Forums > Game Forums > The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim > Some thoughts about Skyrim

user avatar

The Fabulous King (1332) on 1/2/2012 11:06 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

Been playing this game for 60 hours now. Some impressions need to be shared. I've now visited every town, except for Falkreath and Dawnstar. I can say that the three best towns are Markarth, Riften and Whiterun.

How do I judge the quality of towns? Simple. I judge them on how fulfilling the "talk with everyone" experience is and how compelling the stories that unravel. And how well these towns make me feel like I know these people and the town. These three towns really deliver the living breathing world Ultima 7 style. And they also have the most interesting stories.

Solitude turned out to be a disappointment. I expected more from a town with bards. Windhelm too wasn't exciting, even with the murder plot. But I guess their liveliness depends on how involved you are in the civil war story. And on which side you fight.

Skyrim is the closest thing to U7 since U7 and the Dungeon Siege fan-remakes. It's not just what you can talk with them, it's also what you overhear that recreates that peeking into people's lives feel of U7.

Some impressions about the story too. I've been more involved with the civil war side than the dragon side. I've yet to go to meet a "friend". But what I like about the civil war story is that...

It's all these little moments. I walked into town and they killed a man called Roggvir. When I asked the executioner about it, he said that the guy was an honorable man, but you don't need to hate someone to kill him.

Elves deny us our culture and identity!

Turns out the High King actually shared Ulfric's views. One of the brightest moments of Solitude was the insight into the backstory. What I like about the story is that there are so many opinions. How people explain themselves. The values of the nords on both sides are similar. Same culture of honor and pride. Same rituals. Same feelings of humiliation from their new elvish overlords.

But it's so easy to demonize something that is actually very similar to you.

Of course the romantical image of Skyrim, what it means and what is it's role in the world, is different in the heads of Ulfric and Legate Rikke for example. As it is in real world, the romantical image and interpretation of one's nation can differ largely in the heads of it subjects.

What it comes down to is identity and supposed cultural supremacy. Elves versus Nords, Nords versus Forsworn (the breton natives they've oppressed for centuries). The others have no right to their identity because ours is a superior one. We cannot stand when someone's understanding and idea of the world is different from our narrative. So we have to kill it. And praise to those who kill the ideas of other people.

What unravels is this beautiful image of grand ideas decorating human pettiness. You don't need nice words to kill a man. But it helps. And so people are going to create a lot of nice words in a conflict like this.

And who suffers the most? The everyman, the one who reacts when something triggers his emotional values and ideas of right and wrong. Values and opinions that otherwise one might not think of that deeply about. Cause how seriously do people actually take their ideas and understandings in everyday life? In everyday life they tend to change quite often. One moment you think this, the other moment you think that. But in a critical situation, something triggers a response, and in those 5 seconds when your understandings and values just happen to be those.... someone's going to carry you away to an execution.

Someone's going to applaud, someone's going to cry, someone's going to send damnations at you into afterlife, someone's going to claim you a martyr.... that's just how it is.

"Our hero, Our hero, claims a warrior's heart.
I tell you, I tell you, the Dragonborn comes.
With a Voice-wielding power of the Ancient Nord art.
Believe, Believe, the Dragonborn comes.
It's an end to the evil of all Skyrim's foes.
Beware, Beware, the Dragonborn comes.
For the darkness has passed and the legend yet grows.
You'll know, You'll know, the Dragonborn's come..."

user avatar

Unicorn Lynx (181780) on 1/3/2012 4:28 AM · Permalink · Report

Ahh, I can't wait to get on with the game. I'm just too busy with adding PC-98 games and all :/

user avatar

j.raido 【雷堂嬢太朗】 (93195) on 1/3/2012 5:20 AM · Permalink · Report

I watched my sister play this for a couple hours yesterday. It was my first encounter with the game beyond some silly viral videos. Just from looking on, my impression was that it's come so far since Oblivion, but it's still just so much like Oblivion. I can see why so many people love the game and the world Bethesda has created, but I can also see clear as day that it's just not a game I'd enjoy.

