Me, I've got it all figured out. I'm not going to make the same mistake I made with my first playthrough of Oblivion: Fast travel errrwhere, not crafting your own spells, not using alchemy (this is unthinkable to me now).

Whenever I get to a town for example, I'm going to make it my home for a few levels. Get to know the locals, culture, do some side-quests, explore the countryside, etc. When I head out of town, I want my character to be perceptibly different than when he got to that town.
The same with any settlements I find, although obviously to a lesser extent; I want to make them my hub for a few days, returning there after exploration to cook, eat, sleep, repair, etc.

I ruined all immersion in Oblivion by playing it like an action game the first time around, and by the time I figured out how to play it, the magic of original discovery was lost. I think I'm going to enjoy Skyrim a lot more for this reason alone.

I made this same mistake But i have learned to role-play pretty good

TIP: Dont be hasty! Dont only do main quest and rush through! Take a look around, admire the landscapes and explore. There is so much more there if you just open your eyes! Intressting charakters, side quests, awsome enviroments and so on

Funnily enough, this is what I have been doing this playthrough in Oblivion. I'm just wondering whether or not I should even buy a horse. I'm playing an alchemist-mage, and simply collecting ingredients as I walk between towns. Currently, I'm working on getting in to the Arcane University, while forbidding myself the use of fast travel. Getting to see a lot more of the world because of it. I'm also sleeping at night, every night, unless I specifically have to be out after dark for something. It has its rewards for doing this way, and I think I'll play Skyrim through this way at first as well.

This would really add to the exploration side of thing, in a way that I'm not going to get just by recycling Oblivion in new and novel ways. I still know where everything is, so it doesn't strike me as new or impressive when I 'find' it again. I wouldn't even complain if Skyrim did a Morrowind and started you with a completely blank global map. I remember feeling suitably pleased with myself with happening across a random hamlet (or even city) simply because I didn't know it was there. This was especially true of the Telvanni areas, because of all the islands.

i'm also going to take my time a little more, make more use of alchemy and considering a straight up mage character (which i've never done before). i always make some use of magic, but it's mainly restoration, and i haven't really utilised alchemy as much as i probably should.

Yup.

Im a going to be an Altmer.
After the tutorial I am going to explore and not worry about anything or do anything per se, I may find an interesting rumour or a challenging ruin, but I am going to stay as far from the main quest and factions as I can.

For me, personally, I always find myself stuck doing the opposite. I get heavily sidetracked, trying to see all, talk to everyone, explore all, collect all, DO ALL, before completing the main quest line. I find that this too can spoil the game if you want to go back in with a different character and do it all over again because there's nothing new and fresh about the experience.

hmmm. ill probly seek out some guilds. explore as much as possible along the way. do some side quests. and about lvl 30 or so may be start the main quest. i usually dont finish the main quest on my first character.

Well I DID have it planned out, but from the map we got to see perhaps not :\

I was going to head to Winterhold as my Argonian Mage and head to the College of Winterhold and the Ysmir collevtive and do a STACK of reading and spell learning/practice. But it looks like they removed the city of Winterhold and only kept the region of winterhold

I would say you guys made the mistake of not using alchemy and making spells, I personally believe the game offers no incentive to do these things until you're versed in magic. As for alchemy, I still find it completely cumbersome and somewhat useless.

Based on the overhaul on the UI, I can bet every dollar in my coat pocket that Bethesda will streamline these features and transform these dull menus into something a little more interactive or visual.

As for my game plan. I'm going to pull a Morrowind. Just wander off into the wilderness and bite off more than I can chew. I love those situations.

Same here, I tend to do as much as possible, find as much as possible on my first playthrough, pretty much completing everything before bothering with the main quest.

I have my char's name and backstory in mind, but you can't really plan a playthrough before you know anything that is offered in game. We're not sure if the Mages Guild, Fighter's Guild, Thieves Guild, DB, Cammona Tong etc. are in or out, we don't know if we can become landlords, what kind of careers and jobs will be available to the player.

I started with morrowind. luckily by the time oblivion was released I already knew what the deal was.


Fast travel at your own risk i say

I hope this radiant gameplay prevents me from memorizing every aspect of the game.

Yup. Got my whole first character planned out. Only thing he's missing is a name.

As soon as the tutorial is over I'm running straight for High Hrothgar. I just want to see if it's possible to reach it and make it to the top at level 1-5. I'm pretty sure I'll get my ass handed to me a lot along the way

With both Morrowind and oblivion, I played it through the first time by doing straight point to point action and exploiting things whereever I could... This time around I'll be roleplaying from the very beginning.

Ill more than likely travel all over SKyrim and take the sights in while doing the main questline.

If fast travel is implented the way in Oblivion, then I definatly won't use it in the first play-through. I also know I'm going to be a Khajiit thief and I'm going to skip the MQ.

I find that actually planning stuff out takes away immersion. I like to be spontaneous, explore this, fight that, take on this quest, etc.

Well we aren't saying EXACTLY what we are going to do for every ingame minute.

More of a general overview of how we would like to play.

I probably won't even come up with a name before release and spend atleast ten minutes finding a REALLY GOOD ONE - I'm never satisfied with names

I'm not going to do the MQ from the off. In fact I'll delay it for as long as possible, and simply walk from town to town, taking work where I can, meeting people and generally exploring. I really hope you aren't plunged into the MQ from the off. They say dragons occasionally attack the cities - I really hope they only do this after a certain point in the Main Quest. I don't want to be out picking flowers for a herbalist so I can buy a loaf of bread, only to be forced into saving the village from a marauding firebreather.

I know my name it's going to be "Dovahkiin" and he's going to be a nord. I've used nords since morrowind and now I get to take one back to his home country! Oh and you can't steal my awesome name I got it first!

I'l do the same thing as my favorite account in Oblivion... Be a Dark Elf and travel through forests and don't fast travel (I didn't know how to untill half way through that playthrough), hunt often and only do the really interesting missions... Join the cooler guilds (Thieves' Guild), get in trouble with the local athorities alot... that's the fun of TES!

+1 for me on the whole role play, slow, full immersion experience. I also, play dead is dead, like its for real. In 'O' i too play the altmer mage and make full use of alchemy - since she shuns physical weapons or armour and is loath even to touch the stuff, she has to make her living from her hobby - that is brewing up potions for sale and keeping a few for emergency use. Like i'm currently doing, she will be eating sleeping and walking everywhere (Running is allowed for a few seconds, like you would IRL to escape an enemy). IRL would you run like hell down into the depths of every big scary building full of bad guys, that you came accross? I think not. Crikey, i mean if i'm in a strange town for real, that's a bit rough in places, i don't go looking for trouble in every seedy bar or dark alley - and so it is with role play. I'm caution, explore a bit, but be ready to leg it and never go into an enemy lair without loads of potions foir health, magika, invisibility, poison etc - thats where being a great Alchemist really comes in - magic takes time to cast, potions are instant. Sooooo, that how i'm gonna take on Skyrim, like for real. Take the time to really enjoy the experience and soak up evey new fantastic view on each journey.

Oh and must say, having seen the clips, i'll be ensuring i take special note of all Mark Lamperts clever audio snips around the 'natural' world.