INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH ESSAY : AN IMAGINARY WORLD IN CONTEMPORARY MEDIA For this assignment, each student will prepare an approximately 1500-2000 word document that summarizes and highlights features of
Analysis of the Elder Scrolls Universe
The Elder Scrolls (TES) universe is the basis for a series of six open-world role-playing- games (RPG’s) by the same name. The games generally follow a chronological timeline, until the latest 2014 release of “The Elder Scrolls Online,” which takes place in the early half the second era. Its predecessors: TES: Arena, TES II: Daggerfall, TES III: Morrowind, TES IV: Oblivion, and most notably, TES V: Skyrim, all take place towards the end of the third to the middle of the fourth era. While the eras are all different lengths, they all span hundreds of years themselves. Races and Cultures:
There are many playable races in TES that all reside on the plain of existence (or planet) of Nirn. Nirn is split into several different countries or empires as the course of history progresses within the universe. While there are more playable races than one could count and explain in a 2000 word essay, I will explain the most popular and common ones based on the most recent events of TES timeline: Skyrim. The Nords are a human species indigenous that are generally very tall and skilled in combat. They are most easily relatable to the Vikings in real-life culture, and have a high resistance to cold. The Altmer (AKA High Elves) are indigenous to the Summerset Isles, located southwest of Nirn’s primary continent, Tamriel. Altmer are naturally gifted in all arts of magic, and excel as mages over any other race. They are also extremely tall, towering over most other races, and are defined by their pale skin/hair and elven ears. Argonians are a reptilian race from the land of Black Marsh, a province in southeast Tamriel. They resemble crocodiles and lizards with scaled skin and long tails, often bearing horns or fins. Their most notable feature being their ability to hold their breathe underwater. Bosmer (Wood Elves) are quite the opposite of the Altmer. While still an elven race, the Bosmer are much shorter than other races, with darker skin tones, and are much more adept at archery and stealth rather than arcane abilities. They inhabit the southwestern province of Tamriel known as Valenwood. Bretons are a cross-species between humans and elves. They inhabit the northwestern province of Tamriel called High Rock. They have a naturally higher intellect than most other races, and carry a higher resistance to magical spells. The Dunmer (Dark Elves) are the most widespread of the elven races. Bearing much darker skin tones and dark red eyes,
they are often discriminated against as refugees in Skyrim following the eruption of “Red Mountain,” a volcano in their home province of Morrowind. Imperials are a human race indigenous to Cyrodiil, the central province of Tamriel. Imperials are often the wealthiest of the races, and have ruled over Tamriel for most of its history. Khajiit (Kah-jeet) are a humanoid species resembling felines, with long tails, fur, whiskers, etc. They are notorious for being thieves and are often outcast as a result. A Khajiit’s most recognizable feature (besides you know, being a human CAT), is their sly and raspy accents, often referring to themselves in the 3rd person rather than the 1st. The Khajiit are inhabitants of Elsweyr, a province south of Cyrodiil. The Orsimer (Orcs) are a human like species that are usually considered primitive. They often have Green or yellowish skin tones, are very muscular, and have protruding fangs from their bottom row of teeth. High Rock and Orsinium (an Orcish city-state that now lies in the mountains between Skyrim and Hammerfell in northern Tamriel) are both home to the Orsimer. Finally, Redguard are a human species resembling Africans. With much darker skin tones than other human races, and occupying the great Alik’r Desert within Hammerfell, a nation which borders High Rock, Skyrim and Cyrodiil.
History and Storylines:
The Dawn Era begins in what is to the mortal beings of the universe as the dawn of time.
What is very interesting about the Dawn Era is that it is all based on folklore written by (supposedly) the distinct cultures and races of Nirn. The most consistent myth is that the beings of Anu and Padomay arose from the void. Anu, a being of light and order, created the god of Akatosh. Akatosh brought stability to the universe by creating the concept of time. This gave a strict order to the events of all things. Akatosh later became known as a sort of chief or head of all the gods that came after him. With the stability of the universe due to Time, other gods arose, less powerful than Akatosh himself. These gods became categorized as either Aedra (Ancestors) or Daedra (Not our Ancestor). They are often referred to as Gods and Demons, and inhabit the plains of existence known as Aetherius and Oblivion, respectively.
