Quote:Original post by Wysardry
Whether being able to throw a pen is "meaningful" interaction would depend on the player's personal preferences and if the action triggered another event.
For example, it might be possible to taunt or distract an NPC, knock another object off a high shelf or set off a trap from a distance.
Lateral thinking doesn't have to be restricted to text adventures.
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In my opinion, it's lateral thinking in so far as it's emergent behavior in the game. Typically, the fact that you can distract a guard by throwing a pen/vase/etc. is programmed in, essentially making a pen a "Distract guard device" under a different name.
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What I can do in real life in the 21st Century has little bearing on what I expect to be able to do in a fictional game world in a completely different time period. In real life I've never been given the option to roast an orc with a fireball and then loot his charred corpse, but that's a common feature in many fantasy CRPGs.
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Aye, but the social pressures and such that I was talking about haven't changed much since whatever period you're talking about (probably something like medieval Europe), and typically haven't changed much in futuristic settings we're presented with. It's just as unrealistic for the police to not be a serious threat as it is to not move a vase. (Note, this isn't my position for games where theiving is the point)
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Staying with the vase example, even in real life I would likely be able to pick up that vase to admire it (possibly complimenting the owner on his/her taste at the same time), examine the base to check for a manufacturer's mark and/or change the water in it without upsetting the owner.
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You'd probably wierd the owner out if you start filling their vases.
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When was the last time you went into some random person's house and found that all their seemingly movable items were in fact glued or nailed to the shelves?
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Never, but I never checked. I'm not in the habit of going into people's houses, rumaging through their things, and reworking the layout of their furniture. ;)
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A game is an interactive experience. If you can't interact with something, there is little point in it being included. Even walls and furniture are interactive in that they prevent movement through the space they occupy.
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I disagree. Why make a cloudy sky, make it rain, make pretty textures, etc.? I can't interact with any of them, but they improve the ambience.
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Members of a thieves' guild rarely tell apprentices, "We have a job for you. A rich merchant has a valuable jewel we'd like you to... obtain for us. Oh, by the way, even though you might sneak in whilst the owner is away or asleep, be sure not to try and steal anything else because all the other objects are cardboard cutouts." [smile]
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Well, baring the bit about all the other objects being cardboard cutouts, it may be a reasonable request to not steal anything else. Teaches the apprentice restraint, makes the robbery less noticeable, and may reduce the penalty for being caught.
