2.1 Riverwood

        On my way to Riverwood I left the path and collected some thistle. I chose to accept the blessing from the Thief stone, which fit my character quite well; Torbjorn, the thief, would surely take any opportunities provided to advance his skills. When I arrived in Riverwood, I first talked to Sven, who said I looked like a traveler. I told him I'd seen a dragon in Helgen, and he said that Hilde must not be crazy. I then talked to Hilde, who said she had seen a dragon, but nobody believed her. By making mention of the dragon, the game creates a sense of continuity; it shows that events elsewhere have effects that can be perceived all across Skyrim. Hilde also mentions that Lucan's store was robbed. I talked to a child in the town who also mentioned the thieves. I was then approached by Durak, who asked me if I would be interested in joining the Dawnguard, a group of vampire hunters. I asked for more information, then said that I would be interested. The Dawnguard interactions come from a DLC, or downloadable content package; these packages can add new quests, areas, and other aspects to a game, something like when a TV series is constructed from a successful movie. All of these interactions between characters provide you with many different dialogue options that allow you to "speak" and play the game as your character would, but there are limitations. For example, sometimes characters will speak directly to you when approached and you are not provided with the option of responding to them. In addition, you almost always have the option of terminating dialogue with another character without responding.

        I then stole some iron and steel ingots and improved some of my weaponry at grindstone. My character would always be looking for easy ways to improve or add to his belongings, even when it might be at the cost of others. After this, I entered the the inn and overheard Delphine complaining to Orgnar that the ale was going bad. Small interactions like this between background characters give more depth to Skyrim, showing that each character has some life of their own and are not present only to interact with the player.