Do people care about Lore?

UrQuan

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

There's exactly one reason I started playing this game in the first place: the Elder Scrolls universe and lore (I consider the two to be inextricable).

maltinkilic wrote: »

But there are some errors in the lore in this game. In a book i foundin mornhold tells. Lord Nerevar was from Redoran. No he was Indoril. Maybe the author of the book was wrong(in game author) but then how can i trust which books are fact which ones are fiction in this game.

You've fallen into a trap that a lot of self-professed TES lore junkies fall into. One of the best things about TES lore is that virtually all of it comes from an in-universe perspective. As a result, just like in the real world, a lot of it is contradictory. Anyone who has studied history beyond the high school level will understand that in the real world you always have to make judgement calls to decide how much weight you should give to any given source, based on a large number of factors. It's the same with sources in any TES game. There's no such thing as deciding which of the books are fact and which are fiction (aside from the ones that are obviously intended to be fiction), there's only deciding which ones you feel are more reliable.

This is largely because the sources for the lore aren't omniscient - the authors only know what they know, and they might misunderstand things, or simply not have the whole picture. It's also partly because some of them have specific agendas that they're trying to promote, and they're portraying things in a certain light (which may or may not involve flat-out lies) in order to do so. And then it's also partly because of things like dragon breaks, where reality actually changes.

You need to approach TES lore the same way you would approach studying any period of history. Determine whether the source is a primary or secondary source. Determine whether the author of the source has any known biases that would affect the way the material has been presented in the source. Determine whether the author of the source was likely to have a really solid understanding of what he wrote about - was he an outsider looking in? Was he directly involved? Is he writing based on reliable sources? Look for other sources that discuss the same topic (scrutinizing them in the same manner) and determine which sources agree on which points, and which sources disagree on which points. Look for physical evidence that either supports or contradicts the source (in the real world this would be physical archaeological evidence, but in TES games it's more what you can actually witness within one of the games in the series).

This is a large part of what makes TES lore so rich, and it's disappointing that so many people ignore this aspect of it in favour of blindly pointing to different in-game books as being The Source Of Truth. Hell, a good number of the in-game books directly and intentionally contradict each other. Inconsistencies and uncertainties are in the lore on purpose. Simply laying out all of the facts in black and white to be spoonfed to us would be boring. I know lots of other games do that, but it's boring.

JD2013

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

I have found that with the Elder Scrolls games, people do indeed care about the lore. I count myself among those who care about the lore, but also see the lore as a fluid thing that is subject to changes and rewrites and inconsistent perspectives.

Emencie

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

Lore is great, and I love it.

But it should always come second to game play. If a game is terrible to play, then I wont care about the lore enough to play it.

magnusthorek

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

Your poll options are a bit... weird. You sound like asking if other people care about Lore but the options led me to my own personal choice.

Anyway... I like the Lore but personally I don't read and listen everything anymore like when I played my first toon because after SO MANY TIMES leveling chars with the same stories all I wanted is to get it done as quickly as possible.

What I REALLY wanted is the opportunity to know the dungeons' stories, but people are always in a rush to finish ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

SameMeteor26

No! It's at best a distraction from gameplay

I'm sorry if I offend anyone, but I could really care less about lore. I don't enjoy reading as it is, so reading about a fake universe in a game I don't get to play a lot as it is just isn't what I want to do. In the spare time I have, I WANA PLAY.

ArchMikem

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

Everything that exists has a story.

Everything that exists NEEDS a story.

I love stories.

Abeille

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

maltinkilic wrote: »

But there are some errors in the lore in this game. In a book i foundin mornhold tells. Lord Nerevar was from Redoran. No he was Indoril. Maybe the author of the book was wrong(in game author) but then how can i trust which books are fact which ones are fiction in this game.

That's why I have a ranking of "trustworthy information source" for TES, and anything that comes from an NPC (a book, an opinion told as fact, a tale) is at the bottom of it. The only stuff lower than that on my ranking is the stuff made by former writers after they stopped working on the series, which are on the same level as fanfics and fan theories, and are not by any means part of the canon unless the current lore master confirms it.