Following this, Padomay created a soul, known as the god Lorkhan, with the sole purpose of restoring chaos to the universe. Lorkhan proposed the creation of a new plain of existence called Mundus. The other gods agreed, and began to give up their own limited being
and power to create it. The architect, Magnus, realized this loss of himself, and fled home to Aetherius, leaving behind a hole in Oblivion, revealing itself to Mundus. This hole is what became the Sun. The remainder of the gods that departed left smaller holes, which created other rifts in Oblivion, pouring smaller amounts of light into Mundus, known as the stars. Upset with their loss of power. The remaining gods, led by Akatosh, decided to punish Lorkhan by removing and destroying his heart. Upon removing his heart, however, it was discovered that his heart could not be destroyed. It was later buried beneath the Red Mountain on Nirn, which itself is the remnants of Lorkhan’s body.
Some remaining gods could retain their power by leaving Nirn, but were no longer powerful enough to return to their home plain of Aetherius. They would be known as the 8
divines, and be visible from Nirn as nearby planets called, Akatosh, Arkay, Dibella, Julianos, Kynareth, Mara, Stendar, and Zenithar. Later, a 9th god known as Talos is born as a mortal of dragon’s blood, also called Dragonborn. However, this does not happen for a very long time. Those who chose not to leave Nirn, thus giving up their power and becoming mortal, resorted to reproduction to survive, thus creating human and elven species.
The following and less notable era is known as the Merethic Era. This is the Era in which most species arise as civilizations and build their nations on Nirn. The Dragon lord of Alduin rules over man during this time. However, to save their freedom and way of life, the people of Skyrim waged war on Alduin and his Dragon Army. Rending Alduin relatively powerless by twisting the dragon language (responsible for a dragon’s power to “shout” words of ice, fire, etc.) using a shout known as “Dragonrend.” However, Alduin was still too powerful to be destroyed by mortal blood (only one of dragon blood can kill Alduin the World-Eater). So, as a backup plan, the warriors used an Elder Scroll (objects that provide the series’ namesake), which are prophecies from the Aedra themselves that contain near unlimited power within the fabrics of time and space, to banish Alduin. While order is restored, it will not be forever, as Alduin still exists in the plane of time, only in the Future. However, it will be thousands of years before he comes to exist once more in the 4th Era (This provides the storyline for TES V: Skyrim, which contains Alduin’s return and defeat by “the last Dragonborn”).
The First Era lasts nearly 3,000 years, and begins with the reign of the Camoran Dynasty. During this time, the Continents of Nirn and their provinces wage war on one another and establish the Tamriel that is known and inhabited for the thousands of years following. Finally, the First Era ends with the assassination of Emperor Reman Cyrodiil III. Leaving behind no heir, the Second Era begins, creating the timeline for TES: Online (Yes, these thousands of years of history set up the first storyline in chronological appearance. Crazy, right?). The Second Era contains more fighting than ever, giving all the races and provinces a backstory during the times of war. Somewhere along the line, Talos is born, and discovers he is a Dragonborn (soul/blood of dragon, body of man). He conquers Tamriel, and creates the Septum Empire. The Septum Empire is the greatest legacy in the history of Nirn. However, all good things must come to an end, and Talos dies only hundreds of years after the dawn of the Second Era, marking the start
of the Third Era. Provinces claim rights to their own separate kingdoms. With the help of a Mage: Jagar Tharn, whom served the throne for many years, civil wars wage constantly, allowing the Daedra to cross plains and join the other races on Nirn. However, Tharn is killed, and the Daedra are driven back to Oblivion for a few years until the next emperor is assassinated and the Daedra return. Structures known as “Oblivion Gates” pop up all over Cyrodiil, causing the realms of Mundus and Oblivion to intertwine and the Daedra to cause Chaos on Nirn. This becomes later known as the Oblivion crisis, and sets the story for TES IV: Oblivion. Eventually, the Septum Empire drives back the Daedric leader “Dagon” to Oblivion and re-seal the gates. Following