NPC Interaction

[Gabbemaster]

According to the interwievs and information we have got, we can draw the conclusion that the NPCs will be "verry intelligent" and almost like "Real Humans". But one thing that really makes me a bit angry, is the fact that there will be no children in Oblivion. I won't be able to have a family, making love, have my own kid, and how can they say that they have spent so much time in making this game as "alive" as possible, when they do not include the most important, the most basic "real life ability" of them all? The ability to create life...

[Stampede]

Take the current state of game censorship, combined with ultra-conservatives and further coupled with certain...incidents in criminal society and then put children in a game with realistic NPCs that have removable clothing...well it all just adds up to trouble.

 

I know, I know "it's just a game, it's not real" and I agree. However, the utterly ridiculous stigma of games causing people to go on killing sprees has been firmly planted. I doubt that Bethesda would release a game that allows players to get married, have children and then butcher/beat/strip them on a whim.

 

To be honest, I never really missed children in Morrowind and I downloaded a plugin that placed kids running around randomly. I am sure one will be available for Oblivion.

[Gabbemaster]

"IF" Oblivion would have children in it, then Bethesda is not the one to blame if some ppl with... questionable looks on life... missuse the ability this game has offered.

It is not "the power itself" that counts, it is what you do "with it".

 

I understand that it is not possible for Bethesda to do such a thing, mainly because there is people out there who would missuse it. But I think it is sad that the majority (Yes, the majority, I do not belive that the majority would run around doing nasty stuff with kids) has to be thrown in the same crate as those people who lack the ability to respect humanity...

[Povuholo]

I think they just want to keep TES games rpg's. Not get all kind of features that make them some kind of love game.

 

*looks into the future*

 

TES V: Da sims

 

I don't think so :shocked:

 

Ofcourse a bit of "love" would be nice to add, but i think we should leave that to modders.

 

Children in the game would be cool aswell, but as they've said in many interviews that will take many changes in meshes of clothes and stuff...

 

Again, leave it to the modders. Won't take long before a children mod is made.

Idea for "making" children: Being able to let the npc that likes you summon a npc (kid) that lasts forever. Ah, great to have a kid. You bring him with you at a hunt and let him carry all your loot. :)

[Marxist ßastard]

Quit with the conspiracy theories of vast swathes of neocons watching over Todd Howard's shoulder. The plain and simple truth here is that Elder Scrolls games have focused on the heroic rather than the trivial and domestic.

 

For the same reason that that the Nerevarine wasn't pestered by a mortgage officer once he inhabited the house of our dear Ienas Sarandas, he doesn't defeat Dagoth Ur with the intent of putting his son through college. Things like that, the more subjective and mundane aspects of our hero's existence, are best left to the imagination, as I'm sure you'll agree.

 

The games of the main series have traditionally placed you in the shoes of some figure with an ambiguous backstory, placed in a situation that severs him from the personal ties he once had. By detailing every interaction with every NPC in the game, that freedom to create one's backstory is broken; thus it is in the best interest of gameplay, and not purely because of some vaguely understood political pressure, that the game doesn't present completely trivial NPCs, as children would certainly be, along with anything that would have emotional significance in place of any real grounding in contributing to the environment or furthering plot.

[Gabbemaster]

Ok, if we leave the "Love part", what about romance? I was rather dissapointed in the fact that Morrowind lacked everything according to that subject. So I got very happy when Emmas "Laura Craft Romance" mod came out. Romance do not have to interfere with the main plot, and what is an heroic story without a bit of romance in it? A kingdom to save and a princess to love?

[Malchik]

I wonder if we took a straw poll how many people missed the romance. I didn't. Adding mods after the event when you have done the main quest makes the world a little more realisitc and may encourage replaying for some but that is surely a better way than including it from the start. And in any case there is a romance of sorts between the player and Ahnassi if the character being played is male.

 

Rescuing princesses (and since the game can be played as either sex presumbly princes too) is all very well - you rescue quite a few people in MW - but what kind of romance would you want to see developing? You buy her a bunch of flowers, she gives you a kiss? You buy her a book on Nietzche and have a deep intensive discussion on Wittgenstein? Or more realistically you buy her a box of chocolates and she wants to know what the hell you're after?

 

I'll stick with the swash and buckle and let the modders provide the side shows.

