The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Editorials

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is certainly not lacking in content, so it’s not surprising that there is much to write about it, and as a result of that we have rounded up a few new editorials about the title.

OXM has a list of eigh things they don’t want to see in the title’s inevitable DLC:

8. More powerful, rather than more interesting weapons

Fallout: New Vegas Old World Blues was refreshing because it came with guns that were different, not better. The last thing we want to see, having cleaned out Skyrim’s first DLC pack, is a sword with an extra-extra-high attack damage stat. Give us something worthy of Tamriel’s rich, hazardous magical traditions instead, something along the same lines as the Wabberjack.

PopMatters argues that the presence of a main story is dissonant with Skyrim’s preferred method for storytelling:

Skyrim’s stronger narrative structure is found in the small details of a grand landscape. The locations and items themselves are the plot points and characters for the player to read. The focus on player initiative is also paramount to the narrative; the only way to speak of these stories from the game is to recount an anecdotal experience. The stories that my character encountered were finding out what the people of Skyrim hid in their homes, dungeons, and pockets. What’s this guy doing with a Ring of Pickpocketing? Who is experimenting on these vampires? Do I even want to know what (The Lusty Argonian Maid) is doing here? There are little stories waiting for discovery, not forced on the player through exposition or instruction. I found a witch’s letter detailing an interest in starting a coven with her daughter, a maid in a fortress constantly under attack. Those people weren’t telling the story; I created one in my mind. The narrative rests in the relationship between the environment and the items found in it, specifically placed for the player to find and create an explanation of them.

Finally, BitMob‘s writer complains about having his suspension of disbelief stretched a few times too many:

Realistically, the heroic Dragonborn’s greatest contribution to Skyrim is not killing dragons, becoming an arch-mage, or even slaughtering the entire Imperial army. Instead, he should be remembered for his commerce — for single-handedly keeping the entire country’s economy afloat.

I mean, have you ever seen anyone else buy anything? Any goods or services rendered other than through the Dragonborn?

It’s these small details that start to erode Skyrim’s realistic realm.