the destruction of the Gates, order is restored and the Daedra remain in Oblivion for the remainder of history (to this point). With the destruction of the Empire, the Fourth Era begins, and the provinces once again find themselves in states of war. Skyrim falls into a state of Civil war, with the Nordic Stormcloaks on their heels from the Imperials laying claim to their lands. The last Dragonborn is discovered in you, the player in TES V: Skyrim. The player must choose a side between the Stormcloaks and Imperials and bring an end to the Civil War. However, it is now time for the World-Eater, Alduin, to return (what fantastic timing). Alduin resurrects the fallen souls of his dragon brethren that died in the war during the Merethic Era, thousands of years prior. Once again chaos reigns over the lands as Alduin begins to lay his claim to Nirn. Rising to the occasion, the player (Dragonborn) can defeat Alduin, learning his/her abilities from the wise order of the Greybeards residing on High Hrothgar in Skyrim. The player embarks upon a quest to defeat Alduin, learning Dragonrend to weaken him. Eventually, the player tracks down Alduin in Sovngarde, the place of Nordic afterlife, possibly located in Aetherius. There, Alduin’s soul is defeated for good, and the race of Dragons is left in disarray and wild, becoming nothing more than feral beasts and no more than a large nuisance to the inhabitants of Nirn.
Evaluation:
Thousands of years’ worth of historical content was glossed over in the making of this
Analysis of The Elder Scrolls universe. However, that is a good thing. The fantastic thing about all the lore, history, contradicting facts, religions and cultures within the many games of The
Elder Scrolls is what makes it so amazing. All lore spoken of in the series, found on the wiki, or elsewhere on the internet is all derived from In-game books, stories, tales and legends. Never have I seen more content within a set of media. Hundreds of hours can be spent reading In- game books and learning more of the lore within the universe. Whether the events are experienced first-hand by the player or read about in one or more books, it is ALL there. Thousands of years of history created by the developers in years of development for years per game. TES is older than myself, and there is good reason for it. Bethesda Softworks (TES’ developer) has spent decades working on the history of this game series.
The possibilities for future installments are limitless. There are provinces in Tamriel alone left unexplored by players during any Era, not to mention the other continents that are merely mentioned in history texts throughout the series. Other forms of media are also an option, with unlimited possibilities of novels, fan-fiction, perhaps movies or television in the near-future should Bethesda allow it. On top of that, the series is only just now starting to gain traction. Many fans just got on board within the last one or two installments, like myself, beginning the series only in the fourth installment: Oblivion. Personally, I cannot wait to see what Bethesda has in store for the next game, and what new lore will be presented from there on.
Sources of Information:
YouTube: Elder Scrolls Lore: ESO in Perspective
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAV1F7DAlnU
YouTube: Elder Scrolls ENTIRE Storyline in 3 Minutes! (Elder Scrolls Animation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYzPHzKD5sM
YouTube: The Dawn Era – The Elder Scrolls Lore https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs4StVK07GQ
The Elder Scrolls Wiki:
http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls_Wiki
The Games Themselves:
The Elder Scrolls: ARENA
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls: Online
The Hunger Games Trilogy: Nation of Panem
The Hunger Games is a young adult dystopian and science fiction novel trilogy and film series written by Suzanne Collins in 2008 to 2010. The universe of The Hunger Games takes place hundreds of years in the future in the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem, a country established in the ruins of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The series follows 17-year-old Katniss Everdeen in three novels: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay which were made into four films by Lionsgate (Mockingjay was made into two films). American director Gary Ross directed the first film (2012) while Austrian-born director Francis Lawrence directed the following three films (2013-2015).
