Every once in a while, someone asks about what I do for fun so I mention that I play Skyrim (which is mostly why I don't watch as much television or movies any more). People get curious about the game, but after I tell them I like it because it's not a shoot-em-up and that it isn't a scripted story you have to follow, they get confused. Never mind explaining things like an open world or skills and perks. Their eyes glaze over and they loose interest.

I don't really care, but I do feel I've failed Skyrim and Bethesda. I'm kind of a their advocate, after all!

So, how do you explain the game to non-gamers? Do you manage it any better than I do? Got any tips?

When talking to non-gamers, don't use gaming terms and don't go indepth with it unless they ask for it. Basically just "it's a fantasy game with elves and orcs like the LOTR movies but you're free to walk around and explore the game world as you please without following a story. If you see a mountain far in the distance or whatever, you can walk/ride there if you want to".

I don't.

I tell them its like watching the LOTR movies but you control the character and can control the outcome of the story or decide to abandon the story and create your own, which is what I usually do. I tell them that just like the movies, there are hundreds of characters of different races, both good and evil that you can interact with, steal from, kill, buy sell things from, make them your follower, etc. I tell them there are hundreds of locations you can visit ranging from cities and taverns to caves, forts and ruins, and that you can pick flowers and plants for medicinal use or to create poisons, and you can do other fun stuff like hunt game on the plains and make stuff out of the pelts and cook the meat to eat.

So, its like being in your own LOTR movie where you go where you want, do what you want and decide what happens. That's what I tell them.

the last time I answered that I told them it was "the 13th Warrior with much better scenery and dragons."

Good tip about the locations - the most success I've had is when I tell them that there are scores of major locations and a couple hundred minor locations that you can visit in any order (more or less). That seems to get across a sense of size and non-linear structure.

I hate to compare Skyrim to LOTR, they really aren't the same thing in my mind. It's more misleading, I think, then helpful.

Kind of an obscure movie though . . . most of the non gamers I have tried to explain Skyrim or Oblivion to have never heard of it. That's why I use LOTR as an example of what it is like. Even if a non gamer has not seen LOTR, they will almost certainly have heard of it and have some idea what it is about.

EDIT: You know now I am going to have to see if I can't get 13th Warrior on Netflix. I never saw it when it came out and since it was an Antonio Banderas film (I am not that big of a fan of his), I never bothered to see it, but reading the description, it doesn't sound that bad.

If asked I generally tell people It's "Like a choose your own adventure video". I try not to go into detail, but will mention magic, swords, dragons etc, if asked what kind of adventure.

You have got to give them something to compare it to though, or they won't likely get the idea. LOTR is the closest main stream comparator. I do tell them that the world setting and characters is a bit different so it is not exactly like LOTR. I honestly don't think the differences between LOTR and Tamriel are going to make that much of a difference to nongamers.

That's the kind of stuff we like to debate and discuss, but to non gamers, all elves trolls, dwarves orcs and dragons are pretty much the same. The fact that dwarves in Skyrim are really extinct elves who were were only short when measured by the giants that first called them dwarves is probably getting too far into the weeds to hold the interest of most non gamers.

Sending them to YT, would give them a better idea of what the game is.

Freedom.

What's YT? Youtube? I doubt most non gamers are going to want to watch a bunch of you tube gameplay videos. Not the ones I know anyway. Plus, I am not sure most non gamers would understand what's going on in a typical gameplay vid, so I don't know how helpful that would be.

You could just say: Do yo like fighting Dragons ???

Or you could explain them, how you play Skyrim: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ALbQQzePzt4#t=74

and a song related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wr-buV4tYOA#t=15

I thing you would get their attention ! ! !

You can run around in your underwear and punch deer in the face.

I've never talked to a non-gamer about Skyrim. But years ago I tried to talk a non-gamer into playing Morrowind and, later, Oblivion. Like Turija, I used LOTR as a reference. I used it not only to point out its similarities but also its differences. She had no experience with roleplaying and had never played a video game before. But she did know about Tolkien so that was a convenient starting point.

The reason I don't use LOTR is simply that NOTHING in LOTR is Nordic. Sure Skyrim has elves and such, but the emphasis is not on them at all.

I'm not really a huge fan of Banderas either, but he actually did a very good job in this particular movie.

EDIT: I suppose the Riders of Rohan are vaguely Nordic, but being horse people, they aren't much like Skyrim's Nords.

It is like watching a DVD movie only in this case I'm the main actor and I choose the way the plot enfolds from game to game. In the future all movies will be done like this.

