The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a Single-Player Role-Playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fifth installment in The Elder Scrolls action/adventure RPG fantasy video game series, and follows The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion by approximately 200 years, during the 4th Era. The game was announced on November 11, 2010 at the Spike Video Game Awards in Topeka, with a release date of November 11, 2011. It will feature Radiant A.I, along with Radiant Storytelling or Radiant Story, to help enhance quests, and a new and improved graphics engine.

Plot
Two hundred years have passed since the events of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and it is now the 201st year of the Fourth Era (4E 201). The High King of Skyrim has been assassinated, and the threat of civil war looms over the land of Skyrim; One side wishes to secede from the crumbling Empire, while the other wishes to remain a part of it, believing that it is still worth fighting for. To make matters worse, this schism is the final event in a prophecy foretold by the Elder Scrolls that will lead to the return of the dragons under Alduin, the Nordic god of destruction.

The player begins the game imprisoned, being led to their execution as a result of crossing the border into Skyrim. As the player lays their head on the chopping block, a dragon attacks. In the midst of the chaos several Stormcloaks, along with their leader and fellow prisoner, Ulfric Stormcloak, assist in the player's escape. The player may choose between the assistance of Ralof, the Stormcloak who arrived with Ulfric, or of Hadvar, the Imperial soldier responsible for reading off the names of the prisoners being sent to their execution. The player later learns that they are Dovahkiin, a Dragonborn charged with the duty of defeating Alduin and the dragons. Eventually, the player meets Esbern, one of the last remaining Blades.

Setting
The fifth installment of The Elder Scrolls takes place in Skyrim, where peace is threatened by the looming threats of both civil war and the return of the dragons under the main antagonist, the great dragon Alduin (the Nordic equivalent of Akatosh).

Skyrim is the northernmost region of Tamriel and its geography consists of mountains, snowy tundras, pine forests, rural countrysides and arctic plains. Its architecture and atmosphere is very similar to the town of Bruma in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Although it is roughly the same size as Oblivion's Cyrodiil (approximately 41 square kilometers in area or 25.4 miles), it is the least populated of all regions in Tamriel and features more lush forests and grassy areas than Cyrodiil. Although there are only five cities within the province, they are larger than the cities of Cyrodiil and are complemented with smaller townships dotted through the land with huge swathes of wilderness separating them all.

There are over 150 dungeons scattered across Skyrim. Fast-traveling is a returning feature, allowing the player to instantly travel to any marked location that has been previously visited.

New enemies to the series include Mountain Giants, Frost Trolls, Mammoths, Frost Spiders, Ice Wraiths, and Dragons. The game will feature non-hostile dragons, but they are the rare exception. There will also be children present in the game for the first time since Daggerfall, where there were a couple of quests in which they were encountered.

Gameplay
As the game has just been released, only a moderate amount is known about the gameplay. Although there is a decent amount of information that has been shown, it appears as though this information only scratches the surface. However, it is certain that there have been many changes to gameplay and that several new features will be incorporated into Skyrim. A lot of them have to do with how the game is played and how the player character is structured in terms of skills and class.

Skyrim retains the traditional open-world gameplay found in the Elder Scrolls series. The player is free to roam the land of Skyrim at will, either on-foot or on horseback. Each city or town has its own economy which the player can either stimulate by completing jobs such as farming and mining, or harm by sabotaging industrial buildings. The player can train in eighteen different skills, and the player character is leveled up by raising skills. The higher the level of a skill already is, the more it will benefit you in leveling up. The class system traditional in role-playing games, which had been present in Oblivion, is removed to allow the player's play-style to develop naturally. Perks are skill-specific abilities, organized in a system of branching groups called "skill trees." The player can choose from one of 280 perks each time their character gains a level. Leveling is possible past level 50, but the rate at which the player levels is significantly reduced, reaching a maximum level at around 80 due to having 100 in every skill.

Weapons and armor can be crafted by the player at a forge, and one-handed weapons can be assigned to each hand individually, allowing for dual-wielding. Shields can be used with a bashing attack, and timing is required for blocking with a shield. Blunt, bladed, and hacking weapons each have specific advantages and roles, including varying speed and damage as well as type-specific perks. There are over eighty-five spells, which can be used in ranged and close combat.

