So this got started by Decoy Doctorpus's thread about the player's character lying as a game mechanic.
It seems to me that very few games actually have NPCs that will outright lie to you. It's always either telling you the truth or not telling you at all, or it's very obvious that they're lying.
I feel like lying NPCs could really add to the setting of certain games, especially ones bragging about a harsh setting, or extreme realism. For example, let's take one of my most favoritest games; STALKER. Very harsh. It's characterized by being unforgiving and realistic.
But wouldn't it have been much more harsh if, say, NPCs would be leading you about, and come to a tunnel. "See, now you just go through that tunnel and what you're looking for is on the other side!" Lie. He's using you as a human bolt. He doesn't know what the hell is on the other side, he wants you to go through first to see if you survive.
It might seem too unforgiving, though, and might lead to retarded trial-and-error gameplay. They would have to make it possible to detect that he's lying. Maybe have another NPC that says the man is unreliable (of course, some people always think some people are unreliable, so you'll have to figure out who to trust and who not to on your own).
What do you think lying could do in video games? What do you think could be done to maintain the cold reality of it, while not making a game ridiculously difficult? Should more games feature it? Should less games feature it?
It seems to me that very few games actually have NPCs that will outright lie to you. It's always either telling you the truth or not telling you at all, or it's very obvious that they're lying.
I feel like lying NPCs could really add to the setting of certain games, especially ones bragging about a harsh setting, or extreme realism. For example, let's take one of my most favoritest games; STALKER. Very harsh. It's characterized by being unforgiving and realistic.
But wouldn't it have been much more harsh if, say, NPCs would be leading you about, and come to a tunnel. "See, now you just go through that tunnel and what you're looking for is on the other side!" Lie. He's using you as a human bolt. He doesn't know what the hell is on the other side, he wants you to go through first to see if you survive.
It might seem too unforgiving, though, and might lead to retarded trial-and-error gameplay. They would have to make it possible to detect that he's lying. Maybe have another NPC that says the man is unreliable (of course, some people always think some people are unreliable, so you'll have to figure out who to trust and who not to on your own).
What do you think lying could do in video games? What do you think could be done to maintain the cold reality of it, while not making a game ridiculously difficult? Should more games feature it? Should less games feature it?
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