I've got the oldest possible character available in Fable 2 (always did good thing) so it really annoys me when I put effort into a character just to watch them get old. I absolutely hate aging systems, as it never leads to anything good happening and is pointless, in most cases.
Aging in Games
- Thread starter PedroSteckecilo
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I didn't like how the aging in Fable was exp based rather than time. So I was a 70 year old man when it had only been 3 weeks since I graduated and started adventuring. It seemed a little ridiculous.
Also I once level grinded my mage character until he was 50 before doing the bandit camp mission. So it was a little weird seeing my "older" sister who is still young while I'm a crusty old spellcaster.
Also I once level grinded my mage character until he was 50 before doing the bandit camp mission. So it was a little weird seeing my "older" sister who is still young while I'm a crusty old spellcaster.
I played good the whole way through and never saw my character hook up with Briar... He threw the ri- I mean, THE MASK, into Mount D- I mean, the Volcano, and then I got a cutscene.sheic99 post=9.74964.852125 said:
Aging does suck though, and getting rid of age the legit way in fable was SOOO expensive...
I like aging in games, so long as you don't age in huge, wierd increments. A gradual aging adds to the immersion, one of my favorite things in a game. When your character starts to get wrinkles after years passing, it seems so much more realistic.
Then you have games like the Sims, where no matter how long you play, no one gets older. My sims had a baby once, and I got sick of the fact that it never aged, just stayed in the little cradle item they gave you, so I sold it.
Then you have games like the Sims, where no matter how long you play, no one gets older. My sims had a baby once, and I got sick of the fact that it never aged, just stayed in the little cradle item they gave you, so I sold it.
Some games, particularly RPGs, have timeskips. That could sort of count as aging 
Also, I feel it should be mentioned that Dungeons and Dragons has an aging system. As you reach certain age milestones (which varies by race), their physical stats (strength, dexterity, constitution) go down (natural decay), while their mental stats (intelligence and wisdom) go up (experience). This has the hilarious side effect of increasing your vision and hearing, because spot and listen checks are wisdom-based.
It even accounts for magical aging in that magical aging affects only your physical stats.
Oh, and some games, like Neverwinter Nights (which is incidentally based on D&D) let you state how old your character is at creation. This has absolutely no effect on gameplay, but it does let you be a 9999-year-old human fighter with a black ponytail.
Also, I feel it should be mentioned that Dungeons and Dragons has an aging system. As you reach certain age milestones (which varies by race), their physical stats (strength, dexterity, constitution) go down (natural decay), while their mental stats (intelligence and wisdom) go up (experience). This has the hilarious side effect of increasing your vision and hearing, because spot and listen checks are wisdom-based.
It even accounts for magical aging in that magical aging affects only your physical stats.
Oh, and some games, like Neverwinter Nights (which is incidentally based on D&D) let you state how old your character is at creation. This has absolutely no effect on gameplay, but it does let you be a 9999-year-old human fighter with a black ponytail.
The aging system in Fable was really bad, but I would like to see something a bit more realistic once the hardware has reached a level where it seems plausible.
Imagine an epic role playing adventure game where you and everyone else in the world age at the same time. For every 1 minute you play, 1 day passes in the game. In an hour the game world has experienced roughly two months. In two hours you've gone from summer to late fall, with winter soon to come. Children age into adults while trees and other plants grow. New children are born, new plants pop up from the ground. Old people die and get buried in the local graveyard, while aged trees fall over and wither away.
Et cetera, et cetera...
It's a dream. Of a game you'd spend hundreds of hours with.
Imagine an epic role playing adventure game where you and everyone else in the world age at the same time. For every 1 minute you play, 1 day passes in the game. In an hour the game world has experienced roughly two months. In two hours you've gone from summer to late fall, with winter soon to come. Children age into adults while trees and other plants grow. New children are born, new plants pop up from the ground. Old people die and get buried in the local graveyard, while aged trees fall over and wither away.
Et cetera, et cetera...
It's a dream. Of a game you'd spend hundreds of hours with.
I thought it was amusing that once I got to the end of Fable... my hero was older than his own mother. >_>
The point of it all is that a lot of the aging has to be dynamically generated for it to look natural, and that can take quite a lot of processing power and memory. For example, you'll want every tree to be somewhat unique, with how the branches grow, how thick its trunk is, etc., and similar things apply to the hero and the NPCs.Richard Groovy Pants post=9.74964.853739 said:
In games with aging, I'm fine with it so long as it halts at about middle age. That's the standard for age in games it seems, and making you become old enough for a pension before you can say "Liberal Reforms" would be a bit off. Then again, that's probably just because I spend way too long on character creation menus.
There aren't any for the same reason there are no kids in GTA. The censors wouldn't be too pleased if you could send a fireball up little Timmy's nostrils on your every whim (although it would be seriously fun).Aries_Split post=9.74964.851731 said:
What I'm saying is that there'd be no point to it all unless there was diversity (I long for the day when we don't have to deal with three identical clones walking around in towns anymore) and dynamically changing content.
Like, say, cut off a branch from a tree, and watch as the tree keeps growing without that branch. (Or cut off a boy's arm and watch him grow up to become a one-armed man. >.>)
And, yes, I want the aging to seem natural, and not just be leaps of 10 years every now and then.
Like, say, cut off a branch from a tree, and watch as the tree keeps growing without that branch. (Or cut off a boy's arm and watch him grow up to become a one-armed man. >.>)
And, yes, I want the aging to seem natural, and not just be leaps of 10 years every now and then.
