I just realised the other day playing Skyrim, why I've always had this love/hate relationship with these recent Morrowind and Fallout games; I just can't pass a barrell, sack, door, npc.. without checking what's inside or what a character has to say, or see what that book is about (I do not read every book, though). I also have that irresistible urge to collect everything that has any value and sell it, and especially in the beginning of game, every object I haven't yet come across, thinking it must have some special use (yeah, that Penny Arcade strip really hit home
).
Now, I've decided to take a more "real world" approach to Skyrim, and just ignore most of what I come across
But who knows what rare and valuable might be inside just that barrell...
The problem with not taking a look inside barrels is that there is absolutely no certifiable way that you can figure out what might be there... and for me that's one of the most fun things in open world games like this.
That's something that grates me too, and is a flaw in exploratory game desgin IMO. You have to smash every barrel just in case there's a special item in there. We had a curious look at Skyrim last night before our Dark Souls main-course. In the intro, instead of following the story I was looking around to see if there were any hidden weapons or such. In Borderlands for example, at the top of the first building before you've really started the game, there's a weapons crate. And as a result I died at the very beginning of Skyrim because I wasn't really trying to engage in the story. I mean, when I was supposed to be following the Imperial and then choosing which side to follow, I had wandered off to look at a target and see if there was some hidden. Similarly, any game with a 'desperate event' has the player ignoring the necessity for speed in order to find the collectables. We loiter in burning buildings suffering irreparable smoke daamge because there's probably a chest or treasure trove or one of those pesky Trophy/Achievement unlocking collectables.
Games encourage unrealistic behaviours. I was picking up everything in Skyrim with a view to selling it in a shop, like every other RPG. But then when a game does try to be realistic like Dark Souls, it takes you by surprise because it breaks a lot of conventions. So in a way games are trapped with doing things the same old way. Anyone wanting to make a change needs to provide a good education of the player.
Hmm... I can tell you right off the bat that this is one of the things why I was madly into games like Skyrim, because of the possibilities. The crate aroused your curiosity and you didn't focus on that part of the story so your character suffered because of it. If you took a different approach the story behind that anecdote would turn into something different. In fact there are big huge Skyrim threads, with almost a million views in different forums because of the many experiences people are having.
You can try to rush, or stay by the side of a tree for a while to check the map, items, study your options, or it simply giving yourself some breathing space to think about what it would be cool to do next. You construct your means of playing the game and since everyone is different, it makes for almost infinite possibilities. Of course there are some generally accepted conventions, but there isn't a single rule book for all the players. Presuming you still do want to not take a look to barrels, nothing stops you from doing so, and you have other means to craft your neat items without having to turn to barrels.
On a different note, Shifty, reading your post I "ate" a spoiler for dinner, please if you mention something important regarding the main story in the game just warn people previously. I don't have the game yet.
Back on subject, if you want to create a character rogue style or some kind of thief, let's say a Robin Hood, you might be interested in looking inside barrels for obvious reasons. There is some junk there, but also cool things. And curiosity is human nature.... It's not the game who is to blame, but maybe us humans?
Skyrim in my opinion is actually a structured role playing game, almost free-form. Games like this can be a lot of fun and also suck you innnnn, as joker said., because there's so much freedom (hence, almost free-form). I wouldn't call it 100% free-form because while you can determine what your character abilities are, you can't say what your character will be doing, because of the limited controls and AI. You can jump, but you can't tell your character to climb a tree, or asking them to behave like Dawn from Buffy the Vampire Slayer if you find a vampire, for instance, things like that.
Is more a structured and open world, than it is a free-form game, but because of some limitations and the AI -which reacts fine to some things but completely ignore others, like when seeing a dead body nobody giving a damn that very moment (I am talking about Oblivion here, not Skyrim, but I don't think they changed this that much), oddly enough it doesn't lack the capacity for silliness of free-form role playing when you exploit those limitations with your imagination.
Building such a rich world is a haven for bugs but it also make it realistic when random things happen, for instance, let's say a dragon kills a smith or a miller you used to buy stuff to. You have to look for other options to get similar material. It makes the world feel organic and alive.
Bethesda know how to keep you busy, and the game doesn't get really slow, although the learning curve is a little bit steep. But once you get the hang of most of the options, possibilites, etc, it can be a lot of fun to play.
What I would like to see in Skyrim are things like improvements in the AI department. i.e. in rainy days being able to go to a tavern and see the rain slipping down the glass of the window, inviting someone to a tipple, older and younger people behaviour being different, etc. Those are little details, but nice to have in a game with a lot of virtues in its current form. You can make your own adventure, and tell different anecdotes compared to those other people can tell. That's one thing which makes it great, apart from the world of fantasy they created and its titanic maps.
It would be cool if those barrels you mention belonged to someone in particular, not only inside houses, but outside too. And that people reacted when they saw you checking them, just in case your character was stealing.
I remember in Oblivion (man, those were the days) I could go to a garden and steal the vegetables right there, in front of the farmer and think nothing of it, because it was hilarious, he/she didn't react at all. They AI could work behave in a different way, and warn you, or make you think; "Well, I better don't steal vegetables here, I may get a rock tossed my way for this".
The imagery of those situations is just... I would love to see that in a TES game, one day.
