The informational structure and interactive possibilities of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Analysing and examining the informational structure and interactive possibilities of the game, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. This essay will show the relationship between the designer and player of the game, how one connects with the other, explaining how the designer made it possible for the player to have control and interact with the game. Skyrim was created in 2011 by Todd Howard, developed by Bethesda Game Studio and published by Bethesda Software (Bethesda, 2016) and Skyrim is the fifth instalment of The Elder Scrolls video game series. Skyrim is an open world role-playing game often referred to as an RPG, set in a fantasy virtual world. An RPG is a game “in which each participant assumes the role of a character, generally in a fantasy or science fiction setting that can interact within the game's imaginary world”, (WhatIs, 2011). On investigation it would appear that a lot of Skyrim’s success and popularity comes from the vast number of choices it gives its players, both in how they choose to play and progress through the game and in the vast extent of the virtual world design that the player will interact with. The designers of this game created a virtual world in which the player themselves can feel in control. This investigation will explore in what ways the designer enables the player to feel like a creator themselves and in what ways they hinder them.

As the player of the game, one is only allowed to control one character, that being the virtual version of the player. "In gaming, players are often asked to create an avatar—a visual representation of themselves in the game world” (Uxbooth, 2016) and that is the case in Skyrim. From the beginning, the game provides the player with choices straight away as one gets to choose what their avatar looks like during the character creation process. The player gets a selection of choices to design the appearance of their avatar. Some players will prefer to try to recreate a fantasy version of themselves, designing an avatar how they perceive themselves or how they think they are perceived, the player can immerse themselves into this avatar being created, identifying themselves with the avatar. For these players, there is an option that closely resembles a human that the player can choose to play as. Other players may choose to go for a different approach, creating a character completely different to oneself. This may affect the player’s strategy towards the game as they may not identify with the avatar which could mean the player performs in a more reckless manner. However, when in the creation process the player only has the freedom to select the body and facial features, but the designer also introduces a choice of a mythical race. The race chosen by the player can influence the experience of the game to a certain extent, each race provides the avatar with certain skill bonuses. During the character creation process, the designer has provided a short description of the abilities of each race which enables the player to make an informed decision and tailor the game to their personal preferences.

Throughout the game, the player gets to discover new strategies and skills. These skills are put into three categories: combat, magic and stealth. There are 18 skills in Skyrim, each of which determine how well various tasks can be performed and as skills are used, they increase in level, which increases the avatars overall level. These skills allow the player to choose and determine their avatars playstyle, such as choosing magic, stealth attacks or head on attacks. The designer gives the player a feeling of control as they can take control of the situation and select what kind of approach will be played. Another important feature of Skyrim is that the designer allows the player to choose from first or third person depending on how immersed in the game the player prefers to be. In first person, when holding a sword, the screen will display the weapon on the hands of the avatar from the point of view of the avatar. This gives the illusion of the player being in the body of the avatar allowing them to feel more involved and in control, increasing the engagement of the audience. When playing in third person, one would be able to see the whole body of your character rather than looking through the eyes of the avatar. The designer made the interface more adaptable to the comfort of the player, depending on whether the player wants to see through the eyes of their avatar to feel immersed, or would rather play in a more spectating experience. Skyrim also features strong diegetic elements. “Diegetic user interface elements exist within the game world (fiction and geometry) so the player and avatar can interact with them through visual, audible or haptic means. Well executed diegetic UI elements enhance the narrative experience for the player, providing a more immersive and integrated experience” (The Wanderlust, 2012). However a non-diegetic interface i.e. what the avatar doesn’t see, only the user can, could be seen to distract from the experience as it distances the player from being immersed into the world. The non-diegetic interface of Skyrim includes a health bar on the bottom of the screen, a compass at the top of the screen, and a crosshair in the middle. When looking at an object, more non-diegetic elements appear to represent a feature or command making this aspect of the game more informational and informative than immersive. However by providing extra non-diegetic information, it could be argued that the designer is aiming to enhance the overall experience of the game by ensuring that players are well informed so that they can make smarter decisions throughout the game.

