A View Of Skyrim

821 Words2 Pages

When examining a myriad of role playing games, there are certain aspects that are captured in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which are often found lacking in other games. These components place Skyrim in a class all by itself among Role Playing Games. The components of a great role playing video game are an engaging plot, deep and rich character development, and vivid graphic design all which coalesce into an intriguing game that tantalizes the imagination and captures the mind.
The game starts at the character design screen. A vast number of choices await the gamer as they decide on the features of their character. The choices of race, sex, allegiance are common to most video games however Skyrim really takes it a step further. The developers included among other things hair length, color, and style. Also, they included many features such as eyes, nose and chin definition to add more of the user’s preferences to their character. Once the user has navigated the character creation process the fun doesn’t stop. Within the game, the process of the character development has unique feel to it that is rarely experienced in a video game. Normal leveling practices of kill enemies, gain more experience are thrown out the window. Instead the developers went with a “practice” approach. Whereas, each time a character uses a certain weapon, skill, or armor, their proficiency in that field grows ever so slightly. To paraphrase Tom Francis “every hour, a major decision is made about the characters ability (Francis).”This helps to really incorporate the gamer into the character building process where normal clichés of character classes are thrown to the wayside, and unique and personalized character building really takes place. Described here by Mr...

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...and great attention was paid to the emotion within each character’s voice. To summarize Onyette, the characters feel whole and not just downtown greeters handing out quests (Onyett). The musical soundtrack of Skyrim is awe inspiring and one of the best over created for a video game.
Overall, Skyrim is a mesmerizing game that really encompasses engaging plot, deep and rich character development, and vivid graphic design to maximize the user experience. The exceptional use of these characteristics makes for one of the best role playing games ever.

Works Cited

Francis, Tom. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim review. 10 November 2011. Web. 1 March 2014.
Onyett, Charles. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review. 14 November 2011. web. 1 March 2014.
Schiesel, Seth. "It's Your (Virtual) World. Feel Free to Roam or Slay." The New York Times 26 November 2011: C.1. Web. 1 March 2014.

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