Killable children! At last! AT LAST!

[Forever Evil]

"Pillars of Eternity" is out, reviewers are in awe, and I want to take this moment to thank Obsidian for finally standing up to the video game industry nonsense of self-suffocating rules that only stifle creativity. It reminds me of how HBO revolutionized TV and how that eventually gave us "Game of Thrones", a nihilistic masterpiece that breaks all the rules and is loved for it. We may not be quite there yet, but this is a first step.

 

I have long argued that making children invulnerable or leaving them out of the game world is a creativity killer. Everyone knows the concept is completely nonsensical and banal so once you go to that step out of fear of being controversial, it becomes so much easier to fall prey to mediocrity on other levels as well. The liberating feeling of trying to create genuine immersion instead of pandering to the conventional is not to be underestimated, and I am convinced this has directly attributed to the brilliant writing and choices in this game. I even noticed you went beyond the call of duty and threw in a pregnant woman to kill, which I think might be the first time ever in a video game.

 

I saw that the game had massive support on the forums for including killable children (over 80 percent if i remember correctly), so I had a small hope you might do it but it's so easy to wait for someone else to be the pioneers. It was a lot more difficult to include it now than back when it was included in some earlier titles since it has been established as a video game taboo since then, with game after game after game being terrified of being different. But you did it and finally I can play a game that I can respect, at long last.

 

I just want to offer sincere thanks to Obsidian for creating this game that I, and game reviewers, and I am sure many many players, have already fallen in love with, and if you stay on this course, and don't succumb to the conventional, you may become true video game giants. One day you could be the "Game of Thrones" of video games

 

For the record I use a VPN I had to turn off to register at the forum so I doubt I'll be active here since I keep it on all day and only turned it off to give Obsidian the praise they deserve.

 

Thanks, Obsidian!

[Ink Blot]

I'll never understand the obsession with killing children in RPGs.

 

*shrug* Whatever floats your boat I guess.

[Valsuelm]

You've been able to kill children in various video games since the 80s (maybe 70s, but I can't think of a 70s game that had kids in it at all at the moment).

 

That said, you're either a legitimate sicko or a troll. Either way, please go away.

[Longknife]

I'll never understand the obsession with killing children in RPGs.

 

*shrug* Whatever floats your boat I guess.

 

 

We are all upset we would go to jail if we threw a loud baby from an airplane in real life, but here? Here we can make such dreams come true.

[Mashiki]

I'll never understand the obsession with killing children in RPGs.

 

*shrug* Whatever floats your boat I guess.

Some people just want to be the bad guy.  I once played fallout as an evil, self-driven person bent on only their personal desire to get what they want and then killed people when their usefulness was at an end. 

[ruzen]

One strange thing is there are only 2 times "children" tags appears. One is in romance topic and one is here, about killing. So whats going on 

Edited March 30, 2015 by ruzen

[DruidX]

Are there children in the game? Haven't gotten very far but there were none in the first zone or the village

[LadyCrimson]

Are there children in the game? Haven't gotten very far but there were none in the first zone or the village

I'm pretty sure there's one standing near the entrance to that dungeon in Gilded Vale (the first town), so I'd say in more populated areas there'd be ... more?

 

Also, this:

I'll never understand the obsession with killing children in RPGs.

 

*shrug* Whatever floats your boat I guess.

[Tychoxi]

 

I'll never understand the obsession with killing children in RPGs.

 

*shrug* Whatever floats your boat I guess.

Some people just want to be the bad guy.  I once played fallout as an evil, self-driven person bent on only their personal desire to get what they want and then killed people when their usefulness was at an end. 

 

 

And let us not forget the thieving brats in The Den.

[Rosveen]

I didn't even notice. Maybe because I don't feel an overwhelming urge to go out and slaughter every child I see.

[DruidX]

I dont feel any need to kill children, but what I do have is the urge to kill the Butterflies because you can do that in Skyrim

 

Why can't you do it in this game? did Obsidian cave in to PETA?

Edited March 30, 2015 by DruidX

[Mashiki]

 

And let us not forget the thieving brats in The Den.

