Of course, Skyrim has no end of mods. Some eliminate all light in a dungeon except for what would occur naturally, like from luminous fungus or exposure to the outdoors.
And it’s, naturally, dark af. You can barely see around you, even with torches and spells. You can light up whatever braziers and candles and other sources are around, but that’s about it. It’s neat, it adds a level of immersion, but it’s annoying micromanagement, usually the bane of big budget mainstream games.
In Skyrim the Dragur maintain their own tombs. Living people leave gold and food offerings outside the tombs and the Dragur bring the offerings inside. The claw puzzle is meant to keep the more powerful but dumb undead from escaping while allowing the living to enter. I don’t know how food gets past the door as it would have to be Dragur opening them, but they are too dumb to open them. Maybe there’s a Dragur dumbwaiter somewhere.
hm, _Moonlighter_ showed us a look at the other side of shops in adventure games… maybe this concept should be explored next?
you have to reset and maintain an increasingly-complex series of dungeons and tombs, all while doing your best to stay out of sight of The Hero. The Hero is a hellish monster, a true cryptid known for tearing apart the lives of your less-fortunate colleagues, and inspiring tales of grim woe for generations.
of course, what appears as a cryptid to a dungeon-dwelling zombie looks like a mere garden-variety adventurer to you or i. their appearance is randomised when you enter the dungeon– in some cases, it’s just a tiny human child with a spellbook causing all this terror in the goblin community.
– So you are here to like greet adventurers and help them?
– Help? Oh hell no. I am here to bury them. Usually you all fall into a bottomless pit for me to pick you up, but since you made it this far… Do you prefer poison gas or a stab with a blade?
– What! Don’t stab me!
– Yeah, wise choice, it kinda hurts. Just breathe deeper.
Finally the mystery has been solved!!! Far cry brought this to light in one of the series where the antagonist makes the comment “And I really want to know who is lighting all these candles.”
The game that really brought this to my attention was actually Zelda: Skyward Sword.
There is one part where you are chasing after someone. They lead you to a dungeon. You get to the dungeon and everything is essentially untouched: all the traps, blockades, puzzles etc are there and you have to get through them. The person is at the end somehow. It made absolutely no sense.
If done well enough I think park of ancient civilization mystique is that, after all this time, they could still be lit. What rubs me the wrong way is when you crack a place open for the first time and the army that’s been chasing you is already set up and fortified.
I feel like the even more egregious version of this is Doom. Every time I’m in a literal hellscape populated by demons whose only desire is to rend flesh, my primary thought is “who lit all these candles?”
One big, giant miss Skyrim did, though: no child draugr. How creepy would that have been, them running toward you and climbing over any obstacle to get you, like those disgusting kids in Dead Space 2, the decompressed strip mall scene.
My friend and I call it the the “Chest Draggers Union”. The guys that keep all the torches lit and drag chests full of unruined loot into ancient sealed tombs, mountain tops, bottom of oceans, etc
I just assume most ancient crypts are from a time of lost magic that had undying flames or some junk like that. Maybe torches die if you remove them but as long as they are untouched they just burn a slow and nearly ice cold flame that gently illuminates the tomb for centuries.
Dungeon Delving Logistics Simulator: You need to arrange transport of equipment to the middle of bumfuck nowhere with no power or roads, deal with drilling through a capstone without collapsing a hillside, make sure everyone is wearing Confined Space Gas Detectors when entering somewhere that hasn’t been ventilated for centuries, check for Radon, hand out the SCBA for initial exploration and setting up ventilation gear, fitting out the place with lighting, fitting out hardpoints and rope gear for descending vertical shafts, etc.
I actually had an idea for a game that is kinda based on this idea. You have to venture into a maze that goes deep into the earth below the mountains. There are always lit torches and they keep the real nasty beasties away. However, you can take torches or they can go out by themselves. When they do, a torch troll will scream throughout the maze and come to
Relight/replace the torch. If he sees you, you best run.
To enter this dungeon I had to solve 10 puzzles, find secret keys, unseal the entrance, fight 12321312 huge monsters… and in the next room, here they are, my enemies. That were following me.
Essentially Assassin’s Creed dungeons in a nutshell
Of course, Skyrim has no end of mods. Some eliminate all light in a dungeon except for what would occur naturally, like from luminous fungus or exposure to the outdoors.
And it’s, naturally, dark af. You can barely see around you, even with torches and spells. You can light up whatever braziers and candles and other sources are around, but that’s about it. It’s neat, it adds a level of immersion, but it’s annoying micromanagement, usually the bane of big budget mainstream games.
Literally every ancient tomb in AC:Odyssey
this been bothering me for some time in those dangeon games. I guess he’s the real **dangeon keeper**.
He also resets all the traps.
In Skyrim the Dragur maintain their own tombs. Living people leave gold and food offerings outside the tombs and the Dragur bring the offerings inside. The claw puzzle is meant to keep the more powerful but dumb undead from escaping while allowing the living to enter. I don’t know how food gets past the door as it would have to be Dragur opening them, but they are too dumb to open them. Maybe there’s a Dragur dumbwaiter somewhere.
Oh so this this the skeleton in the barrel? That’s just were they take their breaks.
