I remember being young and getting to know Morrowind, it was a pretty great experience, I did not understand everything and I was hasty and generally did not get far, but I had a lot of fun just messing around. So now that I′m all old(er) and can go through the game in a breeze it is time to pass the greatness of the game down to my younger brother, a ten year old kid that turns eleven this year. He′s a little autistic so he′s a bit behind in mental growth but I′ve always tried to challenge him to bring him up to date through extra strive and as he knows a bit of English and can read fairly well when he′s not just being too lazy to do it, I′ve decided it′s time for him to get to know the Elderscrolls series, he plays on his parents PC that can′t handle Oblivion so I figured "Morrowind it is then!" and I′ve been setting him up a bit in Morrowind.

Yesterday I helped him through the character creation process letting him choose his character and he made a male Nord with the shadow birthsign, and I helped him choose major and minor skills by asking him what he wanted him to be able to do, he wanted him to use big axes and a sword + shield and a bow and he wanted healing magic, I then suggested alteration magic so he could fly (levitate) later and I also suggested heavy armor for him, not to mention Armorer and I explained to him the process of repairing armor, then I picked athletics and acrobatics to give him some classical beginners minor skills to help him level faster.

So he′s a Male Nord with the Shadow Birthsign. His Major Skills are Axe, Heavy Armor, Armorer, Retoration & Alteration. His minor skills are Long Blade, Block, Marksman, Athletics and Acrobatics.

He had to go to sleep that night so I went and set his character up a little, I fought the Dark Brotherhood assassin (tribunal) that would have caused him great beginners grief and I sold his armor and got him some basic iron and steel heavy armor, an enchanted axe you can find in a hollowed tree-stump near the lighthouse in Seyda Neen (it′s nothing major, basic battle axe with 0-4 frost damage on strike enchantment), a basic long sword and a basic heavy tower shield, a bow and I set up his quick-keys so that he could swap between the weapons with ease and he also has a healing spell and a shield spell there.

So today when he came home from school he wanted to play more Morrowind, I′m not usually very keen on helping him in games because he basically just wants a walk-through (especially on games like Morrowind that may be a bit... complex for a young boy) but I helped him deliver the package to Caius Cosades and I helped him find his way around to the fighters guild and I helped him do his first mission to kill the pillow eating rats. I only helped him through prodding him to read and check the map, telling him when he should look for something to read and when he should check the map to see if he could find his way on it. He took it all in pretty slowly but when he finally got around to kill the rats I saw his face brighten up and he did his first battle, it was a short struggle since a Nord proficient with an axe and heavy armor is no small thing, but he really enjoyed it and since it was getting late I told him to save and that he should go to sleep and continue tomorrow. He saved and told me in his typical childlike brashness that Morrowind was his favorite game and he seemed pretty pleased and eager to continue tomorrow.

Now I don′t make you suffer through such a long story just because of the value of the story, but because I want your opinions, do you think I′m trying to get him into this too early ? And if not how would you suggest I keep him interested in the game, I think playing Morrowind would be a great help for his reading and English skills and may just bring him up to a higher level of maturity but he has to be interested in the game for that to happen. I′ve been a bit of a mother hen standing to the side helping him with most everything, he did manage to find out how to use the Silt Strider service alone though. But I need to find a way to slowly smooth my way out of the "helper" job, what would you do in my shoes ? Would you try to prod him to do quests that require thought ? should I not try to influence what he does at all ? Do you think it would even be better if I helped him a lot so he does not end up getting bored because it is just too complex for him ? Or knowing that he CAN read some basic English and follow instructions if he gives them enough thought, should I just keep my distance and tell him to try and figure things out for himself ?

I had a older cousin I look up to who played the game that was enough for me to try and play the game even when I hardly even knew any English at all, so I had a bit of a default interest in the game. But what about the rest of you, anyone remember playing Morrowind as a child ? If so, then what kept you interested ?

Did he had fun? If the answer is yes, then it was not too early. That's the way I see it.



