Without immersion, pretty graphics and updated quest mechanics dont mean a thing.

for TESV to succeed.. I want to be able to live a life completely seperate from any quest/faction/guild if I want to.

I want to make a new character, and not even have to speak to any NPC's if I dont want. By finding my own food, making a living and living a simple, humble life... and enjoy doing so. This is where the game will shine... in the none-epic areas.

Any next gen game can involve fighting dragons and saving the world.

Not many can boast living an ordinary life, in a living, beleivable world.

Yes, pretty much agree with this. They'd better not stuff the Dragonborn role in us from the beginning. Out character should just know that he is now out of prison at the beginning and free, not that he is the last Dragonborn and must be all over the place to fight dragons.

That would be good, this would add to the living breathing world I am waiting to see. I would like a detailed world to explore with things that randomly happen and that each time you play you see something unique.

Yeah, being expected to save the world right after I was freed from prison would really bum me out. I don't care if we are the dovahkiin, that's a lot of pressure to put on a convicted felon.

However, I don't think that Skyrim will be a failure (a little harsh, dontcha think?) if it doesn't completely manage to give you the experience of living little home on the prairie.

its the little things that separate great games from epic ones.

very much agreed. Having such normal/relaxing elements gives the needed contrast to the really epic/exciting ones.

I am so with this thread! Sometimes the smaller-scale stories, like Professor Layton or Animal Crossing, are more meaningful than the whole "I'm gonna save the entire world with my fists" shwab we've been fed in every other video game.

I don't think one person could disagree with you and have a reasonable argument. Also, the new crafting, woodcutting and farming systems should make this easy to do. You can live a very simple life in-game and you still would have plenty to do.

Depending on when the dragons really come into play, I have a feeling we'll be thrown into the main quest stuff pretty early.

If one must input through a keyboard or controller, looks at a screen, etc. is it still immerssive?

I keep hearing this term, but it seems that what most folks here consider immersion will always be out of my grasp.

I consider immersion in RPG's to be taking on an identitiy - speaking is silly accents; talking to other player characters; using body language; etc. I AM the character and I'm in my imaginary world - I'm an actor, not someone pushing buttons. There is a great difference for me between a game on a screen with a programmed plot, an input device, and a world that I see on a screen as compared to becoming the part. Erm, a weak litteray anology might be a book in first person compared to thrid person. Immersion, I agree, is first person, but my sitting in front ofa screen will always make a computer game third person to me.

I wonder if that makes sense.

And it seems that what many people call immersion is really just trying to make something more life-like. Isn't there a difference between making something more life-like and drawing someone in? Doesn't immersion mean to be drawn in?

Can you see the word "failure" in my post? It's not there. I didn't say it would be a failure, just please give us some breathing space.