One of the things i really liked in Morrowind(and it was completely vanished in Oblivion)was the sense that you were in an "alien" world.Giant mushrooms, strange cities, exotic locations.Really it gave you a sense of uniqueness.In Oblivion nothing was really exotic.Even the Ayleid ruins were at some point more annoying to explore than interesting.So i hope Beth wont make the same mistake and this time they will describe a civilization that it is not exactly the same as the European nordic civilization but a different one....

Based on the screenshots and the gameplay trailer, I think we'll be seeing more unique locations this time around. Thank goodness.

Didn't Todd say that it is going to be inbetween Morrowind and Oblivion in terms of exoticness.

Kind of, i think he said it would be more like Morrowind but kind of unlike them both. He does stress that each game is its own place... From the pics and trailer i think the world looks superb, its gonna be a lot of fun.

Well it was Bethesda's intention to make Oblivion have a more "classic" renaissance feel to it. In the Game Informer podcast, Todd mentions that Skyrim will have a more unique feel to it. So yeh, basically confirmed.

Morrowind was so exotic because of the mountain range to the west and the effects of Red Mountain.

It looks more fitting, but not necessarily exotic.

In the term of monsters I hope it is though.

This. And I think the same. It won't be as exoticly impactant like Morrowind, but it won't also be as "close to home" as Oblivion.

Skyrim is the home of the nords. Think old Norse stone, dense forests, Deep voiced nords sitting on a council, around an old table in a cave.

It will be its own world, but most deffinately not 'alien' like Morrowind. Think Cyrodil, but less fancyness and more old grandeur.

The next 'alien' environment we should be getting is the Summerset Isles.

I just wanna see graphically beautiful landscapes I don't care whether they're unique or not. It wouldn't hurt though.

Or Black Marsh, followed by Valenwood.

Apart from those 3, I think we'd have to move outside Tamriel (Pyandonea or Thras maybe) in order to see exotic stuff.

If you downloaded the Shivering isle you had a "alien" world but i have my hopes they will have a portal or something that will be completly random and "alien"

Well, I hope it will be more like Oblivion. I never liked the giant mushrooms of Morrowind. The more realistic, the better.

If by exotic, one means mostly covered in barren ashlands, to hell with that. The Shivering Isles did exotic in a way I liked (in a vibrant, colorful manner), but I hate barren exotic. I don't see Skyrim as anything like either area, though.

If you removed all the mushrooms no one would think Morrowind was exotic, you know this.

Not only mushrooms dude.The cities were designed in an "alien" way.Even Balmora had unique houses.And what about the kwama mines.Actually you could find few things that reminded our world (90% of morrowind was phantasy world).In oblivion 90% looked similar to the middle ages.The difference is big

I have to disagree there. I don't play fantasy games to see an exact copy of real life, there are lots of games set in the real world to satisfy that desire, and while I can't name any good open world RPGs set in the real world, there are a fair amount of open world sandbox games with a realistic world, look at Red Dead Redemption, for a while. When it comes to fantasy, I want to see worlds that are strange and unique, this doesn't have to mean giant mushrooms, but they should stand out from other fantasy worlds in some way, and for the sake of that, sacrificing some realism for artistic license is a good thing.



No, the mushrooms weren't the only reason the game felt exotic. The creatures in the game were also pretty alien, take the netch, for example, I mean, how many creatures that look like that have you seen in real life, the only thing even similar is a jellyfish, and it's mostly betty netch that look like jelly fish, and the similarities are actually somewhat superficial if you examine the netch in detail. And some of the flora feels more unusual than Oblivion's standard European fair too, I mean things like the trama root or kresh plants. The cities, dungeons and the general culture was also much less "close to home" than Oblivion. I mean, in Ald-Ruhn, we had people living in the shell of a giant crab, when have you ever seen that in real life?

There was a lot more to Morowind's world that made it feel unique than just giant mushrooms, and of course if you take out those things, no one would say the game was unique, but if you take out those things, there also won't be much game left to see.

But looking at what we've seen of Skyrim, I wouldn't quite call it exotic, I mean, it's still a sort of Medieval European fantasy type thing, albeit with more of a Viking feel than what Oblivion did, but from the screenshots and trailer, I definitely think I'm seeing more interesting design than in Oblivion, it just feels like it has more artistic character to it, as a whole, it seems like while Bethesda is going for a more rugged feeling with Skyrim, they didn't forget that they're making a fantasy game when designing things.

MORROWIND IS NUTHIN' BUT MUSHROOMS AND SQUID.



My post was a joke, I didn't actually mean it but if it stimulates discussion then it's alright with me.

Morrowind had its advantages by being just north of blackmarsh and having a giant volcanic ash mountain. volcanic ash is nutrients to life like those giant mushrooms plus its just north of blackmarsh so the souther part of vvardendel and morrowind are going to look like that. Oblivion was more of a forrest but i mean oblivion had plenty of awesome locations. but i mean as far as ur going to get in skyrim is probably really nice cliff and mountain structures. drewer ruins r back....

For me Morrowind became a strain to play as I couldn't relate to anything in it. When I can't really sink into it, become my character, the fun just fades away. I don't mind a certain amount of stylish expression, but don't let it go completely out of hand.

That is why so many people loved Shivering Isles.

My hope is that Skyrim will have pockets of color just like SI.
I don't want grey all the time!

...I think the massive natural land bridge in the part with the windmill pretty much puts this issue to bed.

Don't expect anything alien like Morrowind. However, expect to see breathtaking views and truly magnificent and ancient ruins. All custom made and completely unique to simulate a true province in Tamriel. Skyrim in terms of environment will set a new standard for TES and open-ended RPGs.

I'd personally like to have the ability to have your own house (if you choose the woods) up on a mountain for a fantastic view I made a whole idea board on it with this forum http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1169471-houses-in-skyrim/

I agree here, I don't thing the vegetation would look very alien, however the landscape will be more impressive with more unique features, dungeons will have more difference than in Oblivion,