Putting Words in <CHARNAME>'s Mouth, right or wrong? Options

[Rabain]

What do people think of modders putting words in <charname>'s mouth?

For example, a modder wants you to do X so Y can happen, its part of his mod quest. However the player might not want to do X but the modder has designed his quest so that X has to happen so that shiny NPC can get uber item Z.

In order to facilitate this, modder puts words in <charname>'s mouth in order to make the player choose the right option eg:

Chain
NPC: I think we should go to castle X.
PC: I agree, let's go.
NPC: You will so not regret this <charname>!
Do LeaveAreaLua:(Everyone).

What do people think of this type of action? I understand that the norm is to give the player a choice, afterall it is the player who is roleplaying <charname> and should be able to choose rather than be dragged down a certain quest path.

Do you think this type of action should be avoided at all costs and the player should always have a choice even if it is to say "Ask me again later"?

I am not for or against this myself, depending on the way it has been integrated into the game. Though I would be wary of being dragged hither and yon by everyone whom I choose to join my party.

[kulyok]

I take it that was just a comment on grammar in general considering it was only an example. Regardless you are not going to know about the positioning of commas until after you have downloaded the mod.

It's another thing that can be annoying I suppose. Inappropriate use of ! for example which I find I am guilty of when I read back over dialog and use of CAPITAL letters or looping dialogs etc

It was a joke, actually: despite my bad English, punctuation is my pet peeve(should I write it in capitals? ), and I thought it was sort of known. Sorry.

But yeah, it is annoying.

As for knowing about grammar after downloading - I don't know. I've just read the dialogues for Shar-Teel over at NEJ, and - and I will not download the mod. This preview was more than enough. The same goes for Quitch's Imoen Relationship - I might download it out of curiosity when it is done, because it seems to have so many fans, but I am already prepared to be disappointed. On the other hand, I have seen the previews, and I'll still grab Nalia Romance with both hands.


The way I see it, you have three paths:

- make this quest non-obligatory, i.e. <CHARNAME> says "no" and NPC says: "Okay, later". Everyone is satisfied, but it means some extra work for you.

- let it remain obligatory, but have several responses. This way, <CHARNAME> will be annoyed with NPC for forcing <CHARNAME> to do this - not with linear, non-interactive writing. In other words, the player will feel resentment towards your NPC(which is good, if you are planning to make it a character trait), not towards you.

- leave only one reply. I do not think that this solution is the best, because it will be your design decision, not a trait of your NPC's character. This difference is important - to me, at least.



(Since I am in love with PS:T all over again, I guess I'll insert a reference here). Planescape:Torment rocks. And then some. But in every single quest, it is railroading and railroading. It becomes annoying after a while, even to a dedicated fan such as myself. Small, optional things, or quests where you can have several paths are a breath of fresh air.