4. The Loot Should Matter
The other "L" word that every RPG-er loves, finding shiny new loot remains one of the supreme joys of RPG gaming. Whether it's finally getting that new sword that can easily cut down those foes who keep making your life difficult, or uncovering a valuable treasure that you can sell for more money than your wallet can hold, good loot makes RPG's more fun, plain and simple. Unfortunately, some RPG's throw SO much loot at you, that after time, it tends to water down the experience of finding loot in the first place. Worse yet, is when the overabundance of loot gets to a point of saturation where the only thing that matters anymore are the baseline stats. Similar to the way the best RPG's balance action, exploration, and down time, so too should they put a similar focus on loot delivery to the player. A game that doesn't consistently over-encumber your inventory with worthless garbage, while still finding a way to get the player that sweet piece of loot right when they need it most, is the game that has succeeded in this area. To go along with the "less is more" theory on RPG loot, an additional way to augment this is to continue and develop the trend that many modern games have followed: give the good loot a unique look, a history, and a way for the player to interact with it. Skyrim's 3D models of every piece of loot you find in the game serves this latter function extremely well. And think back to the early RPGs of the 90's. Many of them had you seeking, at various points in the game, a certain weapon, piece of armor, or treasure that you had learned about via in-game lore, and finding that special gear was truly a climax to an ever-increasing state of anticipation. RPG's that combine this classic quality of loot significance with the modern sensibilities that games like Skyrim bring to the table ultimately make that hunt for the next shiny all the more meaningful.