Time travel has been a fascination to many people. We have popular movies about it, we have equations proving it’s possibility, and we have countless games (video and other) that have time travel as a part of their concept. Heck, physicist Michio Kaku even explains how it may in fact be possible. But today I want to talk about the ultimate time machine that is right before our eyes: Skyrim. Skyrim is not only a great way to travel into another world, but into the future.
When I say that the video game Skyrim is a time machine, it is kind of an odd statement, wouldn’t you agree? But anyone who has played the game (and millions have) should know exactly what I mean. I’m not necessarily talking about it transporting the player back in time to its medieval-like setting in the fictional province of Skyrim (as seen in great live action trailer above). The fantastically created world is, however, one of the many unique and amazing features of the game. Instead, I’m talking about Skyrim’s power to transport the player into the future. I guess Skyrim is a way “back to the future.”
When the gamer sits down with Skyrim, takes hold of the controller/mouse+keyboard, they are almost instantaneously transported into the future. The next thing they know it is now dark outside and sunrise is a mere minutes away (or light and sunset, depending on the time of day they are playing). If there are no windows in the room where the gaming is taking place, the gamer needs only to look at the nearest clock to find out it is no longer sometime shortly after 8:30pm or whatever time the gaming session began.
Skyrim’s time travelling power is not infinite, however. The game cannot transport the gamer days or years into the future. Instead, the time travelling is limited to hours (or maybe just over a day depending if you believe online forum posters). Because of this limitation of its power, Skyrim isn’t the typical time machine dreamed about by many. I would perhaps label Skyrim a “near-future” time travelling machine.
Now, I bet some who may not appreciate the art of video games (I’m looking at you Roger Ebert) may think this “time travelling” I’m discussing is simply a waste of time. But as with any well-written book or masterpiece film, the gamer is being transported into the world Skyrim. Because there is just so much to do, see, and collect, the gamer enters Skyrim and emerges hours later. This nearly-complete immersion allows the gamer to travel through time as everything else around them disappears; it’s as if their surrounding room somehow becomes empty.
Skyrim is a world filled with people to meet, places to discover, and stories to be heard. There are ten races the player can choose from when they are creating their character. Whether you want to be a sneaky wood-elf, an axe-wielding Nord, a magic-using Breton, or some weird hybrid of the three (as I’ve done), the gamer can shape their character into who they want it to be. The more the player uses a certain “skill,” such as archery or destruction magic, the more that skill levels up and becomes more powerful. So, the character is thus molded around the way in which the gamer plays. Your character, such as my wood elf “Oggy,” truly becomes your own.
These are just a few examples of what you could make your wood elf look like. Click the image for all the races!
The character is able to use bows and arrows, one-handed or two-handed weapons, and magic to fight the many creatures in Skyrim. And yes, you even get to fight dragons! But no worries if you are a pacifist as you can play the game without killing anything, as this gamer is doing. You can even buy a dog, a horse, a house, clothes, food, potions, armour, spells, trinkets, decorations for your home, and the list goes on and on! Needless to say there is a lot to do in Skyrim.
The in-game territory of Skyrim is approximately sixteen square miles. That may not seem like a lot when visualized in the real world, but it can hold a lot. Within Skyrim there are cities and towns to visit, guilds to join, civil wars to fight, and mountains to climb. Personally, I’ve discovered more than two-hundred unique places and there are many more to find. Sadly, I’m sure I won’t see them all. Here are a few more fun facts from my personal experiences: In my travels I’ve completed over eighty-three quests, acquired more than two-hundred thousand gold, found over two hundred books, and *gasp* killed three innocent bunnies.
The world of Skyrim
Okay, perhaps I’m partially writing this blog as a justification for spending many hours of my holiday playing Skyrim. Nevertheless, I feel obligated to recommend this game to anyone wanting to get sucked into a massive fantasy world waiting to be explored. Not only will you not regret your time there, you will appreciate the magic of time travel.
One doesn’t simply play Skyrim, they live it. I suggest, if you haven’t already, go pick up a copy of Skyrim and travel to the future by entering a world of the past. Lastly, a word of advice: try not to take an arrow in the knee as many great adventurers have done before you.
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