After centuries of rising waters and apocalyptic events, humans are believed to be extinct everywhere else on earth and Panem is the only known civilization. 74 years before what’s portrayed in The Hunger Games, thirteen nation-states within Panem called districts rebelled against the capital but failed terribly. After several years of war, twelve districts were defeated and one demolished. Subsequently, the nation consisted of twelve districts surrounding the ruthless Capitol in the Rocky Mountains. In penance for their uprising, the government decreed that each year the various districts of Panem provides two children (one boy and one girl) between the ages of twelve and eighteen to fight to the death in a pageant of sacrifice otherwise known as The Hunger Games. The event was nationally televised and meant to remind citizens in the districts they were completely at the mercy of their government. District one is Luxury Items. District two specializes in masonry and military personnel. District three is technology and electronic goods. District four is fishing. District five is electricity and powers the entire nation. District six is transportation and manufactures vehicles and trains. District seven is Lumber. District eight exports clothing and other textiles. District nine is grain. District ten is livestock. District eleven is agriculture and grows the nation’s produce. District twelve is coal mining. Before it was obliterated, district thirteen specialized in nuclear weapons and graphite mining. Each district is completely under the mercy of the Capitol. Although districts
one, two, and four are wealthier, the Capitol still enforces harsh laws and punishments upon their citizens.
Before the second rebellion portrayed in Mockingjay, the nation of Panem was ruled under the authoritarian-totalitarian dictatorship of President Coriolanus Snow. The Capitol’s people celebrated the Hunger Games as entertainment and great happiness while the District’s people greatly feared the event. The children chosen to represent their districts in the games are selected through a lottery-like system called The Reaping. Every year, government officials come to each district and military personnel force the children and families from their homes to the town square. As each child ages another year, their name is submitted another time, increasing their chances of being selected. Once selected, they are deemed tributes of sacrifice. More commonly in wealthier districts, (Districts one, two, and four) children volunteer as Tribute as they’ve illegally trained for the games their entire lives.
After the Tributes are announced to their district, the children are arrested and transported to the Capitol via train where they meet their escort team. Their escort team usually consists of a mentor or mentors who’ve won a previous game representing their district, their stylists, and publicist. The tributes are then cleaned and pampered for the Parade where the public of the Capitol sees them for the first time. Impressions are important and their stylists work tirelessly to make their Tributes eye catching. Over the next week, the total of 24 children train and learn special survivor skills but mostly the basics of hand to hand combat. Then, they’re evaluated by the gamemakers and are graded on a scale of 1 to 12 on their fighting skills. On the night before the games, each Tribute is interviewed by Caesar Flickerman where they’re made to make a final impression. The people of the Capitol participate in betting and the Tributes can earn sponsors which can help them in the arena with donations of food and weapons and medicine. Each sponsor can be crucial to the tribute helping them in essentially helpless times during the bloodbath. On the morning of the game they are air lifted to an artificial made dome where the game takes place. Completely ran by government officials the dome is under one hundred percent surveillance. Officials can manipulate the environment completely creating floods, forest fires, and dangerous wild life to spawn in order to keep the tribute on their heels. On
entering the arena tributes rise up from the ground in tubes. Once on ground level there is a countdown in which all twenty four tributes have a choice to go for the weapons and armor that lie between them all. Known as the Cornucopia bloodbath this is where roughly half of the tributes are slain. The game takes days testing both survival skills and fighting skills of all tributes. At the end of the blood battle there can only be named one winner despite if there is multiple alliances through the game. The winner of the game is given unlimited wealth and special treatment for their entire life.
The world of the hunger games and Panem itself is truly remarkable. Suzanne Collins designed a world that can not only be elaborated on for years to come but can still give shocking surprises to her audience. The nation of Panem tells a story of itself with such rich back ground history such as the dark days and ways the Capitol torments the districts. But also allows greatly for individual narratives to be included as well such as Katniss Everdeen and her story in the games. The world allows the narrative to be taken in so many different directions such as another uprising against the capitol in hope to replace the dictatorship or a possible collapse of all districts sending the nation into turmoil. The flexibility and flow of the world is what makes it so amazing giving it a true open imaginary world.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Located in the highlands of Scotland, the British wizarding school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which was established around the 10th century, is considered to be one of the best in the wizarding world. Other notable schools include Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and the Durmstrang Institute. Children with magical abilities are enrolled at birth, and acceptance is confirmed by owl when the child turns eleven. The castle is located near the mountains around a lake, although, the precise location can never be uncovered because it was rendered unplottable for muggles.