My suggestion is to help him more in the beginning, but slowly reduce the frequency of your interventions. But if he seems lost or just bored, suggest to him a direction or a goal to aim for. Otherwise, if you help him a lot all the time, he'll just get used to relying on you for everything, which is not what you're going for.
Also, I must say it's nice of you to be making the effort to introduce your younger brother to Morrowind.

In my case, I only discovered Morrowind around 2 years ago (I'm 26), so I have no idea what it's like to play Morrowind as a child.

I would let him discover things on his own and just help him if he has major questions. Part of the reason I was so interested in Morrowind initially was because of how rewarding it is to find new things and explore the world. He might have a little trouble in some parts, but if you're there to help him out in trickier situations I think he'll do splendidly.

I think it's really neat that you're helping him by doing this, by the way

He hardly ever finishes games... any games, but my jaw dropped when I walked into him playing GTA San Andreas seeing that he had done a ton of missions all by himself, and that he had learned his way around the city and knew how to build up his character. And I know he has finished a Sly game but I′ve always kinda just shrugged that off since I imagine that is quite a simple game, but seeing him play GTA and getting him to translate some English over to Icelandic made me think he may be ready to try Morrowind. I′m gonna have to see how he will play tomorrow

Edit: Come to think of it I also introduced him to the game Blood Will Tell and he ended up finishing it all by himself. I should probably put more faith in his ability to find out what to do in games.

Hey, that's a PS2 game...and it's based on Dororo. :blink:
I'll have to check that out.

Oh my! I loved the game and had no idea it was based on a manga/anime, guess I have something to check out too. BTW Blood will tell is pretty darn good, well worth playing through, I don′t know how accurately it follows the lore and story of the manga/anime (since I have not read/watched it) but by itself it′s a great game with a nice story.

Little bro will come home soon, wonder if he will play some Morrowind, gonna keep helping him today (but of course not by holding his hand and walking him through it entirely, he has to work for it).

Only saw the live-action film a couple of years ago and judging from the wiki, the movie took some liberties with the story plot.
It's funny, randomly finding a video game about it years after.

Anyway, keep us informed on your brother's adventures in Morrowind.

I would advise keeping your help to a minimum and letting him play by himself as much as possible. The main joy of Morrowind is exploration and too much help can quickly ruin that.

I think you might be trying to do too much. If I was ten I would just like to aimlessly smash things with my Axe, I think, going wherever I want, not playing linearly at all. From your starting post story I gather you are presenting him too mature a form of playing. Morrowind allows this childlike whacking and slashing - or whatever he wants to do on his own, actually - so, like some others have said, I think you should let him do things on their own, whether they're good or bad. The game doesn't really matter if he's playing it "right" or not. Is there even a right or wrong way to play Morrowind in the first place?

See what his gaming becomes when he gets to do it on his own. If he wants you to show him some more "cool", more mature ways to play (like advancing in a guild, or something as... linear?), then clearly he likes you to show him "how to play the game right". Or otherwise thinks this is the coolest way to play. Try to see which way he enjoys more, with or without your guidance.

Good point, he seems very objective driven though, I did try leaving him alone yesterday but he just keep coming to me asking me where to go in the main quest, like he wanted me to help him find Caius Cosades like straight away, I think I′m gonna try explain to him better that he is free to do anything he desires.

It is great that you are getting him into the game. It will teach him strategy and tactics, and how to plan for a trip and many other things.

However I would re-roll the character and remove Athletics and Acrobatics from the Major, or even Minor skills. Having one of those is bad enough, but both will result in a character leveling up just because they are running around the world. They will end up with low weapon and armor skills relatively speaking and that may frustrate him as the game goes on.


As you are on the PC, you can just use the console to make these changes and not throw his character out. Make a forked save and use this in the console

Enablestatreviewmenu

Make the changes, save and then reload the character. If all is well, then you can hand it over to him. If you are setting the Athletics and Acrobatics higher in the beginning so he can move around better, just use the console and set those values higher.

