Saturday, April 12, 2014

Skyrim Victory

I’ve posted here before about my favorite video game, which is Skyrim. This is an heroic fantasy game, in which one can play various types of heroes in a fantasy setting full of demi-gods, assassins, wizards and dragons. I’ve chosen to be a Nord warrior, although you can also take the thief’s route, the assassin’s route, or the mage’s route. The Nord are a hardy Northern race akin roughly to Vikings. My character’s name is Ruane.

There is an overall story arch to the game in which the player becomes the Dovakin, meaning kin to dragons. Dragons had disappeared from the land but something is now bringing them back to life, and the Dovakin has to solve that mystery and defeat the enemy causing it. Along the way there are lots of side entanglements, including having to choose between the southern empire (basically Rome) that rules the land or a local uprising that hopes to throw the empire out of Skyrim. You also have to deal with vampires and werewolves along the way, or become one, and explore many caves, grottos, and ruins that contain monsters.

I’ve now solved the major mystery of the game but am still playing some side quests. I really like the exploration part of the game, and there’s a couple of other elements that I like very much that Lana laughs at me about. First, you get to smith up your own weapons and armor from materials you find in your journeys. Then you can add enchantments such as fire or frost resistance, enhanced archery skill, added shock damage etc to the weapons and armor you make.  I’ve had tremendous fun doing this, and have continued it after the main quest is over.

Second, books exist in the Skyrim universe--all kinds of books, such as spell tomes, history texts, explorer’s journals and so on. And you can acquire houses in the game that have bookshelves in them where you can add or take away books. I’ve steadily been acquiring all the books I can find as I’ve gone through the game, and now that the major part is over I’ve started filling my bookshelves. In this aspect the game is much like my real life. And I take joy in it.

I’ll mention one more fun element of the game to end this post. A skill that players develop as they move through the game is the ability to “shout.” Shout is a magical attack and there are shouts that can freeze things, set things on fire, slow down time and many others. My favorite shout is one called “Unrelenting Force,” which hits the enemy with a intense blast of air that can send them flying. Lana also gets a kick out of this shout and has actually put up a video on You Tube of me using this shout on various targets. The music she set it to really makes the vid. If you’d like to check it out, it’s HERE.  (The horse you see in some of the clips is Shadow Mere, a pretty cool companion beast that you can get in the game.)
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18 comments:

pattinase (abbott) said...

I don't think I have ever played a video game. Except for Pac Man. Does that count?

Charles Gramlich said...

Patti, I suppose it does. I played it a few times. I never went to arcades, but when home video games came out I did start playing.

Brian Miller said...

skyrim is cool...i have played it...dont have it so i havent got that into it...but a kid i used to counsel played it...its a cool game...smiling at the parallel to your life...i think i would probably be filling shelves as well...

Riot Kitty said...

I've never gotten into video games - probably because I was never good at them. I did love Pac Man though.

Charles Gramlich said...

Brian, video games have come a long way since pong!

Riot Kitty, never played Pac Man a lot. it was cool, though

Prashant C. Trikannad said...

Charles, my son plays Skyrim quite a bit and I'm now tempted to give it a shot.

Charles Gramlich said...

Prashant, I tend to get caught up in such games. It can be a time drain but I do have fun

BernardL said...

Anything exciting and fulfilling is a terrific sidebar to real life. If it helps when dealing with what we plot through daily while stirring our imaginations, it's a winner.

Ty said...

I miss video games, at least the immersive games. I swore off them a few years ago, though I still play shorter games today from time to time. Was just too much of a time suck for me, though I did enjoy roaming around sandbox worlds. It's funny, from time to time I actually find myself missing places that don't exist and characters who aren't real, but I guess the same could be said for books.

Charles Gramlich said...

Bernard, Skyrim has been responsible for a number of imaginative tales I've concocted in my head. Only one has been transformed and put to paper so far but it sold nicely.

Ty, I take long breaks from immersive games but then allow myself to play at times, especially when I'm in need of refilling the well.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

It's one of the best games to come along in a long time. The side quests were an added bonus.

the walking man said...

"Some mother's children." Do they still make Atari cartridges?

Charles Gramlich said...

Alex, yeah, I liked alot of the side quests for sure.

Mark, since all that is old is new again, they've probably started marketing Atari again. Who knows.

Oscar Case said...

Don't have time for games, but it sounds like you get a great bit of enjoyment from them.

Charles Gramlich said...

oscar, I don't have the time either really but still I do them

jodi said...

Charles-I like how you make your virtual life your reality! Escapism is so necessary for this world. Enjoy!

eric1313 said...

You would probably have dug on Diablo II. The Barbarian was quite fun.

Charles Gramlich said...

Jodi, I've always been able to immerse myself into alternate worlds.

eric1313, I've seen ads for Diablo and figured I would probably like it.