Now, as you can see from the description, I just want to see what the fans of the TES series (myself included) would like to see in the game in terms of realism, or perhaps how much realism that you would like to see or expect to see. How much realism does it take to make a good game? What's too little? What's too much?

Many play games to escape the everyday norm and venture into a world where they can be the hero they want, a place where they can defy reality, defy the laws of physics, play out that story or character from their favourite movie or book, being the person that the fabric of the universe hangs on, the only one that can make a difference. Many of us play games to feel important, to feel we have control over where we are going, to feel we have power over our destiny and perhaps others too.

So, coming back to realism. Do we really want our games to be like real life? Do we want to face the dire consequences of bad choices? Many people want an extent of realism but still want to feel as if they are in a fantasy world where the rules of real life don't apply. At one end the stick we have burning through the game as if you are a god with no real consequences that come from your actions. On the other end we have things like needing to eat, needing to sleep, needing the toilet, not being overly powerfull, permadeath etc etc.

Now, me personally I think there needs to be a balance, and I sit somewhere in the middle. I'm definately a fan of realism, but I think there can be too much of it. So, what about you?

Do you want to run around in Skyrim as if it were real life in a different universe? Explain

I like things to be pretty realistic, physicswise that is (with the obvious exclusion of when magic is involved) but for gameplay and coolness sake I can sacrifice a bit of that. I may elaborate later.

I want a different universe that is NOTHING like real life. If I have to fight minotaurs and animated dead things, then I shouldn't have to worry about mundane concerns like food, water, or sleep. If I can use MAGIC (!) then I really shouldn't have to deal with too many real world concepts like *real* encumbrance and whether or not I could swim in a Dwarven Cuirass. Or jump ten feet into the air. Or change direction mid-jump. The list goes on.

I don't like reality in my video games. I have reality. Lots of it. Every day. Video games are an escape from my everyday life and when I escape, I like to really and truly get the hell out of the real world. I don't want a single thing to remind me of the concerns I have in the real world.

First off, let's define Realism.

Realism, when it comes to video games,is the extent to which gameplay mechanics adhere to our objective reality. Pedestrian examples of realism are 1) gravity, abandined things fall downwards.

The game needs to straddle that line between allowing people to have a willing suspension of disbelief (which can mostly be done by having good physics engines and a.i.s), as well not intruding too much into gameplay and people's escapism. As long as they don't lean too far in either direction, I'll be happy. And seeing as how their past games were fairly good about this, I'm not concerned.

Nice input, and I agree with most parts of your post, Food, sleep, encumberance etc. But I do like a small amount of realism in terms of physics etc in games. So I would have to disagree with the jumping part.

Considering that it's a game series set on a different world in a different reality, than anything that happens in game is realistic from the perspective of the game. And (I can't believe I'm quoting Matrix of all things) What is real? Is it what we see and hear? These are merely electrical impulses received by the brain.

So I submit to you that the game world is reality! That you are not in fact escaping reality, but substituting one reality for another! For if it doesn't not exist on the physical level than it exist in reality on the electrical level and if not then even it merely exists in one persons mind alone than it is reality and it exists!

:P

GTA 4 was going for realism and made you wanna kill your friends then yourself.

A game is a game is a game...

*Rolls eyes* There's always one.

I like it realistic when it comes to the "normal" stuff, I mean of course magic isn't realistic but that dosen't mean that people don't have to eat,
especially when people obviously grow vegetables and hunt animals for meat. I personally thought hardcoe mode was awesome in New Vegas even if it could
have been done better, realism makes certain types of classes more unique. If food becomes a necessity a hunters role suddenly grows bigger and if the normal laws of physics apply
a wizard feels more special since he can bend those laws with levitate and teleknesis.

Then of course you have to balance that stuff in the game so certain elements dosen't just become a chore.

EDIT: Oh and one thing that's often unrealistic in a bad way in games are how people never get hurt.
You could send a hail of bullets into a guy, leaving him with like 10% hp and he'll still be running around, jumping and shooting like
he didn't even have a scratch and then suddenly when you hit him with that 23rd bullet in the foot he dies...

Very little imo. *looks at Just Cause 2*

Eating, drinking and sleeping are good parts of realism that would fit TES and would improve gameplay while also making it into a more immersive adventure that can svck you up in it.
Toilet stuff are kinda unnecessary and would turn the game into a pain in my opinion (at least I can't think of a way of it working good).
The point is that parts of realism that can make game become a pain should not be in since games are suppose to be fun, but still watch out that some fun parts don't make game into a [censored]-fest.
For example, I don't mind being able to run faster or jump higher than normal human could, but I do mind low gravity stuff from previous games since it makes things look silly.
Also, jumping and running to more extreme extends should be available only via magic, but still watch out so they don't overdo it.

I like it to get as realistic as it can be with fantasy settings (Magicka and lore creatures (heartly or not))
I like the world to be plausible and plausibility means certain constraint. No need to go to the batthroom lvl, but having to sleep, suffering from food and water deprivation and having limits based on emcumberance and weight.
As for combat, full critic wouds would be fun but it only work if you have a group, so i m happy with "active" combat based on statistic and increased hp loss as crits. There not much more they can do anyway.
I also would like some strong alchemy as an option to magical healing.
I like stamina being implemented for jogging and sprinting, no more oblivion run-like-a-beheaded-duck-all-the-time-around...
If possible strong features involving direct gameplay like: LOS, noise detection, light level influencing stealth sucess, strenght / weapon weight /speed of use would be great too.
Skills like climbing should be essential.
And a believable skill based crafting system if implanted is a must.

