There are very few gamers out there who haven't at least heard of Skyrim, Bethesda's overwhelmingly successful open-world RPG that is perhaps even more well-known that The Elder Scrolls series it is a part of. Skyrim's successor, The Elder Scrolls VI, was announced during E3 2018 with a short teaser, but almost nothing on the game has been revealed since. This has left fans frustrated.
While The Elder Scrolls Online was mildly successful, those who were unsatisfied by it have been left with no option other than to replay the classic. In the 10 years since its release, Skyrim has remained a widely played and discussed game, and that is largely a result of player-made mods.
Luckily for fans, Skyrim is relatively easy to mod, as it uses Bethesda's Creation Kit. This allows anyone to create custom content for the game using its files. To the company's credit, Bethesda itself has encouraged fans to use the kit to create their own content. This has allowed fans to continually enjoy Skyrim by creating their own upgrades or downloading those made by other players.
One great thing modders have been able to do is keep Skyrim looking up-to-date with gaming' ever-improving graphics. While Skyrim was undoubtedly a beautiful game when it released, winning the hearts of players who enjoy self-motivated gameplay and admiring the scenery, 10 years on, its graphics have not withstood the test of time. Now, in comparison with more recent open-world games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Skyrim looks outdated. Its scenery seems flat and jagged, while its characters have little flow in their moment or facial expressions.
Thanks to the community, though, there are numerous graphical mods available to upgrade nearly all of Skyrim's visual aspects. Modders have created a more detailed map, made the forests prettier and improved the water textures. Of course, these can't truly compete with newly-released, AAA-developed open worlds, but they can dramatically improve the already great Skyrim experience for those who struggle to enjoy it due to the aging visuals.
Another issue modders have been able to tackle is Skyrim's predictable and boring NPCs. Skyrim's shopkeepers, quest givers, marriage candidates, colleagues and more are among the game's most important aspects. Their roles depend on your missions, and your relationships with them have a great influence on the game. However, the game's NPCs don't behave like real people, something that becomes more apparent to those who have played through the game at least once. They often walk straight into danger, and they can generally be annoying by getting in your way and repeating the same dialogue over and over again.
The community has recognized this and created mods that make NPCs more interesting. Some of these add more dialogue, which helps fuel a stronger storyline and deeper relationships. Others improve their usefulness in combat and make their reactions to the world more realistic.
Then, there's the matter of bugs. Any Skyrim player or Bethesda fan knows the company has a reputation for releasing unpolished games full of bugs and glitches to the point their they're expected. While it's understandable that there are some flaws in a massive, ambitious open-world game that allows for as much player freedom as Skyrim, what's less forgivable is how little effort Bethesda has put into fixing gameplay-interrupting bugs like incomplete missions, flying objects and unkillable dragons.
While this job shouldn't fall to fans, Skyrim modders have been able to patch some of these issues themselves using the Creation Kit. Mods like HASTE don't fix every issue in the game, but they can prevent players from becoming frustrated by easily fixable issues.
While The Elder Scrolls VI is likely still years away, Skyrim's fans -- particularly modders -- have been able to keep this treasured game relevant and fresh for a decade now. These often unsung heroes have worked tirelessly to improve the game for others to enjoy, and their work continues to this day.