Am i the only one who just plays? : V - Skyrim

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 4:44 pm

I don't find it neccessary to write out a detailed backstory for every character but it can be useful in establishing the characters motivations.
I'm not playing myself, I'm playing a character with their own morals, beliefs and prejudices.
On the other hand I don't feel its neccessary to plan out the characters perks in any great detail. Its not a complicated system (which is good, some people seem to think the harder to understand a system is the better which is nonsense IMO) and so long as I know which skills I plan to concentrate my perks in thats all the planning I intend to do.

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:50 pm

I plan using the one thing that some claim gaming and television takes away, my imagination, my characters are pretty well thought out before even starting a game, but I do not keep journals or things of that nature, the world I see is not only in the game but also in my mind.

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 4:28 pm

ye i used to just play as myself and what i think i would do in the situation.

but with that u seem to explore everything in the game and when your done, the game seems like u have nothing more to learn or experience!

so this time round and the 1st for me im gonna "roleplay" different characters and try to limit myself, so i can maybe increase the playability of the game without repeating the same things!

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 1:03 pm

No all I plan is my race and moral conviction. Dunmer female who tries to do good but has looser morals though she'd never prosttute herself. Everything else is by chance in game.

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:33 pm

I don't think you've got to plan an elaborate backstory in order to have a good time (as I'm sure you already know).

However, TES is one of the few games that gives your character a blank slate, so you can see why there's a lot of people attracted to creating backstories. Myself included.

» Sun Jun 17, 2012 2:08 am

I just think of a general class and gender to play, and the rest I'll pick on the spot. My first character is going to be a female pure mage. No way in hell I'm going to plan out every single perk I'm going to pick though, that would ruin it for me.

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:57 pm

I find it hard to "plan" my character when I have no idea what the world is going to be like. I dont know if im going to be a magic wielder, sword swinger, or money stealer until I see what the environment is like. Not that there is anything wrong with planning it all out and developing that kind of depth for your character, I just like to look at it as starting a new book, I can't determine what the character of the book is until I start reading. ANYWAY, I'm dying here to start playing, I feel like I get to see an old friend whom I haven't seen in five years. lol

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:05 pm

ye i used to just play as myself and what i think i would do in the situation.

but with that u seem to explore everything in the game and when your done, the game seems like u have nothing more to learn or experience!

so this time round and the 1st for me im gonna "roleplay" different characters and try to limit myself, so i can maybe increase the playability of the game without repeating the same things!

This.

The more restrictive way to play a game is actually not restricting yourself. Because when you do this and you finish the game (main quest) you feel like there's no point in starting over. When you play different characters with different personalities and motivations it's like a brand new game every time. And with a game as big as Skyrim this is even more the case.

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 4:26 pm

I like the idea of hardcoe roleplaying as it think it would add an extra depth to the game, however, I just don't have the discipline to do it. I end up getting distracted by quest lines and guilds that wouldn't in theory have anything to do with my character. I think I just don't want to miss out on any area of the game, and since I don't have the time to play multiple characters I will end up playing an all rounder.

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:55 am

See, I'm the complete opposite. The idea of playing a game, ANY game and just...doing stuff to do it sounds horribly boring to me. Kinda like doodling random shapes on a piece of paper. May be entertaining for some, but to me it's an idiotic waste of time.

Lol, this is a very good explanation of how I see it.

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 5:01 pm

Seriously.. if you play as yourself, what are you going to do when you see a dragon? Or a bear, even. :nope:

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 12:33 pm

I'm right with you. The only time I ever think about a possible backstory is after viewing threads dedicated to it.

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 6:37 pm

Seriously.. if you play as yourself, what are you going to do when you see a dragon? Or a bear, even. :nope:

I think they are refereeing to morale-choices.

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 1:16 pm

so what about you guys? you with me or do you think its necessary for you to make your characters history in order to properly roll-play.

P.S im not talking derp about guys who do all these things, its just that I, imo, dont think its necessary.

I agree with you. Easy to have fun just diving right in. That's really the mantra that Bethesda gives us: Do what you want. Sometimes people just like to do a little more make-believe than others.

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 10:05 pm

i never plan, i just spend like 20 minutes picking a name, choose some random face config that looks good, then i go on out and play around. the only thing i've purposely planned is getting accepted into the Dark Brotherhood. and that's jsut because i really want to be in it but im not really a assassin in temperate. i dont just go killing regular npc's so i would never be accepted. maybe this game ill just wander and if i find someone who annoys me ill stalk and murder them, see if that doesnt get me in the brotherhood.

