M0ntie wrote: »

I want choices that make a difference. It improves replayability to play out both options. Currently i just pick what looks like the fastest option because it makes no difference, if I can be bothered doing the quests at all.

Replayability is the best reason for more choices.

BretonMage wrote: »

If we get evil choices, then realistically, we should also have consequences for those evil choices, like the character should be penalised or banned for a period of time, right?

Consequence should always be a factor in interesting rp writing. But consequence for *any* choice, not just evil. In a more realistic world, evil doesn't always get its come-uppance, and sometimes good comes at a costly price.

Kingsindarkness wrote: »

CALL ME LITTLE MORTAL ONE MORE TIME AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS!!!

Yes, the ability to snark off properly is sorely missed in ESO's dialogue. I'll have to settle for making bad comics.

BretonMage wrote: »

Supreme_Atromancer wrote: »

BretonMage wrote: »

If we get evil choices, then realistically, we should also have consequences for those evil choices, like the character should be penalised or banned for a period of time, right?

Consequence should always be a factor in interesting rp writing. But consequence for *any* choice, not just evil. In a more realistic world, evil doesn't always get its come-uppance, and sometimes good comes at a costly price.

Well, yes, you're not wrong... But to be honest, I play Elder Scrolls for its fantasy, not to mirror the real world where awful people do often get away with evil actions. Even so, we already get a lot of situations in ES where terrible actions are celebrated as a sort of "edgy" quirk (like DB murders and cannibalism in TESV), and I'm frankly a little over it.

Yeah, this is fair. I recently went back and played Oblivion again, planning to experience all the content. I got to Shivering Isles with all the intention in the world to complete it... until I got to Uncle Sheo's first task for me. When I realised how unapologetically evil it was, I had to abandon it. And as quick as that, my playthrough was complete!

Having said that, there's no way in the world I'd want that story changed. I love that its an option, and I also think it would lose something if it had catered to goody-two-shoes characters like mine was, sanitising and giving a safe option, because there's only so much CHEEESE!!! I can take! For me it just makes the world feel richer that that's an option for me to even refuse.

And besides, I can just roll up a nasty character to play it through one day just for the fun of it.

MILD SPOILERS FOR VERY OLD CONTENT AHEAD.

Carcamongus wrote: »

The devs have shown they can create excellent dilemmas. For example, the Lilandril quest, in which you're presented with a tough choice at its end. I was so conflicted I needed to step away for a few days before making a decision. That was some fine writing and no matter what the player picks, no separate instances are created.

Some "dilemmas" have no value, no hook. There seems to be no reason to choose one or the other. The quest associated with Torug's Spite in Bangkorai where you have to choose which orc clan is to be written into history is a good example, for me. The clues you get through the delve are neutral, you can't get a good sense of why one has more merit than the other, and besides, the premise seems preposterous anyway because I can see very obvious alternatives to saying only one or the other. These sorts of dilemmas are very frustrating.

The one you've described is great because it provides a hook for your character. What does your character ultimately value? That quest was hard for me, too. But I agree, that's to the credit of the writers. I'd love to see more of these, particularly if they're well-thought-out and interesting.

There's another type of choice that should be thought about; ESO has done it several times - where there are only bad outcomes, so you need to rationalise your choice. The quest associated with the Temple of the Morning Springs in Khenarthi's Roost is a good example, as is the dilemma you're presented with when you discover Mannimarco's ultimate fate towards the end of the main quest. I think these ones are tricky because the writers really need to anticipate the obvious rationalisations, and have the world address them directly even when, as in the latter case, things don't go quite to plan (to almost comical effect). When there is strong evidence in the world and the story around you to anticipate the outcomes of a certain choice, even if its not explicitly stated, if its a pretty predictable rationalisation, it should be anticipated, and the thinking and exploration should be rewarded a good amount of the time. Although it IS kick-yourself funny, I would have been frustrated (for 5 seconds) if I had freed Mannimarco thinking he'd have been thankful, and I'd have a powerful ally (and I suspect anyone who did free him would have had this rationale). There are other instances of quests where it isn't funny, its just really frustrating, and breaks your trust with the world (and encourages you to out-think the *game*, not the problem at hand). There's one in Aldcroft in Glenumbra that is likely to play out like this. Sometimes its probably good to have things not go to plan, but when this device is used too much, its more frustrating than it is engaging.

VaranisArano wrote: »

We're not going to get serious branching choices that impact the plot and cost $$$ to animate/voice act.

Voice acting is amazing. There are some excellent VAs in this game. And as a whole, VA has increased the immersion in gaming. The costs were real, though, and only ever glossed over and explained away in the drive to adopt it- the sheer amount of storytelling that just became infeasible, for instance; and something yet to be properly come to terms with. A big problem that people have with the continuity problems associated with no time progression in ESO are due to the amount of VA it takes to go back and have NPCs say alternate lines. They've done some of it, but locking the addressing of this issue behind costly VA makes it impractical to do it to a truly satisfactory level.

Just a reflection really, I love VA, not arguing for it to change. Maybe one day AI Voice will be so good that voicing dialogue will become so efficient that it can fill Morrowind-sized reels of dialogue on every single NPC you meet!