Hello there, and welcome. I'll start off by stating that this topic is quite heavily about game design theory, and it more relates to the fundamentals of what modders can do to enhance the core-gameplay factors that make up Skyrim. For a long while I've endeavored in tinkering with Skyrim's various mechanics through a variety of different mods. But in the end, I've always felt a certain lackluster experience - the core game still feels like it doesn't play to its strengths, and so while many mods add a ton of high quality sparkle, flair, and revision or revitalization of many of the game's features, in the end, I feel that the fundamental way that Skyrim was constructed makes it addictive, but not necessarily that meaningful or rewarding. So to talk about what the core engagement factors of Skyrim are, we first need a more defined vocabulary, so we can come at this with clear terms. Here is a short video, by the fantastic game-design channel Extra Credits, that discusses what are called the Aesthetics of Play, breaking down the approximate experiential engagement factors that games can deliver into 9 distinct parts, such as Discovery, Expression, Challenge, Fantasy, etc. [/line] So, with that video in mind, let's discuss what the core aesthetics or engagement factors of Skyrim are. Personally, my list is as follows: 1. Fantasy A staple of most RPGs, the Fantasy element of Skyrim can be found in our role as the Dragonborn, or in the various roles we can choose as members of different guilds, or in the characters we play who are made up of their specific skillsets (eg. the division between warrior, mage, and thief). Fantasy can also be brought about through specific roleplay and character-choice experiences. Immersion is a key component of Fantasy. 2. Discovery In the wide choices and open world that Skyrim presents, Discovery can be found largely through geographical exploration of the various locations in the world, or in coming to know the greater lore of Tamriel. Discovery can be one of the driving factors of multiple playthroughs, to try playing an assassin in the Dark Brotherhood compared to the warrior who joined the Companions. Discovery is also present in the process of understanding the mechanics of Skyrim (eg. the combat system). 3. Expression Another staple of many RPGs, Expression is found in our personal choices about who we want our character to be, and what choices we want to make in the game through them. Our choice of weapons, armour, spells, appearance, faction-sympathies, home, roleplay factors, and more, can all be tied to elements of player Expression. Skyrim also has the capacity to deliver on; Challenge, Sensation, and Narrative, but to a somewhat lesser extent in my opinion. In terms of Challenge, while some mods raise the difficulty of, for instance, combat, it still remains only that - a difficulty increase. The combat in Skyrim is hardcoded to be fairly simplistic, with minimal emphasis on space, timing, and strategic awareness. Even with heavily scripted mods, it is hard to pull out of this state. The reason for this is that most of the core combat mechanics of the game can't be combined into enough categorically different Dynamics that the player can tackle and think through. While some Dynamics are different in scale - enemies may be tougher to beat than one another - there still is a fundamental similarity in the minimally-diverse way you overcome their toughness with combat. Challenge may be improved significantly out of combat by modders, but at its current state, Skyrim does fairly little to engage players meaningfully on the level of Challenge. Sensation does have significant space for improvement, as the modding community has already shown to a stellar level. But the game is large and resource intensive even with moderate graphics settings. While Skyrim delivers decently on Sensation, for many who are interested in the game as an open-world RPG, it's more the gravy than the meat. Narrative too has been developed quite wonderfully with some mods, but for those most part these were overhauls that completely changed the setting and lore of the world. Skyrim itself is of moderate Narrative merit, but it hardly has a complex and intricate storyline with complex and intricate characters. This could be improved on, no doubt, but vanilla Skyrim doesn't seem to have this as one of its core engagement factors. [/line] Well, that's all I'm writing for now. I might come back to this later, but it's a lot of work to finish all this in one go and I'd rather see what any of you have to say on the matter before I continue. My intent was to discuss the current groups of Dynamics that Skyrim offers (such as exploration, dialogue, storyline, character-creation, inventory). My feeling so far is that a lot of the Dynamics don't really hone in on the core Aesthetics of Skyrim, and so the game experience feels diluted (largely due to the expansive but minimally intricate way in how Skyrim's content was made). The thing about the Creation Kit (which is a mechanic) is that it can be combined with the other mechanics into an incredible scope of different Dynamics, as you're probably all well aware. This topic is mostly meant as food for thought for modders thinking of what could be meaningful additions to (or revisions of) the game. That's all for now, hope some of you have found this interesting.
