Reactivity to PC's actions: News ala Arcanum/Fallout 3 style

[agewisdom]

I read in an interview that one of the least appreciated feature in Arcanum was the newspaper which chronicled the PC's actions. I would love if this feature would be available in Project Eternity. My own experience with this was via the Big Dog's radio station in Fallout 3. Hearing news over the radio about the implications of your actions was just great!

 

Depending on the world that Obsidian crafts, this feature could implemented in various ways:

1. Reading about it in current tomes etc.

2. Hearing your feats whilst chatting up the Innkeeper

3. Hearing minstrels sing about your feats in particular major questlines.

 

What do you think? Is Tim Cain right in that no one even reads the newspapers or would you love to see it implemented in Project Eternity?

 

I know a lot of people think he's wrong, but action speaks louder... so speak out if you appreciated this feature in Arcanum and want it in Project Eternity.

Edited September 26, 2012 by agewisdom

[Lysen]

Tim is wrong, many players liked newspapers in Arcanum.

[Scryer]

I belive stuff like this usualy has the nasty tendency of removing focus from properly designing less important aspects of the game such as combat.

[KhaineGB]

I'd love to see it implemented too.

 

To a lesser extent, even Diablo 3 has this. Everytime you do something epic, the townsfolk start talking about what you've done for them. I'd love to see the world of Project Eternity react to my character... so if I'm a good guy, I get good press and nice comments. If I'm a scumbag... then bad press, snide comments, maybe the odd rotten tomato.

[agewisdom]

Maybe it could be part of a set of Kickstarter stretch goal? For those who want it, please speak out.

 

If it's a budget problem, then perhaps it could be limited to:

1. Major quest lines

2. Side quests where the PC can be either very good or nasty. I.e. quests which poses serious ethical dilemmas. There doesn't need to be extensive reporting on the PC's actions but just enough to let us feel that we have an impact in the world.

Edited September 26, 2012 by agewisdom

[Humanoid]

It's no bad thing to occasionally stroke the player's ego, but subtlety is important here. Presuming Twitter and phone cameras haven't been invented yet in the game setting, news travels both slowly and inaccurately, and is interpreted differently in different places. Catching a whiff of a conversation in a bar is a long way from fanfare on the streets and it should definitely be kept towards the more discreet side of the scale.

 

 

Done incorrectly, this kind of thing can end up instead making the world feel like a very very small place where everything revolves around you.

Edited September 26, 2012 by Humanoid

[agewisdom]

Good feedback humanoid. What would be even better would be if a rival faction tries to "spin" the story, so that you appear to be some violent group of reckless vigilantes....

[kenup]

NO,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no! No ****ing three dog! That guy had no idea why my character did anything,was coming to his own conclusions wihtout knowing the full story and was the epitome of cliche hippies.

[agewisdom]

NO,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no! No ****ing three dog! That guy had no idea why my character did anything,was coming to his own conclusions wihtout knowing the full story and was the epitome of cliche hippies.

 

That's the hazard of being a heroic/villainous character. You're news man... and they have to slot you into their pre-conceived stereotypes.

[kenup]

Being heroic or villainous has nothing to do with it. He would paint my character as a hero, even if it was just another job for my character. Or he would call the lone wanderer a scumbag, when in truth the LW prevented the bigger of two evils. Both of these are possible in the same playthrough. Having a sixth sense that makes TD know my karma meter is one thing, but him calling LW a scumbag afterwards, only to call him Jesus for something else he had done in the next news flash; that was crap. On top of that the LW had helped him before and without asking for a reward in the end.

 

And he still is full of hippie crap.

Edited September 26, 2012 by kenup

[Monkcrab]

It would be hilarious---and potentially full of quests---if there exists a Gossip Agency in the world which interpretes EVERY SINGLE ONE of your actions wrong.

 

That said, I'd like some sort of reactivity. Maybe not a newspaper like in Arcanum, but people occasionally whispering factually dubious/reliable rumors about you would be a nice touch.

[Loki Ador]

Having people, newspapers, or books talking about your party's achievements contribute, in my opinion, in making the world more lively (as it reacts to actions made by the player) and making quest accomplishment more rewarding.

[TrashMan]

It's no bad thing to occasionally stroke the player's ego, but subtlety is important here. Presuming Twitter and phone cameras haven't been invented yet in the game setting, news travels both slowly and inaccurately, and is interpreted differently in different places. Catching a whiff of a conversation in a bar is a long way from fanfare on the streets and it should definitely be kept towards the more discreet side of the scale.

 

 

Done incorrectly, this kind of thing can end up instead making the world feel like a very very small place where everything revolves around you.

 

QFT

[Bos_hybrid]

[intelligence] "So you are fighting the good fight !"

[agewisdom]

Having people, newspapers, or books talking about your party's achievements contribute, in my opinion, in making the world more lively (as it reacts to actions made by the player) and making quest accomplishment more rewarding.

