» Fri May 27, 2011 2:28 pm Idealistic or serious, how much?
This is a important topic to consider, how "serious" should the game be.
Now people tend to mistake seriousness with "blood and gore", but that's not what I mean with that. Sure it is a part of that too but a lot of blood and gore can actually make a game look LESS mature and serious.
But there are various topics that count into this.
Relationships and six:
This is a hot topic, especially in gaming. People often say "it's not necessary to have this" or even "it should NOT be in games". However, in a game like TES that is supposed to feature a believable world, this SHOULD really be a topic.
Now it doesn't have to be in the form of six minigames or even six scenes but people actually showing affection towards each other for example. Or even topics like "six for sale" like prostitution.
In Oblivion even basic relationships where missing, people didn't show ANY affection towards each other. Even couples that where supposed to be married, in love or worried where nothing more than people living in the same place.
There is a lot where games can improve here. Simple things like holding hands, actually showing emotions towards each other, getting worried when the other is missing etc.
Or to get a level lower even just looking for pleasure, this could even go as far as [censored], not necessarily in the game directly but being mentioned by people. After all there even was a "god of [censored]" back in Daggerfall (look it up in the wiki so you don't get a false impression).
And it doesn't even have to be on an intimate level, what about those just looking for comfort?
Anyway, a problem in there is the "hyper sixualized" character, ones that are rendered unnaturally sixy looking and then put into "just enough clothing". They result are females with huge briasts and v-necks down to the navel.
While I don't say I hate those they are not really a good representation. The game world should have all kinds of different looking characters and not just either "super sixy or ugly as sin".
Nudity:
Kinda a sub topic of six, why is it still such a huge no-no to have nudity in games? In fact it ISN'T, games like "The Witcher" had nvde characters and HEAVILY implied six and, look, civilization hasn't fallen apart.
I'm not against the "permanent underwear" thing but I don't see how actual nudity would be such a problem. TES is NOT a kids game and I think EVERYONE can handle nudity really.
Emotions:
In Morrowind the people walking around there basically walking encyclopedias, in Oblivion they where talking advertising pillars. While they had basic facial expressions and differences in their voices it never felt real, they often failed to really show emotions.
A good example was a woman who's husband died in the cause of a quest, even though she was supposed to be really sad it merely came over as "somewhat saddened".
Here's a lot of room for improvement again, the call is "simply" give NPCs a bigger spectrum of emotions. Instead of "happy = smile" have them really ACT happy, if they are sad let them cry or even break down, have them become depressed. If they are angry make them lash out at people, bang doors or yell.
There's so much that can make them seem less like robots with invisible tape recorders but actually people.
Guilt:
One point that's ignored in MANY games is, well, making the player feel guilty for certain actions. Sure some might feel guilty to do certain things already but, honestly, oftentimes there seems to be no reason to. "Oh my husband is dead, oh well".
Many games attempt it the wrong way like with a karma system, but this doesn't make one feel "guilty", it just makes you feel punished.
What I mean is, for example, have NPCs, even "filler" ones like random bandits, seem less like they're just poofed into existence there. When you sneak up on them you could catch them chatting or sitting around the campfire, talking or trying to pass another day.
They could even talk how this is the only way the can support their families, what got them so far to start a life of crime or even just about how the day went. Something that makes them more alive and not just cardboard cutouts at a shooting range.
The same can apply to all NPCs, if they lose someone they love or care for they can actually show sadness and even hate towards the one who did it. Imagine killing someone in a fight, it wasn't your fault but the family of the deceased still hates you, their friends could stand somewhere in between not knowing how to talk to you or trying to avoid you.
Hell it could go as far that a whole village reacts like that, people trying to avoid you or talking behind your back.
However, similarly good reputation can spread that way. Though one risk is that it could backfire, if you play a saint and then have to reject someone they could even accuse you of favoritism.
Suffering:
Morrowind really seemed like a dark and dirty place in many aspects. Oblivion on the other hand seemed kinda... clean.
You pretty much only had one homeless person per town and even they seemed like placed actors. There was no real poverty, slums, ghettos or such, towns where a ideal happy sunshine place. The only one that seemed kinda poor was Leyawiin, but here it was the whole town and not just parts of it.
Similarly diseases and injuries where "poof and gone". Oblivion really had no suffering unless it was killing.
Again, lots of room for improvement. How about homeless people actually seeking garbage to find food, stand or sit on street corners begging for food or money.
People with diseases or heavy injures sitting in hospitals or in their beds going through long treatments till they are healed.
While this would demand a overhaul of the game world it again could transfer a lot of feeling.
To Bethesda themselves, take a look at one of your older games, "Call of Cthulhu: Dark corners of the earth" how you designed the poor house or generally the streets of Innsmouth.
Oppression:
This is a big topic and was actually more present in Morrowind than in Oblivion once more. Governments oppressing their people and abusing power, corrupt police forces, prejudice, racism, sixism. While all those are very hard topics in a world like TES they can't be ignored.
In Morrowind you had topics like racism and slavery, the ordinators in Vivec that treated everyone like scum and the governments and great houses that all seemed somewhat fishy. In Oblivion you had the countess of Leyawiin but otherwise such topics where missing.
It is said that many of the races hate each other and it can be somewhat present in the world still, towns having "quasi ghettos" for example or shop owners charging different.
While this is a hard topic it also allows more room for the opposite, people trying to fight injustice. In a "ideal" world this is simply not possible.
There are many more points about this and they're all important to making a not just believable but interesting world. Sure they can go for a over idealistic world too but those are mostly boring and all conflicts seem constructed rather than actual conflicts.
Bethesda shouldn't shy away from those just because they are somewhat controversy. It's about making a great game and the atmosphere. And they DID do it back in Daggerfall and Morrowind so why not once more?
PS: I know there are also some "forbidden topics" but they really need consideration, after all TES is supposed to be a deep game experience and not "just a toy"... right?
