charge52 said:
Rooster Cogburn said:
charge52 said:
Why is it that so many other RPGs can establish a character while still giving you control over who they become, but skyrim can't? Also, I like how the Ultima games gave you a nameless voiceless protagonist, yet those games don't suck. It is not fine for what it is, because all it is is a failed attempt at making a RPG.
Skyrim cannot establish a character because then there would an established character. As for the rest,
Skyrim is an awesome RPG.
Except for the lack of stats, uselessness of skills, lack of differences in race choice, lack of any specialisation, lack of any important choices, and the fact that you aren't really playing a role, yeah, awesome RPG.
The lack of stats is a godsend. I literally used to mod
Oblivion to accomplish substantially the same thing, long before we knew where
Elder Scrolls V would take place. Stats added nothing to the game but agony and tedium while stopping me from building my character the way I wanted and at my own pace. They didn't contribute tough decisions or force me to make choices, they just meant I had to literally tally up hundreds of skill increases on a piece of paper to make the most of my character and kill myself if I ever leveled the wrong one by mistake. This is what I mean about superficial complexity vs. real sophistication and meaningful choice. You can't just pile up a bunch of horseshit and expect something good to result. What matters is how the elements work in tandem to create interesting systems with meaningful choice. The way the skill system was designed made the stats redundant. The skill system and the perk system together are fantastic. They accomplish everything stats were supposed to and more without tying an anchor around my character's ballsack.
There are no useless skills and they are all fun. The races do have differences. It's a good balance because your race will change the way you play, but it won't necessarily define your class, which defeats the point of having a choice.
EDIT: Upon reflection, while I don't agree with you completely, I do wish there was more to distinguish the races from each other. There is an asston of specialization and I agonize constantly over the important choices. Don't know what you are on to there. I can't tell you how many times I have thought to myself "If I only had a few more skill-points..."
And you aren't playing a role? You're the goddamn
Dovahkiin. Plus whatever role you want to be. People write long essays and freaking fanfiction about their characters' back-stories. Personally, I prefer the mystery of not knowing what happened before. The story is about fulfilling prophecy, really, not a character study. I like to think what happened in my past isn't as important as how I fulfilled the prophecy. But that's the whole point, there have to be
strategically placed blank spots for your imagination to step in.