 

Exactly, it gives the player a feeling of reactivity in the world. The news doesn't need to be as obnoxious as Big Dog in Fallout 3. It could be subtle such as:

 

1. Direct Entry into certain Guilds

For instance, if your reputation precedes you (i.e. successfully undertaken some major quest) - you may be allowed direct entry into certain guilds. Otherwise, they'll still require you to perform certain tasks before allowing you membership.

 

2. Vendor Discounts

If you saved the city or helped solve some serious crimes in the merchants area, your fame may allow you better discounts in other nearby areas.

 

Something to the above effect. Newspapers and town criers are just more simpler examples on how to go about this. I just don't want see the effects of my actions and quests to be quantified only at the END of the game via slides... There's nothing wrong with this, but it would be ideal if I were to see some of the impact of my actions during gameplay.

Edited September 26, 2012 by agewisdom

[Sleepyreaper]

It would be hilarious---and potentially full of quests---if there exists a Gossip Agency in the world which interpretes EVERY SINGLE ONE of your actions wrong.

Oh Gosh, it would be so cool and funny.

[wanderon]

I may be wrong but I seem to recall that somewhere in the talk about the game setting it may have specifically been said that the printing press was one of the technologies that had yet to be developed - if so it may well be that the reason for this was to limit the range and depth of news travel in the world in order to support the concepts of different factions/areas having a real disconnect from others (be their own little worlds).

 

As for my take on the concept of the game making the player and his team an object of media speculation throughout the realms through any means (print or otherwise) my gut reaction is not just no but hell no but that could be just becuase I so completely loathe the whole media circus that exists today in RL and don't want to see even a smidgen of that creep into a game that I play to escape to a different time and place...

[agewisdom]

I may be wrong but I seem to recall that somewhere in the talk about the game setting it may have specifically been said that the printing press was one of the technologies that had yet to be developed - if so it may well be that the reason for this was to limit the range and depth of news travel in the world in order to support the concepts of different factions/areas having a real disconnect from others (be their own little worlds).

 

As for my take on the concept of the game making the player and his team an object of media speculation throughout the realms through any means (print or otherwise) my gut reaction is not just no but hell no but that could be just becuase I so completely loathe the whole media circus that exists today in RL and don't want to see even a smidgen of that creep into a game that I play to escape to a different time and place...

 

Heh... those are just ideas being bandied around. Not even a smidgen? Hard to avoid gossip... even in a medieval setting...

 

My own thoughts would be to start of things very subtly. However, near the end of the game, if the PC and his companions have performed quite a number of heroic/villainous deeds, then perhaps there would be more detailed coverage. I believe this would make more sense.

 

And the media coverage could cover other news:

1. On mysterious happenings - which could lead to other quests...

2. On rival adventuring groups - so you could follow their exploits and rise to power...

Edited September 26, 2012 by agewisdom

[leshy]

I like this feature, but I'd like to be scaled down. No front page stuff.

You do something good, the front page is about some noble dropping her handkerchief and you get a three sentence mention just before the sports section.

 

Unless of course you do something epic, but in that case it should be near end game. Also this idea might introduce a quite a nice feature of protecting (or not) your identity. You do something stealthily, there's just mention of the event. You do something guns blazing, your person get's more coverage.

[agewisdom]

I like this feature, but I'd like to be scaled down. No front page stuff.

You do something good, the front page is about some noble dropping her handkerchief and you get a three sentence mention just before the sports section.

 

Unless of course you do something epic, but in that case it should be near end game. Also this idea might introduce a quite a nice feature of protecting (or not) your identity. You do something stealthily, there's just mention of the event. You do something guns blazing, your person get's more coverage.

 

Sure, this makes good common sense. If your quest is something trivial, I don't think it would be hardly mentioned at all. In the beginning, you might start by reading about the feats of other adventurers and say... "I wish I could do something like that"....

 

A couple of years later (in-game), hey... you find yourself on the front page for doing something heroic/villanous. It might give you a glowing sense of accomplishment.

[Malcador]

Humanoid has the gist of it. I suppose you could hear of the impact of what you did without mentioning you if it was of note to the town you were in or even wider after a believable time has passed.

[Bland_Boy]

Newspapers if there are any should offer useful information.

[Moonlight Butterfly]

But...but I always read the Tarantian :<

 

I liked Three Dog even when I was evil, I did kill him eventually though. I wouldn't mind a news system I think It's kind of fun especially if it has kind of a vague, Daily Mailish, doesn't know what actually happened vibe to it

[kenup]

The problem was that his word was representing the game's and the world's view on you. If he was just some idiot rambling, it wouldn't be a problem.

 

And for that matter, he is hypocrite. When you restore the radio signal, he addresses the slaver base at paradise falls as one of the areas that can now listen to him, in a way that sounds like he is happy to have them as audience. Yet the PC being part of them, is the absolute worst, most evil thing in the universe.

[agewisdom]

Well, I'm sure Obsidian will handle the news system differently, if it was implemented.

 

Besides, any media reporting system will be biased depending on who owns it. If we look at Three Dog in the Fallout 3 system, I can see why you say his word appears to represent the world's view on you. But that is an assumption on your part that everybody believes Three Dog. That is not always necessarily the case.