EPTIt began with my friend's casual comment on Skyrim, about how he'd been playing it with his recently built mega-computer and his rants about all of the high-resolution mods that he installed. I had played Skyrim (for way too many hours) when it had come out and finally grew tired of it, so I casually changed the subject and proceeded to talk about other things. But a part of me still loved being a digital adventurer.
A slow week came around since school doesn't start until mid-January and I watched the older (but still recent) Lord of the Rings movie that came out (An Unexpected Journey). After the movie had finished, I found myself installing it again on Steam, inspired by the grand fantasy folk-lore of the movie. I remembered how invigorating it was to venture out into an entire digital world full of wonderful and exotic dangers.
So, as the installation finished, I grabbed a beer and sat down to begin yet another journey through Skyrim. I went through the all-too-familiar beginning and pondered what my character would be like this time around. I've already played as a sharpshooting ranger, a single-handed blademaster, and a backstabbing rogue, so this time I decided to become a magic-wielding mage.
The game sucked me back in again. I found myself falling back in love with roaming around and fighting hundreds upon hundreds of vicious foes.
I found myself turning down friends in order to loot another dungeon. I've skipped meals in order to try and fail to craft a thousand different potions. I became a hermit in my room, only calling the answers of nature and beckoning of friends.
I don't know when this binge will stop. Hopefully it will before I have to return to my studies. But in the meantime? Skyrim awaits.
