This probably isn’t an original thought.
So here’s the thing with Skyrim. There’s a lot to like, as I’ve noted before. The mechanics are interesting, there’s plenty to explore (though it certainly isn’t as large as some other games, and the replay space is much smaller), and it has the great feature of “earning” player housing.
I was chatting with a friend, and Skyrim came up. We got to comparing completing things, and he was trying to remember where he’d stuck, and what player housing he’d finished the quests for. So I looked up the available player housing, thinking I’d gotten all of it (or near enough, anyway).
Turns out, I’d missed one Thane-related one (because I’d missed there was a quest from Elisif), and a couple that came from quests started by books or other things. So I gathered up the four remaining Player Housing options, and, well, it’s done.
OK, that’s great! Lots of places to choose to have my spouse and adopted kids live. (Can I just say, I love the flexibility of the marriage part, and that I can pick which kids to adopt? That’s cool. Though it’s weird that Uthgerd the Unbroken, famed for her fighting prowess, complains about being in the wilderness-adjacent Heljarchen Hall. Moved them to the newly acquired Proudspire Manor instead, and now she’s happier. Weird.)
But!
Other than swapping out rooms (in a couple places), really, there’s no customization. e.g. in Breezhome, where you can either have the Alchemy Lab or the Children’s Bedroom. Otherwise, you just buy all the upgrades as you can afford them, or build them (for the homesteads) as you gather the materials.
Satisfying to Collect ‘Em All, but ultimately, actually less flexible than the Warlords of Draenor Garrison. There you can (sort of) reskin with Christmas (Winter Veil) or Halloween (Hallow’s End) decorations, or swap the guards/banners to a faction of your choice.
It’s not a lot, but it’s something. (I still wish I could’ve swapped the Orc Horde buildings for Forsaken Wobbly Gothic, but whatever.)
In Skyrim, it’s satisfying to collect, even the inconvenient ones like Nchuamthumz (which AFAICT you have to go back to Frostroot Cave to even get to) or Dead Man’s Dread (which has fast travel back to several spots, but one has to take a boat from Orphan’s Tear to access).
(Also, have I mentioned that fishing is way too limited in its locations? It would be kinda fun to have fishing pools a la WoW spawning inside Blackbone Isle Grotto…)
Definitely something to think about, control of appearance and decorations, if I ever decide to design a player housing system…
Cheers!