The only things I come close to fully trusting are the things that were done or witnessed by the playable character. And even then, depending on the situation, I still might have my doubts.

Zoner

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

I really like the lore in the elder scrolls series, but it seems moving that lore to an MMO platform may require some dumbing down/moderation to sugarcoat the actual lore in the game, as discussions regarding canon lore usually end up triggering people who maybe don't know how full on and not family friendly the ES lore actually gets.
It'd be sad to see lore that has been in place for the series since day one omitted because people get offended. An example is when the discussion of in game slavery came up and there was so much offence caused that two separate threads were shut down.

Cadbury

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

I like to see what developers put into their games. Good storytelling and worldbuilding helps set the tone for me.

Vigarr

I've learned a lot from spending over 1000 hours in Oblivion and Skyrim but I can't seem to care about anything lore related in this retcon story so I like to think of eso as a dream or dragon break and something that will be stricken from the scrolls

Chadak

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

I've been playing Elder Scrolls games since Daggerfall first released.

Yes. I'm a bit oldish.

I still stop to read all the books.

Every.

Single.

One.

Do -not- go exploring with me anywhere near books I might not have read in this game if you want to get anywhere soon.

kevlarto_ESO

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

With out lore what do you have ? another generic sword and board fantasy game, lore is part of what makes the game worth playing, ESO is rich in lore and stories in a huge world, just seems like ESO here is not taking advantage of it.

QUEZ420

Honestly don't care, it's nice to have, but not something to look into.

Ewww lore, enjoy ur nerd ***.

Molydeus

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

QUEZ420 wrote: »

Ewww lore, enjoy ur nerd ***.

Said every shallow turd ever.

thelogicalghost

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

Echoing several above: I wish there was a third option on this poll that could fall between the first and the third.

I really enjoy the depth of thought and effort that goes into Elder Scrolls world, lore, and history. I'm never going to remember all of it, and indeed I find myself running to the wiki on occasion when I feel like I've lost the thread of the story. But the fact that there is a thread, more than a thread, a whole fabric of a world, that's what keeps me playing ESO rather than go back to some other MMOs.

Most of the time Lorebooks/bookshelves are zoomed through, but occasionally I'll find a book that I have to stop and read through because it's so amusing or interesting. I can't bring myself to delete all the messages from my crafting hirelings because I love their little escapades. And who doesn't love Shegorath's crazy coded books, or the eternally incomplete Lusty Argonian Maid?

Remag_Div

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

As I'm one who listens to all the quest dialogue and reads every book I come across I have to applaud ZoS for all the lore that's crammed into this game.

I started playing TES with Morrowind on the original Xbox and have since become a big fan of the series but I don't remember much about the lore in each game, probably because it was so long ago. Even with the latest Skyrim I read books and such but didn't get the "big picture" and how everything connected (a good example was not even knowing who the Thalmor were).

With all this knowledge I feel prepared to tackle TES VI whenever that comes out! Hopefully Valenwood. It would be jaw dropping to see a place like Malabal Tor using next-gen graphics.

Anhedonie

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

If not for lore, I wouldn't be playing this game.

ThePonzzz

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

I only started playing ESO because the TES lore. I'd have never started this game without it.

MLGProPlayer

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

This is my first ES game (although I've caught myself up by reading the wiki). I enjoy it. I just wish it was a bit darker and grittier (I'm a huge fan of the Witcher and Dark Souls series). Maybe the single player games do a better job of weaving a dark atmosphere?

menedhyn

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

Chadak wrote: »

I still stop to read all the books.

Every.

Single.

One.

Do -not- go exploring with me anywhere near books I might not have read in this game if you want to get anywhere soon.

That's perfectly normal behaviour, isn't it? I know there are beasties and mobs and what not just ahead in this ruin, but... look at all the books!

Sausage

Honestly don't care, it's nice to have, but not something to look into.

