Whilst I am happy to blissfully blast through a shooter such as Call of Duty, which has about as much of a story to tell as [insert a film, book or form of media with a really bad storyline as I couldn't be asked to think of one], I personally demand that any lengthy game (mainly RPG games fall into this category) offers at least a semi-decent storyline. Bioware's games, in my opinion, shine at this because (although the story isn't the best) the characters are really good. For example, when Bastilia turned to the dark side of the Force in Knights of the Old Republic, I was genuinely upset. But, Skyrim doesn't hold me here and I struggle to even find a character build which appeals to me and produce a character from it I can relate to or like. Can someone help me here perhaps? What is it I am missing?

And, before you ask, I have tried to role-play but I still find it difficult to truly make a unique character. Whether I choose magic or stealth or flat-out melee, it doesn't seem to matter. One thing I enjoyed about Bioware's Dragon Age was how people and the world reacted to you differently because you were a mage, warrior or rogue and also because of who your companions were.

All those other games you mention are story driven and force the player down a linear path. Skyrim doesnt do that, its freeform story telling. You make the story as and when you see fit. Skyrim is a sandbox that you are given the power to do as you like in, whenever you like, to what or whomever you like with only a few restrictions.

I understand that, and I love sandbox games such as Minecraft. But, with Skyrim, I wouldn't even call it "free-form storytelling", but rather there just isn't a story at all. And, it isn't so much even the story, but the fact that the most important character in any video game (my own character) always feels...boring. Dialogue options to express my character's personality feel limited and I have yet to find the combat/play-style which I enjoy. Sneaking isn't for me, as is neither a straight up mage nor archer or warrior.

I'd suggest you sell your copy of Skyrim.

Agreed. RPG's today seem either to have a great story, or great free roam capacity. It would be very hard to find one that combines both perfectly. Personally I enjoy having the free-roam capacity because it's adds much more to the playability (and re-playability) of the game.

I can never build a character whose gameplay feels satisfying. Being a plain warrior just feels boring and sneaking is darn awful in my opinion. As for magic, well, it just doesn't suit my usual play-style. I usually play as an archer, but in Skyrim it seems "meh".

Have you played any other Bethesda games? (Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3) Because they're pretty similar - the "story" is the world and questlines. The main character is generally an undefined cipher, for you to define as you wish. That's just the style of the games. You're not going to get nearly as focussed a narrative as in a linear RPG, and (due to that) the NPCs won't be as developed either - since you're not going through The Story with a handful of companions always at your side & being part of that Story, there's less opportunities for them to put buckets of characterization on a few "main" NPCs.

Me, I love these games for the freedom and the exploration. When I want a strong narrative, I play a Bioware game or a JRPG.

There is your problem. That's like complaining about playing Call of Duty when you state that you dislike guns and violence.

Perhaps. I brought it day one and have played through numerous times. It used to be fun because it was all new but, now it comes to replaying, I just don't feel attached/interested in any character to invest more than a few hours of gameplay into.

I purchased Oblivion on the PC, but it doesn't run to well so I haven't gotten around to fully playing it. Fallout 3 was okay. Fallout: New Vegas was awesome (although that was only published by Bethesda).

That's just the way TES games are. Some people love it, some don't - there's no way around it. It seems that this game isn't for you.

Well, sneaking is boring in Skyrim. I never sneak in RPG games despite loving sneaky games such as Splinter Cell and Assassin's Creed. But, all combat in this game just feels..."samey" and boring.

Perhaps. I brought it day one and have played through numerous times. It used to be fun because it was all new but, now it comes to replaying, I just don't feel attached/interested in any character to invest more than a few hours of gameplay in

I haven't even played the main story more than twice and I have a couple hundred hours. I find myself more attached to those not connected to the story line. Something you can try is creating your own goal for your character. Limit the factions you join. Or if you join a faction, you don't have to finish it. Also, try doing a hybrid build instead of just pure mage/sneak/melee. You can do a magical thief, or just a Board warrior and never use any weapons other than your fists. Or you can go crazy and only engage in combat as a werewolf. Or just play as a stage 4 vampire. There are many ways to play, but it really comes down to how you like to play. I love sneaking and assassinating, so I get the most enjoyment out of those builds.

Currently, my favorite build is a thief who only uses a bow in dire situations. Otherwise, my main method of damage is the poisoned perk in pickpocket.

