When I finished downloading Skyrim off Steam, I was so excited. “Oh boy,” I thought, a new TES game. “Can’t wait to get started.” I proceed to setup my first char and make it through the introduction at Helgen. “Off to a good start so far,” but then I experienced my first of these wretched kill-cams and my mood suddenly soured. I was not even slightly amused. All I was thinking was “Yup, this will never get old.” So I hung in there a little while longer, but after a few more of these I had to exit the game and look for a fix to turn these buggers off.

Much to my disappointment, there appeared to be no way to turn them off. My biggest complaint about them is that they ruin immersion. They take the controls away from the player and force the player to watch a replay of the events in third person. I didn’t buy a video game, an interactive form of entertainment, just to sit and watch the computer move my character. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be allowed to finish off the enemies myself, but I guess the game is afraid I’m going to cramp its style.

My other main complaint is that they just do not work. The models just clip into each other so badly. If I have a shield, it will just pass completely through the enemy. If I’m up against a wall or something the camera won’t even be facing the right direction. Several times already I’ve had the dragon kill-cam occur while the camera was right up the dragon’s bum so I couldn’t even see my char. Plus there is very little variety in the animations. When I was using primarily a war hammer, it would keep playing the animations for the sword or battle axe.
Even if everything worked perfectly and there was a proper assortment of animations, I would still never want to see another kill-cam. They are all the same to me. They are as unsatisfying to watch as watching the same commercial for the 500^th time. It just wastes my time in a game that already takes up a massive amount of time.

My complaints aren’t just limited to the fact that they are boring, but also that they interfere with gameplay. Many times my char went into a kill cam while I was still being sniped by archers and died afterwards, being too disoriented and unable to block or move to cover fast enough. It was also interfering with my efforts to harvest souls. What I would do was use my regular weapon to get my target to low heath then I would finish them off with my soul trap weapon, but too often the game would go to a kill-cam too early before I had a chance to change weapons.

It just boggles my mind why such a feature would be included in a game without an option to turn it off. It strikes me a feature designed to tap into the x-box/casual gamer market, which has many simplistic users who are used this type of feature in their games. Which in itself is fine; I won’t criticize Bethisda for trying to make as much money as possible by attempting to make the game appeal to the widest audience possible, but just don’t do it by sacrificing the gameplay for all the players like me who hate this sort of feature.

It also boggles my mind why there is such fierce opposition to a toggle feature. The only legit arguments I have read so far are: “If they add a toggle for kill-cams, then people will want more toggles for everything else,” and “I would just rather have Bethisda work on other more important things.” I would first say that I am not asking for any other toggles. Secondly I would argue that if more toggles were included for other features like compass or whatever, that it would only make the game better.

I am no expert in game development, but how hard and how long could it possible take to create a toggle for this? I would imagine that it would be as simple as just telling the game to not go to a cutscene when the player kills something. If I am wrong please correct me. Even if it was a lot more complicated than that, it would still be a high priority for me. I can forgive bugs, lack of content, balance issues, missing features from previous games and a horrible UI, but not these kill-cams. They are obnoxious. They just make me cringe and moan whenever they come up and make it hard for me to really enjoy this game.

If you like the kill-cam, good for you. I’m glad you’re enjoying your game, but for me; please let me have a toggle.

Sorry for the wall of text, but I just had to get that off my chest.

-Cheers

I am assuming you use the PC since you downloaded the game from Steam. But, you can disable the kill cam via the ini file. There are also mods that allow you to do this as well.

I haven't noticed it that much, it's both not often enough and too often.

Too often because it's an annoying feature and not often enough because I can never tell whether it's going to interrupt the gameplay.

There is a pretty good mod that allows you to choose between first person, third person, both or no killcams.

I think if everyone was as civilized about it as you and realized you can like killcams and not be an idiot, I believe there would be no opposition at all. Actually as it is even those of us who love killcams voted "yes" for a toggle in multiple polls.

Joined yesterday, 1st post is about kill cams svcking. Love it.

You just earned a new fan OP. Check out the thread in my sig. You are not alone. Kill Cams have decimated my faith in Bethesda.

I too would like to see a toggle included for kill-cams, and I can't understand why this wasn't considered before implementation, given that it's a fundamental change to the game dynamic that could be perceived positively or negatively. I shall add my name to the petition!

Kill cams are amazing. Stick to your vision Beth and don't add a toggle. This is your vision.

