User blog comment:The Milkman/Phantasy Philosophy: Elder Scrolls/@comment-3001613-20120918070722/@comment-3492791-20120918084713

What I believe he meant by the mix of reality and non-reality to make good fantasy lies more on the surface and the core. Fantasy requires an alien setting, different from the one we live in, to make use feel as if we are in a different place. However underneath the setting, is society. The world's society (and the people in general) should parallel the real world. This allows use to relate to the world, while still giving the impression it isn't our world. It is a thin line to be walked. Too far in one way and the world seems to samey and boring, and the audience will simply lose interest. Too far in the other direction and the world becomes too abstract, and the audience can seem to find a reason to care.

What's wrong with cats? Just because you visit their homeland doesn't mean you HAVE to be one. You've never had to be the native race. Also, I happen to like Argonians. They have the best character design of any race.

In a world of grey there can be 1000 shades. RolePlaying Game implies that you are able to roleplay. There are many different way people can choice their morals, and all of them can the "right" way. In a story of white and black morals, you are told what your morals are, you don't get to choice them yourself. There is good, and there is evil. The evils guys what blow up the world just because they can, and the good guys what to heroically save all the people by keeping the world firmly intact. You are told, the good guys are good and you are going to help them because they are good and so it will make you good and everyone will love you. In the land of grey, all sides believe they are the good guys. You get to choice which cause you believe in.

This doesn't mean you can't be the paragon of justice, in fact it strengthens the position. Say for example you capture some torture. They have committed terrible inhuman acts on prisoners of war; things unimaginable and unforgivable. The game decides what the "good" thing to do is deliver some harsh superman justice...and give him a slap on the writs and sent them to jail, which they easily escape from and go on more rampages. Your own moral code dictates that the crimes he has committed demand justice, and a price must be payed. The ultimate price. In your eyes this is the right and good thing to do. The game doesn't give you the option to do what YOU believe is the heroic thing to do, it only lets you do what IT says is. This effectivly breaks roleplaying, as you can't make your own decisions. You are just tagging along while someone else makes them all for you. You feel like you're just following a pre-existing charactor, not playing as your charactor.