top of page

Abstract

It is believed that the video games of today include many archetypal associations that gamers either overlook or ignore and contribute to a well built game with societal relations that can educate gamers about real world problems and define a strict moral standard. The purpose of this site is to explore this declaration in a popular Bethesda role-play game (RPG): The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and realize the personal and culture associations incorporated into the game.

Organized Thoughts

Each page has its own relation to something of the world we live in. The page entitled "Dreams" will have narratives of the game in a dream diary format.  The "Interpretations" page is the analysis of the game-dreams. The page entitled "Archetypes" will have different associations of game plot and features that identify symbols and motifs. The "Symbols and Motifs" page will further explain many of the abstract symbols found in the interpretations. For reference to more aspects of the game, see the "Footage" page.

Spoiler Alert!! DO NOT venture past this first page if you still want to experience the full extent of Skyrim.If you have not played any of The Elder Scrolls series, this website spoils much of the main questline as well as other quests that are relevant to this study for role play games.

Conclusion

Through the interpretations of the actual game plot by way of dream narration and Jungian analysis, the following dreams their corresponding interpretations have led me to two conclusions.

 

The first concerns the connection and involvement of dreams and game stories toward life on a personal level. Being able to review events throughout a game and connect later events to prior ones is the basis for more conscious behavior when analyzing anything in the “real” world. This “real” world is not to be confused with the “physical” world so stated in Espen Aarseth’s Define Real, Moron (64). However I would argue that the  real world consists now of anything that seems to be relative to an individual to define strict morals and a code of conduct throughout their experiences  When participating in gameplay in any game, especially role-play games, it is a good idea to be conscious of the objects around you even when they may seem a small part or just in the background.

 

The second concerns the connection and involvement of dreams and game stories toward life on a cultural level. People, especially gamers, connect culturally when their personal connections are limited in games. Skyrim is an example of how we relate more culturally to the world and personally with the character we make. We can choose to mold our character to our liking, i.e. by the decisions we make, but we can only accept the culture of the land. Skyrim’s lore does not change just because the character says so, but we relate to either preserving the culture, or modernizing it. Even when the personal connection is made, a cultural connection and analysis of the similarities of our current cultures and past cultures can be seen. The symbol of the triskele is just one example of a symbol found in many cultures. It is has different meanings and it shows that even in the new culture of the game that it can mean some of the same things and even something entirely specific to the game itself. These associations not only teach about historical things but new age concepts as well to diversify the thoughts of gamers and have them inwardly question why.

 

“Why?” is not merely a question, “but a lesson learned in time.” (Green Day)

Armstrong, Billie. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life). Green Day. Rec. 17 Oct. 1997. Rob Cavallo, 1996. MP3.

 

Things to Come

Mods/Secrets

Often mods arent thought of as a contribution to the game. What are these mods? Do the mods contribute to or change the overall story? Through the mods and secrets section I will explore the behaviors of the mods and how they contribute to the analysis of life scenarios.


The Dialogue

This section will analyze the normal sayings of the people of skyrim. Subsections of the category will deal with main story dialogue, side quest dialogue, Dragon speak, and Guard sayings.

 

The Side Quests

Once the main questline is finished and analyzed, let the side questing begin! Most of the side quests are along the way of the main quest so in order to cover a lot of the side quests, a new character will be in order!

bottom of page