Todd, being a Norwegian I was quite surprised to learn that the next chapter of TES was going to transpire in Skyrim. But at that time I didn't actually think too much of it, assuming still that the general American perception of Scandinavia was still recovering from the prolongued exposure to the Swedish Cook. Recently released videos have however made the little Viking in me, that can actually be found in any Norwegian (if you both look and drink long enough), very proud.

I was surprised that some of the concept art and in particular sketches of wooden structures had clear Viking-era influences, both in architectural and smaller, ornamental design. You did your homework. I certainly hope to see more of that. The one thing I am still curious about though is the music. I've heard some tunes, medieval true enough, but still lacking in that distinct, perhaps non-continentalized view of Scandinavia that even had it's own, romantic revival back in the 18th centuy. I'm not exactly talking about Edvard Grieg, but.. well.. yeah. Maybe I am.

Either way, best of luck with the project. Looking forward to seeing more material.

IS TODD A NORWEGIAN?

Whops... haha read it wrong, sorry.

----------------------------
On topic: As a Swede, I'm also looking forward to see more.

Hear hear from Finland! Bring on the Cold North!

How would you ever survive in that bikini, madame?

Why was this thread posted twice?

Yar, but twice the coolness?
I hope this thread wins.

tease/ Was Finland part of Scandinvia? /tease

I posted it twice, unknowingly, because I got some sort of SQL error when I tried the first time. Little did I know it went through after all.

Well, either the threads will be merged or the one with the least activity will be locked. It'll work out, these things happen.

I agree by the way, when i heard it would be set in Skyrim I was very happy, though I would've been quite happy with Elsewyr as well, I'm curious to see just how Bethesda would deal with a desert environment, I think that could be a very nice challenge for them for any eventual TES VI. From what I've seen they've done their homework yeah, but they haven't forgotten that this is a fantasy game and as such some things need to be just a bit over the top, hence the horned helmets and so on, which let's face it, looks cool. Even if it's not historically accurate. Allthough helmet ornaments were fairly common all over the world.

I'm looking forward to seeing how it all comes together.

I am a descendant of Finlanders...please, make sure the voice actors PRONOUNCE THINGS right. A Finlander would pronounce the name NIEMI as NEE-MEE, not NEE-EM-EE. That is the last name of a Finnish hockey player playing in Nashville, and the Mispronounciation that most Americans and Canadians butcher his name with.

In narrow sense it's not, as the region can also be described as Fenno-Scandian peninsula. Effectively meaning Finland is not part of Scandinavia, and thus applies to Denmark and Iceland as well. In a broader and especially cultural sense they can all be described as belonging to Scandinavia.

Well, being not too familiar with Scandinavian culture beyond the cliches which we often see in fiction (Which, as with fiction's take on many things, we should probably be careful about putting too much stock in.) so I can't judge how accurate things are, but if Scandinavians are praising Bethesda's work for its accuracy, than I guess that's a good sign, although I can have my own thoughts on what I've seen, and I've liked the screenshots I've seen. I was a little concerned when I heard that the game was taking place in Skyrim that it would be another generic psuedo-Medieval fantasy setting, but what I've seen so far speak of a setting that, while not quite as alien as Morrowind, still captures a distinct sense of culture better than Oblivion.

I just hope they add Drinking Horns, that would be awesome.

Since everybody posts about how they are related to Scandinavia: I'm Norwegian (northern Norway.)

Nords don't feel the cold, haven't you heard? :whistling:

Hell YEAH!

Skyrim is not of this world. But that said, the mountains are lovely and being a northerner myself I'm full of praise for it so far. Now to see if the snow squeaks under foot instead of the sloosh sound heard in Bruma.

What I really want to see is the theme carried very heavily throughout the game, and accented with specific "Skyrim" traits.
For instance, in Oblivion, we had an Imperial focus. So it was easy to envision the buildings, marble statues, and artwork you would find in Greece and Rome.
So if we have a statue of Deadra or something in Skyrim, I'd like to see it carved out of wood, like

http://www.taylormadeproductions.com/oldman.jpg and
http://static.zoovy.com/img/coolstuff4u/W145-H145-Bffffff/8/8965_wood_sitting_guy_statue_1v.jpg and
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3600/3566305007_f2ba741e43.jpg and
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/PT-AL697_books6_G_20090522123401.jpg

I hope, when it comes to the food of the region, they add in PASTIES. No, it is not prounced the way, Americans do, like PASTE-EES, but PAST-EES, rhyming with FAST-EASE. A PASTY (sing.) is a Cornish-Finnish style meat/vegetable mixture cooked into a breaded shell. Here are some pics... http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/cornish-finnish-michigan-pasties/Detail.aspx

Good enough for me.

I'm norwegian too, so there is a little Viking in me after all. Anyhow... here's a list (that I made) conserning http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1162890-scandinavian-folklore/page__hl__folklore. Feel free to leave a comment if you have some new ideas. I'll edit in the good ideas, btw. Thanks.

Nice pictures, I'd really like to see that too.

Now those are totally EPIC

I particularly like the last one, as well as the statue of the god Tyr holding his hand in the mouth of the Fenris Wolf.

As a Norwegian, I agree with OP

I only want Bukkehorn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI0MCvpD8uI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaYgzMnerBA

Maybe they used that instument in the musical score.