Good point, I just figured at least the acrobatics would be good for his combat skills seeing how they would allow him to get some nice early on strength multipliers and of course the athletics up his speed making the game feel faster. Granted he will get those anyway even if they are not major/minor skills, but one thing in particular that I′m worried about is him getting bored from the game being too slow paced. He′s a bit of a brash kid, not only does he have a pretty mild autism but he′s been diagnosed with ADHD (I have ADD myself and am quite patient but there is quite a difference in just ADD and ADHD, he′s pretty durn energetic) and can get bored pretty quickly if what he is engaging in is not a bit fast paced. I reckon fast leveling may keep him interested in the long run, but I may change it anyway, just gonna wait and see if he ever has any trouble with combat due to strong creatures spawning before he has a chance to get his combat skills up high, if that happens I can of course always resort to the console.

The first I played MW a year after it came out I think. I was about 10-11 and it was quite overwhelming, but that probably have too do with the fact that I wasn't used too playing videogames at all. Those times I got help it was a lot of fun though. I didn't get too play very long and and I didn't play it before about 1,5 years ago after that. I think it can be a good experience, but he will need a bit of help in the start.

I first got my computer at the age of 10 and first played Morrowind at the age of 14.(21 now)And I used to play GTA before that.

Well,I cannot really say if it's early or not,but many of my friends at my age or a little younger (12-13) always complained about how hard it was to kill people.I guess kids can easily think "if a weapon exists in a game,it is based on killing" I'm pretty sure if my friend who introduced me to Morrowind didn't say "think twice before killing someone in this game" I'd do the same.But,Morrowind changed my vision on video games,that's for sure.
Well,if he chooses it even when there's an action game beside,than that's fine I think.Otherwise,I wouldn't expect him to become a lore buff soon XD

Though,this or that way,I think you shouldn't touch HIS game...Let him find the weapons and armor.That's what the game is all about I think.Especially at that age.And do NOT get money for him.I hit 1000 gold only after 2-3 weeks,and it gave a "achivement!" feeling.Now I get 50000 gold in half an hour,because I got to KNOW the game.You do too,right?

About the Assasin...Well,that one is a pest...Still,it'd be better to install a "DB attack delayer" mod,instead of defeating him I think.

Here to report that I underestimated this new generation he is a part of. Children these days just have too much (By this I mean that when I was his age kids usually considered themselves lucky to get a new game or a toy every month, but these days it′s just so easy to find new things and kids get a lot more a lot faster so they can be doing something new every single day), they can′t focus on any one thing. Just a few days after I got him Morrowind his friend asked him to play a racing game with him, and he went and did that, then he got an interest in bayblade, then he started to play an FPS game with his friend, and then some flash game... =.=, and now he got a new bicycle, but guess what, he′s still asking to get new stuff he′s interested in...

I′m just his brother so I don′t have a say in it but it seems he′s a little too spoiled to be able to focus on any one thing, perhaps he needs to grow a little older to realize that it′s more fun using the things you own than getting new things and never using them.

:P So yeah, for now I have failed. Perhaps another time.

I don't think you failed. I think you did well to introduce your brother Morrowind and keep him interested for the time short time that you did. Some people don't give Morrowind more than 20 minutes before they give up because the game isn't telling you what to do and where to go the entire time. It's great that you and your brother can share something like this and both get something out of it. Your brother is still very young, much younger than I was when I first played Morrowind (I think I was 15 at the time) and Morrowind is a big game. Maybe he'll come back to it, like we all tend to do. Perhaps remind him of it down the track when he's a bit older.

I have an older bro who I've always shared an interest in video games with. Even now we still find time every now and then, to play some co-op on the 360 or whatever it might be. So yeah, if you both enjoy it and benifit from it (such as helping your brother with his English), then keep at it and have fun!

My son started playing Morrowind when he was 3. Did he read? No. But he had fun. Put the difficulty level all the way down -100 and teach him and make sure he knows what Save and Load is. My son saved over a 200+ game so I told him, not this line, not that line but this line to load. Hopefully your younger brother can read and understands what Save and Load is so this is not a problem, but wanted to make sure.

