Aside from all the stuff that has already been said about NPC dialogue, interaction and consequences, one aspect of the storytelling in TES that impacts the overall quality is how the stories are told.

As some have mentioned, some of the best stories are told in the subtle clues and remains that have been left behind in different locations. A skeleton buried under a pile of rocks, holding a pickaxe can tell you a compelling story, without the need for dialogue or interaction. Often the quests are presented much more straightforward and upfront, you often know right away who is the bad guy and why, rather than discovering this in the form of a developing story.

Taking an example from the main storyline, when you enter Sky Haven Temple, this is a massive location, with an obvious historical importance...but nothing spectacular happens, you go in, wait for your slow companions to catch up and then watch and listen to them have a conversation about the wall (which is about as interesting and emotional as a dinner conversation between an old couple). This is a great moment for some cinematics to enhance the story, pause for a while and let the camera pan across the vast templeground, zoom in on the facial expressions of the scholarly companions as they study the wall, throw in some thematic background music and echoes of Dragonshouts and you just got yourself a real epic breakthrough in the story. There is nothing wrong with the creativity and imagination behind the story, it's just told in a way that makes it feel underwhelming, it's the same sort of pace, tone and atmosphere as when you finish a generic radiant quest.

Imagine a plot background where part of being the Dragonborn means that you occasionally have visions from the lives and experiences of previous Dragonborn. When you reach certain locations for the first time, you are momentarily transported back in time, to when these ruins where vibrant and alive and you see part of the rich and well written lore and history that is TES through the eyes of a historical Dragonborn.

I know TES has never focused on cinematics as a tool for their games, trusting that the open world and freedom will be enough to satisfy their customers imagination. But with more and more people remarking on the storytelling and development, I see cinematics as one aspect where this can develop and improve.

It would be a great way to enhance the story and make it better. I do love the open world and hope they never ever make anything else, but cinematics where you see your things that happened from a 1.person view would be nice. It would create a whole level of immersion into the lore and story. It shouldn't be happening often but it could add so much to the game when it comes to specific locations or persons and their events.

I don't know. Cinematics just somehow don't fit in TES world. They suddenly force your otherwise free background character in some specific frame. Like the (highly annoying) melee killing cinematics. Something so out of my character, let alone leaving me disoriented with other foes still around. As for Dragonborn reminiscing on glorious past, again, not everyone's Dragonborn gives a rat's tail about Nord glorious history whatnot, not everyone even plays as Dragonborn at all.

No. Cinematics have no place in the series whatsoever. In fact, i'd like to see the whole idea of a main storyline scrapped entirely... with more time spent on creating a rich and immersive gameworld. The game's storytelling should primarily come from factions, lore books, interactions with NPCS, etc.

Looking at Skyrim, it has a mediocre main storyline, shallow factions, and repetitive fetch/kill sidequests. Move the time wasted on the main storyline and dragons over to factions, sidequests, NPC personalities, dialogue depth, etc. and the problem is solved.

Cinematic cut-scenes could be put to better use, like they used at the end of the MQ in Oblivion or in Skyrim's Thieves Guild quest at one dramatic point in the storyline.
They shouldn't dominate the game, but rather short episodes used to highlight key moments in the story.

No storyline at all? Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. Just because this game didn't execute a good main plot, doesn't mean it's a bad idea in general. What's the point of an RPG without a main storyline? To not have some reason for existing, or some impetus, just makes the game more of a sandbox and simulator, and not an RPG. And soon enough, there won't be much "lore" to interact with - because each series builds on the storylines of past games.

I liked most of the storylines in Skyrim, like thieves guild, mage's college, main quest, dark brotherhood and companions. the only one that I'm disappointed with is the bard's college, that really needed to be longer and with better storytelling.
I don't see the lack of cinematics a problems, most dialogues are entertaining the same as cinematics if you don't skip them.

This would be the best thing they can do to the whole series. Couldn't agree more, mainquests aren't needed in Elder Scrolls.

@Korr
Isn't this game a sandbox and a simulator already? These games haven't been traditional style RPGs since Daggerfall(and that too was more sanbox than RPG). They could make the faction questlines to be the new mainquest.

I thought the killing animations only kick in on the last living enemy in the vicinity. At least, it seems to be that way with me.

Personally, I don't see something like that any less out of character than if I was playing a pen and paper rpg, and decided to doodle a picture of my character on his character sheet, while b.s.ing with my friends. I don't necessarily envision roleplaying as always something done in first person. Sometimes I imagine scenery with my character and friend's characters.

