Guide on how to ruin Morrowind experience for new players.

[PainkilleR]

Is "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" the only TES game you have ever played? Do you hate the idea that there might be a better TES game out there that on top of that is much older than Skyrim? Do you want Morrowind to be a crappy experience?

Fear not for I have a guide for you on how to turn Morrowind into a dull and most boring game you have ever played!

1. First of all make sure that you don't understand how Morrowind is an RPG and how your skills are not as important as your character's skills.
2. Pick random skills as your primary/secondary skills, and make sure that you don't use them while fighting with your enemies, so that you could miss A LOT!
3. Now you can start hating the game. Because obviously collision detection doesn't work. Make sure you still don't understand that Morrowind is an RPG though!
4. Make sure (and this is important) that you click on EVERY dialogue option and speak with EVERY npc you meet! You don't want to miss anything, do you?
5. Read uesp.net pages before playing the game! Make sure you read the story summary. Read a lot of guides. Make sure you know how to get the boots of blinding speed! You want to know that they exist in Morrowind BEFORE you play the game... Otherwise you will feel as if exploration was TOO rewarding. You don't want that, do you?
6. Make sure to follow quest directions provided in quest guides. Better yet follow some walkthrough videos. Don't ever wonder around for no good reason. Sadly there is no way to turn on quest markers, but following walkthrough videos feels just as unrewarding. Just give it a try!
7. Don't think out of the box. Never assume that there might be something interesting under the pillow/in an old hollow tree/etc!
8. Make sure you min/max your character! Efficient leveling is your best friend. You don't want your mage to have less than 100 endurance and strength, do you?
9. Never forget how graphics are too bad for your sensitive eyes.

Follow these simple steps and I guarantee you the Skyrim will remain your favorite TES game no matter what.

Good luck to you traveler!

[PainkilleR]

Originally posted by Mr. Whiskers:

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

But even if you disagree, the problem for most is not the RPG combat system but the fact that they don't understand it.

Then the problem is that Morrowind fails to advertise and communicate its gameplay systems effectively.

Only if you assume that

Originally posted by Mr. Whiskers:

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

That's what RPG combat system is by de facto

No.

...otherwise

Originally posted by Mr. Whiskers:

Then the problem is that Morrowind fails to advertise and communicate its gameplay systems effectively.

No.

Originally posted by Mr. Whiskers:

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

One of the things Morrowind offers you is to find things on your own.

And the option not to. The game did have an official strategy guide to help walk you through it, after all.

It never included an info about finding boots of blinding speed though, or how to exploit in-game system.

Originally posted by Mr. Whiskers:

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

If it is a fun thing to do for a person or not is not relevant.

It's a video game. Whether or not something is fun for a person is literally the only thing that is relevant for essentially 100% of users.

Do *I* have to point how fun is relative to different people? Really?
That was irrelevant though for this particular example. And btw it is fun for me to discover stuff, that's still irrelevant because of the nature of this example.

Originally posted by Mr. Whiskers:

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

If you don't find things on your own though, but follow a walkthrough video, then it nullifies that aspect of the game.

And emphasizes other aspects of the game that you might find more enjoyable.

...or enjoy everything that game can offer to you, including the exploration which is a huge chunk of a game.

Originally posted by Mr. Whiskers:

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

Again the question is not whether you like it or not, but whether you play by the game's rules and then the game as a result will offer you things to find on your own, or you will miss the part of the game.

Again your rules are not the gamer bible by which all cool gamer dudes must abide.

I didn't offer any game rules. Unless you think that game content in Morrowind is unlimited.

[Mr. Whiskers]

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

Do *I* have to point how fun is relative to different people?

No but you should learn that.

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

And btw it is fun for me to discover stuff

But not everyone has to enjoy doing it the same exact way

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

...or enjoy everything that game can offer to you, including the exploration which is a huge chunk of a game.

Quest markers and guides don't eliminate exploration. They just focus it on different things.

[PainkilleR]

Originally posted by Mr. Whiskers:

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

Do *I* have to point how fun is relative to different people?

No but you should learn that.

The concept is perfectly clear for both of us obviously, so I think we can stop boiling in this loop as well.

Originally posted by Mr. Whiskers:

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

And btw it is fun for me to discover stuff

But not everyone has to enjoy doing it the same exact way

On top of that anyone could follow the steps mentioned in my original post, and not enjoy the game at all. :)

Here is a funny remark though... Everybody's enjoying the game differently, yet everybody hates the game in the exact same way (avoidable if you won't follow the "guide").

Originally posted by Mr. Whiskers:

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

...or enjoy everything that game can offer to you, including the exploration which is a huge chunk of a game.

Quest markers and guides don't eliminate exploration. They just focus it on different things.

