I think he's trying to say that the poor quality of the NPC interaction, story, and questing makes Skyrim better as a hiking sim than a role-playing game.

Best post I've seen that captures the essence of this game. It's not about the destination, it's about the JOURNEY!

If you want to do that so badly I'd suggest finding friend to start up a real LARP group because otherwise it's pretty pointless in my eyes because the game world or NPC's will never react to what your doing. You might as well be a ghost that no one can see. Thats why I don't get people that do "lapring" in CRPG's with out multiplayer. The whole point in doing such things is so you get that interaction with the world.

CRPG's are build and stand on how good there stories and mechanics work because you can never have that flexibility in a cRPG.



Indeed

I haven't played gta4 but I would argue that there's much more to gta sa than skyrim. Look ata game like saints row for an even. After example. It's a shame that skyrim can't have a more unified story or have events that effect the world around you. It wouldn't take much. The acting is better than before, and the animations have definitely improved but the writing is as can be expected on a Beth game. I was amazed at all the things that were so obviously obsidian's input in new Vegas. So many quests stuck out as very non Beth. It would be nice if they farmed out their tes story to some serious talent

And what I am trying to say is that every other aspect of Skyrim makes it so I can still roleplay without triple AAA conversations because that is the true focus of a TES game. An opinion in the end is just that, an opinion. I can roleplay in Skyrim just fine, I don't find NPC's breaking it at all. If it really breaks RP for him, well then that svcks, I don't see why though because there is so much more to the world then just conversations.

Very minor main quest spoilers.

But, in my opinion, it does! I walk into Riften, and head the the marketplace. Everyone's there, talking - Grelka telling my to buy armor from her, Brynjolf telling the world about his elixir, the beggar asking for coin, just to name a few.

My character goes to a particular Main Quest Temple. On the way, we're attacked by a dragon, and just after I've absorbed it's soul, Esbern looks at it and says 'Alduin can't ignore this for long'.

We make it to the temple. Esbern looks at and explains all about the stonework, describes Alduin's wall, and as I walk away I can still hear him talking to Delphine. I go back, chat with Delphine, and she has so much dialogue about the Thalmor, the Blades, the Greybeards, you're given the option to agree or disagree with her.

In the Sleeping Giant Inn, I hear Alvor say 'get me some more mead!' or something along those lines, to which Orgnar replies 'coming right up'. In the Winking Skeever, Sorex Vinius comes up to me and gives me a gift for being a good friend.

I don't know what you were expecting from Skyrim, but to me, that's a living, breathing world, the one that has captured my attention for hundreds of hours

You mean like... hiking and killing beasts?

There's a reason I picked Skyrim over Minecraft. Skyrim has things in it that Minecraft doesn't. Like NPCs, stories and conversations.


Funny you mention this. The player character, as a Khajitt, can stroll into any city or town they wish to and sell their goods to any vendor they please, without question. So... how does the world react exactly to Khajitts selling their wares in towns?


Not to be asked if someone stole my sweet roll when I'm the Thane and Dragonborn that killed a Dragon right in front of that same Guard maybe? Maybe the Thieves' Guild actually acknowledging that I have a fair amount of skill because I'm the leader of the Dark Brotherhood and have had some dealings with the Thieves' Guild on my way to get to that position in said Brotherhood?

Hiking Simulator, now that's a new one.

I guess it's a nicer way of saying that the game is dumbed down.

Maybe gamesas didnt really think about it? If you were a khajiit, you will have a hard time entering towns. So about the quests, you cant really do them.
Its strange, i never seen one khajiit in a town before, except for jzargo in winterhold college(but its a school).

TES is all about open world experience. You play the game and affect the game, though i think mass effect has better choices of affecting the world than skyrim =.=
Graphics is the selling point in skyrim. Quests and character are the ruining point of this game.

So the way i play skyrim is to ignore majority of the quests. Heck i wasnt even dragon born. I turned off the compass, fast travel and used tons of mods that alter the immersion of the game. That is the true skyrim, not just 'kill X, get Y, follow Z'

What you describe are either scripted events that give you the Illusion of life. they will never say different things. It's only a shallow surface of "life". they will never respond to something you do in those conversations you mention. I've seen a youtube video of some one walking through white run's market place and pickpocketing all the clothing from peoples backs leaving them naked and they just go on like nothing ever happened that out of the ordinary. Or sneak snipe some one they are talking too and they just walk away or do the "found a corpse" script and walk way like nothing happened and the next day no one mentions anything.

Yes, this is the biggest issue I have with the game.

is the greatness that is half life. pure greatness.

do you recognize the greatness of half life?

Unfortunately I have never played it.

Nothing.

Some of you just aren't getting the OP's original intent. He's talking about the game world itself not the story, or the NPC interactions, or the fact that nobody recognizes your feats. He's simply commenting on the natural world that Bethesda created. Having lived long enough to have seen gaming from it's earliest incarnations I have to agree. The world of Skyrim is absolutely amazing from a gaming perspective. That said I do agree on some of the other comments about the NPC's taking away from that greatly. But once outside the towns, when I'm wondering around in the wilds, that is when it really comes alive for me. I love going hunting, looking for plants, exploring a mountain, checking out the views from on high. The other day I went up a trail I had been up many times and being early morning the air was full of mist and I could barely make out the ground below. Normally when I travel that way I have a nice clear view which is stunning on it's own. However seeing that effect of the morning fog covering everything gave me a new appreciation of Skyrim. The realism of that and the level of detail is just amazing. It is a stunning achievement in openworld game play.

well said

Regardless of what everyone thinks, Morrowind will always rein supreme. I'm Nerevar going to stop playing Morrowind.

(hehe...)

Good one!

The environment and the characters are amazing and great in Skyrim!!!

Who needs to grasp "points"? This is the age of the internet where you can type whatever thoughts come into your head no matter how disconnected they are and feel empowered by them by clicking the send or post buttons! It's the age of asserting your opinions as binding fact that others must accept lest remain in their ignorance or, worse, stupidity. The boundless internet that ironically serves to lock the insane even more firmly in thier own little world sealed by their obstinace that subjectivity is objectivity and nothing other than their worldview is acceptible. It's a vehicle for those in padded cells to communicate to the outside world and share their insanity.

All because it's impersonal. If those same people were sitting in your living room with you, sober, the conversation would be entirely different.

How do you feel about Alanis?

On Topic: Pretty much clearly stated that the "world" is not just limited to the scenery. Yes, the scenery is beautiful but the world as a whole is quite depth~less.

Bethesda always sets the standard (and raises the bar every time) with their environments. From no other developer does there exist a game where literally everything you see is accessible and every door has something behind it.

Having played BGS games since Oblivion made other environmentally strong games like GTA or Assassin's Creed leave a bitter taste in my mouth; nothing comes close to this kind of attention to detail and meticulous artwork.

Edit: I can't believe I spelled "comes" with an apostrophe. I'm just tired, I promise.

In terms of attention to detail, I can't really think of another open-world game that rivals Skyrim. That isn't to say Skyrim's gameworld is perfect though - far from it. In some ways, it's toohand-crafted[/i]... resulting in a gameworld that feels far too small / unrealistic in scale. Some randomly generated wilderness areas would've been great to spread things out a bit.

In response to the topic - too many things to name for me.

Skyrim essentially melded together the best parts of many of my favorite games, and put them all together in one brilliant, cohesive package.

i compleatly agree with this 100%