I didn't really get the whole RP thing. In theory I did: people ate, got into character, etc. I just didn't really get what they did when they played or how it made it more fun (I think I sort of had a vision in my head of people in costumes yelling at their computers). So, I went to Youtube and starting watching some Let's Play Skyrim videos (I especially liked Nagidal's play style as it was slow-paced and not just slash'em hack'em playstyle which suited me better) and then I started to get it. So for this playthrough I've been doing more of a RP style of playthrough. I try to make sure I can sleep and I've been cooking and buying food. I know food doesn't really give you much in the game, but my character enjoys cooking over the open flame! I've only fast traveled once and have mainly ran places or taken carriages occasionally. I think through my character's decisions more. It's been a lot of fun.

It is a Role Playing Game Obviously....lol You play it the way you want too.......... End Of Story!!!

We RolePlay to appease the gods of RolePlay.

You should thank us for the fact that they did not destroyed Earth yet.

Why do people care so much about how or why others play the game they way they do? You play your way, others will play their way. Thats the beauty of TES games, so many different ways to play them.

why dont you rp? it is very boring without doing so

Believe me this is a normal way of playing a single player game like Skyrim. The ones that creep me out are the people that are too hardcoe in MMOs. People who can't come online and play and hold a normal conversation about anything else. They have to stay in character no matter what they are doing. Seems to me people that go that far to stay in character are just hiding from something in RL.

Immersion. Not sleeping for five weeks and hopping up mountains is pretty badass, not gonna lie. But it takes me out of the game.

For me, roleplaying and setting limits based on my characters background and personality gives me a sense of purpose and direction.

If I am playing my Mage, who happens to be a thrall subjected to the Thalmor Embassy, I play accordingly. It gives my character a story and a goal. That leaves the rest of the game for another playthrough and another story.

That's the beauty of roleplaying. It increases the replay value indefinitely.

of course they will. You honestly don't think your way is the only way do you? That is an extremely narrow minded way to approach anything. There are literally millions of gamers in the world. You are only a speck in that sea of people. How you or I or anyone else plays our individual games is going to vary greatly depending on our personality and play style. Watch a few videos of people playing Skyrim on YouTube and you'll see how varied game play in Skyrim can be. From crazy to serious to funny, there's something for everyone. Role playing allows people to use their imaginations to make the world more interesting to them. It's about what makes the game fun for that particular gamer.

The same reason why some people daydream themselves to distant, fictional realms. To be part of a different world which contains more excitement and adventure and to be someone more meaningful than our usually more monotone and down-to-earth lives

I go even further in it and have frequently roleplayed in custom Garry's Mod roleplay servers (Not DarkRP - actually text-based ones) and on MMO's. Also a great way of expanding one's English skills and to learn writing fiction.

Let's put this to the extreme... so you only use one set of armor and weapon (the strongest) and playing the started Nord char in all of his glory?

Your awesome

Immersion in the game.

Good thing you care. People get their yayas in different ways, because it's not something you do, doesn't mean they're "hiding something."

I've never RP'ed a MMO (I usually just PVP), but I'm old enough to remember MUDs and I've seen some cool RPing in that. I could never type/act quickly enough to engage in it myself, but it made the game pretty awesome. I think it's cool because they become like the ultimate NPCs, but you gotta have an imagination to enjoy it and some people don't.

That is the same thing my 10 year old nephew said. He is a big fan of Mario Brothers, Pac-Man and COD.

These types of games go beyond that. It's like watching a movie, reading a book and playing a game all at the same time. When you read an epic novel the writer expects you be enveloped in the story and moved emotionally and physically when you read it. RPing a character is a step further.

Roleplaying puts yourself as the storyteller, telling your character′s story, rather than playing someone elses story.

It′s basically the same thing you did when you were 5 years old and playing actually meant using your imagination to create or be anything you wanted...some of us just never grow up.

i think most people like to use their imagination and create something, someone takes it out on pc games

You've only got it half right.

