You never get a second chance to make a first impression

• Posted by Paul October 30, 2011 - 629 views

  Although I very briefly dabbled with Daggerfall my first real Elder Scrolls experience was with Morrowind.

  Somehow I picked up on Morrowind before release, and saw the trailer and previews on Gamespot. I bought it on the day of release. Loading the game, I woke on the prison ship to hear Juib's gravelly, ash-throated voice telling me to stand up. Blinking into the light, I clambered up into the light of a cold, wet Seyda Neen morning. Then I made my first ever character - a Dunmer battlemage.

  Having mooched around Seyda Neen for a while, I was intrigued by my first glimpse of the Silt Strider station, and hitched a ride up to Balmora. I can still remember stepping off the Silt Strider - and looking out across the vista of Balmora. At that precise moment, I fell in love with Morrowind. I realised at that moment that no other RPG would ever be quite the same again. Here was a world that I could believe in, that I could fully explore, that I could live in. For six months I spent every spare moment playing that game, exploring every nook and cranny, delving into the lore and, of course, questing in the many different Guilds and Factions.

  I wouldn't have missed out on that first thrilling experience of the game. And although I've replayed Morrowind many times - most recently earlier this year - its never quite the same. That sense of awe and wonder arriving in Balmora never quite has that frisson after the first time.

  You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

  That's the reason I won't be watching the leaked Skyrim videos showing those precious early stages of the game. I don't even want them on the site, but that's a different argument. I wouldn't want to watch them whether I had a Skyrim site or not...

  When I get my shrink-wrapped copy of Skyrim I'll install it on my PC, tweak to something pretty close to 'Ultra' settings, and settle down for my first experience. I want that to be on my (high end) PC, right in front of a hi-res 26" monitor, and with it hooked up to my hi-fi system. Damn, I even want to be sitting on my favourite chair...

  The last thing I want to do is to ruin that magical moment by watching some half-assed YouTube rip on my laptop with its internal sound. No thank you. I've waited for five years for that moment, and I can wait another ten days rather than spoil that first glimpse of Skyrim.

  All of this is, of course, my own personal opinion. You might disagree, and that's OK. We don't all have to agree on this. Perhaps you are one of those people who actually want to be spoiled. All I'd ask is that those of you who want to be spoiled keep your own counsel for the next ten days so those who us who feel differently can experience the fully glory of Skyrim in the way we want.

  Because there'll never be a second chance for that first impression....