Squeek
connoisseur of tidbits
If a player could indicate his intent through every step of the game, those choices could be counted, measured and evaluated using Boolean logic. Like exercise performed every day, the results could then add up to something significant.
For instance, during a negotiation. A paladin might express his desire to deal in good faith while a thief might decide to bluff or posture in order to get the best deal. Or during combat. An assassin might be more prone to dispatch his enemy with precision while a barbarian might be more interested in delivering pain.
If those day-to-day indications were counted as causes, they could add up to produce meaningful effects later in the game. A character might become more prone to find special items or weapons that only someone of his ilk can use or wield. He might spot something that would otherwise remain invisible to him. There could be special quests or alternatives within quests.
Unique characters, like rogues with a special sense of honor, or knights who lust after every woman they encounter, could produce unique options as the effects of causes made throughout the game.
Or causes could start producing effects that are more immediate. A cleric with strongly-developed virtue might cause NPCs to reveal things to him that they would otherwise keep secret. Or his God might become more prone to intervene with assistance or advice.
It's just another level of sophistication, another set of considerations to factor into the equation. It's not how video games work now, but it's how this kind of video game ought to work, because this kind involves role-playing.
For instance, during a negotiation. A paladin might express his desire to deal in good faith while a thief might decide to bluff or posture in order to get the best deal. Or during combat. An assassin might be more prone to dispatch his enemy with precision while a barbarian might be more interested in delivering pain.
If those day-to-day indications were counted as causes, they could add up to produce meaningful effects later in the game. A character might become more prone to find special items or weapons that only someone of his ilk can use or wield. He might spot something that would otherwise remain invisible to him. There could be special quests or alternatives within quests.
Unique characters, like rogues with a special sense of honor, or knights who lust after every woman they encounter, could produce unique options as the effects of causes made throughout the game.
Or causes could start producing effects that are more immediate. A cleric with strongly-developed virtue might cause NPCs to reveal things to him that they would otherwise keep secret. Or his God might become more prone to intervene with assistance or advice.
It's just another level of sophistication, another set of considerations to factor into the equation. It's not how video games work now, but it's how this kind of video game ought to work, because this kind involves role-playing.