Poster Deconstruction - Skyrim

Description/Base Denotation

The main image is a fantasy-style warrior of sorts, holding a dagger in one hand, and a sword in his off-hand. He is standing on a mountain peak/pile of rocks, there is a strange fog engulfing him, and what appears to be the tail of a scaled creature.

With my more than basic knowledge of the Elder Scrolls franchise/this game in particular, I know that the man whom is the focus of the poster is the stereotypical 'Dovahkiin', a representation of the character the player controls in-game. As the character can look how the player chooses (via use of a somewhat competent character creation system), the man in the picture is a place-holder of sorts. This is an ideal workaround for the understandable problem of marketing a game which aims to draw people into a fantasy world (which they directly interact with), where in effect, the player-character is supposed to 'be' the player.

The apparel of the man in the poster is the most obvious narrative agent, just one look and you can figure out the genre and style of the entire game. The endorsement by IGN exemplifies this with the words "Making fantasy a reality".

Futher Denotation/I can't be bothered to categorise this deconstruction anymore
There are two things to note about the text below the Dovahkiin, firstly, 'Skyrim' is much larger than 'The Elder Scrolls V', and secondly, the release date of the game '11.11.11'. The reason for the word 'Skyrim' to be much larger than 'The Elder Scrolls V' is simple; every game in the Elder Scrolls franchise has been a great success in it's time, and every one of those games has been remembered by the people who play them as whatever it says after the Elder Scrolls [number]. If someone were to say that a new Elder Scrolls game had been announced, fans of the franchise would know what they meant, however the more casual admirers of the franchise might not. If you told an average gamer that a sequel to Oblivion had been announced, most would know what you meant. 'The Elder Scrolls' section of the title to these games is necessary to mark the game out as being a part of the franchise, however it is the least recognisable part of each title (even if it is the only constant).

The release date for Skyrim was obviously picked for the memorable number, marketers for the game knew of the Elder Scrolls' series huge fanbase within the gaming community, they knew that people had wanted a sequel to Oblivion since it's release in 2005. So by picking 11.11.11 as a release date, a date which wouldn't come around for another 100 years (in 2111), they emphasise and affirm the belief held by many that this release was a momentous occasion.
There can be no doubt that Skyrim was marketed brilliantly.