[Stampede]

Quit with the conspiracy theories of vast swathes of neocons watching over Todd Howard's shoulder.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Nobody in this thread hinted at any sort of insidious censorship plot. It's just a simple fact, for the same reason the mundane adult NPCs could be killed in NWN and yet children were oddly invincible. I do agree with you though that the Elder Scrolls is not Fable, nor is it a fantasy version of the sims.

 

Another factor would be the same reason as to why there are no overweight NPCs or PCs, it would require a whole new set of models for clothing.

 

If certain individuals can create an uproar over hidden and horribly drawn sex scenes in GTA, I can only imagine the outcry to the ability to kill kids. So rather than making them immune to damage, just leave them out.

 

Oh and please allow me to quote Gavin Carter here:

 

"Children are problematic not only for ratings board issues, but also because doing dramatically different body sizes presents problems for our clothing system."

 

Taken from Elite Bastards Oblivion Interview

 

To rephrase my earlier post, I feel the rating system is a contributing factor as to why there are no kiddies.

[PurpleXVI]

Ahem, on the issue of "creating children," how long do you think the average game will be? I mean, it takes 9 months to just get the child into the world, you'd have to rest for 270 consecutive game days. Then you'd have to spend.... Er.... A lot vulking longer getting the kid able to do anything but lie around, poo itself and require feeding.

 

Basically you'd have to play for thousands of game-days just to get the kid capable of influencing the world. The idea is pretty silly, basically, none but a few would want to waste their time on it, that's why it's not implemented. Not censor-ship. But of course, if you were just doing it for the HOTTT HOTTT cutscenes with your game-wife, then go play a hentai game.

 

Children and killable versions of such being pre-existing, however, are a good idea. I mean, they're part of the game-world and all. It's not even as though they'd be tough to make, just half-sized versions of the adult models. "Problems for our clothing system." My ass. Just down-size the clothes by the same amount, maybe? Frankly I think it's entirely the rating thing, but they just didn't want to admit to being cowed by that.

 

And really, haven't we all seen the state of game/movie/book romances? Do we want that sort of crap in the middle of our fantasy epics? Ugh, not me. I've yet to see a well-written romance in the last 5 years.

 

On fatness, I don't think it would be that hard to implement. I mean, you can stretch and deform faces, right? Then why not have some lines that they basically deform along if the owner is overweight? Same for the body? I'm pretty sure that it could easily be done.

 

I didn't miss romance, I don't miss kids, I don't miss the ability to have RPG sex and have AI-controlled children. It's the little things that really make a game glow, yes, yes, but kids running around in the street won't save the game if the basic gameplay blows, so that's something to deal with AFTER they've completely tweaked the game itself to it's max, something that shouldn't even be bothered with unless they've got a few months extra after dealing with the rest.

 

I play Elder Scrolls games to be an amoral sociopath who steals everything that isn't bolted down, kills everything that moves, kills a few things that don't and then cheerfully slaughters a bloody swathe across the gameworld while humming a cheerful tune. I don't play Elder Scrolls to raise children and sit through dates.

[Mercbird]

I doubt that Bethesda would release a game that allows players to get married, have children and then butcher/beat/strip them on a whim.

 

Hear hear!

Should one want to play a game where you have children which you can butcher/beat/strip, by all means do, but role playing is the wrong genre. (Can it even be done in the sims?)

There was that game that had the big-a#* map, horses and children as well as more bugs than Bloodlines (Dark0ne may know, it was his post concerning it that made me join) The boy was a quest giver but would not leave me after I took him to his mother, and so was killed by goblins, eventually.

 

My advice to anyone, in a relationship or paying for it, who publicly admids to feeling the need to breed is:

LOCK YOURSELF IN A ROOM.

Get a dog.

Get a goldfish.

Get a plant.

Should any of the above out-live your ability to stand your own company in said room, you may consider breeding and write a book about it. I'll Buy it.

 

And while entertaining yourself :rolleyes: in your room, play Morrowind or Oblivion with little ones as a plug-in and see if you enjoy...

9 months to just get the child into the world, you'd have to rest for 270 consecutive game days. Then you'd have to spend.... Er.... A lot vulking longer getting the kid able to do anything but lie around, poo itself and require feeding.

 

Neh