Skyrim is an open world game which enables the player to interact with every aspect of the game, giving the player options and choices to do as they wish. This can only be achieved when one follows the storyline passing a certain segment of the game to open up more of the virtual world allowing the player to freely roam to discover new items and quests, but without following the storyline and passing the segment, the structure of the game becomes limited. The map of the world becomes limited, certain areas are restricted which diminishes the possible encounters with other interactions. The player has to reach a point in the storyline to gain access to the whole world. There are many objects and characters to interact with when roaming through the world. Through interaction, it helps build the avatars abilities to grow. One can look through houses and cupboards to find new items to use or sell, meanwhile interacting with characters in the game can improve the speaking ability which may also result in getting an invite to start a quest. The more interactive possibilities found, the more outcomes and rewards will be received, everything that is interactive has a purpose, just like following the narrative of the game. The story will guide the user to understand the controls and discover each city and town as they all play a part in the campaign. The designer created it so it would be possible for the player to uncover the whole design of the map, through discovering new areas by freely roaming or by following the storyline. This creates a sense of freedom for the player, meaning that “even after 100s of hours of ignoring the story, [they are] never bored of the exploration, of the thrill of unearthing something new and exciting” (Gamesradar, 2016). Gamesradar regards this as ”the true genius of Skyrim's world…that almost everywhere feels unique, and while certain locations offer a grander scale than others, you're constantly finding new areas to explore and marvel at” (2016). However a disadvantage of this can be that some players may find the number of options and sense of complete freedom overwhelming because of the lack of directions or guidance the ‘free mode’ option offers. To prevent excluding the type of players who prefer this kind of guided experience, the designer created an optional story mode which still allows the player to choose between binary choices rather than an entirely fixed story with none. The interactive possibilities are not as wide and broad compared to freely roaming the map as the player has not got as much selection to fully adjust the story to their own personal preference.

On October 28 2016, the developer released a special edition of Skyrim. The original version was released on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC/Steam in 2011. The developers released the special edition for the next generation consoles, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and again on PC/Steam as most gamers had upgraded their consoles to keep up with the latest technology. The new edition of the game came with developments of the graphics and picture resolution, upgrading the old 720p resolution to a crisp 1080p, and featured optional mods (modifications) that could be incorporated with the game to create custom levels, objects and characters. The mods give the players the option to make certain changes to the game, from the interface design to gameplay and interaction. This mod option changes the whole dynamic of the game allowing the audience to have even more control and adapting the game to suit their personal preferences. Before this special edition was released, mods had been created on PC by users hacking into the game modifying and allowing these features to happen. By releasing the special edition with the option of mods, this got rid of the need for users to hack into the game. The designer recognised the demands of the consumers and released the updated game making it possible for console users to use the mods and not just PC users. Three downloadable contents (DLC) were also created to further the journey of Skyrim, making sure that players would come back for more. The replay value increased because the game now had more to offer the players, keeping them intrigued with the larger variety of storylines now included in the DLC.

In conclusion, Skyrim’s interactive possibilities are near enough boundless. There are only a few limits towards the game, like the number of selections in the character creation process and the binary choices throughout the main storyline which are still very small limitations compared to the whole game itself. The designer created this world for the player to feel like they have control of most aspects of the game in order to tailor the experience to one that they prefer, creating an illusion for the player that they too are the designer. They can also be as immersed or distant from the game as they are comfortable with through the options that the designer has provided. Overall, the design has a strong focus on what the player wants and needs, it’s designed to please the audience and the designer continues to develop and update the game according to what the public want from their games. Even when the storyline has been completed, the game still continues as there may still be places to discover which means more things to interact with. This increased reply value along with the feeling of control the player gets from playing this game could be some of the key reasons that Skyrim continues to be so successful and is the winner of more than 200 Game of the Year Awards.


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