Oh, God. Stop being so melodramatic. See, this is why I don't come to this forum anymore. The views on this forum by no means reflect the opinions of this game AS A WHOLE. No one cares. Stop posting threads like this, it's ridiculous.

What in the hell are you talking about?

The games got nearly perfect reviews and nearly universal praise from every source out there.

Even the vast majority of TES fans love it. I've heard nothing but good except for this forum. There's only a handful of hardcoe orthodox d&d nerds who aren't happy with it, and that's mostly because they HAVE to complain about something to feel better about themselves.

Why else spend time in forum for a game you don't like? I think it's creepy.

I'm amazed at how many people missed the OP's point (at least as I understood it).

1) Skyrim is a great game
2) Many players feel like Skyrim is not a true "open world RPG" when stacked up against open world RPGs of the past.
3) Can the open world RPG genre exist today or is it dead/dying?

It wouldn't be the first genre to die. Horizontal/Vertical Scrollers are a mostly dead genre because of the graphics change. The shift to 3D did not "improve the genre" it created a very different game. Compare Super Mario 3 to Super Mario 64 (the first 3d mario), they are not the same even if they are both "platformers". As are top down RPGs like Baldur's Gate, I thought Dragon Age might revive this... then we got DA2. Every so often we get games that prove these genres don't NEED to be dead. Dragon Age: Origins is the perfect example. It was basically a return to games like Baldur's Gate, or Icewind Dale. It did really well for itself but they decided DA2 needed to appeal to a larger audience so it's not so much like Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale.

I think the Open World RPG genre could very be dying at this point. TES isn't the only open world RPG series although, the Gothic series already showed it's going seriously towards action/adventure with ArcaniA: A Gothic Tale (aka Gothic 4... so mad about that). I'm definitely concerned that before long open world RPGs will be replaced by "Medieval Grand Theft Auto" and finding a good open world RPG will be like finding a good turn based strategy game.

Skyrim is much less linear than Oblivion.. You actually have more than 1 option how to do most quests. And are open ended open world RPGs dying? No, go play Fallout NV.

Let's see, according to the members page, there are 13,600 pages of members with 20 per page. That's 272,000 people for ALL Bethesda games. Even if you assume every person on this board (highly unlikely) has Skyrim, that's still only 3.9% of the roughly 7 million copies of Skyrim sold.

I'm pretty sure that the "epidemic" state on the forums means squat.

You may now move along to your next tin-foil hat experience.

I think most of the peple who even complain enjoy the game. I know I do and I have a couple gripes. Still my game of the year though. Also it sold like hotcakes. Also also, it has been ahead in the user poll for top game of 2011 on TeamXbox (way ahead of MW3) for weeks. I know that's only one site but that seems significant. I know the series has shifted to be mroe user firendly but it is still a deep, nerdy, rpg when you get it's petty coat off and for people to be embracing it the way they are is nothing but good news for open world rpg's.

I think they shoud have pulled 1.2 while getting 1.3 ready but all in all I am having fun.

I think most RPGs, not just open-world ones, are suffering. You already brought up BioWare's unfortunate lack of RPG anything, anymore, and although there are companies that still create some great RPGs against the standard, many are suffering and the RPG genre is so relatively scarce and rare among the multitude of shooters and action games vastly preferred by the public. JRPGs no longer line the PlayStation shelves. WRPGs no longer line PC shelves. RPG series left and right are getting less choice, more streamlining, and more action. Dragon Quest is unfortunately moving towards the MMO scene, Final Fantasy XIII was just a disgrace... a pretty, but highly linear and monotonous disgrace. BioWare's pretty much a lost cause with Mass Effect being just a third-person shooter now getting multiplayer and DA II just a rushed, rehashed action game. Gothic's just gone. Skyrim has barely any choice and cut out quite a few details of its own, although TES games post Daggerfall tend to be like it but it's gotten progressively worse. The RPG is suffering and while still technically alive, it's not nearly as popular as it used to be and the genre is a shadow of its former self across all platforms. However... Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest used to be open-world RPGs, so maybe it is mostly open-world RPGs...