Spell types have specific qualities: A frost spell slows and drains stamina, while a fire spell causes prolonged damage through burning and may also ignite the environment, while a lightning spell drains the magicka from an opponent. Players can equip one spell per hand and will be able to charge up spells before casting for greater power. When practicing archery, arrows take longer to draw than in previous Elder Scrolls games, but do greater damage. Because of this, arrows are expensive and considered rarities. A player equipped with a bow can use it defensively in close combat, in a charging counterattack. The player can sneak, and non-player characters (NPCs) become alerted if the player's movements are detected.

Skyrim makes use of the Radiant AI artificial intelligence system created for Oblivion, which has been updated to allow NPCs to "do what they want under extra parameters." The updated system allows for greater interaction between NPCs and their environments: NPCs can perform tasks such as farming, milling and mining in the game world. NPCs can interact with the player character through conversation, and can request favors and training for the player, or challenge the player character to a duel. The player can also marry an NPC and, should the player own a house in that city, the NPC spouse will live in it.

Skills
Mysticism is no longer present as a skill, but its spells are distributed between the other schools of magic, while Acrobatics and Athletics have been removed entirely. Weapon skills have not been removed, but they are now grouped under the one-handed and two-handed skills.

There are eighteen skills in all, six for each style of play (Magic, Combat and Stealth). They are as follows:

The Mage

 * Restoration
 * Destruction
 * Illusion
 * Alteration
 * Conjuration
 * Enchanting

The Warrior

 * Smithing
 * Heavy Armor
 * Block
 * One-Handed
 * Two-Handed
 * Archery

The Thief

 * Alchemy
 * Light Armor
 * Lockpicking
 * Pickpocket
 * Speech
 * Sneak.

Leveling Up, Classes & Customization
The leveling mechanic in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is similar to previous titles, with the player leveling up after enough skills have, themselves, been leveled up through use. Game director Todd Howard stated that the game's "mathematical" level cap is 70; however, the Prima Official Game Guide states the level cap is "around 80." One of the largest differences from previous Elder Scrolls games is that you no longer specify a group of major and minor skills; instead, all skills are treated the same, and all skills contribute towards leveling up. As a result of this change, there is no longer any class selection component to character creation.

A significant new feature to The Elder Scrolls series is the addition of a total of 251 perks, one granted each level, which allow for further specialization. Each skill is presented as a constellation, built up of node stars representing the perk tree, within a firmament. For example, a player using one-handed weapons could specialize in maces with a perk that ignores opponents' armor, select a perk granting swords an increased chance of landing a critical hit, or prioritize axes by choosing a perk that makes enemies bleed, causing damage over time.

Character visual customization has been further refined from previous Elder Scrolls games, introducing new customization options such as pre-built beards and faces, war paint and scars, and otherwise enhanced facial construction. Body size is also now an editable feature, along with different presets for nearly all facial features.

Also new to the Elder Scrolls series are the Guardian Stones, large carved obelisks scattered throughout the game world, found singly or in a single group of 3 (near the game start area). By activating the stone of your choice, your character is granted one or more bonuses or powers; a new stone may be selected later, but only one stone can be active at a time. There are thirteen Guardian Stones, corresponding to - and replacing - the thirteen Birthsigns of previous games.

Unlike the prior Elder Scrolls games, which featured 8 attributes that could be increased through leveling, Skyrim has only three values to increase, one of which can be selected each level: Health, Magicka, or Stamina. This was done for the dual purposes of simplifying the leveling process and reducing unnecessary statistics, as the 8 attributes were considered to be simply a means of increasing the three above values.

Races
The option to choose from one of the 10 main races of Tamriel - Imperials, Nords, Redguards, Bretons, Dark Elves, High Elves, Wood Elves, Orcs, Khajiit, and the Argonians - is still available. Each race is characterized by a specific power and passive bonus, as well as starting with a few skills at slightly higher levels. For example, High Elves begin the game with 50 extra magicka, the ability to drastically increase their magicka regeneration rate for 60 seconds once per day, and five extra points in several of the magic skills.

