"Immersion" is a term that likes to be bandied about in terms of video games. And getting down to what people think "immersion" is, it seems to me that gamers can generally agree that its something where you're playing the game not for the sake of it being a "game", but for the sake of getting into character, and doing what that character would do.

"Reactivity" is not a word used as much, but was a basis for games such as Half Life, the idea that every time the player took an action the game would react to that in some way.

And TES as a series has lost both for the most part, seemingly lost even the idea that either would even be a goal.

Instead we heard about "rewards", about how easy things should be to get into and "rewarding" it should be. The UI, rather than making you think your a character, was designed to be neat, to "be like Apple."

But where's the immersion gone? Back in Morrowind, things were made and done just to make it feel like you were in another world. Racism was present, everywhere, if even just by certain races liking you less because you were the race you chose. People would actually acknowledge your actions, whether you were a thief or etc. Not being able to become "lord of every faction and guild in the land" was neat, not because it was an interesting choice, but because the world reacted to what you were doing as a player.

Skyrim doesn't do that, it does it's best NOT to react to you at all. E.G. http://bestragecomics.com/16162-skyrim-ai . There's no fame, or infamy to be gained. Everything respawns. Yet if you do the plot you are glorified whether you even did anything. "You killed the dragon!" even if you didn't and just let the guards do it all. It's a game where you get rewarded for doing things you didn't even do, and can't get rewarded for doing things you actually did accomplish.

Yes, seven million copies have been sold on name brand recognition and giving the player rewards no matter what. But, can reactivity and immersion come back into the series? I'm sure it can. I'm sure all the rewards can sit alongside giving out those rewards for what players are actually doing, rather than just sitting there. I'm sure there's enough designers in a hundred + person company to make a world that feels like a real world again, and not one where NPC's loudly proclaim there life story to any stranger that happens to pass by.

Or maybe not. Maybe I'm looking for some other game. At least with The Witcher 3, Dragon Age 3, and etc. those other games are finally coming out.

I agree that immersion has been broken somewhat but there is a trade off. Just look around while your walking through the world. I play on console and I am still awed by the detail and the beauty of the place. This, I think, helps immersion. At times it was difficult to get into Oblivion or Morrowind for different reasons but, and especially in Morrwind, the graphics didn't help. I am one of the first to admit that the series have been dumbed down and your point on reactivity is spot on and needs to be addressed. But for the hardcoe player, the ones who follow the lore and really get into the games, the level of detail helps. Ultimately we must face the reality that they are games and so are limited in a vast number of ways. This forces us to roleplay by limiting ourselves and doing certain things on our own (I had a character in Oblivion who was a religious nut and so I made him pray at an altar at least once if not more times a day).

To sum up:Yes the game could do more, especially in regards to reactivity but ultimately immersion is what you make it.