Almost exactly 15 years on from Skyrim, the Bethesda dev responsible for the "infamous" Seven Thousand Steps at the Throat of the World says, "I did my darndest to find a way to fit all 7,000 steps into the storied path," but alas, it turns out that that's just rather a lot of steps.
In new dev insights shared by Bethesda in the wake of The Elder Scrolls 6's reemergence yesterday, associate art director Dan Lee discusses his impact on the 2011 RPG, noting that, "While not responsible for the rough layout of Skyrim's terrain, I was responsible for refining the shapes of High Hrothgar.
"I would look at the mountain from various viewpoints and tried to keep the shape interesting. My work on the 'Throat of the World' was not limited to sculpting the mountain, but also included cluttering and dressing the mountain with visual effects, plants, and objects," he continues. "This of course, included the infamous 7,000 steps."
Obviously, when you call a location "The Seven Thousand Steps," people are going to check your work, and fans have long since figured out that Bethesda didn't come close to making the name accurate. It's thought that there are between 700 and 800, instead. One intrepid adventurer did the math a month after the game's launch in 2011, and I feel compelled to share the workings they shared on Reddit nearly 15 years ago, which puts the count at 748 steps.
With that said, this wasn't due to a lack of trying from Lee. "I love trying to be as faithful to lore or real-life as possible and I did my darndest to find a way to fit all 7,000 steps into the storied path," the dev says. "However, my best attempt to do so included extending far past Ivarstead, wrapping around the mountain and ending near Whiterun in the frozen tundra. It turns out, 7,000 is quite a lot!"
So, at least there was an attempt. Lee also has an important clarification before anyone starts blaming him for a certain other notorious part of the path to High Hrothgar. "By the way, my work did NOT include enemy encounters, so I take no responsibility for the Frost Troll that was the woe of many players," he adds.
If Bethesda wants to add any similarly named locations to The Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinel, I imagine it might be more likely to make sure they can actually live up to their titles. Despite getting a game title, we still know very little about it – but we do have our first crumb of lore, which will hopefully keep ravenous fans fed for a while longer.