The Hogwarts castle has extensive grounds lined with sloping lawns, flowerbeds, and vegetable patches, a loch, called the Black Lake, a large dense forest, called the Forbidden Forest, several greenhouses, and other outbuildings, including a full-size Quidditch patch. The three highest towers are the astronomy tower, the Ravenclaw tower, and the Gryffindor tower and there are 142 staircases, which are known to move around to the different parts of the massive castle. Albus Dumbledore noted that even he did not know all of the secrets to the castle because of its long history of ancient magic.
Hogwarts was founded around 990 A.D. by two wizards and two witches; Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They each represented an aspect of personality that they wanted to incorporate into the school and their students. However, Slytherin had a falling out with the other founders about blood purity, and wanted to only admit students with pure-blood ancestry. He felt that only pure-blood students should be taught magic, but the other three founders strongly disagreed, so as a result, Slytherin left, but not before secretly building the Chamber of Secrets and foretelling that only his own heir would be able to open it once they attended the school, and unleash a basilisk living inside to purge the school of all muggle-born students. About three hundred years after the school was founded, the Triwizard tournament began between the three most prestigious magical schools in Europe; Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. This tournament was considered the best way for wizards and witches to socialize. Although, after six centuries of the tradition, the death toll became too high and the tournament was discontinued. The existence of the school was
threatened twice when the Chamber of Secrets was opened. The first time it was opened was in 1942, when Tom Marvolo Riddle, the Heir of Slytherin and the man who would become Lord Voldemort, opened the chamber in his fifth year. When a girl named Myrtle Warren was killed, the Ministry of Magic threatened to close down the school. As Riddle spent his time away in a muggle orphanage, he did not want the school closed so he framed Rubeus Hagrid and, although Albus Dumbledore still suspected Riddle, he got away with it. However, in 1992 the Chamber was reopened again and the truth came out that Rubeus Hagrid was innocent and Riddle was guilty.
Term begins on September 1st. Students usually reach Hogwarts by the Hogwarts Express, which leaves from Platform 93⁄4 of London’s King’s Cross Section at 11am sharp. The Hogwarts Express brings the students to Hogsmeade Station, where the first years traditionally cross the Black Lake in boats with the gamekeeper, and go under an opening in the rocks upon which Hogwarts stands. There seemed to be other ways of entering the school, such as via broomsticks or Floo Powder, or simply apparating to a nearby location such as Hogsmeade. Older students travel on road in carriages pulled by Thestrals, which are invisible to any one that hasn’t witnessed death, to the castle. The Welcoming Feast takes place in the Great Hall, which includes the Sorting ceremony, followed by a few words from the current Headmaster or Headmistress. The feast is closed with a few more words from the Headmaster, but the usual “start-of-term notices” are mentioned. After dinner, students are led to their house common room by a prefect. This is a special time for new students to socialize and become comfortable with their surroundings, because the next day, classes begin. The class schedules are handed out during breakfast by the Head of House. After two weeks of classes, the Quidditch team trials and flying lessons for the first years usually occur. Hogwarts’ school year is structured in a similar way to other non-magical schools, with a three-term year punctuated by holidays at Christmas and Easter and bounded by the long summer holiday. Students have the option of staying at Hogwarts for the winter and spring holidays. Those who choose to stay do not have lessons and attend a feast on Christmas day. Students also do not have classes the week of Easter, although this is a much less enjoyable time due to the large amounts of work teachers assign in preparation for final exams. Other than the breaks and weekends, students do not
receive any extra holiday time; although students, third year and above, may visit Hogsmeade occasionally. There are usually four feasts per year; the start-of-term feast, the end-of-term feast, and feasts on Halloween and Christmas.
