A lot of us old school gamers get frustrated when we talk to the kids becuase they seem to rush through game play like being first to the end has some great meaning. A recent discussion with a young friend on mine got me thinking of this.

Both of us found oruselves in Morthal dealing with the Vampire coven for the Jarl. At the end of this quest we both had the same problem, more loot than we could carry and no place in Morthal to sell it. Now we both took different routes to deal with this issue.

Playing Skyrim: So my young friend wanted all the loot he had gather because, well he wants everything. With this in mind he went to the burnt out house and dumped enough of the haul to lift his encumberance and then fast traveled to Whiterun, sold off what we want to seel and then fast traveled back to gather the rest, repeating the process. This took him 4 trips to complete and he did this in about 10 minutes total time to get everything to Whiterun and sold.

Experiencing Skyrim: I am playing a form od Dead is Dead in my style and one of the things I will not do is fast travel. I was faced with a tough decision, I could walk all the way to Whiterun or I could reduce my load and run. I went back through my inventory and dumped all the stuff I really did not need but was still encumbered. I had found some neat heavy dwarven armor with a ton of extra health as well as Dwarven heavy boots with a nice cold resistance, these really pushed me over the top. I had plans to use each of them to enchant my Leather armor with the spells these possessed so I was not going to lose these, walking it was.

The path out of Morthal headed south and then I noticed it headed east. I was hoping to find a path over the mountain range and if need be I would do it cross country. My slow steady pace was not going to set any speed records but it diod let me encounter 3 different people on the path including an interesting Orc dealing Skoorma. It was when I met this orc that I found a path heading south toward the mountains. This path eventually led me to a massive ruin, Labyrinthian. Passing through these ruins proved dangerous due to a number of Frost Trolls I encountered. I was able however to fight my way through and eventually exited the mountains north/west of Whiterun.

The difference was that I got to enjoy the journey and had a stroy or two to share and he just was able to brag about his loot haul. BTW I was not all that interested in his loot haul but was was excited about my stories and ask me for map locations so he could go see this stuff.

I looked at him and smiled as I sipped my coffee, then I said. "Okay to find the ruins you will need to head out of Whiterun in a northwestardly direction, look for the ruins with the moon forge. There is a pass just north of there heading into the mountains take that pass." He actually looked at me like I was nuts and asked me again for where it was. I just smiled at him and headed for home.

Skyrim is a great game and I am sure playing it is fun. However until you EXPERIENCE Skyrim you will not know the fullness that this game offers.

While either way to play is fine, I prefer to play it more like you do. I also won't allow my char to do ANYTHING that she has no reason to do or that is out of character with the personality I decided on prior to the playthrough. That includes searching a cave simply because it's there when she is busy, has a couple quests on her plate with septims to be awarded at the end.

It will probably take me 5 different characters (and playthroughs) to experience everything (I can't even RP a reason for my current char to particiapte in the civil war, no matter how hard I try to come up with one. Will have to wait for Character #2 I guess ).

I fast travel to get around but I often spend hours just wandering around aimlessly, finding caves and ruins, meeting people and discovering the shortcuts and mountain paths

sometimes i start just playing Skyrim to play it and i hate it when it happens because i dont really enjoy it
other times i am really able to experience the game and will spend a few extra hours reading books and taking time getting somewhere while exploring the land and it's awesome, for some reason it's hard for me to do all the time though like i have ADD or something and ill complete 5 quests in an hour just because they're there

I,m far to buisy picking flowers to fast travel anywhere.The landscape in Skyrim is way too beuatifull to fast travel anywhere.Plus I roleplay also wich means I like to travel by foot and experience the game.
Some people just want to get in a hurry to do everything in a game,if they enjoy it good for them.
I will be playing this game far longer than them by taking my time and not being in any hurry to get anything done.I'll also save money not needing to buy a new game.

That's what I love about the game. You can blow though it, and wait for the next greatest, or you can sit back and really enjoy the experience.

I don't get to play much, unfortunately, because I work overnight and have a 2 hour commute into work, but when I do, even with my limited time, I never fast travel, and have, on many, many occasions, made separate trips back to a dungeon just to loot it dry. I'm even one of those weirdos who invests some extra points into stamina.

I love reading the in-game books, chatting with the towns people, and exploring every nook and cranny. I'm only been to High Hrothgar once, and that's as far in the MQ as I am. Got a ton of side-quests from Whiterun. Haven't even touched any other town, lol.