Are you on PC or on Xbox? If on PC get some easy mod so it can make it easier for him, like Oblivion style fast travel. If on the PC also use the console to give him stenght 1000 or even better yet, ust the ~TGM God mode for him. If he wants to fly put in TCL so he can fly and go through mountians or what not.

As long as he has fun and that smile on his face that is great.

You are doing a good thing! Hope your brother keeps at it! I was a bit older when I played MW (20) and I hated it at first glance. I got my dagger from the immigration office and tried to kill the shop keep, and got pwned. After a bit of branching out and exploration over the course of that summer, the game became an obsession. I haven't played MW in years, not really since Oblivion came out but when I get a new PC if I can get MW running, I will be back at it.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I enjoyed your story and I wish you and your brother well.

This is my one word of advice... UESP...
use it find a suitable dungeon... this dungeon must be easy enough for him to almost kill three (around that) of its inhapitants... but hard enough for him to obviusly fail...
that's how I got into MW as a 12 year old... tell him that he should probably return once he is stronger, and when you think he can almost beat the dungeon ask him if he don't wanna return and see if he's strong enough... also enter the cs and add a nice surprize (a good reward for his level) to the end of the dungeon so he'll feel rewarded once he has finally beaten his way through... if he fails this time tell him to get stronger and then return... 'cuss once he wipes out the dungeon he'll feel that he's grown way stronger since he started... that sence of acomplishment is sure to get him into the game... and even though you may have pulled a few strings to make it happen (don't tell him that you did it) he's sure to get this feeling again and again throughout the game...

i was 13 the first time i tried morrowind, and tbh i struggled alot to begin with. im norwegian though, so i wasnt so good in english at the time. Every person are different, but atleast i know i wouldnt be able to really enjoy morrowind when i was 10/11. But if hes having fun why not

I was 13 and my siter was 11 when we started playing Morrowind. It took us about 9-10 months to finish MQ (i had warrior asd she had warrior-mage), but that only shows that even a young gamer should understand the game. She was even better in some parts, like being able to cast levitation while I couldn't, she even came with a great idea of enchanting Indoril Shield with 100 point open spell

I was 11, stared playing Morrowind with a close friend... It was hard at the beginning, but hey... what FUN!
Hours and hours and hours passed by... good old Morrowind times! :rock:

I remember playing morrowind as a kid,i was about 14 years old and didnt quite understand everything although it was one of the best gaming experiences for me ever.
I played the game allot,did many side quests but didnt finish the whole main quest.The morrowind lore and history was quite intriguing for me luring me to explore even more.I was scared of venturing out of the cities at night and while the sandstorms lasted,the caves filled with monsters and smugglers gave me the creeps every time i went into them and i always avoided daedric shrines,i even remember going inside while the rain was falling cuz i didnt want to get wet. lol
I think what you are doing here is really nice,and i really belive your brother enjoys it although he maybe cant understand everything,the sole possibility of the freedom that morrowind gives you is a unique feeling. I tried to do the same for my brother but he is mentally retarted because of some brain injuries and he couldnt play the game because it is too apstract for him and he doesnt know how to read and doesnt understand english so he sticks to harry potter and similar games for now
Just keep unveiling those cool things for your brother and he will be amazed!

I played Morrowind when I was in 6th grade ( 11-12-13 maybe...? ), I think. Although I didn't really understand some of the deep elements of the game I was able to play it and understood the skills, quests, menu, etc, however being autistic I'm not so sure if the game will go over his head, although I don't understand Autism completely. As previously said though, if he's havin a good time it's just fine, and I think morrowind is the best game ever, especially for a kid if he loves fantasy

Autism consists of a whole spectrum of disorders, I don't think anyone really understands it.

Jenny McCarthy blamed it on immunizations and thinks it's something to simply be cured.

Einstein is widely (relatively widely anyway) thought to have been an idiot savant. He liked to play in fountains and had to issue out copies of the key to his front door to neighbors because he was always losing his.

Check these out too:

Daniel Tammet - The Boy With The Incredible Brain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbASOcqc1Ss

Stephen Wiltshire - The Human Camera
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8YXZTlwTAU&feature=related