good for are dialogue options... however by having no real backstory all the choices in the game are your own and you never have to be given a story or life that you are forced to live or carry out. you make your own destiny after you leave prison...