Ten ways to improve Skyrim
Ten Ways to Improve Skyrim
Dragon Mounts
Horses are all well and good, but in Skyrim they're hardly game-changing. Not only do they afford you only a modest increase in speed, but since you can't fight, gather ingredients, or do anything useful while mounted, you're forever climbing on and off them. But by riding a dragon, you could traverse the world with little regard for its terrain; you'd have a flamethrower between your legs for incinerating enemies; and resources that could be gathered for crafting would be beneath you in every sense.
Mudcrab Merchant Companion
Games like Torchlight and Star Wars: The Old Republic make it relatively easy for you to keep your inventory manageable by giving you the option to have your companion leave your side for a minute or so to go sell items that you don't want. A similar system would be a welcome addition to Skyrim, particularly if it were flexible enough that you could pick and choose the exact items that you wanted to get rid of. Taking this idea to its logical evolution, what if a large and especially wealthy crab--possibly a descendant of the crustacean merchant in Morrowind--followed you around at all times and would buy anything offered to it without hesitation?
Pet Prairie Dog
While it's true that prairie dogs would undoubtedly loathe Skyrim's climate, their ability to spot predators at a great distance and then let out alarm calls would make them ideal companions. Not only would your new pet be able to warn you about incoming bears, wraiths, and trolls long before you saw them, but--in a triumph of game design over realism--it would remind you to save your game before engaging the sighted enemy lest you die and lose your last 45 minutes of progress.
Magic Pockets
This is not a reference to the 1991 Bitmap Brothers game, but rather an armor augmentation that would drastically increase your ability to carry stuff. Are you forever encumbered because you'd rather walk for miles at a snail's pace than give up your collection of cheese wheels? Drop a few thousand coins to add pockets to your armor, and you'll never be forced into these heartbreaking situations again.
Horse Armor
Yeah, we know, the horse armor downloadable content released for Oblivion ended up being something of a joke. It made it easier to pick your horse out from the herd, though, since evidently none of the non-player characters in the game were inclined to drop $2.50 on equestrian attire. What if horse armor in Skyrim actually served a purpose and, you know, offered some protection for your horse when it was attacked or--as is all too often the case--when it charged into an enemy encampment with complete disregard for its own safety? Wouldn't that be a dollar or two well spent?
Shopkeeper's Guild
If you've ever visited a shopkeeper in Skyrim to lessen your heavy load and sell off some of the crap you've picked up on your travels, you know that they employ the GameStop model of paying you only a fraction of what items are worth and then selling them at a huge markup. Wouldn't you like a piece of that action? You wouldn't have to be tied to your counter while on the shopkeeper quest line, of course. A system like that seen in Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale would give you the option to stock the shelves with items that you've retrieved on your own adventures.
Crossover Armor Sets
Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins did it. Dead Space 2 and Dragon Age II did it. And soon, Mass Effect 3 and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning will be doing it. Clearly, using themed armor sets to attract fans of one game to another is at least somewhat effective, so surely Bethesda should get in on the action. A contra deal with THQ for outfits from Saints Row: The Third would obviously be the best way to proceed, but failing that, some gear from Bethesda's own Fallout games would get the job done.
Night Vision Goggles
A lot of your time in Skyrim can be spent exploring tombs, mines, and caves that, after years without good housekeeping, aren't nearly as well lit as they could be. Scouring subterranean nooks and crannies in search of mostly useless items is barely worth the effort in the best of times, and in the dark, it's no fun at all unless you're playing as a Khajiit. Yes, you can use one of your hands to carry a torch. And yes, you can use magic to illuminate the area for 60 seconds at a time. Neither of these options offers the convenience of night vision goggles, though, which fit snugly inside your hood or helmet and can be operated without having to unequip your shield or expend precious magicka.
Seasonal Content
Skyrim is filled with plenty of compelling content to keep you from doing anything worthwhile in the real world for extended periods. What it lacks, though, are demonstrable reasons to steer clear of your friends and family on holidays and other celebrated dates. Massively multiplayer games like World of Warcraft have been using seasonal content to this end for years, and Batman: Arkham City features a cameo from Calendar Man for no other reason than to keep you playing on days when you might otherwise be eating turkey, opening presents, or carving pumpkins. When asked, "Can't you do that quest tomorrow when your grandparents have gone home?" you need to be able to answer, "No. If I don't do it today, I'll have to wait until next year." It's that simple.
Vertically Challenged Valet
You know how it goes: you've just arrived home after slaying a dragon, and you want to turn all of those flowers you've been picking into useful potions. Before stepping up to your alchemy table, though, you need to change out of your armor and into all of the items that make your creations more powerful. And then, upon realizing that you have far more potions than you could ever need, you decide to go sell them at the store up the street, but not before removing your alchemy gear and equipping any items that you have with a speechcraft buff. Entirely too much time in Skyrim is spent on clothing and jewelry management. That's why this little guy helps to organize your various outfits, and at the push of a button, he can get you changed more quickly than you can apologize for asking him about Goldfinger instead of The Man With the Golden Gun.
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