Nameless NPCs and Adventures

edmundito · Fri 21/05/2004 08:54:58

I was just thinking and it seems to me that a big difference between Graphic Adventures and other game genres (action, action-adventure, rpgs, some god games, and strategy games) is that Adventure Games don't really have nameless NPCs (Non-Player Characters) you can kill for no meaningful reason other than to defend yourself or make the game easier.

I'm thinking, however, are there any non-adventure games out there that do not have the option for the player to kill random npcs? Can it be possible to include nameless characters with a good purpose? I guess TLo Zelda kind of did it, but the game is more of a Console action/adventure game. And the survival horror did it too, but they too are Console adventure games.

Discuss.

LordHart · Fri 21/05/2004 09:08:01

Ultima 4 and upwards always had some nameless NPCs to communicate with... for example, the nameless beggars that you could give food and gold to, to grow your humanity virtue...

Captain Mostly · Fri 21/05/2004 09:47:42

D-Generation had nameless NPC's you had to save. I guess you probably COULD have killed them if you wanted to... But this also goes for the Ultima games... So I guess these don't count as not having the option to randomly kill NPC's...

Happy Land Adventures (the astonishing freeware platform game by Frr Lunch Design) has no killing of ANYONE in it, but has loads of un-named NPC's and is definatly a platform game, not an "adventure" in the AGS sence at all. And I imagine there's LOADS of other non-violent games like this...

How about Thief, with the civilians you're not allowed to kill, who have no names? In fact, if you play it on the harder modes, you're not allowed to kill ANYONE!

edmundito · Fri 21/05/2004 17:37:03

Ultima is RPG, though.

.. · Fri 21/05/2004 18:55:04

Do the men of low moral fiber count?
The monkeys in MI dont realyl have names.. jsut Musically Inlcined monkey etc...
In broken sword there are the girls in the museum and the girls in the british museum. Also the man who you make fall voer who is essential to the puzzle I dont think has a name. You can talk to him and he has a personality.

Scummbuddy · Fri 21/05/2004 21:11:43

that musically inclined monkey you speak of is none other than Jojo. He plays every wednesday, or something. He had a name, regardless

edmundito · Fri 21/05/2004 23:16:41

When I mean nameless NPCs, I mean like little creatures that pop up and you kill and they die, without no personaltiy, like the goombas in super mario bros. and whatnot.

Yeah, the men of low moral fiber are definitely a flavor of those NPCs I'm talking about. They were just random characters you just swordfought.... You didn't really sit down and talk to them. They also walked around randomly in MelÃ©e Island.

Redwall · Fri 21/05/2004 23:34:54

Pleurghburg had random NPCs, as well as Keptosh.

As for the actual question... I can't recall any. There are a few missions in the Hitman games that you can't kill civillians... but you can still knock them out.

Tiki · Sat 22/05/2004 17:28:26

QuoteYeah, the men of low moral fiber are definitely a flavor of those NPCs I'm talking about. They were just random characters you just swordfought.... You didn't really sit down and talk to them. They also walked around randomly in MelÃ©e Island.

What're you talking about? Now, I haven't played MI 4, but I am pretty sure that you don't fight the Men of Low Moral fiber. You DO talk to them, and they stay in the same spot throughout the first two Monkeys. Now, If this is different in MI4, my mistake, but I think you got confused here.

.. · Sat 22/05/2004 17:48:51

Quotethat musically inclined monkey you speak of is none other than Jojo. He plays every wednesday, or something. He had a name, regardless

Im not thinking of Jojo, I'm thinking of the monkey with the accordian in Mi4.

Also random NPCs in adventures would be the monkeys in monkey combat.. I mean they kind of appear randomly and you beat them. They only have names like 'scruffy monkey'

Redwall · Sat 22/05/2004 20:42:40

Quote from: TIkkiTikkiMan on Sat 22/05/2004 17:28:26
QuoteYeah, the men of low moral fiber are definitely a flavor of those NPCs I'm talking about. They were just random characters you just swordfought.... You didn't really sit down and talk to them. They also walked around randomly in MelÃ©e Island.

What're you talking about? Now, I haven't played MI 4, but I am pretty sure that you don't fight the Men of Low Moral fiber. You DO talk to them, and they stay in the same spot throughout the first two Monkeys. Now, If this is different in MI4, my mistake, but I think you got confused here.

I believe he's referring to the pirates you fight to learn insults in MI1, which looked basically like the characters labelled Men of Low Moral Fiber in MI1.

Haddas · Sat 22/05/2004 20:50:50

I don't know any. Wait, wait no.... "Postal 2"

The real answer: Keen dreams, you only get to stun everything (If my memory isn't tricking me)

HillBilly · Sun 23/05/2004 22:02:53

What? Postal? No, no. That game doesn't have a nick of violence in it.