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 1:25 pm

I plan out my characters not just for RP purposes, but also for gameplay optimization. Any character that generalizes to the extent that the OP described would eventually hit a brick wall in the content. Your overall level would increase with your skill levels, but your combat ability would not keep pace. Since the content scales you'd eventually find that the content has scaled past you. At least that's my theory. I also like the challenge of playing a thematically faithful character. Illusion magic, for example, can provide wonderful conveniences, but my ground-pounding Orcish mercenary isn't exactly the Mage Guild type, so he'll do without.

» Sun Jun 17, 2012 12:49 am

What I to do is enter the game as if this was my real life and what I need to survive. To be able not to follow the story from beginning to end is what attracts me to this kind of game. You can live a life of a character as if it was true which help me really get into roleplaying.

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 9:18 pm

I never did get people who rp in video games. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of table top role playing and I do actually rp when I play those . Never did get Larping either.

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 4:11 pm

Some of my characters have a plan, some have a way of doing things, some just are in the game to experience it.

» Sun Jun 17, 2012 12:22 am

The beauty of this game is its entirely up to you how you play. Personally nothing is more frustrating for me in an RPG than having to pick a class before you start. When I play a game I don't want to have to be forced to choose between a melee class, ranged class or magic class. I like to have everything at my finger tips and then stick with what feels right for me.

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 1:39 pm

Its come to my attention how everyone here plans out their characters history, their classes and triumphs. If its going to be a mage,assassin,thief or a warrior. but now when i realize there are no classes im just going to do what i want and when I want, if I want to use a fire spell im going to use it, if i wanna get someone who's far im gonna use a bow, if im up for damage im gonna go for a battle axe. I dont choose what I am, I just play the game! and i have fun while im doing it. I play with no restrictions and i feel more like a free person while im doing it, making a history for your character doesnt make him any different from all the other characters other people are playing, we're all dovakhiin and we're all going to try to stop alduin whether we like it or not. And at the end when i have an awesome all rounder character, I have more stuff I can do then a warrior who doesnt know any magic skills but has mastered one handed. so what about you guys? you with me or do you think its necessary for you to make your characters history in order to properly roll-play.

P.S im not talking derp about guys who do all these things, its just that I, imo, dont think its necessary.

I never really make a background, I just try to do things the way that I want them to be done. The only bit of planning that I have for Skyrim is to follow a river and see where it goes since we don't have an objective once we are in the open.

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 2:24 pm

Its come to my attention how everyone here plans out their characters history, their classes and triumphs. If its going to be a mage,assassin,thief or a warrior. but now when i realize there are no classes im just going to do what i want and when I want, if I want to use a fire spell im going to use it, if i wanna get someone who's far im gonna use a bow, if im up for damage im gonna go for a battle axe. I dont choose what I am, I just play the game! and i have fun while im doing it. I play with no restrictions and i feel more like a free person while im doing it, making a history for your character doesnt make him any different from all the other characters other people are playing, we're all dovakhiin and we're all going to try to stop alduin whether we like it or not. And at the end when i have an awesome all rounder character, I have more stuff I can do then a warrior who doesnt know any magic skills but has mastered one handed. so what about you guys? you with me or do you think its necessary for you to make your characters history in order to properly roll-play.

P.S im not talking derp about guys who do all these things, its just that I, imo, dont think its necessary.

TES is a series that have found a niche of users between the computer gamers and the former table top RPG people. You're obviously a computer gamer who plays the game for the sake of the game, but there are a many people who play TES for the actual RPG part. It's been years since I played table top RPG, but TES provides a nice alternative environment in which I can live out my RPG fantasies, which includes giving my character a name, a look a like, a back story, a personality, a goal in life etc. And it makes for a better experience for me. I don't understand people like you who just blaze through a game like Skyrim without stopping to smell the flowers. Your loss IMHO, but I hope you enjoy it regardless.

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 2:29 pm

The only thing that's Pre-Set at Launch for Me is my Char's Race and i set them up accordingly Based on whatever their Traits are.
With TES i base my First Run though Char by Provence ie Morrowind,Cyridil,ect
I go into an RPG to Survive so i give my Char the Best Survival Skills based on Racial Traits because i Hate Incessant Dying.
But that's just me.

» Sun Jun 17, 2012 1:03 am

I think it's important to plan out at least a minimal aspect of your character since you can't respec your perks. I mean wouldn't you be bothered if you chose several perks in a skill tree that ended up not being viable due to lack of use? I felt that way in Oblivion when I chose to use a bow and arrows, it wasn't greatly effective at first so I didn't use it and it just became a skill that served no purpose in my end game.

» Sat Jun 16, 2012 12:35 pm

Other than making a general choice at the start as to what skills I'm going to favour over others where there are conflicts (whether to open locks with spells or lockpicks, for example), as far as I'm concerned my character was born and grew up in his jail cell.