Making yourself... "forget"...

[DarkEastwood]

I know this is a popular, and seemingly hopeless question. But I'm certain every TES player in the world desires such a method. But what I am talking about, is playing a game for the "first time" again. It sounds crazy and impossible, and it probably is, but I'm sure (other than some sort of brain damage) there is some way to get a similar effect. When I say this, I mean I want to walk into Cyrodiil or Skyrim with a new character, and be completely lost again. Just like we were on the first days we got the game. I don't want to know that the innocent old woman near Riverwood is a witch without even going into her cellar. I don't want to be so nonchalant about the plot twist in the Dark Brotherhood questline(s). I want everything to feel new. I think that if the UESP community puts our heads together, we can find maybe a way to do this?

- And no, I'm not crazy

[Musicman247]

Maybe if we put our heads together fast enough we will all get amnesia?

[Chaos the N'wah]

Gather all your TES games, lock them in a time capsule, and bury them...
...by the time you unearth them, within the first month, you won't care about recapturing that wonder

[Master of Puppets]

I wish I could recapture that as well. That first step out of the sewers in Oblivion was so over-whelming. Being launched into the world without any set goals, or set storylines, was amazing.

[VirtualWeasel]

You could always get a lobotomy.

[Mr.Argonian]

That feeling is probably the best thing about TES, your first experience in the land, unspoiled and full of wonder. That reason alone is why I look forward to new/old TES games.

[Dark Spark]

Spark: Afflicting yourself with Multiple Personality Disorder so totally helps.
Dark: No, it doesn't.
Spark: Yuh-huh. I've seen it myself.
Dark: I haven't!

[Br3admax]

That's not how the mind works, DE. Short of a cracked skull, I can't help you. Well, that and the MIB.

[OblivionDuruza]

Mod the game, there are overhaul projects and other similar modifications for Morrowind which completely breathe new life into the game, while maintaining the original charm and appeal. There are sure to be similar efforts for Skyrim and other subsequent titles.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

I hear Skooma helps you forget things, but healers don't recommend it.

You know, there's another way to look at all this. You think we have it bad? Imagine being the developers. They literally never get to experience their games for the first time because they design them. They know everything that's going to happen and probably play tested it a hundred times. That must be depressing as all hell.

[Musicman247]

As a modder I can say that seeing what you've created come to "life" in the game is just as satisfying, if not more so, as playing something for the first time.

[Avron the S'wit]

I'm pretty sure it would be impossible to capture that fresh-out-of-the-box feeling of a game we're completely alien to, but you can definitely make it a new experience with the help of mods, as mentioned above. I guess you can't quite capture the beginning of the game in the way I'm about to suggest, but I always have characters who aren't completionists - that is to say, they pick one or two things and do it as opposed to joining every guild and doing every quest available, instead doing ones that pertain to who they are a a character. That way, every time I start a new game I have a new personality who is going to do new things, so while some parts of the game are familiar, a bigger part of it is brand new!

[VirtualWeasel]

As a modder I can say that seeing what you've created come to "life" in the game is just as satisfying, if not more so, as playing something for the first time.

I've never really been able to do that with my mods, mostly because I know and care about the lore too much, that if I violate it by implementing an outside source into my game, I immediately start to subconsciously work out the inconsistencies.
But, I'm really, really, hardcore picky.

[Dohva.]

Skyrim is a beautiful game. Focusing on that keeps it fresh for me. Yeah, there are some things that seem rather dull by now, but for the most part I can still play it and be just as satisfied as in the beginning. Its all about running around outside. The first few hours I played Skyrim, the music along with the scenery was what hooked me. I still get that "wow" effect from time to time.

[Mod-Loving Wood Elf]

Over the years, I've learned to switch off between Skyrim, Oblivion, Morrowind, and (occassionally) Fallout 3, all of them open-world games by Bethesda. Although Skyrim is the one I play most frequently, the exhiliration of coming back to an old game after a six-month break with other titles is unbeatable.

And yes, to agree with others, some mods can change the game entirely. A prime example is Warzones, or the Alternate Start mods for Skyrim, or the Morrowind Graphics Overhaul for Morrowind.

