It's the freedom you're allowed when interacting with it that matters.
Honestly, was anybody all that attached to Skyrim as a setting? I mean sure it was pretty, but it's populated by mindless drones who all seem to be reading from the same sheet in similar voices. And let's be honest, nothing about Skyrim in an of itself is all that original. It's Norse mythology dressed up with some political commentary about racial tensions. Only really interesting things about it are the things that get explored/discussed the least (The Daedra/Aedra dichotomy, The Dwemer). So all in all, it's a pretty standard heroic fantasy setting.
What makes it so appealing? The fact that I'm not leashed/railroaded nearly as much as in other RPGs. If they got rid of a few character's (and children's) inexplicable invulnerability to death or harm it'd be downright spectacular.
Here's why: every RPG you've ever played casts you as an immortal unstoppable badass with magic powers clothed in artifacts drawn from the hoary mists of legend- who's forced to put up with the nonsense of unwashed peasants, nobly sacrifice himself when prompted and fall in love with whatever perky set of tits first walks on set.
Notice how things took a left turn at the end there? It's because when RPGs pigeonhole you like that it's like being put on a leash by the devs.
"You've got alllll this power, but you're not allowed to use it how you want. No, you're gonna go save the land now. Yes, the land full of racist assholes. Yes, I know you don't like either of the factions you have the choice of siding with. Yes, I know you'd like to kill the smug prick who tried to have you executed. But too bad. I wanna write a standard heroic saga. Now go sit in the corner quietly and wait for the cutscene in which you demonstrate your heroic qualities to finish. Then you can get bossed around by some prick NPCs who've been blessed with plot armor."
And it's *annoying*. Simply because not everybody is wired that way. Not everybody is interested in hearing the tale of John Everyman climbing to the top of the mountain to slay the dragon because he's either got a really tiny cock or an insane amount of self righteousness.
So the fact that Skyrim gives me the option to do what I wanna do? To up and murder the mysterious woman who kidnapped me in my sleep and then go slaughter her whole family? To wolf out and clear the streets when a guard decides it'd be a great idea to pick a fight with the Dragonborn over 5 coins? WONDERFUL. Give me more of that.
The PC in an RPG is the ubermensch. He's a time traveling (by dint of save/load) immortal (by dint of respawn) unstoppable (by dint of persistence) badass (automatically). So stop forcing him to be a good boy and go along with the motions in the name of laziness/corner cutting. Let him off the damned leash already. You're so close as it is... you just need to tweak a few more things...
Honestly, was anybody all that attached to Skyrim as a setting? I mean sure it was pretty, but it's populated by mindless drones who all seem to be reading from the same sheet in similar voices. And let's be honest, nothing about Skyrim in an of itself is all that original. It's Norse mythology dressed up with some political commentary about racial tensions. Only really interesting things about it are the things that get explored/discussed the least (The Daedra/Aedra dichotomy, The Dwemer). So all in all, it's a pretty standard heroic fantasy setting.
What makes it so appealing? The fact that I'm not leashed/railroaded nearly as much as in other RPGs. If they got rid of a few character's (and children's) inexplicable invulnerability to death or harm it'd be downright spectacular.
Here's why: every RPG you've ever played casts you as an immortal unstoppable badass with magic powers clothed in artifacts drawn from the hoary mists of legend- who's forced to put up with the nonsense of unwashed peasants, nobly sacrifice himself when prompted and fall in love with whatever perky set of tits first walks on set.
Notice how things took a left turn at the end there? It's because when RPGs pigeonhole you like that it's like being put on a leash by the devs.
"You've got alllll this power, but you're not allowed to use it how you want. No, you're gonna go save the land now. Yes, the land full of racist assholes. Yes, I know you don't like either of the factions you have the choice of siding with. Yes, I know you'd like to kill the smug prick who tried to have you executed. But too bad. I wanna write a standard heroic saga. Now go sit in the corner quietly and wait for the cutscene in which you demonstrate your heroic qualities to finish. Then you can get bossed around by some prick NPCs who've been blessed with plot armor."
And it's *annoying*. Simply because not everybody is wired that way. Not everybody is interested in hearing the tale of John Everyman climbing to the top of the mountain to slay the dragon because he's either got a really tiny cock or an insane amount of self righteousness.
So the fact that Skyrim gives me the option to do what I wanna do? To up and murder the mysterious woman who kidnapped me in my sleep and then go slaughter her whole family? To wolf out and clear the streets when a guard decides it'd be a great idea to pick a fight with the Dragonborn over 5 coins? WONDERFUL. Give me more of that.
The PC in an RPG is the ubermensch. He's a time traveling (by dint of save/load) immortal (by dint of respawn) unstoppable (by dint of persistence) badass (automatically). So stop forcing him to be a good boy and go along with the motions in the name of laziness/corner cutting. Let him off the damned leash already. You're so close as it is... you just need to tweak a few more things...
