Everyone has those moments where they experience "magic" in a game. Those are the moments that I feel contribute most to making us truly love a game. They are the experiences that aren't part of the boxed material. Things that are unique to you.


As a rule of thumb: if you can't find it in UESP, you're good to go. They can be related to the things you might find in a wiki, but I'm looking for the "human element" here.


I'm not referring to the generic positive aspects of the games or what makes them nostalgic (see my first comment for details.)


For example, traveling through the West Weald in Oblivion and finding a lonely little cabin all by itself and making it mine was pretty magickal.


Also, seeing the option to speak "Dragonling" in Daggerfall and developing an unhealthy obsession with them for the rest of the play-through was also magickal. *ahem*


So with that abstract intro, what makes TES magickal for you?

Freedom.

I'm afraid I'm not quite following you. How can we speak about what makes the games magical without speaking about the positive aspects?

Maybe I'm being unclear...


I wouldn't want to get into another "...the degree of complexity in Morrowind..." or "...the level of detail in Skyrim's geography..."


As for non-nostalgiac moments, I'd like to hear less of the questlines that interested you or the characters that you liked best.


Does that make sense? I'm looking for special moments unique to everyone that weren't a written part of the boxed material.


What makes them special? Magickal?

Uh.. So you want personal and interesting answers, instead of the boring typical ones?

Like the time I visited a shop in Skingrad, and learned that I share a common interest with a certain alchemist. One conversation, and I didn't feel so alone anymore.

Having a mage drop randomly out of the sky as i wandered, lost already, north of Seyda Neen, about 20 minutes into Morrowind.

Trying to do Fingers of the Mountain in Oblivion while standing too close to the edge, and being blasted clean off the rock to fall to my death.

Running through the Tundra, using Fire Breath to kill Elk for leather, only to have a doe stop cold and just stare at the body of a Buck i had just killed. (for the record, still find it hard to kill wildlife in Bethesda games now).

Fighting a random bandit on a fallen tree hanging over a ravine. That was pretty cool.

Oh, and finding the Forgotten Vale in general. Easily one of my favorite Skyrim moments, and probably one in TES in general.

When I used the Jump Scroll and did it in first person. Also, jumping off of high cliffs in the games. Both of these had my stomache in my throat as I did them, just like a huge drop on a rollercoaster

That feeling is hard to get from a 2 dimensional flat monitor, but TES was able to do it

In oblivion when I first exited the tutorial sewer and after a few minutes of frustration and confusion I slowely realise that I could go where I please when I wish this was completly new to me. Like the chest opening in the legend of zelda games and my face slowly turning from cunfusion to amazment with it.

Finding the dwemer puzzle box was quite the adventure. Unlike other players I did like the quest and yes, I searched the [censored] out of that place.

Oh my... Same here. And this was before my "search knowledge" for the internet became useful. I think I spent literal days in there looking for that. But you know, it was fun the whole way through

When I did the puzzle box quest there was no place to search for clues on the internet. This led to some pretty strange experiences. I had probably the exact opposite experience with the puzzle box quest that most people have.

By accident, I stumbled upon the puzzle box immediately after entering the place, without realizing I had done so. I didn't know how the game worked back then so I didn't realize that I had already put the puzzle box in my inventory. I ended up searching in vain all the way down to the bottom level of Arkngthand like a complete moron, unaware that I had already completed the quest and that I could could go back to Hasphat Antabolis any time I wanted to. I must have gone through that place three times, looking for an object that was already in my inventory. *sigh*

I was totally clueless the first time I played Morrowind. Totally. Clueless.

In Morrowind, one thing that's magickal is the peacefulness. A nice campfire in an Ashlander tent or so, paired up with beautiful lighting and very nice music. One of those moments that puts you in very relaxed state and in awe.

Also the diversity of the story in general. There are many sources, and they conflict. Generally people have their own agenda. All this plotting and politics in Morrowind is the main reason why I keep coming back to the game.

Daggerfall: when you finally find what you're looking for in a seemingly endless, even frustrating dungeon.

Skyrim: those wonderful sunsets and other breathtaking views the game throws at you every now and then, for one. A nice break when you're in the middle of something interesting to do.

In all of them, the freedom to do what you want, and good chances to roleplay pretty much anything. The vast usage of some great content the games offer you, and your own imagination.

Building a nice mage lair out of my houses, stacking books on top of each other (Morrowind and Oblivion), setting up magical items on display, throwing papers everywhere (Morrowind) and just generally living the life a scholar would and collect as many books and research as possible.

In Morrowind, it was the realization, after using Levitate for the first few times, that the game actually had meaningful content included for movement in all three dimensions. After that, the mountains and other barriers were all merely "inconveniences", not something that could stop my character from doing literally ANYTHING I/he wanted.


In Oblivion, it was a glimpse, through the trees on the road to Bravil, of the Imperial City far below and the surrounding countryside. The occasional scenic views of the landscape were unforgettable (the culture and politics, less so). The rendering of moving grass and foliage swaying in the wind, the view of distant landscapes, and other such visual highlights, were practically the only reasons I kept playing as long as I did.