I always wondered how the bears and other animals survive in tomb raider games. And how the pools are beyond clean always, with no one in sight.
hm, _Moonlighter_ showed us a look at the other side of shops in adventure games… maybe this concept should be explored next?
you have to reset and maintain an increasingly-complex series of dungeons and tombs, all while doing your best to stay out of sight of The Hero. The Hero is a hellish monster, a true cryptid known for tearing apart the lives of your less-fortunate colleagues, and inspiring tales of grim woe for generations.
of course, what appears as a cryptid to a dungeon-dwelling zombie looks like a mere garden-variety adventurer to you or i. their appearance is randomised when you enter the dungeon– in some cases, it’s just a tiny human child with a spellbook causing all this terror in the goblin community.
– So you are here to like greet adventurers and help them?
– Help? Oh hell no. I am here to bury them. Usually you all fall into a bottomless pit for me to pick you up, but since you made it this far… Do you prefer poison gas or a stab with a blade?
– What! Don’t stab me!
– Yeah, wise choice, it kinda hurts. Just breathe deeper.
Finally the mystery has been solved!!! Far cry brought this to light in one of the series where the antagonist makes the comment “And I really want to know who is lighting all these candles.”
Reminds me of [this](https://youtube.com/watch?v=Cwu1rCjb1Fk)
So every dungeon in Skyrim is just basically an escape room?
The game that really brought this to my attention was actually Zelda: Skyward Sword.
There is one part where you are chasing after someone. They lead you to a dungeon. You get to the dungeon and everything is essentially untouched: all the traps, blockades, puzzles etc are there and you have to get through them. The person is at the end somehow. It made absolutely no sense.
If done well enough I think park of ancient civilization mystique is that, after all this time, they could still be lit. What rubs me the wrong way is when you crack a place open for the first time and the army that’s been chasing you is already set up and fortified.
I liked this detail in the Witcher. If you went into a place without humans all the torches and braziers were off.
I feel like the even more egregious version of this is Doom. Every time I’m in a literal hellscape populated by demons whose only desire is to rend flesh, my primary thought is “who lit all these candles?”
One big, giant miss Skyrim did, though: no child draugr. How creepy would that have been, them running toward you and climbing over any obstacle to get you, like those disgusting kids in Dead Space 2, the decompressed strip mall scene.
My old college roommate and I use to joke about Draugr working behind the scenes resetting the traps in dungeons lol
The adventurer only hears groaning and kills the zombie custodian.
I’d give the man a tip.
Hood
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwu1rCjb1Fk
Thanks for the Shadowgate feelings
I have wondered!
Sooooo…..?
What do we say to Sven??
“Thaaank youuu Sveeen!”
‘But the crypt has been sealed for thousands of years, how did all this contemporary legal tender get in at all??’
“Well, we have a back door, too…”
My friend and I call it the the “Chest Draggers Union”. The guys that keep all the torches lit and drag chests full of unruined loot into ancient sealed tombs, mountain tops, bottom of oceans, etc
A strange, vaguely Finnish janitor was seen shuffling around, repeatedly muttering “perkele” under his breath.
thanks Sven, Master of Dungeon Upkeep
I just assume most ancient crypts are from a time of lost magic that had undying flames or some junk like that. Maybe torches die if you remove them but as long as they are untouched they just burn a slow and nearly ice cold flame that gently illuminates the tomb for centuries.
Dungeon Delving Logistics Simulator: You need to arrange transport of equipment to the middle of bumfuck nowhere with no power or roads, deal with drilling through a capstone without collapsing a hillside, make sure everyone is wearing Confined Space Gas Detectors when entering somewhere that hasn’t been ventilated for centuries, check for Radon, hand out the SCBA for initial exploration and setting up ventilation gear, fitting out the place with lighting, fitting out hardpoints and rope gear for descending vertical shafts, etc.
So.. Dungeons are a tourist attraction and we’re the tourists?
Dungeon cop?
Literally India jones
There’s a lore explanation for the food and torches in Skyrim, but how the hell do Modern septims get in there
Uncharted is terrible about this…
Spend 30 minutes unlocking a death trapped tomb that has been sealed for 500 years…
Other side is filled with bad guys who got here before you.
In god of war how they just established that the dwarves can teleport anywhere for some reason
Loved the use of darkness in Dragons Dogma. It’s a shame more games aren’t like that.
He deserves a tip.
Facilities staff >>> any other staff
Skyrim dungeon is like
Thank you Sven
I actually had an idea for a game that is kinda based on this idea. You have to venture into a maze that goes deep into the earth below the mountains. There are always lit torches and they keep the real nasty beasties away. However, you can take torches or they can go out by themselves. When they do, a torch troll will scream throughout the maze and come to
Relight/replace the torch. If he sees you, you best run.
Reminds me of a text game about a dungeon cleaner. They have to basically reset all the dungeon puzzles.
Ah Sven, a truly unsung hero.
He also refills the arrow traps
Thank you sven
Well, but there’s a way more pressing question.
To enter this dungeon I had to solve 10 puzzles, find secret keys, unseal the entrance, fight 12321312 huge monsters… and in the next room, here they are, my enemies. That were following me.
*Dungeon (up)Keeper