 

 

Well giving them what they want solves the problem pretty easily.  I like grenades.  I just happen to give it to them, sans pin, and neatly stored in their pocket.

[Zanos]

I didn't even notice. Maybe because I don't feel an overwhelming urge to go out and slaughter every child I see.

 

I think it's a carry over from some other RPGs, where the children were all immortal and then the devs tried their absolute hardest to make them as irritating as possible.

[Rosveen]

 

I didn't even notice. Maybe because I don't feel an overwhelming urge to go out and slaughter every child I see.

 

I think it's a carry over from some other RPGs, where the children were all immortal and then the devs tried their absolute hardest to make them as irritating as possible.

 

I know it's dangerous to mention Bethesda around these parts, but... "Another wanderer, here to lick my father's boots." 

I still never tried to kill him, though. It just isn't my natural reaction to people who irrtate me, lol.

[Miquel93]

I'll never understand the obsession with killing children in RPGs.

It' because agency. 

 

In open world rpgs games, like Fallout, Arcanum, elder scrolls... etc, you can do pretty much all you want when you want. It's not rare to want in some evil playthrough, or just for fun, to try to wipe out an entire village. That's why essential npcs (including children) are so annoying, because the developers want you to believe that you can do everything inside the game mechanics limit, but in reality you get a "lol, you can't kill this guy, he's important to the plot/quest guiver/children. **** you and your sense of agency"

[LeBurns]

 

I didn't even notice. Maybe because I don't feel an overwhelming urge to go out and slaughter every child I see.

 

I think it's a carry over from some other RPGs, where the children were all immortal and then the devs tried their absolute hardest to make them as irritating as possible.

 

Skyrim ... Braith ... enough said.

 

I tend to role-play 'good guys' and even if I do evil it's always more Lawful Evil where I'm not going to waste my time killing someone unless there is actually something in it for me or my cause. Children I can ignore.

 

But where are the toilets?

[Jojobobo]

You've been able to kill children in various video games since the 80s (maybe 70s, but I can't think of a 70s game that had kids in it at all at the moment).

 

That said, you're either a legitimate sicko or a troll. Either way, please go away.

Really? Fallout 2 in the 90s? Etc.

 

It's a case of agency as others say. Broader than that it's a case of creating a world where you can legitimately do anything, which is what good RPGs should strive for - not that I'm looking for a game where I can wholesale butcher kids.

[Cattlehunter]

Isn't there a whole class of enemy that's almost all 9-12 year old children animated by the souls of animals? I've killed like dozens of those. Would be annoying if the game made them invulnerable.

[KingNee]

I didn't even notice. Maybe because I don't feel an overwhelming urge to go out and slaughter every child I see.

 

Alas, if only I too could possess such restraint. 

[Mashiki]

Isn't there a whole class of enemy that's almost all 9-12 year old children animated by the souls of animals? I've killed like dozens of those. Would be annoying if the game made them invulnerable.

 

Yep, they're called Wichts.

[Covalency]

I think it's a carry over from some other RPGs, where the children were all immortal and then the devs tried their absolute hardest to make them as irritating as possible.

 

 very much this , off the top of my head both skyrim and fable have immortal children that are a huge pain as they will spot you stealing or commiting other crimes and immediatley narc on you, you cant bribe them or threaten them or kill them or anything, you just have to deal with the waves of guards. where as adults can be murdered before they spread wortd of your crimes or intimidated etc

 

as others have commented its also an issue of agency and immersion, if i choose to kill them or acccidentally hit them with an AOE they should die and other npcs should react appropriatley adding depth to the world, to go on a slight tangent, a friend got GTAV on ps4 and while playing i shot a cat, why? to see if i could and what would happen, it died, the next thing i did was see if i could track bloody footprints and if any of the npcs would react to that and follow them

 

while people might ask whats the point? theres possibilities for emergent gameplay in the robustness of the simulation. it also adds depth and immersion, for example the first time i encountered a stag my reaction wasnt "why would anyone want to kill this magestic beast" it was "can i kill it and get vension/leather/xp"