Playable race include:
 * 1) Altmer (High Elves - Summerset Isles)
 * 2) Argonian (Reptilians, or Lizards - Black Marsh)
 * 3) Breton (Humans - High Rock)
 * 4) Bosmer (Wood Elves - Valenwood)
 * 5) Dunmer (Dark Elves - Morrowind)
 * 6) Imperial (Humans - Cyrodiil)
 * 7) Khajiit (Felines - Elsweyr)
 * 8) Nord (Humans - Skyrim)
 * 9) Redguard (Humans - Hammerfell)
 * 10) Orsimer (Orcs - Orsinium)

Combat
The combat has undergone large changes as well, as it is now possible to dual-wield weapons and spells. Therefore you could have multiple combinations of weapons and spells, such as a dagger and a fire spell, or two of the same spell to amplify their power.

A major new aspect of combat will be the presence of 'Dragon Shouts'. Throughout the game, the player will find and utilize “shouts”, which are exclamations of draconic language holding great power. By killing dragons and absorbing their souls, the player becomes more powerful. It is likely that these souls will be important to the plot, and unlocking the secret of the dragons' return. The player will also be able to gain new shouts by reading runes off of fabled Dragon Walls. Dragon Shouts vary greatly in ability, from simply flinging an enemy against a wall to actually calling upon a dragon to aid you in battle. Dragon Shouts are made up of three key words, spoken in the language of the dragons. Bethesda also said that fights with dragons will not be scripted, meaning that dragons will make their own decisions while fighting and the battle will take place in real time.

There are also assassinations and finishing moves, as shown in the official trailer. This indicates potentially more stealthy approaches to any combat situation, and implies that Bethesda may have some very intricate and unique missions involving stealth planned.

Swords, shields, bows, axes, maces, and two handed axes are confirmed and will likely share the names of generic weapons from previous games (i.e. steel shortsword, elven bow, iron mace, dwarven claymore, etc.). Bows will take a little while to pull back, but will do devastating damage.

Enemy Leveling System
Many criticized Oblivion's system of leveling enemies, as many hours were spent fighting enemies that were just too strong to take on, and only grew stronger as you leveled up. In Skyrim, this is replaced with a system that is similar to the one in Fallout 3. The level of enemies is determined both by location and level. There will be places with foes you just aren't strong enough to beat at level 1. Upon entering a dungeon in Skyrim the player's level will be saved/locked into position. In other words, the enemies will be similar to the level the player is when he/she first enters the dungeon. In the event of entering the dungeon later, the player should find (assuming the player has leveled up since their last visit) that they can more efficiently rid the dungeon of foes. This is due in part to the fact that the foes retained the level that the player encountered them at when he/she first entered the dungeon. Obviously there will be some locations where enemies will be stronger and some where they will be easier, especially places that the main questline visits.

Armor
Armor has been taken a step down in terms of complexity from Morrowind and Oblivion, in the sense that the formerly independent 'mix-and-match' greaves and cuirasses have been combined into a single piece of armor. Cosmetic features like gloves, boots and helmets, however, are still independent. According to Todd Howard, the joining of the two main armor pieces allows more types of armor to be put into the game, and also for more NPCs to be present in the game world at the same time. This is because turning both into one piece reduces the time the system needs to load the mesh, and reduces the processing power required to maintain it.

In terms of materials, a 15-minute public trailer displayed at E3 showed generic materials, such as steel and iron. However, it is assumed that there will both be more and unique sets of armor featured in the game. The player Character will also not have to maintain Weapons and Armour VIA Repair hammers as in previous titles. Any equipment bought or found throughout the course of the game will not break.

The developers said that the emphasis will no longer be on the tedious task of maintaining equipment, but on the more exciting possibility of upgrading and improving it instead.

Graphics and Interface
Skyrim will feature a new engine, developed in-house by Bethesda; the Creation Engine. This engine is specifically designed with world draw distance and sophisticated graphics in mind, and can realistically simulate flowing water and the effect of wind upon foliage. Snow, rain, and advanced environmental effects have been confirmed, and snow is designed to interact with the land surrounding it. Snow will be blocked by tree branches when falling and build up on the ground unequally, just like in the real world. It is known that the higher in the world you go, the worse the weather becomes.