[OblivionDuruza]

Actually Mod-Loving raises a good point which I myself can attest to after having only recently returned to Oblivion after a fairly long break. Particularly with later portions of the game, it can be quite refreshing to look upon them again, especially considering the way people grow and develop over time, and thus become aware of or pay heed to different things.

[Finn Wolfshorn]

And yes, to agree with others, some mods can change the game entirely. A prime example is Warzones, or the Alternate Start mods for Skyrim, or the Morrowind Graphics Overhaul for Morrowind.

I haven't tried the other two, but Alternative Starts rock. The character I'm currently playing started as a castaway stranded near Dawnstar: no Stormcloaks/Imperials to loot, no Alvor to let you use his forge for free, no jarl to provide you with a free bodyguard in exchange for watching his guards kill a dragon, no shouts as of now. In addition I'm playing with Frostfall and Realistic Needs and Diseases, meaning I've got to take care that I don't freeze or starve to death, and on Master difficulty, meaning I was proud of my scrawny mage for killing a bear today at level 25, and dragons are out of the question for the time being. Huge fun!

[Unionhack]

That's the best part about any really good game, really! I'll always remember the first time I stepped out of Vault 101 on Fallout 3, or my first time standing helpless as Emperor Uriel got cut down. Stuff like that sticks with you for a while.

[Imbalance]

I find being way behind the eightball is an effective way to "relive" some of these experiences.

I got my first taste of Daggerfall when it was fairly new on someone else's computer. It took years before I was able to give it a good play, and even then it was a borrowed copy and I've never actually finished it. But it was enough to fully hook and reel me in.

I picked up a used Xbox sometime in '07, and a copy of Morrowind GOTY not long thereafter. I'd been hearing about it for years, but the vicariousness of it could not compare with the actual depth I found. By that time, Obivion already had its own GOTY edition, and I was reading up on that while playing MW almost exclusively.

We just got a 360 this Christmas. My level 7 Dunmer spellsword hasn't even scratched the surface of Cyrodiil. Nothing I'd ever heard about the escape from the imperial sewers compared to actually experiencing it firsthand, with nothing in the room to distract from the lush visuals on the screen and the roaring score in the surround sound. Well worth the wait.

I played a few hours of Skyrim earlier this year at, again, someone else's house. I'm anxious for a GOTY edition of that, but I've got quite a few gates to close in the meantime. Spoilers be damned - until I get to play each installment for myself, I'll get plenty of coverage from the hordes of fans who stay current, only to have the actual game trump the hype every time.

[OblivionDuruza]

Spoilers be damned - until I get to play each installment for myself, I'll get plenty of coverage from the hordes of fans who stay current, only to have the actual game trump the hype every time.

I have always found this to be the case personally. I never really was a huge gamer originally, so the few games I had played were introduced to me by friends and were fairly aged as a result. Thus, it was rare for me to go into games fully blind and as a result I've never really been phased by the majoirty of spoilers, always finding actually experiencing a game for yourself to be engaging even if you aren't discovering everything for yourself firsthand. I guess this also helps when it comes to replaying games, because they don't seem to lose as much of their charm as you might expect.

[LoneSpektre]

Smoke a ton of weed. Works for me.

[all_freed]

@Imbalance @OblivionDuruza Too true. For one game, after playing it for nearly 30 times, I waited over a year then suddenly felt like playing it again. It was a whole new experience that was different from the first time but still felt refreshing in its own way. It was so good.

[The SheoDovah]

I take a break when i feel that the game is no longer worth playing. Usually a 6-7 month break. That said, i've not played Oblivion for over a year so when i do get around to playing it, it should be exciting to play again.(Provided the scratch on it doesn't ruin the experience. I think i accidentally hit it against a corner of tv stand. Hopefully, it will have no affect).

I took a break from Skyrim when i first completed the main quest and that was around septemberish. I've only just started to play it. And have decided to play as female and try to roleplay heavily. It's a new experience. If only the game had a hardcore mode or if only i could run it on my laptop. So many immersion mods..... *drools* Oh, erm.. i'll be in my tent if you need me.

[Speed of Darkness]

I have always had trouble "forgetting" I put down a game for a few years, picked it up and as soon as I started playing again I started to remember details about it. Doesn't help that I am rather picky on the games I do play...