Michael Kirkbride AMA

[Pilaf The Defiler]

My internet was down earlier when this was active, but he may still answer a few questions later.

If you're gonna be a hater, either here or at the AMA, just don't waste anyone's time. This is for fans of MK and his work, and there's plenty of us here.

[Minor Edits]

Interesting, thanks. Still reading at the moment.

Kind of bemusing when you see a meaty question you'd love him to answer and then he ignores it in favor of the softballs. It's like, "You love Firefly, great, but what about Trinimac?!"

Edit- A series of dumb questions, because I don't use reddit and I may want to cite some of this stuff on the wiki. Is there any way to easily corroborate this is actually Kirkbride? Is or will it be archived on TIL? Is this a temporary url?

[OblivionDuruza]

I assume the image included in the post is meant as a means of identification/authentication. Provided you've already seen it and are seeking further information, the [Official] tag included on MK's Reddit account should be authentication enough.

An interesting read, to be sure. I enjoyed the homage to Kurt Kuhlmann. Also Uncle Ken.

[Marelo]

Honestly the thing that jumped out at me most is the bald confirmation that Kirkbride's intention for Pelinal was a literal robot/cyborg.

Also, apparently some people think KINMUNE is the Eye of Magnus, which Kirkbride... says he likes, but does not say that he intended. Which fits in very well with his later description of an open source model of the lore.

[OblivionDuruza]

I'm glad you mentioned his idea that TES-lore should be open source, because it was the first thing my mind jumped to as I read your comment. Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about it though, I don't know where that comes from within MK, and I can't but feel that he might not necessarily be so keen for us to disregard canon if he were still on the dev team. Certainly, the player reading their own reading of the elements of lore presented to them in-game was always a thing, and not an exclusively MK thing either (read: Uncle Ken and his many true untruths), but still.

[GodsBePraised]

The Thalmor win in some fashion? Interesting.

The Thalmor are definitely causing Landfall.

[OblivionDuruza]

I almost launched off into a 'MK is not the definitive voice on Bethesda's plans/intentions for the Thalmor,' but I think Mk left enough room in his commentary for the Thalmor to pursue a variety of objectives, both conventional and unconventional in their nature, so I guess we shall see. I feel it ties back into what I was saying earlier about his view of the nature of TES lore and canon, and his developer status, though.

[GodsBePraised]

I almost launched off into a 'MK is not the definitive voice on Bethesda's plans/intentions for the Thalmor,' but I think Mk left enough room in his commentary for the Thalmor to pursue a variety of objectives, both conventional and unconventional in their nature, so I guess we shall see. I feel it ties back into what I was saying earlier about his view of the nature of TES lore and canon, and his developer status, though.

He has a LOT of say in what they are, though. He thought them up, after all.

[Leckan]

Honestly the thing that jumped out at me most is the bald confirmation that Kirkbride's intention for Pelinal was a literal robot/cyborg.

I am so fascinated by Pelinal. So many questions, so many different possible answers, and the fact that he's a robot/cyborg just adds onto that.

We now know he's a cyborg, but what else?

Time traveler?
Immortal?
Demi-god?
4th dimensional being?
Aspect of Lorkhan?
Aspect of Akatosh?
What was his heart?
Etc.

I'm glad you mentioned his idea that TES-lore should be open source, because it was the first thing my mind jumped to as I read your comment. Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about it though, I don't know where that comes from within MK, and I can't but feel that he might not necessarily be so keen for us to disregard canon if he were still on the dev team. Certainly, the player reading their own reading of the elements of lore presented to them in-game was always a thing, and not an exclusively MK thing either (read: Uncle Ken and his many true untruths), but still.

Concerning that, I will admit that knowing is different from believing. You can believe what you want about any number of things, but then once you finally know the truth, some of the "magic" is lost. If you keep things vague then you keep them open to different intriguing interpretations (and so that the writers can expand upon something without making retcons).

The Thalmor win in some fashion? Interesting.

The Thalmor are definitely causing Landfall.

That shocked me too. Hopefully not in a literal sense.

[KryptonianBlood]

I am a supporter of the Thalmor, and hate seeing the citizens of Tamriel forced to continue being slaves to the Empire's whims. So this revelation got me really excited. A world where the elves, the original citizens of Tamriel once again rule, sounds like a happy step in a more positive direction. Reconnecting with the old ones would also be great.

But lets be honest, he does not work for Bethesda anymore. His opinions about what will happen are simply opinions. I do wish he would start working on another game series if he cannot get back into the elder scrolls series anymore. At least then his lore could actually have an effect on the future of a video game series once again.

[Leckan]

I am a supporter of the Thalmor, and hate seeing the citizens of Tamriel forced to continue being slaves to the Empire's whims. So this revelation got me really excited. A world where the elves, the original citizens of Tamriel once again rule, sounds like a happy step in a more positive direction. Reconnecting with the old ones would also be great.

But lets be honest, he does not work for Bethesda anymore. His opinions about what will happen are simply opinions. I do wish he would start working on another game series if he cannot get back into the elder scrolls series anymore. At least then his lore could actually have an effect on the future of a video game series once again.

I'm not sure how you could say that since elves have a history of trying to enslave, exterminate, and overall just subjugate humans. I also don't see what problems the "empire's whims" have really brought about to people.

The Altmer weren't even the original "rulers" because they weren't the original people. Falmer, Dwemer, Argonians, Khajiit, and another race of now extinct humans already lived in Tamriel before the Altmer came over from Aldmeris and started to spread to the southern parts of Tamriel. In the meantime, humans from Atmora kept coming over to the northern parts of Tamriel.

And actually, the Hist were the original life-forms on Nirn.

[Musicman247]

Let's try to stay on topic, please.