majikmonkee Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Before I go any further, let me just qualify all my comments by saying I don't really get emotional about things nor do I like to talk about feelings or cry softly while listening to "Endless Love" with all the lights turned low. That being said... There are a handful of mods up to this point I've played, and the number is growing steadily. A couple had multiple paths to follow and I only tried one, and I would love to play through them again, however, I avoid doing so because there were "depressing" events that will inevitably hapen again if I play the mods again, and I just can't bear to start the chain of events knowing the eventual outcome. Stupid, right? Granted both the main vanilla Oblivion quest and Shivering Isles have depressing aspects to their conclusion, but that never stopped me. I still watch Return of the Jedi, knowing that Yoda dies *sniff*. My question is, is that a sign of a good or a bad mod? Shouldn't a good mod make me want to replay it without hesitation? Or are good mods the ones that stick with you for the very reasons you won't play them again? I have my own thoughts on the subject... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ub3rman123 Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 That is a sign of an epic mod. I'd much rather have one of those than the kind where you trawl through a dungeon just killing stuff until the end. (I find myself guilty of making mods like this) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArchMageMatt Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 It is a midevil world, would it really be good if there is happieness and sunshine and no death or sad twists? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majikmonkee Posted November 21, 2010 Author Share Posted November 21, 2010 Good point. I tend to agree, if a modder can get me more invested in their characters than I was in characters from the "official" content, I would say they're on to something. On the same token, there are many time when I don't want to be involved with characters or drama and just prefer a good old fashioned dungeon crawl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ub3rman123 Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 I'm curious, what mods are it that did it? I want to study what it is that makes players more invested in an NPC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majikmonkee Posted November 22, 2010 Author Share Posted November 22, 2010 (edited) There are a few that have had that effect to a degree. Heart of the Dead probably had the most notable moments for me, Lost Spires had some as well to a lesser extent. There are a couple others but those would be great examples. Have me thinking now what exactly causes me to become invested in them. I guess here's my short list: -make sure the npc is not ugly. They don't all have to be Carwen though, just not repulsive (like Jensine is). Looks aren't everything though so... -personality matters. Even if you don't use voice over, facial expressions and dialogue that shows me some of their personality goes a long way toward making me like them. If you do use VO, for heavens sake, don't make them too corny. -motivation of the npc matters to me. This is harder to define, but if I feel bad about neglecting or delaying helping them with their goal then this had been achieved. -make them flawed. Even good guys should be scared, petty, confused, even angry, their unique emotions make me relate, after all, real people aren't perfect. -length of time spent together matters. Have the npc accompany the player enough so they get used to them and start to miss them when they are away. Don't have them around constantly to where they become a pest though, or have them follow in areas where they get stuck or die constantly. -lastly, let the player decide to like them. Most mods I've played with memorable companions or npcs don't force you to have just one choice of dialogue to be friends right away with the npcs, some folks might never like any npc and resent having dialogue force them to be friendly. Okay, so that wasn't a very short list, but hopefully it gives some insight into what I and some other folks like to see. I can't speak for everyone. =P Edited November 22, 2010 by majikmonkee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bytyan Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 if it was all sunshine and lollipops it would be boring and make you not want to play it again. sadness is what motivates...sad really...but that is the sign of a well scripted mod which are the ones we love and cherish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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