In every TES game I've played, NPC's weren't the focus, there was no real gameplay fun in specializing in speachcraft/non-combat characters. NPC's have always been there for information and leads. Sometimes they have interesting things to say and can be funny, or intense, or just informative. However one thing that would make this game phenomenal is if NPC's actually had personalities. If talking to them wasn't just rewarding, but interesting and fun. If different NPC's were unique, and almost real.

That would officially blow my mind.

Huh? TES (Oblivion) Had the best, most "alive" NPCs around and the game was made in 2005. They had their own schedule and a lot of them had their own personality, it just didn't seem so different because they used a lot of the same voice acting on multiple NPCs.

Anyways, TES has some of the best NPCs around, 'nuff said. And Skyrim will be even better. So cheer up

It is true that TES has the best NPC's around (didn't mean to sound negative ). What I was saying is that, while varied and unique, NPC's seemed static to me. Yes, they were unique, they had personalities in a way, but they never really came to life for me. There is no way I could ever play through a game with a character based around speachcraft, there is no way I could ever spend hours just talking to people, visiting taverns, getting to know the politics and people of various cities and courts.

Iunno, maybe it's just me.

If you want to spend "hours" talking to people, get a job in customer service. NPCs are there to be either info crates, or characters for quests, story, ect. That they feel like real people is a whole other matter, and the schedules and other things has already been discussed in many other threads.

I agree with the poster. The NPCs just were't dynamic enough. I got sick of walking up to someone and asking something like "What do you do for a living" and they would say something like "I live in Bravil." and the conversion would end there. Then I would put my face in my palm. Yes, I know you live in Bravil, I'm INSIDE YOUR HOUSE! Come on, give me something more. Yes the NPCs are there to give you quests, but they are also there to make you feel like your really in a new world. Their there for atmosphere, and the only atmosphere the NPCs in Oblivion gave was the sense that you weren't the only person alive, but besides that they didn't do much else.

Everyone thought they were static, obviously. We've all though it for years. And we've all wanted better characters (mainly to do with the animations). So I'm not sure whether you're bringing anything new to the plate. What's the specific suggestion?
:shrug:

No new suggestions I guess, I just hadn't seen this on the Skyrim forum yet and thought it needed to be said, sorry if I'm restating a common concern, but hey, the more people there are talking about it, the more likely it'll be implemented.

Also, Morrowind was pretty bad too. It was like.

Me: Hey, what's up?
NPC: LET ME TELL U ABOUT MY LIFE AND MY TOWN AND MY HOUSE AND MY JOB AND OTHER PEOPLE AND PLACES AROUND HERE AND THE IMPERIAL LEGION AND SOME ADVICE AND THAT ONE QUEST U HAVE KTHXBYE

Well this could be implemented in game or moded. But this could be way easier if someone suggest something interesting. Eldron, discount_funkly, you two seem to have a vague idea of what you want, if you could express that idea, maybe someone could implement it, either in vanilla or in a mod.

Exactly. More information does not equal better, nor does less information. We need the RIGHT information/dialogue to make them seem real and personalized.

I strongly sympathize with the OP's thoughts. If you want "specific suggestions", though, hereyago:


- The quest mod "Kragenir's Death Quest" adds unique dialogue lines to ALL village/countryside NPCs, and gives quests to many previously irrelevant NPCs. What I liked about this is that it very much developed the sense that every person had a story; in a few cases, the player got a chance to change or develop that story. Each one of them had a reason they had moved to some boondocks outpost, as well as motives and desires. The quests they gave were very often associated with the things they had to say about themselves.

I don't expect it, but it would be lovely if most or all NPCs had unique things to say and/or potential quests associated with them. It would also be great if a number of quests resulted in the unfolding of an NPC's story, by causing an event of personal importance to them.


- The total conversion mod "Nehrim" features certain characters, central to the main quest, whose very personalities change as events meaningful to them unfold. This is impractical to apply on a large scale, but I'd love to see this in a few key characters. It adds to the sense that the PC is not the only "person" in the world.

Some released news implies that this will be available in Skyrim on at least a small scale; we're told that NPCs can develop vendettas against the PC if you murder their relations, and it's been said that there will be companions available, which suggests that you may need to earn their trust somehow. However, I'd like more; I'd like to see NPCs whose outlook on life might legitimately change, who might make entirely new choices and goals (become a hermit? idolize the player? put down their sword in favor of pacifism? decide they don't actually want to be like their dad? develop new respect for effete mages, or for brute fighters?) due to the outcome of quests or even world events.


- The quest mod "Integration: The Stranded Light" features some very well-developed NPCs who have reasonably subtle viewpoints on certain issues, and legitimately differing problem solving strategies (not just the stealth/swords/spells trio). One member of an outcast group tries to get people to accept them by being helpful to others in need. Another member paints mildly provocative pictures and distributes them widely in an attempt to communicate that the outcasts are beautiful too. One member doesn't really care about the group's social status, but grudgingly recognizes that they must abide by certain societal rules to avoid nastiness and violence. One, with sufficient power to do so, imposes her own rules wherever she goes. Yet another simply avoids the general population.

This kind of widely varying approach to a shared problem is really cool to see in action. I would love it if Skyrim NPCs similarly showed diverse views of the world, and especially if, in at least one or two cases, they addressed group problems in different ways.


- Someone above mentioned animations. I've never seen animations as the crux of the problem, but now that you mention it, it would be cool if NPCs used different personality-related animations. It'd be nice if unrefined, easily distracted characters were forever swatting at flies, scratching itches, and shifting from foot to foot. Very confident characters might gesture more expansively than the retiring. Old people might have fragile, carefully-balanced movements. The lighthearted and young might occasionally start skipping out of an excess of joy. Messengers, athletes, and errand-boys might prefer sprinting to the casual stroll of most NPCs. Some characters might use a different set of facial expressions than others, just as in real life people smile and frown and different ways, using their facial muscles differently.

All of that would be lovely (very lovely, if well implemented), and certainly some games have used animations very skillfully to portray the mental or physical state of the characters. Again, though, I don't view it as the heart of the matter. It is more important that NPCs show that they have histories and motives of their own, demonstrate varying approaches to problems, and that at least some NPCs change over time.