They pretty much do substitute exploration though. I am not sure where you are coming from... The only reason they don't completely eliminate exploration is because they (guides and quest markers) can't cover absolutely every element in the game. Though I'd say it's enough to substitute some key elements of exploration (for example reveal to a player the fact that there is a pair boots of blinding speed in game) to make it dull or even almost non-existent.

Btw Mr. Whiskers, do you like Morrowind?

[Mr. Whiskers]

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

Btw Mr. Whiskers, do you like Morrowind?

It was okay for it's time. It's more than a little outdated now but it's still fun to go back to every now and then and remember what things were like back then and how far we've come since.

[Veeshan]

Originally posted by Mr. Whiskers:

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

Btw Mr. Whiskers, do you like Morrowind?

It was okay for it's time. It's more than a little outdated now but it's still fun to go back to every now and then and remember what things were like back then and how far we've come since.

This sort of response is baffling to me. I don't understand why someone would bring up advances in graphics Etc when asked such a question.

And if the claim is that the gameplay or mechanics are outdated then I don't know what that means.

It's like being asked about your fashion choices and responding that you once had to wear Snow suits to work in the Arctic.

There's a clear disjoint.

[deuceyd]

Morrowind = best elder scrolls game.

[K§H]

Originally posted by Mr. Whiskers:

Quest markers and guides don't eliminate exploration. They just focus it on different things.

For some reason this reminds me of an EA legal representative saying that they consider loot boxes to be mere "surprise mechanics".

[vennedia30]

Originally posted by K§H:

Originally posted by Mr. Whiskers:

Quest markers and guides don't eliminate exploration. They just focus it on different things.

For some reason this reminds me of an EA legal representative saying that they consider loot boxes to be mere "surprise mechanics".

I was thinking the same thing.

Also, following quest markers easily blinds the player to the game world. You no longer see obvious things. And that isn't exactly exploration. Back in the day when Morrowind was new, I learned to look around in the game world for any - often simple - clues, but now it's just too easy to miss things. I'm not saying Morrowind was/is perfect, but giant quest arrows aren't an improvement.

[Mr. Whiskers]

Originally posted by Veeshan:

Originally posted by Mr. Whiskers:

It was okay for it's time. It's more than a little outdated now but it's still fun to go back to every now and then and remember what things were like back then and how far we've come since.

This sort of response is baffling to me. I don't understand why someone would bring up advances in graphics Etc when asked such a question.

And if the claim is that the gameplay or mechanics are outdated then I don't know what that means.

It's like being asked about your fashion choices and responding that you once had to wear Snow suits to work in the Arctic.

There's a clear disjoint.

This sort of response is baffling to me. It's like it was meant entirely for someone else. There's a clear disjoint.

Originally posted by vennedia30:

Also, following quest markers easily blinds the player to the game world. You no longer see obvious things. And that isn't exactly exploration. Back in the day when Morrowind was new, I learned to look around in the game world for any - often simple - clues, but now it's just too easy to miss things. I'm not saying Morrowind was/is perfect, but giant quest arrows aren't an improvement.

Quest markers don't stop you from looking around the world. That's silly.

[////]

you don't know Mr. Whiskers, guys. he's basically... with the bad guys (anti gaming bunch), and troll on top of everything.

[vennedia30]

So my experience of the game is silly! Well, that clarified and solved the problem instantly. /s

This is the reason I rarely comment on these forums.

[Mr. Whiskers]

Originally posted by vennedia30:

So my experience of the game is silly!

Speaking as if your experience is the only one is. Just because you struggle to look around with quest markers on doesn't mean quest markers just automatically create that effect for everyone.

[////]

Originally posted by vennedia30:

So my experience of the game is silly! Well, that clarified and solved the problem instantly. /s

This is the reason I rarely comment on these forums.

i don't go to these discussion without silver weapon.

[vennedia30]

Originally posted by ////:

Originally posted by vennedia30:

So my experience of the game is silly! Well, that clarified and solved the problem instantly. /s

This is the reason I rarely comment on these forums.

i don't go to these discussion without silver weapon.

Good advice. I think I'll add garlic and holy water XD

[���]

This is a good ass guide and a even better discussion.

Just one thing that kinda caught my attention is the statement:

"Then the problem is that Morrowind fails to advertise and communicate its gameplay systems effectively."

It does for today's standards, yet you have to take into the account the game was released in 2003 and back then gaming culture was COMPLETELY different. People didn't read up discussions online or the wiki to spoil themselves of essentially playing the game for what it is the most fun.

My earliest gaming experience is from like 2004-2005 when my dad brought in Mafia (and we've been installing the game the entire day, where today it's done within couple of minutes) and the game was also a little challenging, quite like Morrowind is. But we didn't need any warning or advertisement to be aware of a certain aspect of the game, we just kind of figured it out by playing it and adapted to it. I think this is the fundamental problem with people's attitude towards Morrowind, they demand a clear understanding of the game before they even invest a certain amount of time into it so they don't have to go through the tedious experience of learning the game and adapting to it.