» Fri Jun 22, 2012 8:21 am I was playing Skyrim again last night, enjoying it as usual, but i had a thought that out of all the improvements Skyrim has brought, depth is the one area where the series has not really moved forward much.
For example, if i were to say that npc's in Skyrim seem wooden to me in a way they did not in Oblivion. you might say to me they are the same or similar, but if i were then to point out that Oblivion was the first time i had ever seen npc's eat, or sleep, or have a day schedule in an ES game, and that Skyrim's npc's offered me precious little on the same scale of first-time surprises, then you might understand what i was getting at.
If i were to pick one feature from Oblivion that i felt added real depth to the game, i'd put forward the goblin tribes, they lived in caves and sometimes you'd see them outside roaming, or even attacking one another, this kind of thing i feel adds long-lasting memories to games.
Now if we look at Giants in Skyrim, they too are very interesting creatures with their odd artwork and most peacable nature, but what if they did more? what if they went hunting? what if they had a day-schedule to sit down and eat together, or attack the odd town randomly if they ran out of food?
These types of things paint random stories, i think the next Elder-Scrolls should concentrate more on back-ground depth, more able, more capable npc's and monsters
What if towns traded by sending caravans to each other? what if npc's had hobbies like star-gazing, fishing, hunting etc? what if they made friendships and emnities all in real time that you could manipulate? what if NPC's played cards or dart games in bars, and wagered with each other? and got angry? and fought? what if they visited family members sometimes in other towns and stayed with them? what if, what if, etc.
Whats your opinion, do you think the ES series concentrates too much on graphics? does it concentrate enough on back-ground mechanics?
