Karkarov

You either misread this or the book was titled "How not to write a story". No I didn't. You are going to the original source, I am talking about what was said in the book I read. Which as I mentioned was going back to the idea of "Chekov's Gun" but merely stating that it does not in fact have to be true. Either way, hair meet split.

Depends 110% on the quality of the cinematic and how it is used. Many people today, at least on this forum, seem confused though. A scene where the camera angle changes and things play out in a scripted sequence (like Revan removing HIS mask) are not "cinematics". It is simply a camera angle shift and a series of set animations playing out all in the same "field" that you play the normal game in all in engine. The only resource they are taking is the time invested in programming the scene, all of that can be done in Unity easily. A Cinematic is a canned movie that happens outside of the normal play field and typically contains scenes or events that do not happen in engine and are rendered completely separately by a totally different program than the engine running the game. To borrow from the Star Wars Revan theme.... Not A Cinematic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDesWVLsagI An Actual Cinematic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyYbvVAtlWk

All I am saying is that "I want killable children" and "I don't want invulnerable children" are not the same thing. To quote a book I read recently which was quoting another book entirely... "Just because a gun has entered into a story does not mean it actually has to be fired." The point is that you can have children in the game, who are "killable" but never get killed due to one reason or another. Or going through the act of killing them is basically you giving yourself a game over, or maybe for some overarching purpose you are just never in a position where you can even attempt to kill them. An example would be the Lady of Pain in Planescape Torment. The game gave you the freedom to attack if you wanted, but doing so was signing your own death warrant. No one has argued against a killable child character for a logical story/plot based reason, that by definition would also carry consequences. The only thing I (and others) are arguing against is the inclusion of just random kids who are there for no other purpose than being there to serve as some child killing check mark on some guys "needs to be in game" list. Edit: I will take this one step further actually. Forget killable kids. The reason I don't like features like this isn't the subject matter, so much as it is that inclusion is being asked for 1: for no good reason, 2: as a part of some silly immersion/wish fulfillment argument. If the inclusion of a feature does nothing to actually enhance the game then by definition it's exclusion does nothing to hamper the game. People who want to play "crazy killer psychos" already have plenty of npc's to take that "RP" out on. How does the inclusion or exclusion of killable children enhance or take away from that? It doesn't. The lack of five year olds to slaughter makes you no less capable of playing a crazed murderer. I will always be against any feature that does nothing to make the game better and is there purely for the excuse of "being there". Be it killable children, massive ui artwork just to look "pretty", or weapon repairs just to justify blacksmith as a class skill. If it doesn't make the game better, it doesn't need to be there.

That's fine Junta but apples is apples. Man... my sword never wearing out or getting dull sure is unrealistic. Man it is breaking my immersion! Blah blah blah. You get the point either way. So why didn't you just wait for the kid to walk away before committing the crime? Why was there a kid in the middle of nowhere standing in the middle of a fight between you and a bunch of bandits? You don't negotiate with terrorists (which don't exist because the word "terrorist" is a modern contrivance and you calling bandits terrorists is immersion breaking to begin with) so you kill the hostage..... which was probably the very reason you were dealing with them in the first place... which basically makes you the terrorist? Your arguments don't hold water. Other than the one where you said... I would kill the kid effectively "just because". The truth is you have no actual motivation for killing random children npc's. You just want to be able to do it. It has nothing to do with RP or immersion, you just want to kill children because for some... "reason" it makes the game better for you. Well guess what? There are crowds you should cater to... and some maybe you shouldn't. Which crowd do you think "people who like killing children in video games" falls into?

Wut? When did that happen? Pretty sure it was there and they took it out because of some illogical and mostly dumb forum war after they announced it in an update. The official party line was "they felt it wasn't useful in and out of combat and didn't meet their base concept for all player skills". Or something to that effect.