Quick! where is my William Wallace of negative posts and toggle polls! Free the people from the tyranny of kill-cam!

Well put, Sarastro.

It's time to stop posting.

Interesting use of a semi-colon

Anyway, I like the kill cams and think they add a little flourish to the game. They don't happen every single time you kill an enemy, so I don't see what the problem is. You can still "finish off" enemies, the only difference is you don't know when a kill cam will be triggered.

I REEEEEAAALLLLY wish I had the option to turn kill cams off. For everyone who enjoys them, great. I am glad for you. I personally think they are gimmicky and do not want them. It would be a simple matter to have a toggle, so I hope it is done. I do not hope the toggle must be shouted through Kinect however.

Man I got one on Faendal yesterday. When I came to, the last bandit thug was beating me upside the head with a warhammer. Fortunately for Faendal I died.

I really don't understand the hatred for the kill cams. Not once have I felt that they interfere with my precious game experience. The frequency at which they happen is just right and I love watching the target flailing around in slow motion too. Good for me, I guess.

You guys sound awfully frustrated at such a small thing. I hope your pleas for a toggle are answered soon for everyone's sake.

I agree, there should be some way to turn them off.

And what about making everything toggable to please every Skyrim player out there ?

I respect all of those that needs that option on console, but personally i find that there are things more boring and more important to care of than a "trivial" Killcam when you finish the last enemy in the zone in this moment.

To me they're bearable at the actual state and even enjoyable sometimes. And especially if you're on pc you don't have any reason to complain about them as others have said.

No, they shouldn't have to make everything toggable to please every Skyrim player. If so, I would have a toggle fest--lots of things I find irritating. But clearly killcams, no matter what you personally think of them, are a major irritation for a lot of people. Otherwise, there wouldn't so many threads complaining about it that fill up with frustrated, unhappy people wishing for a toggle. That should get a toggle. I myself am on pc, and have a mod to give me a toggle. That leaves out all the console players, and they shouldn't be left out.

My previous comment was ironic in the first line Artemisia. Neither i want a "toggle" for everything.

However: what means to you a lot of people ? a bunch of "professional complainers" on a forum ? that have even the Pc version of Skyrim like the Op ?

perhaps the majority of the "rest of the world" -the "real one" i mean - is alright with non-toggable killcams and doesn't even know that this forum exist,who knows.

Here what i've said about the console players above :

its so difficult make constructive criticism here without being victim of personal attacks/wars based on "nothing" ?

Um, that's what you define as a personal attack? How about "professional complainers"? And perhaps the rest of the world is not alright with non-toggable killcams and still don't know that this forum exist, who knows.

I agree with you. But the "professional complainers" on this forum (this small forum) have pretty much beat, quartered, digested, [censored], beat that, quartered, digested, [censored], etc... that horse for so long that I hope Bethesda gives them their cake. Then we'll all bite our nails in anticipation for the next demand that spews forth from those who will never be pleased.

If it breaks the game for you, either find a workaround or quit playing it. I've been gaming since around 1983 or so (from Atari 2600, to Commodore 64, to NES, to...). That was the basic rule. I always came across a feature I was annoyed by, but if I wanted to keep playing the game because it was interesting based on its other merits, guess what I'd do? I'd continue playing it and ignore the annoying feature... and I'd have fun (imagine that)! I think gamers are spoiled now, especially the younger ones who haven't grown with the industry. It's like a teenager today would mock and complain about having to roll down a car window manually because they'd never seen a car that doesn't have electric windows.

Everything is possible.

But i don't pick let's say -50-60 "whining forumers" as a valid statistic,'cause even who has the "skills" and the time to write on a forum using this attitude usually do such a thing only to complain/ask about something he's "interested" in and try to obtain it.

I need a lot of things in Skyrim that are essentials for my needs,if i've opened a thread for each of them at this point i would have had 1000 threads open ( perhaps closed the majority ) and 10000 posts written in few months like someone else

I've said "usually" eh,before another "personal attack" will come

However,mine was only a concrete personal observation about a precise attitude that sometimes take place here.

Nothing personal, neither i've mentioned yours or other name if i'm not wrong.

Everything is possible.

Stop. Stop right there. We have been over this 10,000,000,000 times already. Quit repeating that same old nonsense because you are wrong, wrong, wrong. The rest of your 3 posts above are wrong as well but all that stuff can just be dismissed. This "last enemy in the zone" crap needs to be called out every time, though.

^This.