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Reactive NPCs
GoldenDog
Member Posts: 586
How many others are a bit deflated by the fact that very few MMOs have NPCs that treat you differently depending on Race, Sex, or Attitude?
This has been a common feature in the last two single player RPGs (Fallout3, Dragonage) I've played and add immensely to the RP aspect. Going back to an MMO where they give all of your characters the same cookie cutter text is getting old.
I think new mmos that want to compete with this crowd NEED to have a balance bar attributable to each of your characters that sways back and forth based upon your "attitude" to the quest NPCs and it will either open or close doors (quest lines) depending on how you treat them and should impact titles given. I would like to see NPCs that are as careless to you as you can be to them.
I'd also like to see NPCs that are judgemental, and sexist. There should be harmless flirtation options and natural willingness to assist built in to some of the quest lines. Intimidation options as well as charisma stats would be nice as well.
youtube.com/gcidogmeat
Comments
The problem is, SP games are a bit more linear in design and anyway, it's only one character from end to finish. The world isn't as vast and there are not as many NPCs. Plus there won't be extension adding eve more choicies and both quests having to take into acocunt preexisting quests and previous quests having to be tweaked to accomodate the reactions to the new quests.
In short, the amount of writing required for such interactive would absolutely MASSIVE .
It's doable, but most companies just don't see the point of spending money on writers. Programmers or "artists" (mainly drawing) they understand, but why pay someone to write when anyone can do it? Well, writing is like drawing, most knows the basics and can do a drabble/doodle, but true artists are rare... That said, it's highly unlikeable studios will spend money to have interctive NPCs.
Plus, there is something of a vicious circle here: the texts are inept, so nobofy read them, then it's not worth it to pay to have better texts, right?
I would also add the numerous cries of 'UNbalance' that may come if some race/class/gender cannot do a quest , does not receive the same reward, or has to do something that takes longer or is more difficult to accomplish
Torrential: DAOC (Pendragon)
Awned: World of Warcraft (Lothar)
Torren: Warhammer Online (Praag)
Instead of adding more text, why aren't companies doing voice over anyways? I would think that an MMORPG brings in More money over time than say a single player RPG. So why do they settle with less quality content? It's not because they're putting all their cash into artwork, beacuse single player RPGs are right up there.
Some of it would go to GMs sure, but the single player games have a support staff and expansion staff also. I'd also settle in a heartbeat for fewer quests that were higher quality, higher difficulty, and greater XP. So they could get by with Fewer texts if they make the quest more involved and up the XP.
Take levels 1-20 in Age of Conan for instance. Tortage was built very well and similar to a single-player RPG. So much so that the rest of the game was a disappointment.
As far as balancing, if the line is race or sex based denial: then simply have lines for that denial reason in a different form to fill the gaps.
Say an Elf is denied a Human's biased quest... so have the elf have a quest with similar reward that the man is denied. Almost like partial faction, but in shared cities and applied over sex and attitude as well.
Edit: Spelling, Grammer
youtube.com/gcidogmeat