Idea for makeshift NPC's

[CrimsonMatt]

Hi, so non-playable characters are probably not really feasible right now. But until then, maybe we could find ways of 'talking' to characters that you can't see. Like say you want to have an NPC explorer working in an office in Pahts. There could be a doorbell or something you could press and then a sound effect voice could say like, "Could you please leave me alone, I'm working!" And maybe, I dunno, there would be a kitchen in the next room, and there would be a puzzle involving, I dunno, making a bowl of soup, and then the NPC would say like "Oh hey thanks, here's the password to my safe on Age Whatever." You know, something like that. He would be behind a closed door, so you wouldn't have to model or animate the character. Also, you could maybe do the same thing with a radio or another means of communication.

What do you think!

[Marcello]

Sure I quess you can trigger audio like that, based on variables determining which file to play. The trick with this kinda stuff is always to make it real enough. Meaning I don't want to hear the same fragment over and over. Personally if I would build something like that I would have a whole bunch of short (possibly meaningless) audio fragments ready to play until the sollution is found. Some maybe not even having text, but just a pair of footsteps or other sounds of someone at work.

So it all depends on how well it's done.

[CrimsonMatt]

Ohh yeah, occasional footsteps, or a cough would be neat. And yeah, have him say something different every time, of course. I was thinking, if someone's irate, they may be more likely to repeat themself sometimes, and then if you're talking to a secretary or someone over a radio then they might be more formal and only have limited things to say.

But then again, I guess it's almost the same thing as having a visual NPC, you'd still have to do all that stuff.