Will we actaully have an idea of what's going on this time? : V - Skyrim

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 10:02 am

I probably enjoy a bit more mystery in a game than the average player, so I like being dumped into the game with little knowledge of what's going on. I dislike it if I get an information dump early on in the game. It's better to build up to the big revelation. RPGs should be like great novels in that respect. So I respectfully disagree. (Though Oblivion's plot left something to be desired)

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 2:16 am

Oblivion's main quest isn't what kept me interested (which is probably why I put it off until last and still have yet to finish it 120+ hours in). It seemed pretty generic fantasy "big bad guy is coming to destroy the world and you must help stop him." It was the details of the living world that I found most interesting. Despite that Oblivion is still one of my favorite games ever.

If Skyrim actually impresses me with the main story as well as providing a richly developed world I'll be very impressed.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 6:20 am

I would like the villian to be introduced near the start/middle of the game so that we can identify him/her/it.

In Oblivion and Morrowind I had no idea what was behind all these problems and it came as a suprise that there were big bad bosses at the end, even though I had a PhD in the Tribunal, Neverine, Morrowind Tribes and the Septim Dynasty, the Blades, the Dragon Fires, the planes of Oblivion, etc.

You must not have been paying attention then, since you learn about House Dagoth and Dagoth Ur within the first few main quests in Morrowind.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 2:56 am

Must say I much prefer the storytelling mechanics of FONV. You start out with a fairly strong idea on who the bad guy is, and you're sent after him. But by the time you actually catch up with him, chances are you have picked up a lot of stories about everything. It takes time to comprehend what the main quest is all about, and when time comes to pick a side, you're faced with a moral dilemma as there may be *no* sides that are worthy of siding with - but you have to.

I don't mind having deep versions to read through if you want it, but the way it was done in FONV, it wasn't needed, as you got a "short version" presented as voice anyways. Some pretty cool stories hidden in those terminals, which you don't *have* to read if you don't want to. The books could be the same thing. Added depth to the lore seekers, but not a requirement to read and understand.

» Fri Feb 18, 2011 9:49 pm

I was recommended to Oblivion by a friend, i knew no lore or anything but even i got it:

Some emperor came to my cell (How the hell did i get there) And forsaw me saving the world. Then went to some old karate teacher that tried to understand the emperors shroom talk
and he did. then i went to chech out the emperors kid that was sutch a dike until we got to the tempele. Well then some weard relative to Abording fan came screaming out but still stopped to chat with me. Then i saw a demon gate and closed it. Then i went into the city and killed some baldrats. Then i found the kid who was 40 years old, and took him to some shroom eating wicca colony.
Blah Blah Blah i did all these weard things that an army could not, even tho i had just gotten out of a serious illnes that cost me to lose my memory.
Then some big fight started with the demons that would choose the faith of mankind... Yet the world could not get more than 15 guards to help me save the existanse.
Then i went trough this skooma gate to a shroom world where everyone was an idiot. And killed and [censored] some guy who thoughed he could not be killed in one blow.
Then the wicca colony started an orgia (without me). Then we went to this super cool city with the population of 100 (the capital, with an arena that killed over 20 folks a day?)
Then some super sized hindu god that looked like Mel Gibson came and i ran with the 40 years old kid to a tempele where he turned into a dragon.
And killed Mel Gibson (who liked solarium for he was red) and his 4 extra arms and suddenly some 120 years old guy ran at me at 92,4 miles per hour speed.
And ordered me an imperial armor that was only supposed to be weared by the 40 years old guy. And everyone just walked normal and didnt even notice if they happened to
walk into a hole that was created when Mel Gibson fired his fart...

Something like that right?

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 5:02 am

In Oblivion I didn't care if Dagon lived or died.

That's just as well because he can't die.

» Fri Feb 18, 2011 8:59 pm

Fair enough, you have a point.

But this thread is about making the story more accessible and actually giving it a sense of history within the universe.

That's merely your personal preference. I prefer a seemingly shallow story that requires reading and research on your part to comprehend. Given that there are so many games out there catering to your kind, feel free to play something else and leave the last game series in the world that still somewhat caters to the intellectual elite alone.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 4:23 am

I care more about TES Lore than real life lore...yeah...
I like to change a world anyway I want too. I cant do that in real life. Can I be evil over lord? They wont let me.

» Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:40 pm

In Oblivion I had about 5 or 6 characters, and only played the main quest once. The problem wasn't the gameplay, it was that I had no idea what was going on. I mean, unless you already know all about the dragonfires and why Dagon is attacking in the first place, then you get lost in the story pretty quick. All I knew was "big baddy is coming to destroy the world cause he's eeeeevil, and the Emporor forsaw me stopping him". There were some books that explained it alright, but it's a videogame. I'm not going to go out of my way to read about why the bad guy is attacking, because it's a VIDEOGAME. We all just got turned into The Blades' [censored] while we ran around an entire province and they sat on their asses. If I'm basically gonna do all the work for them, I'd like to know what the cause for this whole battle is.

The story was basically everytime Akatosh destroyed the world and rebuilt it, Dagon would sort of "hide" pieces of the world and then place them back when Akatosh rebuilt it. Akatosh didn't take kindly to this so he sentenced him to an eternity in Oblivion, with redemption only possible if he goes back and destroys all that he had added to the world. That's basically what I could find on the story, but it would have helped to know that in the game so the story didn't seem so shallow.

So all I want in Skyrim is just a short cinematic, where the old walls like the one in the teaser trailer show scenes between Akatosh and Alduin, and what their relationship is, why he wants to eat the world, and all that jazz. That way I can actually get excited about the main quest

I felt like I was in the story whole the time and I liked the story in oblivion...and after oblivion I really started reading the lore since the story was so interesting..

» Fri Feb 18, 2011 8:51 pm

the fact that you where a reborn hero of old, destined to fight and old friend, made it more personal

Here's another good example of Morrowind's ambiguity. We are never completely certain the player character is in fact a reborn hero of old. Those who accept us as the Nerevarine might be doing so to push their own political agendas. For all we know we're just some gullible chump that everybody's using (maybe that's why we split for Akavir: we were disenchanted to discover we'd merely been a pawn in everybody's game). There is evidence to support either interpretation. I missed that feeling of mystery in Oblivion.