Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-15888551-20130819093722/@comment-7153552-20130819212047

The reason the Dwemer were able to make the technological advances they made is becuase of their lack of desire to use magic. They made the jumps they did to replace the magics they didn't use, they're more logic and strength driven. This is why we often call them Dwarves, not because of their stature, and not just because they lived underground, but because of what drove them as a race.

That being said, there are those that do attempt to understand and recreate the Dwemer technology. One could make the assumption, however, that you cannot make logical/technological advancements while making spiritual/magical advancements - at least within TES and it's universe. This might explation the stagnation in a lore-friendly way.

I'd like to make a personal note that I'm not a fan of advancing to guns within TES. It would completely change the game-base and make certain things feel awkward. One could consider Tamriel, perhaps all of Nirn, in a perpetual semi-dark age. Or we could call it mythral-fantasy and be done with it.