» Tue Jun 05, 2012 10:22 am One of the weaknesses with Skyrims writing is that your race hardly plays any factor at all in it, and you learn about your race only by observing other members of it or reading some books. Especially with races that are not heavily represented in the game this presents a problem. As an Altmer the only major interaction you have with Altmer is the Thalmore trying to kill you, a Kajiit can buy some items from the trade caravan but not see much else of his people. Its understandable that the play experience of a huge game like this can't be tailored to each individual race, but it would be interesting to create a setup for why your character is so well accepted in his surroundings despite whatever race they belong to, and at the same time teach the player something about what makes their race a compelling choice. Let the Breton earn his place through some intrigue of noble houses, let the Altmer know the side of his people that wants to teach and enlighten, let the Orc understand that his quest for power is about the right to reproduce. These aren't things that you should learn about your character in some book, but fundamentals you should confront early in the game as they apply to you. Early on every race should have to go through a quest line that defines what makes them interesting and unique, and shows them in the best light. Make people like the race they picked for other reasons than just the bonuses.
2. More choices of how to do quests
In terms of storytelling this is really where Skyrim has the biggest problem. The game doesn't allow you to deal with quests in the game from different ethical standpoints. If you're a Nord who values honor above all else and the Companions ask you to beat up an old lady you should be able to say no. Let me beat up the quest giver instead and tell him only cowards beat up old ladies, let him see my point on account that I just whooped his behind and advance the story. If someone sends me to extort money out of a shop owner who is horribly poor, but the ammount of money required is a pittance for me, let me pay it. Maybe being friends with the vendor is more important to me than 100 gold. Maybe I'm the kind of thief that takes from the rich and gives to the poor, not the kind of thief that kicks people when they're down. The game should recognize that peoples ideas of who their character is extends beyond just what skills they have, into how their character would confront a situation, and should give you options to play your character that way. Options, freedom, that's what Skyrim is supposed to be about, so give us more of that when it comes to doing quests.
3. When someone shouts for mercy, let me give it to them
One of the things that really irks me in Skyrim is that enemies keep yielding in fights and beg for mercy, but if you actually let them live they just come charging back at you with a hand full of hitpoints, and really give you no choice but to kill them. This really breaks my immersion, and I think it cheapens the roleplay experience of the game. I actually really like the idea of an opponent surrendering when he realizes that he can't win a fight, because that gives even your enemies a human element. Bandits shouldn't be equally indifferent to their own doom as Draugr. In fact, this would have made the speech skill actually useful, if it would allow you to deal with a defeated opponent in some way. Maybe once an opponent is defeated you could try to talk them into giving up their life of crime, maybe you could interrogate them, in the process you could gain valuable information, like the location of valuables they have hidden which you would have never found if you had simply killed them. Once again, who a character is should not just be defined by the skills they have, but also by how they conduct themselves. Giving the players an option to spare the lives of defeated enemies allows you to define your characters ethics, not just his fighting style.
