TheArchitect

Well, now you've done it, now I'm gonna have to rent the whole series! Hehe, seriously though, it looks really interesting, will definitely have to rent it off of Netflix. Now that we're completely off-topic It's been awhile since I sat down with a really good anime series...I think the last would've been Full Metal Alchemist. Ha, now there's a crazy idea... An FMA-style enchantment/item creation system for The Dark Spire! Why not? I'm already creating a completely new elemental property-based Dwemer alchemy system for Sheogorad/Vvardenfell, and the hardest part of that is setting up a UI that works well for it (which actually is a problem, since you can't create new menus except using messageboxes and DarnifiedUI's tricks with embedded containers and inventory tokens).

Thanks guys I'll definitely have to check out "The Last Exile"; did a quick internet search but didn't come up with any decent technology pics, mostly characters

Guess it's my turn to supply some concept art . I made this sketch while working out the details on some of the machinery I'm in the processing of modeling for Sheogorad/Vvardenfell Recreated, but the more I looked at it the more I thought it would fit right in with the look and feel we're developing for this very special group of Dwemer. For some reason, this makes me think of the portal technology. Anyway, here it is: Not quite as Gieger-esque as what you've already posted, but I hope you'll agree it'll provide a pretty good template. Hmm, I guess it does have a certain "anime" quality to it. Cheers!

Dinner sounds good... I could eat enough for three people after writing up that post, lol. EDIT: @ WhoGuru: Oh great, more stuff to contemplate, lol. Actually I was working under the misconception that Oblivion was between Nirn and the Outer Realms, so thanks for bringing that up again and clearing things up for me . Not sure how or where I got that from. Anyway, I'm glad that the ideas pass muster on the lore end of things. I've probably done enough damage for now, so I'll just let Rowan have his dinner and keep quiet for awhile. Besides, if start off on another brainstorm I probably will hurt myself

Well, after thinking about how much effort would have to go into finding creative and interesting ways to seemlessly merge 3 distinct looks (alien, Dwemer and organic) into a single graduated style of architecture, I'm not so sure about it either, lol. It would be a nice touch, I think, and depending on what you plan to do it could give some clues to the backstory, but I have to wonder how well we'd be able to pull it off. Too bad we're not trained, professional game developers. I especially like that pic of the portal, that's pretty close to how I'd imagine the Dwemer would have built theirs "under the influence", as it were. Interesting pic of the Tower of Babel, btw...Dwemer architecture does have some Persian-esque influences according to some people, and Babylonian architecture was a precursor to Persian. As for parallels with the story, I wonder if the Et'ada's power was supposed to reach beyond the boundaries of Nirn according to lore, or if the lore is silent about that...That account of the last Dwarf escaping the Dwemer holocaust makes me wonder. I don't know how well the community would respond to it, but you could always hint at a separate set of deities that rule the Outer Realms and use that as the crux of the backstory. Someone a little more knowledgeable could probably tell us if there are even supposed to be any deities specific to the Outer Realms according to lore. Anyway, maybe the deity who ruled that particular plane went mad and destroyed its original inhabitants (if you decide you want to use the alien culture idea), and was thoroughly insane by the time the Dwemer got there, which could explain why they started to go yumpy. Or maybe the deities of the Outer Realms are just so alien that the Dwemer were unwittingly subverted and driven to insanity because they didn't really belong there, and some deity decided to manifest itself within the very metal and stonework of the tower...to become the tower itself. A bit of an ante-up on the original living tower idea, but it could still work. Who's to say that the deities of the Outer Realms would be truly aware of any individual being from Nirn that sets foot in the Outer Realms, or that they would even be sentient in the same way as the Et'ada? Even though, I'm not that clear on exactly how the Aedra are supposed to be sentient. One last idea for now, and I think this is my personal favorite despite the fact that it's a complete departure from the standard Elder Scrolls mythology archetype: The Outer Realm deities could be Gaia-esque amalgams of all the living things in their planes of existence, like spiritual super-organisms. This does have a certain appeal to me, since it really sets the Outer Realms completely apart from Nirn. The Dwemer could have been driven mad as they slowly became absorbed into the collective "life force" of their particular plane and started to become aware of the collective memories of all the things that had ever lived there. Their lack of understanding of what was happening to them and the hallucinations and delusions that probably would have caused would certainly explain their paranoia and their need to defend themselves from their own phantasms by settings traps everywhere. Perhaps the reason that the tower seems to manifest its living qualities is because of a sort of spiritual echo or imprint left behind when the Dwemer were finally destroyed by their madness, which has been sustained by the collective "memory" of the deity super-organism of that plane. As a matter of act, you could even suggest that the reason that the plane is a barren wasteland is because the Dwemer's alien presence disrupted the balance of nature so badly that when they were destroyed, everything else went with it. Normally you'd think that the removal of the Dwemer would tend to let things eventually rebalance themselves, but the whole idea is that things don't work by the usual set of rules in the Outer Realms. Well that's enough brainstorming for one night. Besides, I think I'd better stop before I burst a blood vessel .

It's good to see that The Dark Spire has found a new (and better) home! I'm looking forward to working on the project full-time once the Forsaken Isles is completed! I also have an idea to run by you, Rowan; why not give the architecture of the tower a progressively more organic feel the higher it goes? It would probably make for some creepy impressions to see the architecture subtly change from classic Dwemer to something that is still identifiable with the Dwemer but markedly alien at the same time, while providing plenty of visual cues that the tower could be a living, breathing thing. You could always explain it as a symptom of the madness and paranoia that was taking hold of the builders' collective imagination, and you could even insinuate that there could be more to it than simple madness (I think that's been brought up already). Perhaps the player finds alien ruins on other islands that they gain access to through portals in the Dark Spire that strongly resemble elements of the Dwemer architecture created at the height of their madness. It would be even more disconcerting for the player if they could watch as the Dwemer architecture begins to lose its signature look and become progressively more like a corrupted version of the alien ruins, like a twisted, rotting corpse resembles a living human being. That would be a pretty tough juggling act to pull off, but I have a few ideas how it could be done. When the time comes I'll try my hand at making some concept sketches and see how it goes.