I love trying to play as realistically as I can in Skyrim, as it improves the immersion greatly. However, there are some things that you can do that make gameplay more realistic, but immensely bothersome as well (such as actually considering how much that warhammer would have hurt you etcetera). And there's a certain point where I draw the line.

My question to you, where do you draw the line with realistic gameplay?

I have a few characters that I play on the easiest setting. I put zero points in health. As a result, mot battles are short. If I get the jump on them, I can kill them in one sneak attack. If I fail in that, I'm usually dead in one or two hits.

This adds a lot to my realistic feel. I never understood the fun in 5 minute battles.

But that's what makes Skyrim so amazing. We can tweek it to almost anything we want.

i actually find trying to add much realism in a game takes AWAY from immersion, mostly because it is always done really badly and is actually impossible to do in a video game that is not like the sims series, no exceptions. It also takes away from the point of the game to me, the adventure, the story, and the ability to create characters how YOU/I want instead of now trying to keep your character up with trying to keep with the realism.

Another major thing many here to not understand is that just because it does not happen to your character or it is not in the game, it is not what would really happen. For example, a major complaint i see is, "how am i able to survive in the snow, i should be freezing to death", and then act as if that is how it would ACTUALLY work if that game was real instead of being just for gameplay purposes.

I suspend the sense of realism when playing... combat mainly. I mean think about it. I just got shot in the head with an arrow. lol I should be dead. Thankfully it was an iron arrow so the damage was hardly noticed. Or bashing someone repeatedly with a sword. No one can survive that. But it happens in game all the time.

I'm not really sure there is a line I can draw on any specific thing. But I do play on easy so the battles are short. as they should be. one or two hits and the enemy is dead. Of course I don't want to be killed so easily so I do put points into health and rely on armor and skill to survive.

I play on PS3, so no mods for me. But I have certain rules (I read them on The Skyrim Blog probably):

- I try to eat 2 or 3 meals a day.

- I sleep at night (at least 6 hours)

- I limit the quantity of things I carry (Its not realistic to have 6 swords, 3 bows, a 200 arrows).

- I walk a lot, and if I want to fast travel I use carriages.

If the game was real, then I would have to rest up for a few days in the care of a healer even after a battle that I have won. I would not be running off to the next enemy camp for more fun.

Skip ahead to one minute to see the most realistic portrayal of the aftermath of a fight that I have seen in a movie. The fight comes first, then the rest of the movie you see TLJ's character suffer from the aftermath.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi7ZTV_wU70

I draw the line of realism at what I can hear and see based on my senses.

If my character is under water, it should look blurry. This will add to realism. When I look down, I can see my feet, etc.

My character being hungry or cold may be realistic, but if it's just a meter on a screen resulting in your untimely demise, then it's no more of a nuisance then an actual game.

I draw the line at sitting down and consuming food/drink, sleeping regularly, taking armor off at home, etc. That kind of realistic life-imitation kills the game IMO. I might as well grab a bucket and store it in the corner of my bedroom and stand in front of it for a minute or so every time I wake up.

Traveling only by foot, only consuming items outside of battle, realistic carry limits, those kinds of things really can make the game more interesting. Again, my opinion.