Skyrim's utter lack of character vividness and expressivenes : V - Skyrim

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:16 am

I had forgotten that your character would automatically look towards objects of interest in Oblivion. That is a feature I miss from that game. I really hate talking to people in Skyrim when the camera is in the third person since my character just stares into space... -.-

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 2:20 am

He's saying that your wrong in "correcting" him when his original word was correct in the context.

Exactly.

Dragonborn's too cool to be socially adjusted.

That could be the reason, lol

I had forgotten that your character would automatically look towards objects of interest in Oblivion. That is a feature I miss from that game. I really hate talking to people in Skyrim when the camera is in the third person since my character just stares into space... -.-

It goes without saying that I agree with what you are saying here.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:39 pm

I remember someone in either Morrowind or Oblivion complaining about their character's tendency to randomly look at everything no matter how small or insignificant. Interesting how when it's removed people complain about the opposite...

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 9:20 am

Exactly.

Well, congratulations on demonstrating what a winner on the internet you are.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:58 am

I really miss my character in Skyrim reacting to his surroundings and living beings (people and animals) like it would do in Oblivion.

In Oblivion your character did smile to certain NPCs and animals, or portrayed a facial gesture of despite, or an angry expression, and leaned his neck for looking directly to the body of a dead wolf if it was near enough, and the same happened in the case of any defeated bandit lying at the floor.

In this way Oblivion had a noticeably greater degree of vividness and expressiveness thanks to this feature (I don't know how to call it, "facial gestures and partly body-neck movements for reacting to NPCs and animals"), while conversely, Skyrim offers to us extremely static and inexpressive characters that don't bother to direct their gazes towards their own mounts even if they are at a foot of distance: for instance, my character isn't smiling anymore at Shadowmere, nor directs his head-gaze towards it when the horse is near. The same goes in my Skyrim for any animal or NPC, live or dead. My character is always motionless, impassible.

Thus, Skyrim portrays player characters as a sort of embodiment of robotic coldness (which was "OK for Neverwinter Nights 1" . . .) and total indifference towards the world and living beings that are surrounding them.

While this "robotic coldness" could suit -let's say- some "character concept" (a sociopath, assassin or bad*ss guy), it nevertheless looks like an odd simplification of the factual game engine: I think that this great feature what I was enjoying so much with Oblivion seems to have been forgotten by Bethesda's developers, don't bringing it to Skyrim for some reason.

And I'm wondering about that.

I toatally agree.
On a sidenote, I also wish the players character would fold their arms and such as your followers do from time to time when you're standing still. Not just stand there like an old tree.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 10:36 am

I feel you, The Sims Medieval had more character interaction.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 8:34 am

I feel you, The Sims Medieval had more character interaction.

Aren't The Sims games specially centered on character interaction?

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:17 pm

Aren't The Sims games specially centered on character interaction?

Yes - but some people don't understand how one game can have a secondary feature be inferior to the main feature of another game's "Core Experience"

Kind of like how people keep expecting TES to have Assassins Creed-style cities.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 10:04 pm

well comparing too how NPC,s look at you i find the way how hero looks pretty dumb , i think ive been about 15 time thane of whiterun now and everytime when Balgruf gives his emotional speech about the greybeards it reminds me what an aeye face my hero pulls of

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 5:10 am

Aren't The Sims games specially centered on character interaction?

True, but most TES fans seem to think of it as a fantasy world simulation as well.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:06 pm

Damn you for bringing this up lol. I completely forget my characters doing that in oblivion. Most likley they did away with it because it was one thing they could not bring themselves to steal from gamebryo. Or they made the UI first and decided "when is anyone going to see their face anyway?" because the only way to see that is to pan around while standing still.

Another theory is it was let go for optimization. Less processing required.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 3:51 am

Damn you for bringing this up lol.

Well, thanks!

(. . .) Or they made the UI first and decided "when is anyone going to see their face anyway?" because the only way to see that is to pan around while standing still.