IMHO all should be based on characters skill and almost nothing in player skill.

Then you don t want a RPG you want a hack and slash.

And a game doesn t need to be dumb.

I like realism to be honest.

I prefer it when I have to carefully manage my characters health, food, water, weight, energy level and resources to achieve optimal results in everything I do... Then again I may just be too anol for my own good.

I definitely however, realize that many think these features are not fun and wouldn't mind the game without them. I liked FNV way of adding it if you want it or not if you don't

As long as that doesn't go into the realm of random failures than I'd have to agree. If your character's skill of blocking is high, than they should be better able to deflect blows. But if the player get's too far removed from the skill factor you might as well let the game play itself.

Yeah, it all comes down to opinion I guess.

Erm, as long as there's a good resemblance to real life so I can operate fairly well in the game with my own knowledge, I'm good to go. I don't mind eating or sleeping, like the way Baldur's Gate was. Sleep affected stats, and there was a chance of an encounter during sleep as well :thumbsup:

But all of this is secondary to having a game which has a deep story, good quests, strong character personalities, consequences, etc. I don't play for the simulation, but for the adventure and problem solving.

Oh, and I'd like dark darkness :nod:

Not too "real".


I'm fine with hitpoints (I really didn't care for all the "but someone shot in the head should die instantly! even me!" threads over on the FO3 forum, for example.)
I'm fine with features that reduce some of the tediousness (like fast travel. No need to walk across the areas you've already completely cleared if you don't want to)
I'm fine with "unnatural stamina".... forcing someone going on a long on-foot overland trip to walk slowly most of the way is just adding aggravation.
I'm fine with not seeing my feet. It doesn't throw me out of the game or make me think that I'm just a floating camera.

Edit: I'm fine with "non-real" graphics, as long as they're a consistant & well done art style. (example: I think WoW looks really good, certainly better than alot of "fancier" graphics MMOs.)

I'm not fine with adding extra bonus tedious micromanagement and annoyances because it's more "real". (No interest in FO:NV's hardcoe mode or the FWE line of primary needs FO3 mods)
I'm not interested in adding "realism" stuff that makes my character into just another schlub suffering through a mundane existance - that character's a Hero?, dammit!


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(All the "I want to need to eat/sleep/etc" threads have had me thinking about my ultimate "why the heck did that game series become so popular" example - The Sims. Someone loaned it to me to try, and I just couldn't believe that people would play this "game". Yeah, the "build crap" part is ok, but the actual gameplay..... let's see: I need to get a job, keep my house clean, get enough food & sleep, get up/clean/dressed on time to get to work/school whatever, so that I can get promotions, and earn money, to buy cool stuff like a new computer.

...wait, I have to do all that crap in real life. I play games to get away from that. Why the would I want to do that in a game?!?!!?!?? :banghead:

Seriously, I have 150% no clue how the heck that became popular. It's recursive maschism or something.)

I prefer realism in games, though it can be carried too far. If my character has to stop to pee, then that is taking it too far. Food, water, sleep are all good in a game though. I also miss the 'grittiness' aspect of most games. That is the realism I miss. I want to see the 'poor seedy' part of towns where people of questionable values reside. Thieves, prosttutes, gangs. Oblivion was far too 'clean'. I want a return to some of the backalley areas where not everyone is wearing a prom dress.

I would like as much realism as it gets in physics (no popcorn when I enter the room please) and graphics. When I say graphics I don't mean art concept, that one can be as alien as it gets, I mean texture quality. I want rocks to look like reality rocks, not plastic. I want dirt to look like real life dirt, not "shiny" dirt. I want no weird lights at all in caves and houses. If I enter a basemant with no windows and no torches, I want the screen to be completely dark. Pitch black. I think realism hurts in the creatures design. I loved the creatures in Morrowind because they were so out of this world.

The hardest part in realism that I would love in Tes is the coherent world. I want completely realistic news spreading system, for example. No telepathy, no telegraph. If I comit a crime in this town I want nobody to know until the news travels in real time by foot, by horse courrier, by any means that are realistic for that world. If I kill someone with no witness in the wilderness, I want no bounty no matter if that one was a guard or a count.

I want the game the feel as realistic as it possibly can. The reason I feel that it should is because there are already so MANY unreal things in the game. Elves, cats that walk around, same with lizards, magic, dragons and the list goes on. The more realism the better.

Wow, thats one of my pet hates.




I agree here though.

I guess some people... Enjoy life? Maybe? - Coming from a cynical seriously jaded individual btw... Take that however you like.
Personally I'm not a Sims fan because I need violence or I get bored, but yeah... I've got issues.

I think most people play it to build stuff, Sims is a great game for people wanting to be creative,
though I have to say that i'm no sims player myself, I prefer minecraft :wink_smile:. And the whole "I play to get away" can still apply to games like New Vegas (where you have to eat, sleep and drink),
realism dosen't equal real life.