Filler in Games- Skyrim

One of the pro-bloggers I have been following, Josh Bycer, recently made a post about filler in video games and how it can be deadly for a game.  He started off his argument by discussing the concept of filler arcs in anime, points where the show is transitioning from one major story arc to another, or when the writers have run out of ideas, and how pointless they are.  No character development really takes place, and you could completely skip the filler arc and miss practically nothing of importance.  He then applies this to games, especially games designed to be longer, like RPGs and open-world games.  He closes his argument with this:  "While the thought of having 100+ hours of game is an appealing one, the question however, is how many of those hours are actually meaningful?"

One of my recent favorites, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, is a game that could fall into this trap.  Before it was released, one of the biggest advertising points for the game was the huge amount of gameplay the player would have.  "Over 300 hours of gameplay!"  However, since it has been released, it has been criticized for this fact, with some saying much of this time can be spent getting from one point to another.

For me, this journey from one point to another is just another great point of the game.  There are a huge amount of locations to explore, from murky caves to dark, dusty ruins, from large cities, bustling with commerce, to tiny settlements of just a few houses.  Traveling from one to another was a crucial part of the game for me, because you were constantly exploring, seeing new sights and meeting new people.  Very rarely would you meet the same person on the road.  For me, every hour I put into the game, even the ones spent traveling from destination to destination, was meaningful.  It was not filler at all.