I'd rather beat every Elden Ring boss on NG+7 than stare at Morrowind's attribute system ever again. While many see the numbers-heavy systems in Morrowind and The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion as alluringly sophisticated, I find them repellently convoluted. Something about the granular detail in their leveling feels like an arduous chore to my brain. It's work. But it's not satisfying work, like defeating a dragon is. I just want to get to the story and the action; and that's why I'm eternally grateful that Skyrim allowed me to do just that.
But it would appear I'm in the minority with my appreciation of Skyrim's streamlined character levelling system. Skyrim design lead Bruce Nesmith recently reignited an old Elder Scrolls debate after claiming that when Bethesda simplified attributes in Skyrim, "almost nobody" complained. This, ironically, has prompted many complaints.
The sky(rim)'s not the limit
When it was revealed that Skyrim would have a less intimidating web of races, magic systems, and stats, I rejoiced. And for the first time, in 2011, I purchased an Elder Scrolls game because the series immediately felt more accessible.
Skyrim was my entry point to Elder Scrolls precisely because it lowered the barrier of entry for RPGs. I'm thankful Bruce Nesmith acknowledged that "having 52 different races and 112 different magic systems is too challenging for people who are trying to get into it for the first time."
Without Bethesda's aim for mass appeal with Skyrim, myself and millions of other newcomers may have been too intimidated to ever set foot in the world of Tamriel. Think of all the wonderful quests and stories we would have missed out on if Bethesda had opted to fortify Oblivion's wall of menus, stats and rules just to appease veteran Elder Scrolls players.
Whilst some bemoan that Skyrim shifted toward the lowest common denominator with simplified stats, I believe it's not always a bad thing when a game series shoots for broad appeal. Johan Pilestedt of Arrowhead Games famously stated that "a game for everyone is a game for no one" but Skyrim is the exception to this rule, selling 60 million copies by 2023.
When Bethesda dumbed down the stat system of Skyrim, it wasn't a dilution. It was an invitation.
Its world is vast, its quests are captivating, and I appreciated this so much more because I wasn't plagued with the anxiety of making the wrong choices when levelling up. The forgiveness of Skyrim's skill system meant I could get my head out of menus and into the game.
After enjoying Skyrim, I went back and played Oblivion and Morrowind. With the safety net of Skyrim behind me, their systems felt less like hostile spreadsheets and more like intricate sandboxes. I began to appreciate the deliberate character planning, the strange little efficiencies, the satisfaction of building something hyper-specific and watching it pay off dozens of hours later. Even if laying those foundations still feels more like work than play to me.
But I'm not sure I would have ever had the patience for Morrowind or Oblivion without Skyrim as my gateway. When Bethesda dumbed down the stat system of Skyrim, it wasn't a dilution. It was an invitation. An invitation to myself and millions of other gamers out there to step into the wonderful world of Tamriel with ease, not trepidation.
We've all got to start somewhere, and there's nothing wrong with a game choosing to open the door a little wider so that more people can step inside.
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