Hogwarts students are divided into four houses that represent the personalities of the founders. Gryffindor is well known for courage, bravery, and chivalry. The house colors are deep red and gold, and the house is symbolized by a lion. The entrance to the common room is on the seventh floor hidden behind a portrait of the Fat Lady. In order to get into the common room, Gryffindor students must say the correct password. Hufflepuff is well known for loyalty, patience, honesty, and tolerance. The house is symbolized by a badger, and the house colors are yellow and black. It’s common room is near the kitchens and to get inside, rather than giving a password, the students must tap a fake barrel in the rhythm “Helga Hufflepuff.” It is the only common room to have a way to keep students from other houses out, and that is by dumping vinegar on them. Ravenclaw values intelligence, cleverness, and wisdom. The house is symbolized by an eagle and the house colors are blue and bronze. The common room is located in a high tower, and the interior is decorated with their colors. To enter, the student must answer a riddle from an eagle door knocker. Slytherin values ambition, leadership, determination, and resourcefulness. The house colors are green and silver and it is symbolized with a serpent. It’s common room is located in the dungeons, underneath the Black Lake, and hidden behind a stone wall. The password to get into the common is “pure-blood” and many people believe students sorted into this house are either with the Dark Arts or will eventually get involved with it.
Hogwarts is the most heavily haunted dwelling place in Britain and the castle is a congenial place for ghosts, because the living inhabitants treat their dead friends with tolerance and even affection. Each of the four houses has its own ghost. Slytherin boasts the Bloody Baron, who is covered in silver bloodstains. He is well known for being extremely unsocial and many students, including those of his own house are known to be slightly frightened by him. The least talkative of the house ghosts is the Grey Lady, who is long-haired and beautiful. She was the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, making her the only house ghost to be directly related to one of the four Hogwarts founders. Hufflepuff house is haunted by the Fat Friar, who was
executed because senior churchmen grew suspicious of his ability to cure the pox merely by poking peasants with a stick, and his habit of pulling rabbits out of the communion cup. Gryffindor house is home to Nearly Headless Nick, who in life was Sir Nicholas de Mimsy- Porpington. Something of a snob, and a less accomplished wizard than he believed, Sir Nicholas lounged around the court of Henry VII in life, until his foolish attempt to beautify a lady-in- waiting by magic caused the unfortunate woman to sprout tusks. Sir Nicholas was stripped of his wand and executed, leaving his head hanging off by a single flap of skin. Another notable Hogwarts ghost is Moaning Myrtle, who isn’t tied with a house, but haunts an unpopular girls’ toilet. Myrtle was a student at Hogwarts when she died, and she chose to return to school for eternity with the short-term aim of haunting her arch-rival and bully, Olive Hornby. As the decades rolled by, Mrytle has made a name for herself as the most miserable ghost in school, usually to be found lurking inside one of the toilets moaning.
Hogwarts has in its faculty an abundance of wise and talented professors, each specializes in a specific subject. There are a variety of classes taught at Hogwarts, which include both the core curriculum and the electives, available from third year forward. Numerous lessons are described, instructing the students in various branches of magic. Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, Astronomy, History of Magic, and Herbology are compulsory subjects for the first five years. At the end of the second year, students are required to add at least two optional subjects to their syllabus for the start of the third year. The five choices are Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is home to many of the students. The books and movies do a great job in depicting the setting and bringing the audience along with the chaos. J.K. Rowling did a phenomenal job on this whole story and to see the success and happiness it brings to people is heart-warming. Hogwarts is not only home to the students, but to everyone who associates with the series as well.
Works Cited http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Hogwarts_School_of_Witchcraft_and_Wizardry http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Hogwarts_Castle
The Imaginary World of Dark Souls
Dark Souls is an action/adventure role-playing video game developed by FromSoftware in 2011 for major consoles. Dark Souls was FromSoftware’s first breakthrough title, with their Armored Core series (a personal favorite of mine, actually) only being a relatively successful franchise. The game features a large, detailed open world for the player to traverse as they play the game, and within it are various items for the player to collect as well as numerous enemies and bosses waiting for them. The elements that put Dark Souls a cut above most other similar RPG’s is the way it presents the world to you, its deep and complicated backstory, and its staggering difficulty. Instead of following a set storyline that dictates how the game is played, the player is dropped into the world with only the bare minimum of background information and equipment, essentially leaving them to explore the entire game to find things out for themselves. The focus of this paper will be the world of Dark Souls, what it entails, and how effective it is as an imaginary world.
