» Sun Apr 07, 2013 5:58 am MYTHS
Myth #1: Hammerfell is mostly desert. This is not true. While the Alik'r dominates much of Hammerfell, it's like saying Skyrim is mostly the Plains of Whiterun because of how dominating a vast a geographical feature it is in Skyrim. Morrowind the game was mostly Ashlands in terms of geographic area, yet no one complained, nor did people claim it was boring. Furthermore, http://www.darkcreations.org/forums/uploads/gallery/album_63/gallery_830_63_1704958.png of the geographic regions of Hammerfell more or less.
Myth #2: We've already seen Hammerfell. This is partly true. We've seen Hammerfell, but only a fraction. http://www.techspot.com/fileshost/newspics3/2012/tes-tamriel-map-1.jpg. It's like saying we've "seen" High Rock, Morrowind, and even Black Marsh/Argonia. It's silly.
Myth #3: Deserts are not that interesting. I don't know about others here, but have people even SEEN deserts? They are grand, imposing, beautiful, and incredibly varied. It's not like they're all just sand dunes. I've linked a prior post of mine that illustrates this to an extent:
http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1449219-tes-vi-location-and-setting-official-speculation-thread-8/page__view__findpost__p__22459027
And here's some concept art from TESO about what the Alik'r alone can contain:
http://images.uesp.net/3/3b/ON-concept-08.jpg
Myth #4: Hammerfell isn't terribly exotic. So a land populated by the descendants of an exotic and almost alien race of men that features a religion we've never really seen before, as well as a different culture divided between traditionalists and progressives, and in landscapes we've never truly seen with a modern Elder Scrolls engine isn't exotic? Come on.
On a side note, here is what the fine people of Tamriel Rebuilt were able to come up with:
http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/?p=conceptart§ion=15274
http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/?p=conceptart§ion=19705
http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/?p=conceptart§ion=15649
http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/?p=conceptart§ion=19707
http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/?p=conceptart§ion=15292
http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/?p=conceptart§ion=19708
http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/?p=conceptart§ion=15268
And that doesn't even include what myself and others could use/want to use for inspiration.Let's even look to prior games and established lore to get a picture of Hammerfell. In fact, I'm going ask people to start with this post from "The Skyrim Blog":
http://theskyrimblog.ning.com/group/lore/forum/topics/the-redguard-part-1
Myth #5: Hammerfell is basically the Middle-East/North Africa. This is partly true. While there are some Middle-Eastern/North African influences architecture-wise, the Redguards are unique unto themselves. Speaking of architecture, Anvil supposedly has a lot of architectural influence from neighbouring Hammerfell.
Anvil
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Anvil
Those houses look a lot like like Spanish villas.
http://www.privatevilla.me.uk/Villa1.JPG
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00486/spanish_Villa_682_486355a.jpg
The Redguards were based off of Japanese inspiration and influence, hence the whole thing about warriors, pride, and honour. Not to mention things and names like Yokuda, Kairou, Emperor Hira, Emperor Oshiru, Gaiden Shinji, etc.
The redguards have various temples devoted to numerous Gods, and believe in trying to free themselves from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. This is very different from Islam, which the religion of the Middle-East and North Africa. Furthermore, the Middle-East and North Africa are not populated by anologues to black people; rather they are populated with Arab and Berber-Arab peoples.
The dynamic between the Crowns and Forebears also goes beyond adhering to old ways (Crowns) and embracing the new (Forebears). I see a fair degree of similarities between the Sparta-dominated Peloponnesian League and the Athens-dominated Delian League of ancient history. The fact that redguard cities also act like city-states further reinforces this.
The Delian League, like the Forebears, were more democratic, willing to try new things and valued mercantilism and sailing/naval warfare as core attributes. The Peloponnesian League, like the Crowns, adhered to more traditional definitions of power, caste, and traditions, as well as being more land-based.
Another fun fact is that a fair number of the territories/Kingdoms we see in Hammerfell in TESII: Daggerfall are Greek in name. http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/0/6589/1366077-iliacbay.jpg
Cybiades, Tigonus, Ephesus, Ayasofya, Antiphyllos, Bergama, and Santaki sound fairly Greek in origin or inspiration. This can also tie into the similarities to Spanish architecture, which is a derivative of sorts from the classic Greco-Roman Style.
On another note, Yokuda is more or less to Tamriel what Atlantis is to us; an advanced society and culture that brought about its own doom and sank into the sea.
Source: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Yokuda
Heck, let's just look at Redguard names to see how few are Middle-Eastern/North African until we get to Skyrim.
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Redguard_Names
It really seems like Bethesda and the fandom just thought "oh, they have a large desert. Guess they're like the Middle-East or North Africa", when there is so much established evidence to the contrary. The redguards are basically the descendants of an Atlantean-type civilization, anologous to black people, with a Japanese-style warrior and honour system (in fact, the way the redguards organize their militias and mercenaries and how they serve the rulers of their city, is remarkably similar to fuedal Japan), with Ancient Greek-style rivalries and cultural groups, and with Greco-Roman/Spanish architecture, and unique names.
The redguards are/should be the furthest thing from Middle-Eastern/North African, but they have been corrupted recently by Bethesda and the fandom.
