I was watching that trailer and at 1:32, the focus is on the assassination, but on the right side of the screen there is a bard just chilling playing a murder ballad on his harp. I hope that the player can play the instruments as well, with a possible rhythm game and multiple songs to learn or something. I don't think there is any hope for a bard class at this point, but I think it would be pretty sweet to cast spells by playing a little song. Possibly just passive spells, since playing a rhythm game to shoot a fire ball at someone would be a little impractical, though hilarious.

What do ya'll think?

Oh and sorry if this has already been brought up, I couldn't figure out how to search the forum...

I like the idea of having playable instruments in the game, and I definately support learning new songs to play. I disagree with any spell effects as a result though. I think it'd be cool to add it in as a trade type skill, like chopping wood. Playing in a tavern should yield some tips (and criticism!). If you're familiar with the Wheel of Time series, Rand and Mat would entertain tavern folk just to get by with food and lodging. It could be a fun way to make some gold, I think.

That would be sweet playing for cash! Go to tavern without enough money to rent a room, then zammo, you put on a little impromptu show for the patrons and you make enough tips to rest your head.

I'd love for the bards to be something like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooj25_j3k1E&feature=fvwrel. Would really add to the nordic atmosphere.

Instruments would add very little to gameplay. If you want to jam out, go play guitar hero.

If I was going to be an assassin type character, I would play a song for each of my victims before extinguishing them later.

Builds up the atmosphere of a living world. Especially for taverns.

@ MacRiada - That is intense, but its the way it must be done...

@ Jamil20 - I disagree since it is a sandbox open world RPG it should have as much extra stuff as possible. Like how Zelda and WOW have fishing, or Fable with its tavern games; it is something to break up the questing. It helps svck you into the world.

I'm not looking to "jam" out. There are plenty of things going into this game that alone won't add a great deal to gameplay, but they effectively add their own element to the overall product to create atmosphere. Please remember to make your criticisms constructive.

I place this just slightly above tennis as a gameplay enhancing feature.

It's about atmosphere, not just gameplay. Climbing to one of Cyrodiil's highest peaks and staring in awe at the landscape below didn't benefit me in terms of gameplay, but it was well worth it anyway.

Edit: Just realised Hailey pretty much made this point.

A developer has to draw the line somewhere. Most people will stop to appreciate the scenery. Very few people are going to bother with playing instruments. This is a high cost feature to add, with very little value added. Playing an ambient noise inside taverns accomplishes nearly the same goal, and is low cost.

...Immersion?

@Above... Immersion >_>....

And @ most of the people above me (the ones that want this in >_>) I agree with what you say completely >_>.....

Just because something can be done, doesn't mean that it should be done.

Hyperbolic example is extremely hyperbolic.



If they have time to fully flesh things out, then I'm all for it. Just the ability to play without any other reaction or usaage would be interesting, I always liked messing around with the Ocarina in Oot/MajMask.
But even if they don't do anything with it, at least NPCs using it will add to atmosphere immensely.

What if you wanted to make a little cash, so you set up a spot in town and started playing your lute. There, a little minigame would transpire (like the lock pick mini game) and the better you did on it, the more money people give you and the faster your instrument skill increases... I think it would be a good idea.

add this to the op please.

bards minstrels...those dudes who beat the war drums....[yeah cant think atm..need coffee.] they all serve a purpose to encourage and empower others.
it could be a support role if we have companions, it could be a way to connect the lore of the game to your experience in an all new way.

this may not be the only cool new play-style in the game. did you see we might be able to become SPIES!?!?...so cool the things gamesas are trying out.

But now we know that noise is coming from NPCs with instruments, not ambient, it's only a small step from there to allow the PC to do the same. Back when TES had classes (i.e. untill Skyrim) you could play as a "Bard" yet not actually do anything bard-like, very jarring. Considering instruments are in and Skyrim has a College of Bards (or similar name) I'd be surprised if the player can't play an instrument, probably with beneficial effects too (stat boosting effects? making cash?).

I like it.... (theres never a reason not to make some cheap cash >_>....)

Who knows, maybe you'll have to go to the bard's college first, and buy an Uber expensive lute, etc.. before you can do such a thing....

Playing instruments would be very nice. What's the Bard's College for anyway?

You could play to earn money, as has been mentioned.
Spells would be difficult. However, I can easily imagine playing some magical song that puts everybody into a deep sleep so you can loot the place. And maybe music could function like some of the Illusion spells that have a soothing or charming effect.
I can also see you having a better reputation in a particular town because of your playing ability.
And.. I know it's been done before, but it's still cool... you could learn to play an arcane tune in order to unlock some ancient ruins.

Perhaps the Bard's College is not just a place, but also a faction/guild.

The fact is there is a dude playing a harp in the trailer, no one is mastvrbating. I get what you are saying but bards are obviously apart of this world and creepy men in trench-coats aren't. Plus rhythm games have a huge market i.e. guitar hero 1 - 47 so it seems like an addition that would please fans and make sense in the world.

Okay, but it becomes a lot more complicated when it becomes a user action. How do you control the instrument? Are there many buttons for all the notes your instrument can play? Does a console controller have enough buttons to support this? Do you simply click on the instrument and it plays a random song? Do you pick from a list of songs? Where do you learn new songs? Can you make your own songs? etc..etc..etc..

Adding an NPC behaviour that just plays a random song is not nearly as complicated.

Well, from the http://www.imperial-library.info/content/pocket-guide-empire-first-edition-skyrim:





This is true, and we should all at least admit that Bethesda will only do these things if they considered them from the start or if they have time after the fundamentals.


Regarding the control scheme, they could do what OoT did, where all your buttons control a note, and they could advance it by combining multiple buttons into other notes. They could use the y-axis of the anolog stick(s) to control pitch from those basic notes, again like OoT did.
EDIT: They could also use the digital pad to set the player controls to be up or down octaves, and use the x-axis to warble the note.

And if I were designing a recognition system with a simplified structure, I would design it to where 1) the player got more recognition for playing within a player-set tempo, one that was mathematically determined by the time-ratio between the first two notes (though through some tweaking of averages, it could be adjusted as time went on), and possibly 2) where the player got more recognition by playing melodic harmonics or working within the circle of fifths, something that can again be somewhat easily quantized and recognized by a ruleset. 3) The quality of instrument would further affect recognition.

There would be no set songs, the player would just play, and if they worked well within the system, they would get better default praise.

Thats what I thought too, though I guess I didn't say it (@ the faction/guild thing....)

Though nothing yet has been said so we may only speculate...

In Betrayal at Krondor at first the innkeeper would chase you off to protect you from the wrath of the crowd, but as your barding skill increased you'd start to earn money. It was fun!