I think Ive been Fantasy fan so long I dont care, its basically the same in the end, but its the Old School Fantasy style what drawns me in ESO. I couldnt be happier that Conan Exiles is coming too.

maltinkilic

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

Ok. Let me clear on my first comment about Lord Nerevar being Indoril not Redoran.

First, the book i am refering is in tribunal temple by the centurion puzzle in the city of mournhold.

Next, this is Lord Nerevar i am talking about. The greatest hero of Chimer (currently known as dunmer). He was not just a member of indoril. He was the leader of house indoril. He was the husband of (false) god almalexia. Confusing or misinforming about any npc is ok. But saying he was not indoril is something different like vercingetorix was actually a roman not gaul.

Anyway there are some other issues with lore also. Like someone pointed some books shouldnt have written yet(some of them are mage guild lore books) but over all the lore in this game is not bad at all. I enjoy the TES lore in this game but still i am dissapointed when i see an error.

FloppyTouch

No! It's at best a distraction from gameplay

Couldn't care less TBH

unjulationb16_ESO

Honestly don't care, it's nice to have, but not something to look into.

it's really good that it's there, the lore that is, and I'm well impressed that the developers have spent s much time on it

that being said I don't really follow any of it, but I'm glad it's there to add to the overall feel/reality of the game

but tbh I'm just glad eso doesn't look like a cartoon fantasy game, that's what really i'm happy with (sorry off topic with that last statement)

TheShadowScout

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

I pick my games for the lore.
Without a nifty lore background to lure me, I don't play any MMO.
Its that simple.

And that is why the elder scrolls series is one of my favorite game series of all times - because of the lore.

Vaoh

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

Elder Scrolls lore is the reason I bought ESO, played ESO since launch, and still love ESO. (though I have basically run out of stuff to do now)

I can never grow tired of TES stuff

Woodenplank

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

maltinkilic wrote: »

Next, this is Lord Nerevar i am talking about. The greatest hero of Chimer (currently known as dunmer). He was not just a member of indoril. He was the leader of house indoril. He was the husband of (false) god almalexia. Confusing or misinforming about any npc is ok.

For a house as haughty as Redoran, maybe it could be reasoned that they want to mooch in on his legacy. Do you have a link to the text? The Imperial Library (www.imperial-library.info) should have a copy, if you can recall the name.

Also, what constitutes the difference between false and real "gods" in TES?
As I understand it, the Tribunal (Vivec at least) are gods in some sense of the word.

robertthebard

Honestly don't care, it's nice to have, but not something to look into.

I have yet to walk away from a session feeling like I've been buried in Tamriel. After a session in Skyrim, I feel that. Here, it's an MMO with names from places and books from those places, but it doesn't "feel" like that place. I honestly feel like I could import the characters I have here into another fantasy MMO w/out feeling like they're "out of universe", I guess?

maltinkilic

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

Well the source of Nerevar being indoril is TES III: Morrowind, since the main protogonist in the story is his reincarnate you learn about hus past life in detail. And what difference between false and true godhood is in morrowind game also. False tribunal just used the power of some artifacts to become god and destroyed in the end while lorkhan is cut into thousands piece even before the first era but his heart still beats still(during eso).

But seriosly godhood csn be interpreted differently so what i say false can be true for you. Its ok.

Shunravi

Yes! I want to know more/already know a lot

Woodenplank wrote: »

maltinkilic wrote: »

Next, this is Lord Nerevar i am talking about. The greatest hero of Chimer (currently known as dunmer). He was not just a member of indoril. He was the leader of house indoril. He was the husband of (false) god almalexia. Confusing or misinforming about any npc is ok.

For a house as haughty as Redoran, maybe it could be reasoned that they want to mooch in on his legacy. Do you have a link to the text? The Imperial Library (www.imperial-library.info) should have a copy, if you can recall the name.

Also, what constitutes the difference between false and real "gods" in TES?
As I understand it, the Tribunal (Vivec at least) are gods in some sense of the word.

Some say they are false gods because of stolen power

Some say they are gods by virtue of said power

The beauty of the lore is that oposing opinions exist instead of hardline yes or no.