This is a mini-series of articles that act as a sort of interview with an "Outsider" or someone who has never played any Elder Scrolls games. I wanted an unbiased, untainted opinion so I sought after one! This little experiment will hopefully shed some light on what new players are thinking when they check out TESO. I'm showing this Outsider a slew of pictures, videos and information and asking them a series of questions pertaining to what they saw. This is the first in four topics which are as follows:

1) Characters and Graphic Progression
2) Storyline and Alliances
3) Cinematic Trailers and Gameplay
4) TESO in General

This outsider has been involved with and been subjected to many different MMO's for years and has limited knowledge on fantasy games, movies and books like The Lord of the Rings franchise, for example. They have not, however, come in contact with the Elder Scrolls series and have no prior knowledge of it. They are open minded and opinionated, so this ought to be a fun little experiment.

Let's get started with the first topic.



Firstly, I showed the Outsider an array of pictures which included a progression of character models from Arena to Skyrim, some gameplay screenshots of all the games, and a few pictures from the official Elder Scrolls Online site. For all those curious, I will link the pictures below.

Progression Picture: [url]http://media.blogcdn.com/massively.joyst...-races.jpg[/url]
Arena: [url]http://www.tap-repeatedly.com/Reviews/El...rena_3.jpg[/url]
Daggerfall: [url]https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/image...Oj98oQYuKA[/url]
Morrowind: [url]http://xboxmedia.ign.com/media/previews/...owind9.jpg[/url]
Oblivon: [url]http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag57...b4e173.jpg[/url]
Skyrim: [url]https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/image...aazP9RUpHD[/url]
TESO: [url]http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2012/10/E...bridge.jpg[/url]
- http://static.elderscrollsonline.com/ass...bdacab.jpg
- http://static.elderscrollsonline.com/ass...67cc1f.jpg
- http://static.elderscrollsonline.com/ass...121d6a.jpg
- http://static.elderscrollsonline.com/ass...038b5a.jpg

Now, let's get to the questions. Feel free of course, to answer them in a reply with your own opinions.

Q. Obviously there were some big changes. How do you think TESO did with their character models?
A. “I like the fact that they’ve come back to the original line of characters. It seems like they're back to their roots, so to speak. They’ve made the them all more realistic. Obviously technology has improved, you can see them actually being a race. The Argonians reminded me of cartoony lizards before now they are their own creation.”

Q. Between which two games is the biggest graphics jump in your opinion?
A. “The jump to Oblivion was pretty big. I don’t like it, but it was pretty big. Their faces all look very fat.” (haha, agreed Newbie, agreed.)

Q. After seeing games like Skyrim and TESO, would you ever want to go back and try some of the older ones?
A. “Yeah actually, I would be interested. Just to see the old technology and how it works.”

Q. Do graphics make or break a game for you?
A. “Probably not. I think it’s the lore and the intricacies of the gameplay. Sure everybody likes to look at something pretty but that isn't what a game should be based on. It needs character.” (Couldn't have said it better myself!)

Q. Is there a particular part you like/don’t like about any of the characters in TESO? IE: Eyes, hair, armor…
A. “The Nord woman really didn’t suit. I know they’re supposed to look like a human obviously but she could have been done better. It just didn’t suit what I would think a Nord would look like.”

Q. Is there a race you like best? Why?
A. “I’m really tossed between the Nords, Redguards and Orcs. I’m torn because I really liked the Nords in Skyrim you showed me but not so much the examples in TESO.”

Personally, I'm satisfied with these answers. While their knowledge was limited, the Outsider seemed to still appreciate the beauty of the game and even wanted to try out some of the older ones, proving that not every new player is here just because it's the 'latest buzz'. I found the Outsider's views on the Nordic woman particularly interesting, as the only picture's they had seen of the Nords were what I'd shown them. That means they've already formulated ideas in their heads as to what that race is like appearance-wise. Are all new players as quick to judge?

Next week, look for this Outsider's opinions after reading the story and alliance pages on http://elderscrollsonline.com/en.