A 'real' journal. Has anyone done this? : V

» Mon Oct 17, 2011 11:08 pm

I'm thinking of getting a nice leather bound journal to chronicle my adventures in Skyrim. I know we have the in game journal, but I like the idea of having my own tactile place to make notes. Windowing out to make little notes in the computer seems cold and impersonal, and I want to be able to look back at my experience with the game and feel like I accomplished something. I'm even thinking of using a calligraphy pen to make it even more pompous!

Do you think this is crazy? More importantly, has anyone done this before, and what was your experience with it?

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 2:48 am

It's not any crazier than RPing your way through it. You should try to use it exclusively instead of relying on the quest log. Make note about character names, locations, quest notes - actually sounds kind of cool.

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 3:20 am

That's what I was thinking! I also want to keep an alchemist's page, with a chart that I can fill in with all the plants I find and what the effects are. It's just been my experience with previous TES games, as much as I love them, that modders have to come in and clean everything up to make it more organized, so I can actually find info in my quest log.

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 4:52 am

It's crazy but that suits you.

Never done it but now I'm tempted.

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:36 am

I had one with my last dnd character. It became a well-known fact that when I was writing in it, it was happening in the game as well. This also caused many awkward looks when I did it during combat, lol.

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 12:57 pm

Wow, this is actually a good idea! My boss always does this when reading books to keep track of the plot and all the characters, sort of like he is the detective in a criminal story. So it ain't that crazy! Maybe I'll do it this Christmas ^^

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 6:53 am

I used a mod for Oblivion that allowed me to write books within the game and hence allow my character to keep an in-game journal that I wrote myself. It's a similar idea and I have to say it's one of my favourite Oblivion mods as far as role playing goes. It's also really nice when you come back after a short break and you can look over the journal to remind yourself what you've been up to and stuff, rather than looking at the rather bland default journal.

So yeh, the idea is crazy, but it will be good fun.

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:42 am

I am doing this actually. I have this blank book that's made from some kind of recycled materials to make it look ancient. I'll be writing my first full playthough's adventures in it using a fountain pen. Then I'll be sending it to my son who is serving (Army Combat Medic) in the Mid-East where he's stationed until late next year. I figure it would give him something to read when he gets bored.

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 8:50 am

I am doing this actually. I have this blank book that's made from some kind of recycled materials to make it look ancient. I'll be writing my first full playthough's adventures in it using a fountain pen. Then I'll be sending it to my son who is serving (Army Combat Medic) in the Mid-East where he's stationed until late next year. I figure it would give him something to read when he gets bored.

*sniff*

...I think someone is cutting onions in my thread...

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 7:20 am

I had one with my last dnd character. It became a well-known fact that when I was writing in it, it was happening in the game as well. This also caused many awkward looks when I did it during combat, lol.

Did you have a hard time being consistent with it? And how did you keep it organized?

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:27 am

When I first played Morrowind I used to keep one with maps and locations also, So it sounds kewl to me........... :mohawk:

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:18 am

Did you have a hard time being consistent with it? And how did you keep it organized?

I found it confusing to read, even to myself at first, but after a time I decided to write it like a story instead of like a quest journal. That is when the idea really came to frutition for me. 327 pages before his untimely death at the hands of a Tiefling Warlock. The book was recovered by his adventuring companions with a few more pages tacked on to describe his demise. It was really a lot of fun to write!

As far as organization a string of cliff notes during gameplay and then the full-fledged writing whenever the inspiration and words struck me. Doing it this way consistency never seemed to be an issue.

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 2:54 pm

there was a cool mod for morrowind where you could write your own journal entries, it made role playing a lot more fun, and was also quite useful for remembering everything.

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 12:32 pm

Its not crazy but its not desirable either.I do enough writing at uni. I will play the game and be care free.

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 11:14 am

Not crazy at all. Only in Oblivion, I used a mod to write my journal in-game (and in-character). Loads of fun. I hope that there will be a similar mod in Skyrim.

On the other hand, I did the same with adventure games such as the Myst series (where it was almost needed to take notes). Even though I used a normal notebook (know where you can buy a blank leather bound book?)

» Mon Oct 17, 2011 11:35 pm

That's actually not a bad idea, it's not crazy, it's quite clever, I might get a leather bound journal myself.

-Mr. Maric

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:21 pm

Never thought about it, but with a game as awesome as skyrim i might give it a shot. "11th November...today I ventured into the city of Blah Blah, as i attempted to speak with Mr. Blah, I experinced a C++ crash. Now i must venture into the depts of tech support to find the key to the fix". xD

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 2:12 pm

Since someone made that thread on /v/ these threads keep popping up here. Atleast nightbeat was honest and didnt say he thought of it himself

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 4:52 am

Since someone made that thread on /v/ these threads keep popping up here. Atleast nightbeat was honest and didnt say he thought of it himself

?

I'm here almost every day and I haven't seen this topic discussed. As I pointed out in my first post, I ASKED if anyone had done this before. The internet is a fast moving place and not everyone is going to see everything posted.

And I don't deign to go anywhere near the...interesting folks...at [censored], if that's what you're inferring with "/v/".

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:37 am

Never thought about it, but with a game as awesome as skyrim i might give it a shot. "11th November...today I ventured into the city of Blah Blah, as i attempted to speak with Mr. Blah, I experinced a C++ crash. Now i must venture into the depts of tech support to find the key to the fix". xD

:rofl:

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 3:14 pm

I made a journal out of regular paper for Ultima IV. It was a much more unique experience after that.

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 2:41 am

I think I'll give this a shot. I doubt it's the kind of thing I'd do long-term, but it sounds like a fun idea in theory. Keeping it organized would be the hard part - I guess use different pages for each area you're in?

For +25 nerd points use the paper map instead of the 3D in-game map!

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 2:30 pm

Wonderful idea. Nothing like a nice new leather bound journal full of blank white pages. You could even write ideas for mods, dlcs and other thing that 'strike you' as you go along.

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 12:10 pm

I've never done this but it sounds pretty interesting.

» Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:04 pm

I did this with WoW for keeping Tabs on my guild,
Good fun!