I was wondering do the guys from Bethesda study the occult?

I haven't seen any evidence of it. Strange question.

I believe in crushing my enemies bones and drink their blood, hail the dark lord!
What makes you think that? :shrug:

I guess :confused:
Does HP Lovecraft count as occult?

What is the occult? I have heard the name but never bothered to ask.

maybe Lovecraftian, yes. Many of their games have a Lovecraftian reference. They even made a game called "The Call of Cthulhu"

Influences from Hinduism and a bunch of other RL religions seems more apparent with the myths than the occult. And Beth didn't make Call of Cthulhu, they produced it. It was Headfirst Productions that developed it.

And for those who don't know who H.P. Lovecraft is---- FIND OUT!!!!!!

Interesting question. I'm sure they have had various influences over the years not only on a company wide level, but also on a personal level. I,e Kind of like how Mr. Universe form Firefly is pretty much what the Shadow Broker from Mass Effect is. Or how they say they are going for a more Lord of the Rings feel in Oblivion, for the Conan feel or Skyrim. However! I personally find in my own writing it is very important to not let yourself be overtly influenced. Otherwise you become to similar. (such as the Mass Effect example.)

Was there anything you found about Elder Scrolls that made you bring up this question?

Of coursssse faithlessss. They have sssstudied the black artsssss for decadessss. The Elder Scrollssss gamessss are the resssssult of yearsssss of practice, blesssssed by the Dark Lord himsssself :chaos:


bliviongate:

The occult is that which is of or perhaps associated with or concerned with supernatural phenomena inclusive of its influences, rites, and agencies. The occult is often considered to be numinous and as such dabbling in the occult has always been seen as risque because demonic or supernatural assistance is required to delve beyond the confines of natural human comprehension.

I would assume there is some level of research that goes into the game but that it is mostly confined to the lore of the Elder Scrolls saga, common knowledge on the occult due to popular fictions and films, and mythology. Would Bethesda include rituals and practices that are considered to be authentic in the game? No, I do not believe so. Such practices are contained within grimoires made usually of human skin or the like which are held in private collections for the most part - books that never see the light of day and are quite rare because many have been destroyed by religious groups. Access to them is restricted often for the sake of preservation or prestige.

its just funny some of the herbs/plants you can get in Oblivion i use for personal use lol
and the occult means
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/occult

Good game designers study everything they can to make their game world feel more believable, if that's what you are asking.

While I haven't gotten around to beating Lair of the Shadow Broker...it's not a Firefly thing. The invisible entity that gathers and sales information is hardly a unique concept.

i dont know to me its full of esoteric/occult symbolism
which i love!

One certainly hopes so.

Kinda went off the deep end towards the last bit of that post didn't ya?

yeah you would hope so but i am thinking they know there stuff about mythology/occult/esoteric history

Yes, there is. Elder Scrolls, D&D and even Warcraft all borrow from the Occult.

You don't have to beat Lair of the Shadow Broker to see the similarities. You learn what role he plays in Mass Effect 1. Anyway I wasn't saying it was exclusively a Firefly thing either. Mass Effect just takes quite a bit from it so I used it to draw the line.

That said, you touch on an important point. It is relatively difficult to come up with a truly unique concept. You could be doing something extremely similar to something else without any knowledge of the thing you are supposedly "copying." :shrug:

lol funny they have the chaos magick symbol which i study btw :spotted owl:

I find grimoires fascinating. I am excited that Spell Tomes are in the game. It makes so much sense.

Ummm I'd say so. The occult can be anything as simple as casting a spell. Any harnessing of supernatural powers to create magic is study of the occult. Then it goes deeper when you consider soul gems, necromancy, all that stuff, so I'm sure they have done their fair share of research on it for fictional use.

What in hell is the occult? Is it supposed to be satan worship or something? I just think they worship Sauron to get their ideas!!!

occult meaning:
1. Of, relating to, or dealing with supernatural influences, agencies, or phenomena.
2. Beyond the realm of human comprehension; inscrutable.
3. Available only to the initiate; secret: occult lore. See Synonyms at mysterious.
4. Hidden from view; concealed.