Random events of Fallout in Skyrim

Post » Thu Dec 15, 2011 7:13 am

Does anyone wish the random events that would occur in Fallout were implemented in Skyrim?

I realize this is a completely different game but we all know how similar the current Elder Scrolls play like the current Fallouts. After replying in another post I got to thinking about how random events changed things in the world in the Fallout series. I was really expecting the game world in Skyrim behave like Fallout's world. I don't mean weapons or beasts, but how things happened when you weren't around. Death claws & rad scorpions would sometimes wreck a town & kill NPC's or kill traders on their travels. These events could occur when I was on the other side of the map doing something else. Although it was annoying to find one of the few traders dead or an important quest NPC killed, it somehow brought a little bit of life into the game. It made life feel more fragile & made the NPC's feel more important. In Skyrim, if a dragon swoops into a town, it seems to happen only when I enter the area. If I see someone die that I do not want to lose from the game world, I can just reload & try to fight the dragon differently. In Fallout, I might be way too far into the game when I find out that an NPC I needed for a quest was killed in a random event. There was a sense of finality that Skyrim doesn't appear to have. In Skyrim, I don't really fear for the deaths of others but in Fallout, I realized that it was best not to put off on certain quests or bad things could happen.

I don't really like quest-breaking events, but I would have really enjoyed a little but of uncertainty. They didn't necessarily ruin the game & sometimes, even though a quest was blown or an NPC I liked was killed, I was still satisfied that I was playing in a living, breathing world. These events seemed to happen in Fallout because they could actually happen in that type of world. Although I can't really put my finger on it, a number of NPC's in Fallout/Oblivion seemed to have a bit more to do like traveling to other towns or certain places only on certain days. The NPC's in Skyrim just don't feel like they have very detailed schedules. I must admit that most of my time in Skyrim has been out in the boonies away from most NPC's but I can't remember ever running across someone I recognized from a town I met them in. In Fallout/Oblivion, this did happen on occasion. It wasn't a big deal, but it felt pretty cool. I could be wrong & I hope I am. This game is pretty new & people's schedules haven't been fleshed out in detail on the Wiki's yet.

I am not starting this post to criticize Skyrim. It is what it is. I am alternating between two playthroughs & I have about 110 hours on my warrior & about 40 on a mage & I am nowhere close to seeing everything & doing everything that I want to do. The game has been a blast so far. Everyone experiences things differently in a sandbox. Some of you have seen things others might not have noticed. More than anything, I am just a bit curious about how others feel one way or the other.

What are your thoughts?
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Davorah Katz
 
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