Rabbit

Many good suggestion which, I think, can help with different kinds of people (younger, older) in different situations (at work, at a party).

It's not too hard to get them to picture the setting (sword and sorcery, demons and dragons) but it is hard to get them to understand that it allows you to think, plan, and control the game. It doesn't just happen the same way every time. Rather, you choose from among a bunch of locations and quests to create your own story/experience. This is really the reason I enjoy Skyrim but it's tough to get that across.

It's not important, I was just wondering if others have come across it as well.

Rather, you choose from among a bunch of locations and quests to create your own story/experience.

More or less THIS !!!

"Like most other Fantasy mediums like movies and literature, the most important thing is the environment. Start with the Dark Ages/Middle Ages of the Real World. Add the fact that Magic works, and that many mythological monsters and creatures actually exist and are often quite commonplace. Then for Skyrim in particular, in this world where dragons have been absent for many centuries, they suddenly reappear. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for the residents of this world, the player's character is the ONLY person with the genetic makeup to effectively fight dragons. The trouble is, that character is woefully inexperienced and his first task is to explore his world to better understand the Big Picture of the world, and at the same time gain the experience he will need to successfully fight dragons. (Which for all practical purposes has become a "lost art", so the character will be trying a lot of trial-and-error learning how to best fight dragons.) Skyrim differs from most other Fantasy games in that the developers poured a LOT of History into the Fantasy world. Probably on a par with the History that J.R.R. Tolkien poured into Lord of the Rings. That makes the experience of traveling the world of Skyrim MUCH more immersive and satisfying."

I tend to simply go: "It's a video game that has a set story but also has a TON of side stories and you can go about it at your own pace. There's a lot to explore and it's set in a familiar medieval fantasy world (magic, elves, orcs, dragons, etc) that happens to have a huge viking aesthetic... Oh and you eat dragon souls for breakfast."

If they ask any more than that then I'll continue with more answers. It's hard to come across how in-depth and open Skyrim and the other TES games are to those unfamiliar with the series. Looking back on when I first heard of Skyrim, I only knew that the content is vast and so many hours can be put into it. To what extent, I wouldn't have understood until I saw gameplay videos and finally played the game myself.

oh man, I totally forgot about mods - that's an important aspect of the game: there's a group of developers who aren't affiliated with the company that makes the game and these developers produce tons of custom add-ons and plug-ins for free.

I better not even try to explain that part or their heads might explode...

Sometimes modding (No, I don't mean using mods in your game, but creating them) represents perhaps a third of the value of a game, and is more important than the game itself. For instance, When I started playing Morrowind, the game was good enough by itself, then as I became ...bored with the vanilla game, I added mods, and then after playing for quite a while and having done nearly all of the content, I started creating mods for my game. I spent nearly two years in which I played no other games, and the only playing I did in Morrowind was to test my mods. I got as much pleasure from the act of creation as from playing, and really out of about 5 years of playing Morrowind, over a third of my time was spent modding. Same thing with Oblivion, though I did not invest as many years total in it.

I haven't created many mods for Skyrim yet, but I have some plans...

When I try to explain that mod creation aspect to people, especially endless hours creating and testing scripts, that's when their eyes really glaze over and I've never been able to adequately explain it. Maybe I don't really understand it myself...

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Game of Thrones yet.

I dont actually watch GoT, but isnt there a central storyline? and then a bunch of other little stories being told at the same time? just like most TV shows. If i had to explain to a non-gamer friend i would use GoT as reference. I believe it has magic, dragons, swords and armor stuff in it. So Skyrim Civil War = main story of the GoT series/season i guess. Then all the side quests in Skyrim = smaller storylines in GoT that may or may not be related at all to the main plot. I would then tell my friend that they can take an active part in the main story only, the side story only or both the main story and side story at the same time. I dont know geographic locations in GoT but i would use that too when describing side quests. In location X they may have storyline X going on in GoT. In Skyrim you go to location X and do quest X and you see how that story unfolds. Or you can go to another city, location Y and watch storyline Y in GoT and likewise in Skyrim you can go to location Y and do questline Y. I would also explain that some quests can be completed at their leisure and there isnt always time limits. Kinda like watching GoT season 1 episode 5 halfway and then pausing it, taking out the DVD and putting in GoT season 4 episode 7 and then watching that.

I guess it depends on who you are explaining to. When I explained to my parents who are in their 70s, I used LOTR, and they knew what that was. I'm sure neither of them has heard of Game of Thrones. Someone younger whose more in touch with popular TV would likely be familiar with Game of Thrones, and I agree it is a good comparison.