So I only see three direct responses to my question. 1: Immersion. Seriously? The game doesn't make me stop to eat every 5-7 hours, use the bathroom, or even make me obey some of the basic laws of physics. I can't even do crafting anymore, and they actually planned that to be in game at first. I don't see people complaining about those things breaking immersion. Immersion is the weakest argument that has, or ever will, exist for the inclusion of a feature in an RPG. It is what people use when they have no legitimate argument or point. 2: Exp. Well considering Dragon's don't give exp for killing them I am pretty sure a defenseless child who can't fight back and dies in one hit won't either. 3: I find invulnerable kids obnoxious. So you aren't in fact asking for killable children at all, you are asking for no invulnerable children in the game. Works for me, we do like was said before. Don't have children period, or put them only in areas where you can't attack them. Like in the King's Throne room where drawing your weapon without approval causes powerful magical wards to instantly make your head explode. The only time I could see a killable child in game is like the Dragon Age: Origins situation where the kid was possessed by a demon. You don't kill the kid but if you don't jump through XYZ hoops first killing the demon results in the kid dying with him. Something that is logical and makes story sense where the player has a legitimate motivation (beyond for the lulz/I am a jerk) is perfectly fine. That is up to Obsidian to include that in game though and it is likely a one off event.

In all seriousness this is another one of those non issues. I am sorry but the ability to kill children in a video game should not rate very high on Obsidian's priority list for PE. In fact, it shouldn't rate on it at all... or even be in the list. If they make it so you just never run into kids, works for me. If they make it so they are invulnerable, works for me. If they make it where they are only in areas where you can't attack (such as an inn with guards all around and violence = you getting killed or thrown in jail), works for me. Or anything else you can dream up that gets them in game but in such a way you can't kill them, works for me. If they include kids you can kill (why?), works for me too. I will just never do it because I don't create characters who are idiots or raving lunatics. Here is the real question. Why do those of you who are in favor of killable children even want killable children in game in the first place?

They cry a lot and are expensive. They also go poo poo quite often. Gross.

My only real concern for the villain is this.... 1: They have their own personality and be a real character, not one or two sided. 2: They have legitimate motivation for what and why they are doing whatever it is they are doing. 3: They give me a real reason for not liking them, a really really good personal to my character reason. No, they are out to conquer the world, resurrect an ancient evil, gain immortality at the cost of thousands of lives, etc are not good enough reasons. Those are reasons to want to stop them, they are not reasons to be personally emotionally invested in their defeat. 4: They don't go down in game one. Lets be real, they want this to be a new IP, new IP means sequels, and they have already made it clear we are level capped. No reason not to let our conflict with our "nemesis" not stretch out over more than one game. 5: Flexibility.... why does it have to be one person... why cant there be a little bit of variance based on the choices we make? Meaning there could be more than one potential "villain" and your "villain" might actually be my friend, etc etc. They manage to believably pull off those five things I will be very satisfied.

As I said in another post somewhere else you can not do a morality system in a game and be accurate. What you CAN do is create a reputation system based on multiple factions and in some cases individual characters and have their feelings about the player change based on player behavior versus what the values of that faction/character are.

I like fantasy settings because they give you the option to do things you simply cant do in reality but not necessarily magic etc. Not only that but the world can be designed so that you can have an effect on it and manipulate it through story or player agency. The problem I think is the idea that "fantasy" means dragons and fireballs to too many people. Shadowrun is just as much fantasy as Forgotten Realms. As is Cthulhu etc etc. Heck Red Dead Redemption is a fantasy game really.... unless you actually are a former outlaw cowboy gunslinger working for the government on a quest to save your wife and son in real life???

Guys seriously, young dude in early 20's who did an on the fly unscheduled interview. It was fine. Also Dragon Age treated women with plenty of depth, for every Isabella there was a Wynne or a Aveline. You guys need to put the blind Bioware hate aside.