I find that creating a backstory, traits, and personality etc works very well with attaching yourself to your character. In a game such as Skyrim it's crucial that you roleplay to atleast some degree and immerse yourself. I know that dialogue options are limiting, and as such they make it difficult at times to stay true to what your character actually would do, but generally it's not that bad. You mentioned you've already tried RPing, but does that include making a backstory etc and properly work on a character? That really helps imo. You also mention that "straight up" classes doesn't work for you, but you can mix them as you please. I play as a battlemage, and I have all the way up to lvl 49 and still going.

Well, I love the hybrid builds in this game and have never played as a straight up warrior, mage nor archer as I said above. I just struggle now to find a "hybrid" which interests me considering I have played around 200 if not more hours of this game.

I have logged about 500 hours and still haven't completed either the Main Quest or Civil War

Yes. I always do hybrid classes, but can't find one any more which suits me. As for role-play, yes to all of your questions.

Well, civil war I did straight away in my first playthrough pretty much, so yeah...

Try extreme roleplaying...like making a pure thief who never kills anything; it really forces you outside of your comfort zone and is very challenging

But, when it comes to any video game, I always make the choices I could see myself making or are at least realistic. So, no, I wouldn't want to do that as not killing is just not fun.

This. Not normally one to suggest it, but it sounds like this game really isn't your thing.

That said, roleplay yourself. A lot harder not to be attached to. Do what you would do, use the weapons you would use. If you wouldn't be swinging a Daedric Greatsword in real life (assuming they existed, you were a capable swordsman, yada yada yada), don't in the game.Don't do anything you wouldn't actually do. Part of a freeform RPG like Skyrim is that if you aren't in it for [censored] and giggles, since the developers by necessity have not closed many paths to you, you have to close your own paths; Don't do everything. Make some taboos and follow them, so you force yourself down one story based on the virtual landscape, like damming a river so it runs down a certain series of crevasses.

When/if you feel like you have the hang of applying these limitations, THEN make a new character, or up to three (that being the maximum for engrossing play I'd recommend at a time), that are as nice-looking as you can make them and have their own distinct personalities and limitations.

One last thing. You don't think about your actions much in modern life where everything is about talking to people and most of life is handled online or via phone, so that often the people you're talking to you can't even see (for example, right now, I am communicating to you entirely by words and a tiny picture of a pretty virtual gal, which tells you pretty much what I am saying and that I can make pretty virtual gals, and not, say, what I am wearing, what I look like, what my facial expressions are, how old I am, how I sit or what I am doing). However, in the real world, that thing people always seem to forget about (including especially the people that, cynically or otherwise, like to point out they're in it, often by way of pointing out their desk job where they also never interact with anything but papers and a computer), your actions speak FAR louder than your words. Skyrim simulates a real world. Not the real world, mind you, where magic isn't a thing and we live on earth, but a real world, one where things happen and you fight for survival and you face people and your actions are a point of public display. Hence, dialogue isn't that important. Rather, doing what your character would do rather than saying it is the focus of a roleplay here.

Just a couple of thoughts.


EDIT: And if you don't like the combat, play a noncombat character. If you also don't like stealth (which I sort of understand, though I've not got high opinions of the games you said you DO like stealth in, the Thief series pretty much nailed stealth and most games do it poorly), use illusion. It is entirely possible to calm pretty much everything in the game (provided it doesn't resist magic), meaning you can seriously level up with the skills you DO use and never have to fight anything but animals early in the game if you don't want to (for pelts, so you can start working on smithing for money to buy spells, then illusion your way through the game from the start). Just stay away from undead and machines until you get the Master of the Mind perk.

Sort of contradicts the entire purpose of playing a fantasy ROLEPLAYING game

What was the build and some of the nuances of the character that you enjoyed playing in DA? Perhaps you could replicate that character in Skyrim. As an example, I have played WWE-Smackdown games for years. It also has an in-depth character gen tool that I used to create a diva that was short on strength, but was very fast and had a huge repetoire of technical moves. That diva enjoyed outsmarting stronger male opponents, and consistently ranked in the top 200 on the on line leaderboards in single matches. When I first played Oblivion, i experimented with several characters to learn the game. Then, I decided to re-create my wrestling diva as an Breton Mage who excelled at speed and illusion. The likeness was un-canny, and I immediately became attached to her. She has logged over 400 hours in Oblivion, although I have yet to try to create her in Skyrim.

Lots of players create characters by creating a backstory based upon the lore and history of the game. This alternate approach might work, since there seem to be other characters you "have" enjoyed playing in other games such as DA.