Radiant AI
Creation also utilizes the Radiant AI system. This system, (sharing the name of, but a step up from, the Oblivion AI system) will allow NPC's to more accurately interact with the player character and perform many more tasks than seen in previous games, drastically changing the way players interact with NPCs. Programmers can now assign a large number of tasks to one NPC, as opposed to only several in Oblivion, such as eating, sleeping, drinking, harvesting grapes, and walking. This means that NPC's will all have individual personalities (or countless activities at the least), some heavy drinkers, some hard workers, some lazy but charming. There is sure to be plenty of variety in this department.

Additionally, the camera system during dialogue has been modified. It no longer freezes time and zooms in on the NPC, but will allow the NPC's and the player to continue their current activities whilst speaking. This, paired with the massive number of things an NPC can be queued to do, will allow incredibly realistic interaction in the game world.

Radiant Story
Skyrim introduces the Radiant Story system, which governs quests and how they function. Radiant Story will be able to dynamically alter side-quests based on the player's actions, and tailor them to the player's abilities and progress within the game. As an example, the player might be sent off to a dungeon that has not been previously explored, and face enemies that are defeated most effectively with the player's preferred combat style. It will also randomly generate unique events and encounters, taking influence from Bethesda's previous game Fallout 3. Possible events include being challenged to a duel, or having thugs sent after you.

User Interface (HUD)
The new Heads Up Display (HUD) is designed to be streamlined and efficient. The development team created a simple layout, in which you can see everything vital in one glance. The on-screen heads-up display, which shows the player's health, stamina and magicka, will only appear when said stats are being depleted.The most striking overhaul to the User Interface, however, is the new menu system.

Aside from having to press the same button to open it up, it seems as if the entire menu system has been overhauled. When the menu is opened, a four-way compass will appear, prompting you to push up, left, down or right. Pushing left will spin the screen that direction to a spell and magical items menu - the game has more than 85 spells, with detailed explanations of their effects listed in the menu. Back at the compass, pushing right opens your inventory. Nearly every item you can carry in the game is rendered in 3D, allowing for a 360 degree view of the object and varying zoom levels. Pushing down from the compass opens the world map - but instead of cutting to a new page, the camera whooshes back, zooming out from the ground and into the sky, revealing a topographical, 3D map of the Skyrim region. From this map you can set markers, routes, view quests, and more. Pushing up from the compass brings up your statistics page. GameInformer has written a detailed passage on the leveling and statistics aspect:

"Three prominent nebulae dominate the Skyrim heavens – the thief, the warrior, and the mage. Each of these represents one of the three master skill sets. Each nebula houses six constellations, each of which represents a skill. As in Oblivion, every player starts out with the ability to use all 18 skills – any player can use a two-handed weapon, try alchemy, or cast a destruction spell (provided you find or purchase one). As you use these skills in Skyrim, they will level up and contribute to driving your character's overall level higher.

''Every time players rank up their overall level, they can choose a supplemental perk ability for one of the 18 skills. For instance, if you fight most of your battles with a mace, you may want to choose the perk that allows you to ignore armor while using the weapon. As in Fallout 3, several of the perks have their own leveling system as well, allowing you to choose them multiple times. Once you choose a perk, it lights up the corresponding star in the constellation, making it visible when looking up to the heavens while interacting in the world."''

Also, instead of the d-pad hotkey system, which only allowed for 8 hotkeyed weapons or items, then new menu will have a 'favorites' menu. Pressing up or down on the d-pad whilst in the game world will freeze the game and open your list of favorite items. Bethesda has not set a limit on the amount of items you can favorite, so technically you could map every item you carry to the up or down buttons.

As released, the new HUD seems designed almost entirely for consoles, devoid of any mouse interaction, instead forcing PC users to use only their keyboard to maneuver within the UI. Bethesda has received some criticism from PC focused publications for the new HUD system.