Is Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim a game I need to play the prequels for?

Now, I'm not asking if they're fun or anything. Because if I like Skyrim I'll obviously play them. But is Skyrim one of those games that I should play one after another, like Half-Life, or is each installment a different story like Final Fantasy? Or something in between? Please help.Is Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim a game I need to play the prequels for?
Bethesda does a good job at helping new players learn about the elder scrolls universe. They assume that the people who play their games are new and build a game toward that. Although the story is separate between all games, I would highly recommend playing the previous games, Oblivion in particular. This will not only help you understand how the game works, but it was also a very good game.
You don't need to play them but the games are so open and expansive that it's probably a good idea to at least watch some videos on them just so you can get a good idea of how an Elder Scrolls game is played because they tend to be different than most RPGs in that you can pretty much go anywhere and pretty much do anything. Plus the leveling system can be a bit confusing if you don't know what you're doing and that can be a problem in and Elder Scrolls game because improper leveling makes the game a lot harder usually.Is Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim a game I need to play the prequels for?
the games are connected becasue they take place in the same realm, or universe but they are completely different stories that do not connect directly, so you do not have to play the others like oblivion or morrowind but they might give you a slight better understanding of the game but they are completley different stories.
It's kinda like FF in that each game has it's own storyline (and if I'm not mistaken each elder scroll introduces new characters). But, unlike FF, every elder scroll takes place in the same world. I think that each game takes place in a different country or region of that world. Hope this helps.Is Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim a game I need to play the prequels for?
Each one is a different story, it's a very freestyle game, and each oone takes years to finish. This is probably why each one is a standalone game. It would be too difficult for someone to be able to play all of them. These games are meant to be played like they are the first ones.