I'd like to share a small story from yesterdays High Isle Preview Stream with you. While this might sound far-fetched, I couldn't help but feel like Zenimax has subtly placed a reference to a pro-Ukraine story in their new chapter. Let me explain.
Yesterday in their live Chapter Preview Stream they started off the event with a message of support to everyone affected by the Russian-caused war in Ukraine (VOD: 42:55)
Link to the VOD on twitch:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1455949228
In addition to talking about this tragedy caused by the russian government, they were collecting donations for the cause of supporting the refugees of this war. One thing that caught my eye in particular though, was one of the first short clips showing the new zone (VOD: 47:45). My posted screenshot is from that video.
Shortly after talking about the war, they showed this zone that is covered in dense patches of sunflowers.For those who might have missed it, sunflowers have become a pro-Ukraine symbol due to a story early on in the war. In one of the Ukrainian cities occupied by the Russians, a civilian woman approached Russian soldiers. She offered each one of them a sunflower seed so when they would die, sunflowers would grow on ukrainian land.
Here is the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L17Bi7zBJHI
This video has spread widely and has been the reason why people are using sunflower images and symbols as a way of expressing their support for Ukraine.
Check out the sunflowers on the ukrainian flag from
r/place for example:
https://www.reddit.com/r/place/?cx=371&cy=206&px=66&ts=1649112460185b
All of this might be completely by chance, but in my opinion the world designers are using their creative freedom to send a subtle message of their opinion on this conflict. Whether this was actually intended or not, I will think about this story when roaming the sunflower fields of High Isle.
