Today, Bethesda officially announced The Elder Scrolls Online, which will allow players to enter the vast land of Tamriel.
I agree with the five things that Mike said he'd like to see in the game. But the moment I heard the announcement, I coudn't help but imagine that the game might include the music of all of the past Elder Scrolls games rolled into one massive soundtrack.
Sure, it'll have its own new, original themes as well, but I hope that Bethesda decides to incorporate the vast amount of incredible music they've already got to unite the Tamriel that lives in our memories with version in their new game.
Last week, we took a look (and listen) back at the amazing Morrowind soundtrack. The most recent three Elder Scrolls games, Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim were all composed by Jeremy Soule, and so it's easy to view them as separate entries in a larger work. With TES Online, that larger work could be fully realized in a comprehensive collection.
Eric Heberling composed the music for the first two games in the series, Arena and Daggerfall, and it'd be great to re-incorporate his music into TES Online as well.
Imagine, if you will…
You begin your day in Morrowind, making your way through the swamplands and through a cloud of fog. You've got a far-reaching quest to undertake, so you'd better get moving. You embark on a lengthy journey to Cyrodiil…
...Where you spend a day gathering herbs to make potions in the shadow of the Imperial City. After a few days there, you make your way north to Skyrim…
And "Secunda" starts to play. (You've arrived at night, as the Aurora lights the sky). Your exploration continues a few days later in Hammerfell…
…you arrive on an overcast day and do some dungeon-crawling. After finding what you were looking for, you come out and it's evening again.
You head to a nearby town to sell off some gear before heading back to Skyrim…
...where a view of the province's foggy mountains greets you. You wish you could stay for longer. But alas, you must make your way back to Morrowind to complete this chapter in your story.
And so another day's work is done. Time to head off to your guild headquarters and pick up some more work. Good thing this song is playing, otherwise your victory might not feel quite epic enough.
On second thought, you know.... maybe you'll just sit here for a bit and listen to the music.
(Top Image | Duncan Harris/Dead End Thrills)