» Thu Jan 07, 2010 2:07 am
It'd be interesting to go to see "bits" of some of the different Daedric realms, I doubt we'd see an entire realm as anything other than an expansion, or perhaps more likely a player-created mod (Bethesda may avoid doing another Daedric realm expansion since it might seem like a retread of Shivering Isles, even though they could still easily create something entirely different because Daedric Realms offer a diverse range of possibilities).
I'm personally intrigued by Quagmire, Vaermina's realm-just with a quest built around it, I honestly don't think an extended stay in that realm could easily work, although I've personally had a few ideas (such as "stable pockets" where Vaermina's Daedric servants would dwell). I really like the creative possibilities presented by the concept that visiting the realm would be an experience of going deeper and deeper into a more and more horrific and bizarre nightmare-I really liked the quest they gave us in Oblivion, but I think they could've done a whole lot more with it as well. Given the fact that they seem to be working off their own engine now there could be more potential for them to offer us something truly surreal-and this applies for any and all Daedric realms actually.
On that note, as cool as The Shivering Isles was, there was a particular lack of surreal imagery in general. By that I mean there were very few things you'd see in that realm that appeared to defy physical laws or really mess with your perception of reality-true this is EXTREMELY difficult to accomplish in a world that is already a fantasy setting-but I can't help but feel that Shivering Isles still had a lot of unexplored potential, not to such an extent that it ruins the overall experience just to the point where I wish they'd done more with it.
All that said, we have definitely seen enough of the Deadlands. Also it was quite disappointing that Attribution's Share (Molag Bal's realm) was created in such a lazy manner in Oblivion-helping add to the perception that all realms of Oblivion are exactly the same. Strangely, some people seem to still think that despite Shivering Isles-although perhaps they didn't catch on to the fact that the Shivering Isles is technically a "Plane of Oblivion". Oblivion the game just did a TERRIBLE job and making it clear that the realm you were visiting was the Deadlands-it's like Bethesda wanted people to think that this is all Oblivion is supposed to be like. >.<