Why does Fallout have more engaging characters? : V - Skyrim

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 3:56 am

TES is not supposed to be Fallout with swords, Fallout is not supposed to be TES with guns. While both are open world RPGs they're not intended to be interchangable games with the same setting. Similar gameplay? Clearly. But they do focus on different things, and it's not just reflected with the NPCs and with the size of the game world. There are considerable differences in quest mechanics and pacing, factions, player consequences, character morality, and combat.

If the extra detail, interaction, and options of FO3 had been maintained Skyrim would have been a much smaller gamer. If they tried to keep the size of Skyrim it would have taken considerably longer to finish the game.

I'm simply comparing 2 different games, not saying one is a copy of the other, only stating the pros and cons. You are acting as if in order to keep the FO3 standards, you WILL consequently have a smaller game as a result.
Taking a considerably longer time to finish Skyrim would've been a great thing, if not for fixing the immense amount of glitches and bugs it has offered from day 1, then at least for a better made game. Many may disagree with the way I view the game, however, anyone with the smallest of abilities to be just and not just hate for the sake of hating or endlessly compliment the game acting 100% really devoted fan-mode would probably agree that the game was not ready for release when it first came out and STILL isn't.
Back to the topic, I still don't think that's a plausible excuse to justify Skyrim's NPCs and lacking storyline.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:10 am

Really? name one from FO.

The lady who wants nuka cola bottles? The 10 minute quest to rig an election? The ghoul/Tenpenny quest with about 20 minutes of questing and 3 minutes of dialogue?

Fallout was anemic. It had few NPCs, few dialogue options, few quests. If you had said FO:NV that might be different.

But FO - I totally disagree.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 11:17 pm

I don't get it, Fallout 3 has incredible characters, emotion and options in the storyline and yet Skyrim is completely hollow in this department. I don't get why they didn't bring the same level of humanity to the Skyrim table.

I was discussing this with another forum member over on CD and we both agreed that Fallout has that certain "something" that edge that makes you feel for the characters and their plight. Skyrim in comparison is vacuous and hollow.

I hope the DLC brings some more memorable characters, because I've played for 150 hours and Ulfric is the only one who is vaguely memorable.

I enjoy the game, but I feel like I'm talking to card board cut outs most of the time.

Oh... well if it has something as factual as "that certain something" .... I mean how can anyone disagree?

Or you could spin facts and say Whiterun just has 7 people (more like 40) .... oh wait, you already did that.

Are you trying to have a real discussion ? Because your initial post could just read: I don't like Skyrim but I like Fallout, just because. And then most of us would just post: and why should we care?

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 8:31 pm

You can engage and marry many npcs in Skyrim. You can't marry anyone in Fallout.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 4:35 am

You can engage and marry many npcs in Skyrim. You can't marry anyone in Fallout.

Oh, so I can marry a [censored] person in Skyrim instead of going through a series of fun dialogues from an NPC in New Vegas?

THANK GOD!

Edit: Seeing as how that word gets censored, maybe mentally challenged won't?

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 10:00 pm

You can engage and marry many npcs in Skyrim. You can't marry anyone in Fallout.

Well, you can only marry one NPC in Skyrim, per character. Just pointing that out.

And, in Fallout 3, you can do things so that two of the NPCs end up getting married.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 4:32 am

I've always found Fallout to be like a Bioware game- your character is already made for you, but you can fill the space that is empty.
And the whole game is designed around this designated character, allowing a chance to explore proposed emotion, reactions
or even freedoms (under a rather limited sandbox concept). TES, Skyrim, has always been of a way to keep options open for roleplayers.

For them to employ forced emotion, feeling, would be to rob us of our own thought and our character's thought for that matter.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 8:17 pm

Would kill to have a dialog system like fallout's. Even if appliable only to 1/3 or 1/10 of npcs in the game.

For example:

NPC: Hey you, take my shield to the blacksmith and bring it back.

You:
- Sure.
- I'm no errand boy!
- [Smithing 50] I happen to know something about smithing. I can repair it for you right here!

Even persuasion/intimidation are too rare and don't really have any substancial consenqueces...

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 10:44 pm

Well, you can only marry one NPC in Skyrim, per character. Just pointing that out.

And, in Fallout 3, you can do things so that two of the NPCs end up getting married.

Having "marriage" as an option doesn't mean depth of anything. Marriage in Skyrim adds no depth of NPC interaction at all it only adds a new vendor.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 2:08 pm

Fallout 3 had a much smaller and focused world, with far fewer NPCs, locations, and quests. This gave the devs more time to work on individual aspects, but also gave you fewer options and a smaller world to explore.

Fallout 3 also had a very different dialogue system, and this allowed for more back-and-forth between the player and NPCs. Again, this stems from FO3 being a smaller and more focused game.

I agree with this, but I also think that the over-the-top style of Fallout in general makes it easier to make memorable characters.
Characters I will likely remember from Skyrim are:
Ulfric Stormcloak
Arngeir
Paarthurnax
Balgruuf the Greater
Kodlak Whitemane and the Circle
Cicero
Babette