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The Weekend Roundtable: Do you 'role-play' or 'power game'?

  • Posted by Paul November 10, 2012 - 553 views

    One of the things I notice from trawling around the site is the dichotomy which exists between those who roleplay in Skyrim and those who do not. 

    And I thought it would make an interesting Roundtable topic.

    Let me explain (and apologies for the caricature I make to illustrate my point!). There are those here who see Skyrim as essentially a canvas. Not quite a blank canvas perhaps, but certainly one that is unfinished. The 'world' is there to be experienced and 'lived in'. The player avatar lives out a story or adventure in that world. That character will live out its journey, and might then be retired to live in a little cottage somewhere. But there is never a sense in which the game is then 'finished', instead a different journey is then experienced with an alternate character... and so on...

    On the other hand we have those who regard Skyrim as a game to 'beat'. Quests are religiously ticked off from the journal as they are completed. Quite often there will be 'glitches' or 'exploits' that enable rapid levelling towards that all-powerful God character that can kill everything that stands in the way. This person is quite likely not now playing Skyrim - or at least is waiting for the arrival of the Dragonborn DLC to rekindle interest.

    I exaggerate to make the point. But is this something that describes the two distinct styles of play?

    Here at The Skyrim Blog we cater for both types of gamer. For the power gamer we have the Hints and Tips Group, for the roleplayer we have the Roleplay Group and, of course, Character Builds. And I'm perfectly happy to welcome all types of Skyrim player to the site. 

    But I find myself somewhat unable to understand the psyche of those who simply blast through games, put them on the shelf, and move onto something else. Perhaps its just me speaking as a nerdy old role-player?

    What do you think?

Comments

29 Comments
  • Glimmer50
    Glimmer50   ·  November 11, 2012
    My characters all make food and eat every day. I never travel at night with some characters unless they are "the sneaky type" then night is their best cover. I don't use carriages but I do fast travel if I finish a dungeon and am coming back to town to se...  more
  • Glimmer50
    Glimmer50   ·  November 11, 2012
    On my first play through, I wanted to play an archer/assassin and based it off of Trendkills video. I made a wood elf because in all past RPG's I was a ranger of sorts. I decided right off that I wanted to be the type of character that was out for herself...  more
  • Vahrukt
    Vahrukt   ·  November 11, 2012
    Yes I remember when I started out all I did was "power-play" because I knew nothing of rp and this was my first real rp type game.So I made this all mighty Khajiit Assassin and tore thourgh every quest and guild in the game,and by the time dawnguard came ...  more
  • Acelo
    Acelo   ·  November 11, 2012
    I will admit, when I first started Skyrim I had a Khajjit. I absolutely tore through the levels. The only RP game before Skyrim which I played was the Fallout Series.  I realised my mistake. It was boring, I had maxed out damage, health, stamina and magic...  more
  • Guitarweeps
    Guitarweeps   ·  November 10, 2012
    I would say that on my initial playthrough I am more in it to complete the quests and level my character as best I can. I still have roleplay elements thoguh as I choose what type of morality stances I would take beforehand. In fact, usually the first pla...  more
  • ricardo maia
    ricardo maia   ·  November 10, 2012
    I've installed the mod realistic needs and diseases and now I'm playing in a kind of hardcore mode, just like I was used to do in Fallout NV. That said, I'm not really a RP extremist - I still use fast travel, I use enchantment and smithing to overpower m...  more
  • BGJMO
    BGJMO   ·  November 10, 2012
    When I first started playing skyrim I ran through the game,using all the skills, and joining any faction that would take me. Now I try and make unique characters, no fast travel, and sleep every night. I plan my day out, setting out on quests early in the...  more
  • Mason
    Mason   ·  November 10, 2012
    For my own characters I try to find a nice balance...
    I refuse to deliberately gimp my characters, the closest I came to that was with the revenant build I made (can only heal by feeding on corpses). I won't use all three crafting skills but I'm alw...  more
  • The Nexus
    The Nexus   ·  November 10, 2012
    I'm the middleman :P I like ticking off things from a list occasionally, but not everything. If you do everything on one character then it's not a character anymore, it's a robot. 
  • Unix
    Unix   ·  November 10, 2012
    Roleplay! With only one character made in the whole game, I enjoy every minute of it. She is level 51, that's because she uses mostly archery and restoration spells. Loved the Hearthfire expansion it made my experience deeper. I can't change this characte...  more
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