I have quite a list of things (11 items) I would like in this next Skyrim. Here are the things I believe would really add immersion to the game.
1. Better Vampires: Okay, so here’s my idea for better vampire gameplay. The player character should actually die and be buried, like I hear happens in Daggerfall (not just sleep in a bed for 3 days). Also, vampires SHOULD NOT feed to get weaker. Feeding should make them stronger. Not to mention, if vampires go a certain amount of time without feeding, they should grow weaker, making it important to feed, with death occurring in 3 or 4 days if not feeding at all. I also would like to be able to ‘embrace’ npcs, or turn them into vampires. This should not be automatic, but should be an option, whether to just ‘feed’, or to ‘embrace.’
2. Werewolves Please, Not Just Were-Yetis! : Since I heard the announcement of Skyrim, I began thinking, I miss the werewolves in Morrowind. They, in my opinion, were the coolest thing when Morrowind’s expansion, Bloodmoon, was released. I thought that since Skyrim had the snowy, foresty areas of Skyrim, an area seemingly similar to Bloodmoon, I thought that Werewolves were very much a strong possibility. But, now I’m sort of worried after seeing a picture of these were-yetis. I would rather play a werewolf, not a were-yeti. I’m not saying to take the were-yeti out. There were werewolves and wereboars in Daggerfall. Just make the werewolf a possible transformation. (This is all considering you can turn into a were-yeti.)
3. Friendship/Relationship System: I want to have friendships and relationships with npcs. I want to have an npc hunting buddy. I want to go to the local tavern and make npc friends, or just go with a buddy for a drink. What about having a family. With children being introduced into Skyrim, this could be interesting. Your hero character should be able to find a woman and start a family while questing/adventuring. Hey, you can farm, woodcut, blacksmith in the game. Why not open up more social aspects with the npcs?
4. Possibility of making friends with some groups of enemy NPCs: Okay, if I’m playing a bandit, I want to have bandit friends. If I’m an evil necromancer, I want to have necromancer friends. I don’t want every single bandit or necromancer to attack me on site if I am just like them.
5. Follow Option: I want to be able to ask any npc, not just some, to follow me without having to have expensive Command Humanoid spells. It would be impossible to make a regular npc follow you for any lengthy amount of time. Of course, the npcs should like you before they agreed. Think about the possibilities: Xbox 360 players (who currently have to miss out on user created content), could finally roleplay that revolutionary leader, or have bandit raids with his bandit friends.
6. Animations: For things like, drinking ale, eating food, or sleeping, I would like animations. If I pop into a menu and eat a bread, I want to see my hero in third-person doing it. If I go to bed, I want to see my hero physically climbing into bed. And please, keep sitting in Skyrim, lol. These are just little immersion things. (As a vampire in Oblivion, and you wanted to ‘feed’, it actually showed the character going down for a bite.)
7. Mod Kits for 360 and PS3 users: Does anyone know if this is even possible. I haven’t been a PC gamer since Morrowind, and loved certain mods, like castles, and the mods that made being a vampire so much more cool and realistic. Kudos to the person who made the first person animation of holes appearing on npc’s throat and blood dripping out of them. Come to think of it, I think the mod was titled ‘Vampire Embrace.’ You could either enslave people or turn them into vampires which was great. Now, I am not a pc gamer because upgrades are just too costly. Is it actually possible, to make construction kit for xbox360 and ps3 users. Of course, you would have to use the computer, but the mods could be uploaded onto xbox live and playstation network.
8. More Interesting Crime and Punishment System: I really liked Daggerfall’s crime and punishment system. You were taken to a judge, and were able to plead guilty or not guilty, and depending on whether you actually were found guilty, the severity of the crime, and whichever one you plead determined how long you remained in prison or whether you went to prison at all. Example: You commit a crime. You plead guilty, and are found guilty, so you are given a lighter sentence. I think that Skyrim needs a return of this kind of system, just a bit deeper.
9. More Variable Dialogue: Okay, I understand that if you play for hours and hours, you should hear the same stuff when npcs talk to each other. But, I do think that there needs to be more of this dialogue to more fully enrich the game.
10. Option For No Map Markers! : For those of us who remember Daggerfall and Morrowind, let us players be lost if we wish. Let there be in game clues on where to go to accomplish a quest, in dialogue, in notes and letters, in books, etc. Please, allow players to turn off mark/quest markers. But, also, don’t forget that there should be clues in game.
11. Killable npcs: Like in Morrowind, and in Daggerfall, if I want to kill everyone, so be it. I do not want essential npcs in Skyrim. As a vampire in Skingrad in Oblivion, I wanted to kill off the entire city, but knew it was impossible to do so due to those essential npcs. Of course, like in Morrowind, there should be warnings that the main quest is no longer playable. Remember, not everyone followed the entire main quest in Oblivion. I know that I never finished it, and still play Oblivion from time to time. On a side note: Yes, Elder Scrolls lore is really good stuff. But the main quest line wasn’t the strong point of the game. While I think the main story could have been better, I have far more enjoyed creating my own stories, exploring my own quests, creating the character I want to be, and be able to play the character without mods. I think this is the best thing about the Elder Scrolls games. I never even finished the Morrowind main storyline. And if Skyrim does not back out of this tradition, giving players ultimate freedom to create their own stories within the world, then it will meet, and possibly exceed my expectations.