The Setting and Backstory of the World
Dark Souls takes place in a world known as Lordran, in an era that is in a steep decline from the world’s golden age. Before this golden age even began, the world was dark, lifeless, and shrouded in nothingness while being ruled only by The Everlasting Dragons. Eventually, the golden age, known as the Age of Fire, was started by the four Great Lords: Gwyn, The Lord of Sunlight, The Witch of Izalith, Gravelord Nito, the first of the dead, and a mysterious fourth character, known only as “The furtive pygmy, so easily forgotten.” These four lords were the ones who discovered The Lord Souls, which granted them immense power; power that was enough to challenge the great Dragons that ruled over them. With their newfound power, referred to as “The Strength of Lords”, they challenged the Everlasting Dragons and waged war against them. Gwyn used his power of lightning and sunlight to crack the thick armor of the dragons, The Witch of Izalith and her Daughters of Chaos summoned great firestorms to ravage them after, and Gravelord Nito unleashed his powers of death and disease to put them to
death. Also involved in this conflict was a weak dragon known as Seath the Scaleless who betrayed his dragon brethren and assisted Lord Gwyn in defeating them all. He was given the title of Duke, and even given a portion of Gwyn’s great Lord Soul. These great possessors of the Lord Souls were those who founded the Age of Fire, and with their new freedom and power, they founded much of the world that is known to the player.
The world began to decline when the Kiln of the First Flame, the site where the fire that manifested the power of all souls was burning, began to go out. This presented a massive problem to everyone in Lordran, as the power that founded them and kept them so powerful threatened to grow dim. To prevent this, the holders of the Lord Souls began experimenting to try and prolong the First Flame. The Witch of Izalith tried using her powers of flame to duplicate the First Flame using her own Lord Soul, but this backfired tremendously, spawning the mighty Bed of Chaos and a legion of menacing monsters known as Chaos Demons. With all of the attempts to rekindle the flame failing, Gwyn decided to go to the Kiln himself, and give his own Lord Soul to keep the flame alive until something could be done. He ventured forth into the Kiln and sacrificed almost all of his power to the First Flame, but the First Flame was not yet satisfied, and it took Gwyn himself as its fuel, leading to Gwyn’s title as The Lord of Cinder. Although he did “link the flame”, this was not enough, so the First Flame slowly continued dying out, and with it the world around it began dying as well. This premise is the primary setting for the entire game, and the main goal of the player is to link the flame... if they so choose.
The Concept of Souls, the Undead, and the Role of the Player
With the source of life that the world relies on slowly losing its power, the entire world begins falling apart. With this dynamic, there’s a unique trait that all characters possess. With the great flame still technically alive, none of the characters truly “die”, rather, death triggers a process called hollowing. When one dies, they are considered undead, but they still have the same consciousness and sense of sanity (not like traditional zombies who will often lack these traits). Instead of dying and simply decaying, their body is reborn at one of many bonfires present throughout the world, each of which are said to contain a fragment of the power of the First Flame. However, if one dies too many times, they will lose what little bit of their humanity
they have left (simply called “Humanity”) and turn into what is a full-on Hollow. Hollows are very aggressive and make up the bulk of the population of Lordran, and with every passing moment, those who are truly still human become rarer and rarer. There seems to be nothing in Lordran that can stop this cycle, other than finding the rare slivers of Humanity that may be pillaged from corpses of the living, so the setting of the game is quite bleak. However, there is a tale of a Chosen Undead who will rise from the Undead Asylum (where many undead found with the accursed “darksign” which signals hollowing are kept) on a pilgrimage to link the flame. The player takes control of the Chosen Undead and is set on a journey to fulfill their destiny.
