Yes. I am a Morrowind lover. No, I don't think the series started with Morrowind (had to clarify that before I start writing this thread...).

So back to the thread at hand. In Morrowind there was this mature feeling, like it's a world that I have to take seriously. There was a strip club, lots of dark places, and it didn't spare with the cruelty the people had towards you.
In Oblivion... well, it had a very nice feeling, but it felt childish to me. Everything felt like it was made for laughter, and I just couldn't bring myself to take the game seriously enough. It was because everything was so colorful, all the enemies were like 3D puppets and there weren't many things that were taken seriously in the game itself (regarding content... Quests, etc). There WERE things that were serious, but most things weren't.

I, personally, would like to take Skyrim seriously. And as we all know there SHOULD be a harsh, dark, mysterious feeling to Skyrim that will HOPEFULLY give it a more mature content. Question is, will Skyrim be more like Oblivion on that behalf or more like Morrowind (where most things were taken VERY seriously)?

There was an interview where i think Todd said that the game "has what made morrowind special".
Whether that's true, or what that may be however, is anyone's guess.

Skyrim looks much grittier than Oblivion and I would state that the atmosphere has serious and realistic overtones even when compared to TES:IV. I believe they are focusing more on suspending your disbelief while playing the game, that is the impression I have so far from the previews and the game play footage.

Interesting post. Im hoping Skyrim does have a darker feel to it, like Morrowind.

I found Oblivion to be mature. I don't as many hours in Morrowind as I do Oblivion, I'll admit, but I wouldn't say Oblivion was anyway near childish or immature. The world was brighter, but there were dark things around.

I still remember how serious it was about not walking into an Ashkhan's yurt uninvited. Very strict people, those Ashlanders.

It would be cool to have some of that seriousness back, but if it was in a level between Oblivion and Morrowind that'd be fine with me as well.

I loved how in Morrowind a lot of people disliked you and always called you names and stuff("...Outsider..." "You N'wah!"). That really reinforced the idea that you are a stranger in a foreign land and only you can(insert hero predicament here. i.e., save the world, etc.). I hope they have that to some extent in Skyrim. After all, you are the LAST Dragonborn...

Yeah! I miss these sorts of things! I actually feel like there was WAAAY more content in Morrowind than in Oblivion! And that's because of all the cultures, different behaviors and the dark vibe that the game had!

I wish they would go back to this more mature feeling, that's why I was less favored of Oblivion.

Lets not forgot that Oblivion had its share of dark, mature moments as well. 2 particular instances that stick out to me is when the Bruma mages guild gets attacked by the necromancers, and the Oblivion gates always had a dark feel to them.

I do hope it is more serious and mature but I also hope there will be some good humor when appropriate. :frog:

Wait he really said that? Wow, now this is really amazing then.

I didn't find Oblivion dark at all... even the dungeons didn't have a serious vibe to me...

I'd admit Oblivion had SOME moments in it, some DARK things. But the Oblivion gates weren't one of them (at least to my liking...).

I haven't played much Morrowind, but I understand what you are saying and after playing tons of Oblivion, I wouldn't complain if there were a more serious tone. Not that there was no seriousness in Oblivion, just I think more could make a cool game. If Skyrim has an involved story that allows major decisions to do with the civil war, etc., I think that would help to bring some of this seriousness to the game. If the civil war felt more like a struggle that includes racism, assassination, intrigue and all the good stuff then I think Skyrim will have taken a step in the right direction when it comes to mood.

Take that Stormcloak encounter in GI. That already gives a more serious feeling than I ever found in Oblivion.

Dark, mature, and humurous. Doesnt get better than that for a video game.

I'm fairly confident Skyrim will have a grittier, more mature feel to it... and from the sound of things, the world may actually be dangerous at times (which is something the series has lacked since Daggerfall in my opinion).

I just hope they don't spoil all that with the excessive hand-holding. I mean, what's the point of making a more mature game if you're just going to treat the player like an idiot?

Couldn't agree more.

Yea, it it appeared in the damn news thing every time i went to play morrowind on steam

I really can't imagine anyone would want a less mature game, or someone who would prefer that Skyrim will have the same overall feeling as in Oblivion (regarding the subject at hand).

To be honest, I think I would have found Oblivion much more serious if the music actually fit the intended mood for a specific scene. For example, talking to Martin about the end of the world while this bright cheerful fantasy music is blasting in the background didn't really make me think of the severity of the situation. Rather, it made me feel like frolicking through the forest. I could never bring myself to keep the music off, though. Games just don't feel right to me without music.

But I totally agree that Morrowind had a much more serious tone. Going to Vivec and having every single guard remind you that they're watching you, meeting the Ashlanders for the first time, the assassination attempts on your life (with the expansions), not to mention having to constantly wonder if you're strong enough to fight the enemies in a specific area. Oblivion had its serious moments, like the Necromancers attacking the Mage's Guild in Bruma or finding that blood-stained room in the DB questline where you found Mother's Head, but the overall feeling of the game was very bright and cheery. Heck, even being caught or arrested by the guards felt silly, regardless of the severity of the crime!

The atmosphere of Skyrim looks more serious than Oblivion at the moment, but there's no way to tell how serious or mature the game yet. That's not to say I want Bethesda to take away all of the funnies, but it would be nice if the overall feeling was a bit more mature. Light-hearted moments deserve just as much time and respect as the mature ones. TES isn't exactly a dark fantasy, after all.

Skyrim reminds me of Daggerfall. Don't ask me why. Daggerfall, for all it's flaws, is my favorite TES. Hopefully Skyrim will snatch that crown - and I am hopeful.

Is it because of the semi-random quests? That does sound nice.

I would hope for a more "darker" environment like in morrowind.

well, i'm sure we'd all agree by just the screenshots and gameplay vids that at the very least the atmosphere of Skyrim is grittier, darker and more serious than Oblivion. I remember in an interview with Todd where he said Morrowind had a dark, eerie, strange fantasy setting that was kind of foreign, while Oblvion had a more classic "renaissance fair" (is the words he used) type, fantasy atmosphere, and he said that he wanted Skyrim to keep the strange foreign feeling of Morrowind while still being kind of familiar to the players, so i'm assuming it will definitely be more serious than Oblivion.

btw, sorry, i don't remember the exact interview where he said that, but anyone who does can help me out with a link. lol

Daggerfall was an even darker gritttier world than Morrowind, believe it or not. Beggars, prosttutes, and diseased poor on the streets, bars filled with shady looking characters, witch covens to name a few. Heck, I can only imagine what players of Oblivion might think when they walked into a temple devoted to Dibella.