Errr if OP bothered to read lot of criticisms, first thing he/she would notice is that lot of critics actually like the game, and secondly, the critics want even more open-ended gameplay.

Skyrim IS a hybrid of open-world and traditional story telling RPG. You want true open world? You either have to play heavily modded versions of TES games or something like X3.

I love everything there is about Skyrim. Don't listen to all the negative posters on here, they can't look past the little things and see just how amazing this game it. A huge loss for them unfortunately. If you pick everything apart and scrutinize it, you'll never find a game you will like.

Oversimplifying. "I'm pretty sure" is not an argument for someone who is trying to back his opinion up with numbers. How do you know those 3.9% are not representative for the total of players?

A little melodramatic don't you think? :rolleyes:

Very true, this forum really is full of Wankers,'more so than most forums I've signed up for. I read so many negative comments it got annoying. When I play the game I realise what am amazing game it is.

You know what the problem is? Most of these mofos wanted something to replace their miserable lives, and thought this would be it. Since it's not, they get angry and want to hurt the game and those who made it, and even those who enjoy it. First class idiots. This game is a true example of greatness as far as GAMES go. The ostrich ass [censored]s need to get their heads out the sand and realise!!!!

How do you know they ARE?

See what I did there?

The only negatives I ever hear are here, in the forums.

Same reason they play MMOs. You can always tell who came from the sparkle-dragon side of the gaming community (although you would be hard-pressed to convince me that MMOs are games).

I think more people like it than dislike it, the negative people are just louder about them

The game is still very new and people's expectations were high. Add to that, promises of features made by the devs. When the game came out and had/has all the bugs that it does/did plus the broken promises....it no surprise that people will be upset.

I think there is also a confusion here. There a difference between open world and lack of guidance. Open world is simply being able to go anywhere. That doesn't mean the mobs should be your level no matter where you go. It doesn't mean there can't be quests that take your through a linear path.

Personally I find the boring parts of the game is when I'm between quests. I play an assassin but it's only when my character has a purpose that suites my character's class/role do I find the game most enjoyable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=l6IrNwMt4-M#t=93s

Thank you, a constructive post at last. Unfortunately for Gothic 4 every criticism you could make of bethesda you would need a tome to describe that game? Like having about four variations of the same character in the game, not a very wise move in 2011 Jo Wood?

RPGs are dead, in the old sense of stats and character customization. Gamers, according to game developers, are math averse hillbillies, and hate thinking beyond what flavor of Cheet-oh's to pick. But Skyrim is a huge success, rpg or not.

Forums are always cesspools of negativity, in part because they are looked for by people who have something negative to express. On the other hand, satisfied players are less motivated to say anything, since they'd rather just play the game.

Most people are quite happy with Skyrim.

Simplified or not, Skyrim is still an RPG.

Huh? Isn't Skyrim GOTY by some sources? Didn't it sell millions of copies? Didn't a Japanese magazine give it a perfect score, its first ever for a western game? I don't understand.

Lolwut? Play Skyrim, here you go, open world RPGs at their best.

There are no much complains about this game as there seem to be. There maybe are hundreds of thousands people around here who compain about everything, the other few millions rather keep on playing

I have no problem with that, do you think D & D would have chosen a dice to determine the outcome of a character's fate if technology had allowed it back then? But that is no reason to kill stats and character customisation, and Skyrim doesn't in my opinion, I love the perk system, totally the right way forward in my opinion. I'm surprised to hear so many people moan about the perk system, it's one of my favourite parts of the game and totally creates the roleplay backbone to the game.

Goes to show how much you should rely on Metacritic hey? A game that is literally broken (PS3) getting a 93% = a critic that just lost all credibility. Just sayin...

EDIT: I dont even think Skyrim is a Open World RPG. Its a Open World Exploration Simulator. RPGs would mean you can actually RP (give a personality to your character), which the unbranched dialogues and linear/unimaginative questing prohibits. Thats my biggest gripe with it, other then the total and utter lack of challenging gameplay passed lvl 30.