I admit, that's how I've usually played them. I never did much of the main quests in either morrowind or oblivion... but I do like the option. For some reason, I did the quests here.

This ideas has already been realised in the game The Witcher I/II. I am not so sure if copying it for TES is a good idea in itself. Skyrim has got a quest where something similar happens only with the player being a part of it. I did not like this. Skyrim demands a player's attention to detail and to be active on your own. Some things just cannot be discovered by only following markers and cinematic storytelling may not work with it. It could lead to support the "couch potatoes" and those who want their hands to be hold during a quest rather than to pick up a book and read it. But maybe this is where it could fit in. Maybe a few books should trigger a cinematic story.

It is a bit sad, but we seem to be living in a world where books become less relevant and CDs/DVDs and the Internet are the cause of it.

If the cut the MQ out of it, it wouldn't be TES. It'd be a really bad LOTR rip off...

The MQ and associated lore and story is what makes this game. Its been getting thinner and thinner since Daggerfall and now people think it should be dropped completely...

Quests in RPG's have always been about fetching this or killing that, sure in some cases it has been disguised and put makeup on to give the impression it is something else. Deep inside when you strip away all fancy stuff it's a pretty fetch this/kill that thing. Few RPG's, if any, have managed to evolve their quests to anything else. It's the basic formula and it doesn't matter if it is for computer RPG's or pen and paper versions. Also removing a main quest from a RPG is a bad idea, specially in the TES series where the stories of what happened in the previous game is being mentioned in the next game and so on. It helps build the world, and it gives my character a defined role for why he is what he is. It doesn't mean I have to complete it, but it adds a greater story to the game then just playing a Farmer that decides to take up the sword and start fighting monster's for "phat lewt".

Faction wise Skyrim could have ben a lot better, I do like the thieves guild, and the dark brotherhood they have a nice story attached to them why they are what they are and the reason for their current state. There are things to thDB and thieves guild that could have been improved, but the way they are today I feel isn't that bad. However Mage guild has the weakest story so far in any of the TES games, it could have been made deeper, more involving and so on. Companion guild I haven't really completed so cannot say much about it.

However I would love to see more factions, and if you joined one faction you would exclude other factions so that you cannot become guild leader in all factions at the same time. Thieves guild and DB makes sense that you can be guild leader of as the things they do in Skyrim is pretty close to eachother. However by joining them you would then be excluded from Mage guild and companion guild. Other factions could be imperial, stormcloak, outlaws, necromancer's, vampire's , silver blades, werwolves etc. It could be a few houses that you could join, Gray Manes could be one, battle-born another, Silver blood a third etc. but by joining one of them you excluded the others and each house would give different benefits and disadvantages.

Story is part of the scaffolding of roleplaying, along with character creation and interaction, without story, you basically have the Sims in Tamriel...

Sacrificing all sense of purpose for a sense of freedom makes the entire game like playing rock-paper-scissors with yourself, there's no motivation to continue other than to keep adding to the count of how many times you've done the same thing.

I really hope this series doesn't become a Sims-like game...

Depends on how you look at RPG. If it's a book that allows you to make different choices that eventually leads you to a different chapter, then the story is more important. But you could still play a turn based board game with hardly any story at all.

I see a lot of players saying that they go around on their own and enjoy the world of Skyrim as it is. Are they doing it wrong? I do not think they do.

The only good reason I see for cinematic story telling is to get some of the players, the lazy ones, more interested in the books. These do tell the story, you only need to pick them up and read them.

With videos will the educational value of the game get watered down until it has only an entertainment value. Even when you do Fus-Ro-Da on somebody and get a good laugh out of it does it need you to find a victim for your prank and to aim and press the key. Nobody will do it for you though.

The problem with videos is that when some players see them will they demand more videos. It might even be that this is why you want them. Did you check your motive yet? Is it really because the game lacks story telling or is it because you do not like reading the books?

I did not state that the cinematics would specifically involve anything with your character, all of my examples featured ideas of cinematics showing other characters and scenes, which is something I would consider when designing such things, that they don't interfere with the character.

However, you ARE Dragonborn, that's the whole story...you may be a reluctant Dragonborn who denies the role and responsibility that fate tries to bestow upon yourself, but still, whether you are a simple smith or a master of necromancy, the Dragonborn is part of who you are.

I think one of the major problems with the stories in these games, is that they lack the personal touch in their content or presentation. They lack a real sense of involvement.