You play the game to play it.

You don't have to restrict yourself.

Some people get a kick out of being creative.

Others ask honest and reasonable questions such as "Why would a Mage be interested in joining the Fighters Guild"?

You decide yourself as you play.

Az

What kind of person doesn't take on some kind of role when they play a video game? Even first person shooters have backstories and the like. Hell, even sports games do. You can build a new franchise in a new city with new team, name it yourself, pick the uniforms, and even what kind of concession stands you want. You're playing the role of an owner.

As for the person who doesn't put limitations on themselves when playing a game, I'd have to ask why play at all? On Madden some people learn every cheat code and score a touchdown on every play, beating the computer by scores of 200-0. What's the point of that? So what's the point of having a character that's nothing more than a quasi-immortal killing machine?

I've never allowed a character of mine in this game to get beyond level 44 because by then it becomes too easy.

I role play because people like you don't.

Or maybe they don't need to have a RL conversation with people in a role playing game because their real life is enough for them and role playing in a role playing game is more fun.

This ^^

RPG stands for Role Playing Game. Some of us take it further than others, that's all. Myself, I love the immersion factor. I use this game as an escape from reality, just like others use drugs or books or television. It is a way to let my mind out of our world and into another. If I want to play a game just for the sake of playing it, it would be chess or some other strategic game, not an RPG. Just one man's opinion...

I don't fully RP either. I don't create a back story for my character, I don't see the point. I do RP in the sense that, my character is evil, so I do evil things and quests, but I don't create a whole story for him. I feel like the dialogue and world interaction is too limited to fully make the most of that...

Conceive of who the player character is...many times. The player character is a different person, every time I play, with different skills, because it has a different personality. Don't attempt to play a character that would do the things that make them so powerful that you feel no challenge.

If you want a challenge, then challenge yourself. Build a weak character and don't do the things that make you, in your subjective opinion, "over-powered". Make up a personality that WOULDN'T do those things. Doesn't want to, or can't. The point of the "role-playing" part of "role-playing game" is too be creative. Some players don't understand this, or can't understand this.

The game is the tool used to create your character (hammer & chisel or paint brush), and the skills and abilities are the material from which the object is created (the clay, stone or paint). In this case...a player character.

If that seems unbearably pretentious, please understand that "pretense" is the entire reason the game exists. It is what you are supposed to be doing! Pretending.

Anything that displays "pretense" is "pretentious". That's how the language works. To "pretend" is inherently "pretentious". Literally.

Reading this back (after I posted...sigh) l seems condescending and acid. Sorry. It welled up as a reply many, many different posts I've read. But you asked an honest question, I apologize.

Though, if you can ignore the condescension (please), it does explain the question you asked.

I was the same as you when Oblivion came out and I decided to give TES a try. I am still not as hardcoe into role playing but the big benefit to role playing is having a different playthrough each time with a new character.

In my laymans terms- if you happen to like magic and one handed swords sure you could make a battle-mage and play them both with one character. However once you're done.. then what? You already did everything you wanted to do. But if you played first as a warrior with no magic then a second time as a pure mage then you get 2 unique playthroughs. That is a simplistic, practical view. But you could drill down to "this nord warrior only eats cheese and wears a party hat and kills all argonians" type role playing.

In the end the role players are just like you... you just play the game the way you want and so do role players. The only thing to "get" is everyone loves the game.

I roleplay to answer your first question.

Secondly, it draws you into the experience you get to create your own tale within the confines of one of the most story rich setting in any form of media. It allows you to evolve past the niche tedium that is playing the game just to be playing. You develop your characters historys and personalities, you let yourself become immersed in another world.

That is why I roleplay.

I don`t think it`s possible to explain roleplaying to someone who doesn`t care for it. I`ll try to explain anyway.

Because it gives meaning to my game. It doesn`t feel like a pointless `buy game, install then FT from A to Z and back again multiple times until end game, throw in bin, buy next game`.

Anyway, you have to want to do it to understand why we do it.