Having played through the Forgotten Realms classics several times, I think it's a little sad that so many details in the culture of The Sword Coast is kept away from the player. Don't get me wrong, I love a lengthy item description and I enjoyed reading all the lore tomes I could find throughout my adventures. But I feel like a game can deliver so much more - even on an "isometric level".

 

For instance, I like how the Elder Scrolls games have books that aren't all history and "art of war". There are recipe books, poetry books and more. Skyrim even had a choose-your-own-adventure book (which was also the heaviest C&C I think I've seen in a TES game)!

- So when visiting homes in Eternity, why not have non-lore books the player can read? Maybe even a sort of information page/newspaper like in Arcanum?

 

Vampire: The Masquerade let you read people's personal correspondance, letting you in on everything from small everyday problems to grand conspiracies.

- Eternity is set in a fantasy world. There probably aren't any telephones. Correspondence letters should to be quite common, and can let the player in on some Eternity everyday drama.

 

The Fallout games made a good job of letting the player in on the everyday eat-and-crap life of the wasteland inhabitants. You could buy iguanas-on-a-stick, play the casinos, service a lady and much more.

- Instead of just being able to interact with the weapons vendors at marketplaces, let the player also be able to speak to the butcher, baker, brewer etc. Let the player know about local food. If it's a fishing village for instance, let the player ask about what type of fish they catch. Give some information about local wildlife, let the player partake in customs and festivities. etc. etc.

 

I'm not asking for a role-playing sandbox, but I would love to see more "culture interaction" (like the examples above) than what is found in games like Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale.

Edited September 19, 201213 yr by Zed

For instance, I like how the Elder Scrolls games have books that aren't all history and "art of war". There are recipe books, poetry books and more. Skyrim even had a choose-your-own-adventure book (which was also the heaviest C&C I think I've seen in a TES game)!

- So when visiting homes in Eternity, why not have non-lore books the player can read? Maybe even a sort of information page/newspaper like in Arcanum?

 

But Tim Cain said that no one actually read those newspapers (and he was wrong)!

Ultima VII did that too, as old as it was, and it's still a lovely jewel in the crown of immersive worlds.

 

I'd love it if this is done, budgeting depending.