Creation Kit – Scenes and Splitting

One of the things I’ve noticed when splitting up monologues is that the changes aren’t always for the better. In some instances, I feel like it transitions naturally. In other cases, I feel like the flow of the words is lost by the splitting question. For these conversations, I think a better way to present the backstories is through the use of scenes as opposed to a split or straight monologue.

Naturally, when the dialogue was constructed, I had no idea how to execute any of this, but now I know enough about the CK where I can implement these changes and do it in a way that’s consistent with the original layout. The dialogue stays as intended, the interaction is more dynamic, and by having free range of motion, you avoid the feeling of being locked into a conversation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf4h-MTZh54&

Here, we have two changes that were implemented in version 3.04. Both are examples of using scenes as opposed to splitting up monologues. Be forewarned, there are MINOR SPOILERS for the characters Zora, and MAJOR SPOILERS for the quest To Warm Sands. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJDPq6AVJHE

This video shows a similar effect with the initial meeting with Jaspar. With Flin, I start his dialogue early as opposed to after him sitting down. This prevents you from getting locked in to him for an extended period of time, while offering a different perspective and have free range of motion. You’ll also notice I sped up some of Flin’s lines, which I’ve been meaning to do for some time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYr6cTFoYig

Here with have a similar opening to Jaspar to help condense Among the Hist‘s initial sequence without removing any lines. Naturally, we don’t want to overuse the mechanic where we’re staring at people’s backs. There’s also the fact that with followers, you can’t orchestrate their movements as easily. Thus with Among the Hist, the sandbox feature is used when going into some of the protracted stories. This can be unpredictable – you don’t want him telling a sad story while riding the sword bicycle. However, I do think most of the sandbox items involve sitting down or standing still, so for the most part it should be a net gain.

Creation Kit – Easter Egg Quests

In a game like Skyrim, objectives are pretty much essential. You can’t really keep track of what the hell you were doing given there’s so much shit to do. Still, objectives do have unintended consequences. They tell you there is a piece of candy waiting for you at a certain place, and place an incentive on visiting it.

This is completely benign if the quest giver is self-aware. If I want you to fetch my sword from a cave, the player should have it marked on his or her map. They should have an incentive to go there. Objectives are just a helpful reminder of the task at hand.

However, in other cases, as with the crabber Juryk, the quest giver has no idea that certain events are taking place around him. There’s no reason an objective marker should point you to the next location, given the information the crabber provides. In this case, I decided to let things happen organically. The odds you would never visit the inns and taverns are next to nil, so there’s never a worry that lacking objectives will hinder your progress.

Nevertheless, I thought it’d be a good idea to highlight this and other easter eggy quests like The Queen of Mereth in the blog, if nothing else than to give the actors their due.

The Essentially Nameless

We all know the end of the year is a time for a reflection, but it’s also an excuse for bloggers to make lists. This is sort of like that, but different, because I don’t really feel inclined to tell you what you already know. I’d rather celebrate some of the more minor things that deserve their own day in the sun, and I suppose it’s fitting that day happens to be the last one.

After all, while many have lauded the actors who voice their favorite characters, it’s also important to point out the people that have voiced the smaller, bit parts. Voicing a nameless farmer, bandit, or sellsword is often a thankless job, but when done right it can add a lot of depth and humor to a quest. And with that, here are some of my favorite scenes featuring nameless or minor NPCs:

Brother and Keeper – He’s the Boss

This pair of scenes actually may require multiple playthroughs to see them both. The bandits turn aggressive as soon as the first scene ends, which could cause the next scene to never fire. If you quickly make it inside the ship, however, you’ll see the mercs turn on the officer when you leave. Robert Ducat voices a merc and the guardsman, while Jay33721 does the Wood Elf.

While it’s not something everyone will see, I love how this little exchange provides a little levity to an otherwise serious quest.

The Sleeping Giant – A Giant’s Bane

David Bodtcher provides the voice for Jonas Giant-Bane, a slight bit of misdirection in the quest, The Sleeping Giant.  Obviously, Jonas isn’t technically nameless, because the name itself is part of the gag. You see, I imagine most Nords get their clan names by achieving some great feat, but it occurred to me that their kin would inherit these names without doing anything of the sort. Jonas’ ancestor likely slew a Giant to get his name, but poor Jonas is stuck with a destiny he can’t fulfill.

Daedra in the Dark – A Wholesome Girl

Unlike Jonas, this guy never really required a name. I’m still not exactly sure why he has one. In any case, it’s safe to say everyone knows someone like Parellius. In fact, many of us have at one time or another been that person (there’s a reason why strip clubs stay in business). But I have to say the best part of this video is how meta the vanilla-voiced Elise is. I didn’t have to make her shallow. That’s how they come out of the box.

Daedra in the Dark – Sixteen Babies

This is probably my favorite vanilla-edited scene. The dialogue is pretty straight forward, and not at all original, but the arrangement of it is just a mind blower in general. It has NPCs flirting with each other, marriage dialogue that’s typically reserved for the player, and a male fucking wench.

The Paper Mirror – Any Questions?

Jay33721 (Male Bandit) and Lila Paws (Female Bandit) join Randy Westbrook (Theron) for this exchange before entering Redoran’s Retreat. Provided it hasn’t been cleared, the bandits in Redoran’s Retreat do indeed own a dog, so the male bandit’s comment is actually rather prescient. I also like how Theron tries to simplify it at the end, but throws out the number four again in the process.

A Rose Without Thorns – Knights of the Eight

Lastly, here is Lila Paws (Female Bandit) again with Trent Martin (Bandit and Hiram) voicing the Knights of the Eight. This really shows Trent’s range as he’s essentially talking to himself. As with the Brother and Keeper mercs, this scene never fails to make me smile. Not just because it’s a nice change of pace from all the gravitas, but it’s genuinely funny.

In addition to the above listed actors, Anna Castiglioni, Christine Slagman, Zaf, Matt Dixon, Corey Hall, Giramor, J.T. Decker and many others have provided voicework where others would have scoffed. As much as we love the stars of the mod, these smaller parts are a healthy dollop of frosting on our metaphorical quest cake.

If we break the mod down into years, 2012 was the beginning. We introduced a lot of NPCs and a lot of backstories. This year and going forward to 2014, the focus has been more on quests. And when I reflect on the year that was and think about all the contributions people have made, I’d be remiss if I neglected the folks above. Their NPCs may not have the tag, but they’ve been every bit as essential as the named ones.