Slow Your Roll

OK, we're all playing Skyrim, having a fun time of it.  It's undoubtedly a game with a lot to do, with hundreds of quests, dungeons, and abilities.  But pump your breaks, that's not what you should be thinking about.  It's called  Skyrim, not QuestMan, or LotsaDungeons.  The greatest, most awesome thing about this game is its namesake, the world you inhabit, and all the exploring and adventure and huge productivity-swallowing world that awaits you outside of quests.  So here, I have a suggestion.  Not just a different way of playing the game, a different way of playing games altogether.  Just follow one simple rule.

Don't use fast travel to get anywhere.  Ever.

Dawnstar Guards Always Tryin' To Catch Me Ridin' Dirty

Just don't.  Why would you do that?  Skyrim is, more than most that actually use this word, a sandbox game.  There is no formal win condition, no strict goals to work towards.  Sure there is a "main" quest, but it is not handed with any special privilege, and several of the "side-quests" are arguably larger in scope and importance (Mage's Guild springs to mind).  And quests are never, ever required to open any areas or enable character progress.  You can clear out that bandit keep for no other reason than to harvest their souls, to the ends of channeling your psychopathy towards mightier magical enchantments.  And what's more, the game compensates for this; if you ever do decide to take a quest, it will make sure it sends you to somewhere you haven't been before.

Which is not to say Skyrim is at it's best in its dungeon crawls, not at all; Skyrim is, at its core, a brilliant, well-realized world with a fantasy adventure generator running under the hood.  If you are just teleporting everywhere, you miss out on that, and trade a giant world of stark beauty for the instant gratification of a Skinner Box.  Boo to that!  Let me tell you what you are missing when you fast travel.

Old Ruins Framed By Fog-Shrouded Mountains.  Majestic As Fuck.

You miss out on vistas.  This is one thing Skyrim does better than arguably any other game out there.  Huge glaciers, towering snow-swept mountains, wide-open plains.  This is a feast for the eyes, one you will pass up if your nose is lodged in a quest log rather than pointed to the environments around you.

Who Lives Here?  And More Importantly, Can I Steal Their Stuff?

You miss out on action!  Wolves, ice spiders, malign spirits, and cutpurse thieves all occupy the roads and backwoods.  Not to mention the caves and castles dotting the landscape all but literally beckon bold adventurers to test their might, like a fantasy analogue to that carnival game with the mallet.  Don't think your trip from Solitude to Whiterun will be a dull, eventless affair.

J'Zargo Is A Dick.  Real Talk.

You miss out on coming home.  This is the most nebulous, yet most important part of this experience.  You will come to ride trails you know, see familiar landmarks, and eventually learn the way back to your most preferred locations without map nor spell.  For me, this place is without question Winterhold.  Amidst frozen seas and imposing mountains rest its tenuous bridge and classical arches.  Arches that I know well, that I have come to preside over.  My arches.  My college.  My home.  The best part of travelling afar, paradoxically, is making the journey home.

So slow your roll, enjoy the view.  We're not here to check things off our quest log like we're buying 2% milk at the supermarket.  Break out from that simple positive-feedback loop that years of Facebook games and derivative MMO design have worn into you, and try it out.  Intentionally take the long way this once, and breathe.  As the light crests over High Hrothgar, and as the wind carries snow into your face, you notice a fox cross your path, you just might see something you haven't seen before, or forgot was there.  The best achievements are the ones that don't pop up on completion.