Dhruin
SasqWatch
Scorpia goes on a bit of a rant about the lack of engaging NPCs in RPGs, observing that a good story is all about the characters:
...and in a related piece, she discusses the need for better motivation:For instance, we know all the “people” (a.k.a. NPCs) are really there just for us. They populate the world so it won’t look empty. They wait around with little odd jobs for us to do outside of the main line. They provide cannon fodder so we can grab goodies and level up on our way to Foozle.
Added to that is the fact that NPC personalities tend to come in just three flavors: forgettable, obnoxious, and helpless. Throw in the difficulties of conversation, and it’s no surprise that we have a hard time feeling anything beyond exasperation or antagonism for any of them.
More information.Even when a game allows one to be “evil”, we still end up knocking off Foozle at the finale. Once in awhile, there’s a change of pace. Might & Magic VII, for example, allowed one to “go darkside” and obtain a different ending where the “bad guys” win.
Usually, though, good, evil, or neutral, we follow along and perform our heroic duty. The particular reason why is typically left up to us, the individual players.
Oh sure, sometimes we have “The Fiendish Hordes Of Ancient Evil Foozle wiped out your family, nay, your entire village!”, so we’re supposed to be motivated by the revenge motif. Ho hum.