But you not only see your character's face. You see it moving the head for looking things or people, and you don't need a frontal camera for that: this feature it's pretty visible with the standard third person camera view.

What you can't see in that way is —I agree—, the facial expressions of your character, like smiles, angry expressions and such.

Another theory is it was let go for optimization. Less processing required.

Actually, I don't agree with that. Back in 2006 (Oblivion), with less computing power, that could have been an excuse, but right now I seriously doubt it.

On the other hand, currently, if you hold the F key while playing Skyrim, you are able to rotate the camera for having a frontal view of your character even in middle of combat. But . . . you can't walk while doing so

Due to the difficulties involved in seeing your own character with more freedom —as in Oblivion and other games— there have been requests around here for more ways of handling the camera in Skyrim.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 11:10 pm

This. It's a grim, grim place, and everyone hates you. The people... hate you. The environment... hates you. Everyone... hates you.

But the Night Mother likes you...

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 8:06 am

Skyrim seems to be a macro game for a macro audience. If you start looking for micro points of interest, you may be disappointed. You might have an easier time getting Fernando Alonso to ask Kimi Raikkonen why he has no personality. :biggrin:

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:12 pm

Kala shows a huge amount of pearly white teeth when she is fighting.. true she does not show much other emotion so whether the slightly open mouth is a happy grin or a grimace of fear I am not really sure but then she is an Argonian, well known for their bland expression :bunny:

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 2:07 pm

I'm just gonna LOL at this whole discussion...
seriously, the expression in Oblivion were AWFUL, good thing they completely removed it.
this game is about dungeon crawling and completing quest, it's not the sims...I wish they remove marriage too in the next one

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:54 pm

You are in Skyrim...

...no one ever smiles in Skyrim :stare:

I noticed that during combat my character indeed HAS different facial expression, expression saying "im going to gut you like a pig"

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:41 am

Shallow game is shallow. The glory days are long gone and Bugthesda has abandoned the vets of this once proud series.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 10:21 am

Skyrim seems to be a macro game for a macro audience.

Like Oblivion.

seriously, the expression in Oblivion were AWFUL, good thing they completely removed it.

I wonder what Oblivion were you playing.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 11:59 pm

It also pains me that my character doesn't dance a jive when I leave him idle for 1 minute.

So gamebreaking.

But never mind that. Let's continue to talk about how the olden days did everything right, and how we, in the olden days, complained that those olden days got it all wrong over the olden days back in the current olden days. The olden olden days we might conclude.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 3:12 am

Your arguments are untouchable, I admit defeat.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:53 pm

But never mind that. Let's continue to talk about how the olden days did everything right, and how we, in the olden days, complained that those olden days got it all wrong over the olden days back in the current olden days. The olden olden days we might conclude.

Stop exaggerating. I'm talking about a game feature that was present in Oblivion, and that is all.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:29 am

But never mind that. Let's continue to talk about how the olden days did everything right, and how we, in the olden days, complained that those olden days got it all wrong over the olden days back in the current olden days. The olden olden days we might conclude.

Indeed, everyhting just gets worse as time goes by :shakehead:

I fear the day Skyrim is considered "good old days" :cold:

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 8:52 am

I've been here much longer then my join date suggests. Why people get caught up on join dates is beyond me. Just because I "joined" in December doesn't make up for the fact that this series is all but in the [censored]ter anymore. Time to go back to the drawing board Bethesda.

Then play the other TES games instead of lurking on the Skyrim forums wanting someone to back up your whiny complaints.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 2:17 pm

The post title completely exaggerates what is a minor feature at best. That is why a lot of the posters came in with an aggressive stance.

In any case, the player character does have different expressions. The only real complain the OP might have is the head turning. I suspect that was lost at the same time the NPC lost their head turning. And NPC head turning 90 degrees, like little magnet dolls when they walk pass each other, was not done well in Oblivion.