The civil war for example, is made out to be this big deal, and yet we hardly ever see its actual effects on the populace. We don't really see fights breaking out in the streets, we don't see martial law, riots, or anything like that. We don't even see that many skirmishes breaking out in the countryside or anything. It just feels like background noise, and is just as ignorable as any other sidequest.

The issue with the dragons and Alduin, I just didn't really care. We don't see Alduin and his dragons carry out any actual atrocities or crimes aside from occasionally attacking people and maybe killing them if they are lucky. Alduin himself, never does anything in the entirety of the main quest to actually enrage or personally wrong us. The only thing he does is save us at Helgen, and then die. He has no character or depth, he doesn't even appear to have a plan, and neither do his dragons.

There is no sense of danger, of wrongness, or anything. The dragons don't raze entire towns or villages to the ground, the civil war doesn't claim any civilians or casualties, or territories without the player's involvement etc.

There is no action or reaction really. When we do that simple sidequest to bring supplies to High Hrothgar on behalf of Klimmek or however you spell his name, the supplies remain in the chest, and the Greybeards don't even acknowledge it at all. There was literally no discernable purpose to that quest.

The game world, truly feels like it revolves entirely around the player, and doesn't really even try to hide that fact.

Regardless of whether you are pursuing the main plot, or choose to just explore and do other quests, they are still a story. Going deep into a Dwemer ruin to retrieve an artefact IS a story. With storytelling comes purpose, a sense of motivation as to WHY your character seeks the things he/she does, and the deeper the storytelling, the deeper the purpose and the more alive and real your character will feel. The books are there, the clues in the shape of remains and letters are there and people seem to appreciate them, so I see no reason not to build further upon the storytelling by adding visuals an impressive cinematics where appropriate, not to replace what is already there and good.

I know what you mean.

Even if it's small things, it'd be a nice touch. As much the Skyforge is talked about, for example, it's hard to get a good look at it. It'd be cool, if at a certain event

()

That it panned out and showed the funeral from a wider perspective. The way it's presented is just kind of lackluster.

Approaching certain landmarks with wider perspectives wouldn't be so bad either. High Hrothgar would look cool at a higher angle, even if for 5 seconds.

I used to wonder about the war, seeing only occasional comments and static soldier camps (I'm not touching Civil War questline yet)...until yesterday. When I actually witnessed a skirmish, saw soldiers of both sides falling, with a dragon roaring above our heads, and that moment somehow changed my perspective. It touched me, it's "real", it became somewhat personal, and now I'm eager to join war sooner and perhaps even change my game plan and character's story. That encounter, and strong desire to put a sword through Ulfric guts (I hope, there will be an opportunity to do that, no spoilers, please).

Cinematics, still no. We can direct our own movies in Skyrim, to imagine life in those ruins the way we want. Isn't it better to read a novel before watching a movie based on it rather than the other way around? Especially dwemer, they're supposed to remain a mystery, we're supposed to only imagine and speculate on what they looked like and how their life was - that's the whole dwemer mystery point.

I can't direct my own movies.. I guess I could with limits, but the camera controls can only do so much. They're meant for gameplay. I can't pan vertically and pull back. I've seen videos of people do it on Youtube, but they're PC players. I'm not.

I don't know what this feature does other than helping me appreciate the game more. It's just basically getting a bigger sense of the world, much like how the concept artist envisioned it.

For example (I think this is dragonsreach?)

http://img2.spunwicked.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/1143WhiterunCastle-619x250.jpg

It's a common misconception that story is one of the main or essential features of an RPG.

RPGs are supposed to be about assuming the role of a uniquely defined character (or characters) in a gameworld that responds to who they are and their actions. As long as there's a sufficient amount of interaction within the gameworld, with consequences for your character's actions, you really don't need a main storyline to roleplay. Your character's "story" unfolds based on their actions.

Again, in a series like TES, the story should come from factions, lore books, and encounters with NPCs. I don't need to be told that my character is the chosen one or dragonborn.

I guess that means that I want TES to be more of an open-world simulation style RPG than a story-driven RPG. To me, that's what the series should always aim to be. There are plenty of story-driven RPGs out there. TES shouldn't try or pretend to be one.

I think you totally missed the point of the post you quoted.

IMO he's saying we control how the story is told (to a point).
With regards to the MQ, this isn't really the case - its poorly presented.

But over all I agree with the Sentiment, TES is about making your own adventure. To have narration contradicts the very notion the game is designed around.