Few games have the staying power of Skyrim. 11 years have passed since its release but it’s still incredibly popular. That’s because it’s a game that keeps on giving. All these years later players are still discovering new things in its engrossing world. Interesting facts about the landmark title’s development continue to pop up from time to time, too. And this fact about Skyrim‘s giants might be one of our favourites.
Character artist Jonah Lobe – the man who created the Skyrim giants – took to Twitter in 2018 and explained their design. It turns out he designed the game’s giants to look like his father. That’s right – Skyrim‘s giants are based on Jonah’s real-life dad.
Skyrim Giants’ design based on artist’s father
Lobe said in a tweet: “I created the #Skyrim Giant to look like my dad – no, I’m not joking”. While that initially sounds heartwarming, he went on to point out a rather grim truth – “[that] means that my dad has been killed millions of times all over the world.” Hilariously, the character artist also used it as an opportunity to encourage some engagement: “RT if you’ve killed my dad”, he added.
The character artist – who also designed Skyrim‘s dragons and Fallout‘s Deathclaws – shared a picture of his dad, too. And the resemblance is clear to see.
Lobe went on to provide further details about the design in a Reddit thread last year. In response to a Reddit user’s post about the giants and his dad, Jonah elaborated: “I wanted the Giants to give you the same sense of awe from when you were a kid and you saw your parents walking around. I gave him large, weathered hands and a somewhat tired expression. I did not want the player attacking them because they looked “aggressive” or monstrous. I wanted them to look like gentle shepherds who lived for 200+ years and slept under the stars.”
Jonah also shared some interesting details about the design of the game’s mammoths, which he created. “I did the same for their Mammoths, too: I gave them dirt-encrusted feet and a faint white speckle of saliva at the corners of their mouths (like you see in elephants at the zoo) because I wanted you to feel their realness and their grandeur and that “Oh WOW” sort of presence when they were nearby.”
What’s your favourite Skyrim fact? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