She's completely enamored by it and has put in over ten hours on the game in two days. Me, I'll go back to Dark Souls.

user avatar

The Fabulous King (1332) on 1/3/2012 10:11 AM · edited · Permalink · Report

One of the things I really appreciate about Skyrim is exactly that leap in quality from Oblivion. Oblivion was also trying to emulate Ultima experience, but it was a mess. In a way Elder Scrolls has always been a bastard child of Ultima, and maybe that's why I tended to feel like they were unholy perversions of everything decent. A mockery of everything I hold dear.

And now. I honestly did not expect from Bethesda to do better. It's like they did it just for me. Here, we did everything we knew to do to make this a better game. Will you love us now?

Of course I love you.

Sure, there are some obvious faults. The quest design is awfully simple. There are times when I do long for a more New Vegas complexity to quests. Whatever the faults of New Vegas, one can't deny that it was very reactive in it's quests and provided a lot of choices. Reactivity in story is sort of one of Obsidian's (good) trademarks.

But most of the time I don't pay attention to it. The fact that it has already improved so much, makes it feel like Bethesda is really dedicated to creating a good experience for me as a gamer. And it generates a lot of good-will towards the game.

It is in the same vein as Oblivion, but it's at least 70-80% much better than Oblivion.

Or maybe it is just that Skyrim made me love again. I can think up a lot of nice words to explain it. But love's love, right?

user avatar

Unicorn Lynx (181780) on 1/3/2012 10:21 AM · Permalink · Report

In a way Elder Scrolls has always been a bastard child of Ultima

I don't agree with this viewpoint. Arena merged open-world exploration of Ultimas with the immersive 3D and action-based combat of Underworld. These games never aimed to emulate the in-depth characterization of Ultima games. They have always been about exploring huge 3D worlds.

user avatar

The Fabulous King (1332) on 1/3/2012 10:49 AM · Permalink · Report

And it was this lack of characterization that I always found to be one of the biggest faults. Morrowind had a lot of big ideas behind it, but none of those came across because the game and the world lacked characters.

Skyrim is filled with characters, and so the ideas behind the game and the world come across. I don't have to look them from some books or wiki page, but I will see it before my eyes by just exploring the world and talking with it's people.

Bethesda now did characterization and it enhances the world greatly. I find myself really enjoying the stories of Skyrim.

user avatar

Starbuck the Third (22608) on 1/3/2012 7:52 PM · Permalink · Report

Been playing a fair bit myself. Started off on the main quest, but (unsurprisingly) got sidetracked by other quests when I found the thieves guild in Riften, which wasn't bad, but not original. Right now, I'm trying to find all the Daedric princes in the game. So far I've found Sheogorath (a hoot, as expected), Sanguin (another brilliant Daedric quest, discovered it quite by accident, but I'm glad of it, otherwise it kinda ruins the ending of the quest) and Azura. Looking to find any others there are.

As for Skyrim on whole, it does feel like Oblivion with with better graphics, but there's so much more to do that I can kinda forgive it.
The quests aren't as good as those in New Vegas, no, but that's not to say they're boring though. They're certainly keeping me me engaged.

user avatar

Cindy Roberts (32) on 1/23/2012 1:32 AM · Permalink · Report

I finally got Skyrim the other weekend, but had played some at my sister's. It reminds me quite a bit of Fallout 3, as far as the quests and companions, but the voices are much better! I only played a little bit of Oblivion, so most the story is new to me.

But, my character now is 14th level, and I'm pretty sure I haven't done any of the main story quests. It's cool that the game is so open and you can spend 12 levels not even moving the main story along (I'm assuming I did maybe 2 levels worth of main quest work ^_^). I was a little worried that I may actually get bored with the game, being as open as it is. Instead, I usually find myself playing for hours at a time, wondering, "what's over the next hill? Oh, is that a cave? What's in there? Oh, hey, I see a town in the distance..."

user avatar

Starbuck the Third (22608) on 1/13/2012 5:53 PM · Permalink · Report

Here's a funny Skyrim video that was posted on the OXM website recently. It's called Skyrim: 2012. Says it all, really. Enjoy!