If you could get entire Bethesda to make an Elder scrolls game that you want, what would it look like?

Where would you place it? What would be the story? Main protagonist? Main Antagonist?

What place in time?

Id go for either Hammerfell or elswyre. it'd be a nice change from all the snow and ice. as for story not really sure what id have it about i just really want to go to one of those provinces in the next game

I'd really ramp up the sci-fi/magitech stuff, so maybe Alinor.

I wouldn't really care about the rest. Just give me cool magic stuff with the science beams and sun birds.

Also, there'd be more art and music. The kind of instruments the people play and music style and actual performances showing off both. Plays and operas. Paintings, sculpture, dialects, all of the things. Y'know, depth of culture.

Do we only get one? Cause I can plot out the entire arc to the end of the Doinion, and include every province...

Starting with Black Marsh; the Empire, suffering from civil was in Skyrim, the new Emperor tries something new. Diplomacy with Argonia. Using a prisoner as a go-between, the PC gets swept up in the Dominions attempts to sabotage the Alliance, and a strange plague that threatens the Hist.

The Hammerfell: Their power solidified with their alliance with the Hist, the Empire turns it's attention to Hammerfell, applying political pressure for the provinces readmittance following increased Dominion hostility in southern Hammerfell. Turns out, the Dominion was never beaten back, and had simply deserted the province believing their goals achieved. Now back for more, they are striking at sourlthern Hammerfell, asking remants of Dwemer Tonal archetecture, and in doing so pissing off some unfortunately powerful guardians (heavy Dweemr influence here).

Eslweyr; with what they need, the Thalmor enact their plan as the Empire finally strikes back, invading Elsweyr through the south-east in an attempt to cut behind the Dominions fortified line and cut off their supplies. This would basically be all about preventing Landfall...

Valenwood; Their plan thwarted, and losing ground, the Dominion resorts to more despirate measures, uncovering ayleid and older secrets in the jungles. A plague of black, tar like abominations appear throughout Vallenwood, striking at both sides of the conflict, and the 'hero' has to uncover how to stop the mortal races from becomming nothing but shapeless masses.

Alinor: things come to a head. The Thalmor fight to defend Alinor from the new Empire, one born of diplomacy instead of conquest, and resort to despirate measures and long forgotten powers. I think something involving the shards of the Crystal Tower, maybe...

Highrock; The Dominion broken, there should be peace. But there's a problem. Orcs inclvade Hoghrock, not from the east, but from the sea. Adorned in polished Orchalium and fighting in the name of a long-gone God, they take the Illiac Bay and forge inwards, attacker mg even their kin in Orsinium. Something fishy is going on, and it involves the remnants of the Thalmor, and Adamantia.

Overall, though, I think I would hire an anthropologist or two, and have a bigger influence on provincial cultures... The mechanical changes I would make can be found elsewhere, but the major focus on cultures and metaphysics, and a general departure from generic fantasy settings.

My dream TES game?

I imagine it would be a fusion of the weirdness inherent with Morrowinds writing alongside its weapon variety with the base gameplay of Skyrim, set across every province.

All of those landmass projects for Morrowind and Skyrim excite me a lot. Sometime in the future, I want to be able to waterwalk from Summerset to Valenwood, travel overland through western Tamriel, go over the Velothi mountains into Morrowind, waterwalk across to Vvardenfel and go hang out in Tel Uvirith or Tel Jaramr or whatever towers are available.

Trotting across the entire landmass of Tamriel in the same scale as Morrowind to Skyrim would be a dream come true. I suspect that such a game, were it to be developed by Bethesda, would require 6 years and many hundreds of developers working overtime. For obvious reasons it will never happen, but modders are a outside element to how normal game development works. One day, with the labour of love that these modders do, it may become a reality.

What some other people have said about a focus on the culture is also very true. I think Morrowind is probably the best/most interesting culture we've had, but Skyrim got pretty high up there. Stranger in a strange world is the best way to do these games.