Yeah would have warned you before posting, even if you somehow based this on obsidians designs (which they haven't shown for conversation ui yet have they?), the vast majority of this forum is going to hate whatever your mockup is no matter what. It isn't a great mockup per se because it is so basic and rough. I get where you are going with it.... but I do still think the conversation window in the game should be on the bottom of the screen. That said I wouldn't worry about portraits, everyone seems to want that and I would be surprised if they don't work it in somehow, even if it is slightly redundant.

wow year already ;\ I prefer to not think about it! Nice to think of all the updates and content we have gotten since the year began but it also sort of makes me miss those early days when communication seemed regular. How about a slightly late, yet celebratory and cool, one year update Obsidian?

As long as they are good, fun to read, and there isn't a metric butt ton of them I will read them all. EDIT: I agree with what Osvir says about this subject, but I would mention you have to be reasonably forgiving in Mass Effect's case. That game having a "central codex" makes sense, in the far flung future print media is likely extinct and most people would get their info from some sort of digital database they could access on any old "internet" device.

Sounds excellent to me, everything I was hoping the stronghold would be, even a little more. This is the sort of update we needed! Not sure why some posters are upset over spoilers and what have you. I mean "your stronghold may be attacked!" is hardly a surprising revelation, I would say it was a foregone conclusion even.

I agree. If the game doesn't come packaged with a full refund of my kickstarter pledge and all the goodies I paid for my immersion will be decimated!

If there is a level cap it is there for a reason. Don't forget the idea is to make a franchise and have a sequel where you continue with the same character. Some of you may love being over powered and curb stomping everything in sight, and that is ok. That said.... most people don't enjoy a game when all challenge has been removed from it.

What Osvir said. I have no doubts the game will be great, but that doesn't mean there wont be a feature I wish was in, or one I wish they had done differently. I just suspect that with the vertical slice in progress (almost done?/done done) they will move purely into developing the game and there will be a bit less to talk about here.

Why does a guy get trolled for asking something completely reasonable? I don't see why wanting Obsidian to give a brief run down of how many people are actively working on the game right now is that big a deal. It isn't like he was requesting lunch schedules, detailed time tables, or a point by point presentation on what Sawyer is doing today. I can understand if Obsidian doesn't want to give the info, that's their prerogative, but there is nothing wrong with the dude asking.

The quotes make the most sense. There is no reason to highly "run away / attack her" in any way in game though. It is fairly obvious those aren't dialog options and what they are going to result in.

I think you guys need to realize there is also this thing called a ratings board controlled by the government and if they take it too far the game won't be allowed in stores or on steam. If they want to portray the idea of atrocities like, you don't see it happen but you know this village just got obliterated and women and children were killed... fine. But don't let the player themselves run around killing kids everywhere they go, don't make the player walk into the burned out village and see a baby with it's head crushed in or spiked on a wall, don't let the player go out and in detailed fashion have the option to rape a woman. It is great and all to be "serious" and have the evil option, but it is still a game, and there is still a thing called "good taste". You can be very very evil and never once kill a kid. Even Saint's Freakin Row doesn't feature child violence and it is about as violent as you can get in a video game.

Mass Effect wins. While there are some terrible companions such as Mr. Generic Kaiden Alenko... they are the exception not the rule. You just had way more good characters, with interesting backgrounds, distinct personality, and unique presentation in that game than in any other on this list. Especially if you consider it as an entire series of characters to build off of. Every other game on your list has "some" good characters.... well almost all of them. But the thing is they were out numbered or at least matched by the generic walking cliches, the whiny emo's, and the idiotic annoying comedy relief characters (Minsc being only exception there).

Only according to people who can't handle being talked to like they are an adult. I read the thread, I just thought you had some kind of actual point or something I was missing. There are already plenty of characters being developed for the game with actual back stories and personalities. In fact if you count the characters from the baldur's gate games.... then toss out the ones that were one dimensional cliches... I would expect to come up with around 8 or so characters tops. I am sure there is at least one person in the hand made NPC's you will be able to tolerate.

Wonder why I bothered making a undead alt on WoW, log off, and do something worthwhile with my time.