Yes, the Skyrim Edition. That means I’m going to disregard work-related commentary, and spend this entire blogpost talking about an amazing goddamn game.

We have (of course) been doing plenty of work since the last post, and things are progressing nicely. But, as is common in videogame development, grinding through code and systems development doesn’t amount to much noticeable change – at least nothing worth spending a blog post on. So, I’m going to take the opportunity and share my experiences (thus far) of 2011′s Game of the Year (yes, I know I said something similar about Arkham City – but this time I’m sure!).

Play

It’s a special moment in a nerd’s calendar: that magical time of the year when a new fantasy role-playing game is released. And this year it’s extra special, as Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls series returns with Skyrim.

For Paul (Coatsink co-founder) and I, this series represents one of the major reasons we love games. As kids we spent many-an-hour in the land of Morrowind, often playing all night as we eagerly explored the vast environments. These are happy memories, and memories which have instilled a great deal of defining fanaticism (for epic videogame experiences) in us both.

As such, we spent the entire weekend on this latest masterpiece, and took a few screenshots along the way!

I think Bethesda’s greatest achievement in Skyrim (and there are many), is the delivery of a world that feels truly alive. From the salmon jumping through river rapids, to the extensive conversations you overhear NPCs having, to the majestic dragons and the way they stalk you from the skies before assaulting, these Nordic lands resonate with life; and that effect, as a whole, draws the player in.

Previous games in the series have, at times, felt a little too sandboxy. By that I mean that they presented the player with a world in which he/she could do almost anything, without much reason or consequence. This often left players asking “why am I doing this?”.

But the quests and unfolding stories of Skyrim drive you from destination to destination, pulling you through nightmarish tombs and pushing you onto blizzard-swept peaks. And every moment you feel engaged, not just in the gameplay, but in the narrative too. As a result, I feel fully invested in the world. I feel driven to explore, experience and conquer.

It might seem odd that a games developer would blog entirely about another developer’s product (though obviously we’re nowhere near the same league as Bethesda), but masterpieces like Skyrim can teach even we a few tricks that could be applied to our own meagre projects.

Bringing a world to life, whatever the scale of that world might be, is crucial. You want a player to feel as immersed in your game as possible, after all. And Skyrim teaches us that it’s not just the big things, like epic battles and fantastic A.I, which help create that feeling; it’s the salmon in the river that you walk by, hardly noticing.

Inspired by this great game (as we often are by the work of our gods and peers), we have some great ideas for our own projects. I hope you’ll stick around and check them out – if you can pry yourself away from Tamriel, that is!