The Geography of the World and How the Player Traverses it
The Chosen Undead is placed in a huge, open world to traverse as they try to accomplish their initially unclear goal. The geography of Lordran is quite diverse, and could be described as having a medieval and dystopian flavor. The natural geography features valleys, forests, caverns, and an overall quite treacherous terrain with lots of steep pitfalls, crags, and various geological barriers which serve to both add to the visuals of the world and give difficulty to the player. Many of the locations that the Chosen Undead will travel through resemble ruined towns and cities, with the only completely-intact city being Anor Londo, which is Gwyn’s old kingdom and the initial target location for the Chosen Undead. The Chosen Undead is placed into this world with one primary goal, which is to ring two bells in order to gain entrance to Sen’s Fortress: the ultimate test of worth to determine who the real Chosen Undead is. One of the bells is located at a top of a church in the middle of what’s called the Undead Burg – a ruined town that’s overrun by hollows, while the other bell is located deep down underground, in a toxic cesspool of a civilization known as Blighttown, where one of the Daughers of Chaos guards the bell. After ringing both bells, Sen’s Fortress is opened, and the Chosen Undead must make it through the plethora of traps laid within. A massive fortress featuring stone guardians called Titanite Demons, an army of serpent soldiers, swinging pendulum axes, archers, rolling boulders, and giants with immense power, this section is just one of many examples of the
obstacles that lie in Lordran. Once the Chosen Undead clears Sen’s Fortress, they gain passage to Anor Londo in order to receive their next objective. Anor Londo is in stark contrast to the rest of the game, featuring a bright, sunny atmosphere that illuminates a massive, grandiose city full of breathtaking scenery. In Anor Londo, the Chosen Undead will face two of Gwyn’s trusted companions as well as meeting his daughter, Gwynevere, the Princess of Sunlight. Gwynevere gives the Chosen Undead instructions and directions to link the flame, leading to the latter half of the game. The final half of the game is much darker and treacherous, with the Chosen Undead travelling deep underground to places like the Tomb of the Giants, which is almost pitch black and full of giant skeleton warriors, or to the lava-ravaged ruins of the lost city of Izalith. Without going into detail of the story, the Chosen Undead hunts down those who possess the remaining Lord Souls in order to gain access to The Kiln of the First Flame and defeat Gwyn and linking the flame once and for all (at the end of the game, the player can actually choose to leave the flame unlit, making them a “Dark Lord” of sorts). Throughout this journey, the player gets to explore the world and carry out their mission in whichever way they choose. Essentially, they are dropped into a massive, hostile world with a few primary objectives, and rather than the game laying out how you should follow things, the player is able to explore and take in the world for what it is. Furthermore, instead of the world being nothing but levels built for being beaten, each area has its own design and unique flavor, while tying into the whole thing quite well.
Evaluation of the World
With the game using the world as its primary medium of gameplay, rather than taking the player along a set storyline that dictates how the game is played, it’s very important that Dark Souls has a very effective world at your disposal. I find that the world is very well-done and provides a fantastic medium not only for personal enjoyment, but for serving the purpose of making a coherent and fascinating play-through and story. With the size of the world and the sheer magnitude of the task at hand, the player feels like only a tiny element in a massive setting. As you play the game, you learn more about the various people of the past and the storyline itself, making it so that just exploring the world itself also can serve as an incentive for
digging into the otherwise deceptive lore of the game. Furthermore, with the freedom to explore the world as one chooses, the player is able to play the game differently each time (maybe one play-through relying on an archery-based strategy or another relying on magic), and the replay value that the world offers is quite substantial. There are even a few otherwise secret areas that can only be accessed with a bit of ingenuity and extra exploration, my favorite of which being The Painted World of Ariamis, which is a magical painting that serves as a portal to the world depicted within the painting, therefore opening up an entire new world to explore. Speaking in terms of future installments, the developers were able to use the same principles featured in the first game, and use them in Dark Souls II (which takes place in a different part of the world, called Drangleic). Essentially, with the way the key elements in the game’s world come together with the deep but mysterious backstory, the world of Dark Souls makes for a very suitable medium in which gameplay can ensue, and rather than being a one-time play- through, the player will be encouraged to continue playing, trying different orders of engagement or even completely different playstyles along the way. As a whole, Dark Souls’ world manages to fulfill the huge expectations placed on it, and it serves as definitely one of the more well-built fantasy worlds that I have encountered in a video game.
Works Cited
www.darksouls.wikia.com Mar. 2017.
http://darksouls.wikia.com/wiki/Portal:Dark_Souls Accessed 14 March, 2017. www.darksouls.wikidot.com Mar. 2017. http://darksouls.wikidot.com Accessed 16
March, 2017.
