LE Dynamic Shouts (Scribblenauts, but for Dragons!)

[PeggleFrank]

I had an idea earlier.

 

Scribblenauts allows you to create something in the English language. Making a "car" would obviously create a car, and making a "thermonuclear hyperactive thermometer" would create a... thing.

 

However, Scribblenauts was limited to individual objects and adjectives. We have an entire Dragon language at our disposal, and Dragon grammatical rules are much less strict than their English counterparts. Surely, there would be a way to remove the pre-made shouts, and allow you to create your very own shout using the Dragon language.

 

You may think me to be mad, but the concept is very similar to dynamic spells. All we need to do is limit it further, via grammar, which, in turn, makes our jobs easier. We can also do this with the voice files already in-game.

 

This would add:

• Individual words that can be mixed and matched to create sentences.
• Grammar, to keep some form of order. (i.e. using Death, Fury, and Calm in a sentence wouldn't be correct, as Fury and Calm cancel each other out, and "Death," by itself, isn't a sentence.
• Some sort of workstation that allows you to inscribe your Dragon shouts on tablets, and unlock the Dragon shout via Dragon souls later.
• A sink for your Dragon souls late-game, while also keeping the vanilla word walls useful.
• In-game texts (books, notes, etc.) to help the player solve puzzles that require certain shouts. (if a puzzle requires you to use level three of Bend Will, there'll likely be a note somewhere nearby detailing how to create the equivalent of a Bend Will shout)
• Dynamic shout generation for Dragons. (higher level Dragons will have access to more words, while lower level Dragons will generally use generic combinations of Fire, Ice, and Death.

This would not add:

• New pre-made Dragon shouts.
• The ability to create objects by describing them, like in Scribblenauts. The Dragon language isn't really based around objects; rather, it's based around actions, and the default object is the speaker. (usually the Dragon/Dovahkiin itself)

This would remove:

• Pre-made shouts. (if you go to a word wall and learn Fus, you don't learn 1/3 of the Unrelenting Force shout: you learn Fus, and are able to use it later when inscribing shouts. You need 3 words to create a shout, however, as one- to two-word shouts aren't valid)

This would not remove:

• The Shout system itself, allowing partial compatibility with mods that add shouts. (it would still be incompatible with mods that remove or change shouts, however)

While I don't mod myself, I might be able to help if someone decides to do this. It's really nothing more than just a dynamic spell system, but for Dragon shouts.

[Mattiewagg]

Nothing more than a dynamic spell system? Yes, it would be incredibly awesome and it is possible, but the complexity and difficulty of the task would be immense. Not to say it won't happen, because some dedicated and amazing modder may come along and do the job. If they did, I would endorse that mod 1000 times, if I could.

 

However, it's a whole lot harder than you make it sound.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Matthiaswagg

[PeggleFrank]

By that, I don't mean that a dynamic spell system is easy. I just meant that it would be easier to build off of one that's already been made.