suggestion NPCs Non-Player Characters

[SteveP]

I would prefer TLD did not use cut-scenes for NPC interactions in Sandbox mode. I think it's foregone it will go that way in order to facilitate the story exposition. I'd like NPCs to just be like that of wolf or other AI interactions. Perhaps there is a limited repertoire of conversations that can occur with an NPC. The idea of getting or giving assistance is interesting. Perhaps cooperative work like hunting or fishing? Perhaps some can be instructive such as explaining tactics. It seems a bit contrived if they just show up with resources that you desperately need and are non-renewable. Perhaps they can act as guides or coaches or enemies. I like the idea of not being able to tell right off if someone is trustworthy or not. In the end, probably you can trust no one.

[selfless]

I think they cannot even begin to plan for open world wandering NPC's until they are able to get a handle on the terrain following mechanic for animated characters.  With the bears and deer it is tolerable.  Watching some guy walking upright along a snow bank while tilted over 45 degrees is never going to get classified as "groundbreaking".

Makes me wonder just how close has this game ever been to release? 

[TSmith]

Hinterland has not messed the game up yet, and I like what Raphael said about the NPC's, adding to the "resource economy". Maybe like traders, trade two bear skins for x amount of ammo. Trade things there are plenty of in the game, for those scarce resources. Now that might be COOL

Anyways, Hinterland has done an awesome job so far, and I am sure they will continue to do so.

 

@ Hinterlands, just don't let the sandbox experience die !!!!

[vancopower]

11 hours ago, SteveP said:

I would prefer TLD did not use cut-scenes for NPC interactions in Sandbox mode. I think it's foregone it will go that way in order to facilitate the story exposition. I'd like NPCs to just be like that of wolf or other AI interactions. Perhaps there is a limited repertoire of conversations that can occur with an NPC. The idea of getting or giving assistance is interesting. Perhaps cooperative work like hunting or fishing? Perhaps some can be instructive such as explaining tactics. It seems a bit contrived if they just show up with resources that you desperately need and are non-renewable. Perhaps they can act as guides or coaches or enemies. I like the idea of not being able to tell right off if someone is trustworthy or not. In the end, probably you can trust no one.

I agree what is the point of just trading meat for bullets for example then kill another animal, trade for bullets it will become boring and repetitive real fast. However random onetime deals well that's something else, example 4 kgs meat for 2 bullets and that's it the trader just walks away in to the long dark . Also if there should be permanent traders they should offer something unique for their trade. For example:

Fur trapper: offers wolf skin, dear skin, unique: deer shawl, rabbit socks, wolf hat, Premium wolf-Rabbit coat (unique + 15 Celsius) Trades only by daytime and if the weather is fine.

Fisherman: offers all kinds of cooked fish, unique: smoked fish which lasts three times longer, fishing pole (the line never breaks but uses 5% condition every time you use it) Trades only at night and if you can find the fish hut he is in.

 

Forester: Offers all types of firewood, can sometimes have birch or maple sapling, unique: flint, flint arrows. Trades only at night and if the weather is fine.

 

Trading unique items can be one time thing, afterwards you will have to wait for a couple of days or maybe a week for example for 2-8 days if you want to get something unique again.

Also each of them will value different things, the trapper will value reclaimed wood and guts more since he makes traps, the fisherman will value fishing hooks and lines more, the Forester will value axes more common and crafted.

[cekivi]

7 minutes ago, vancopower said:

Fur trapper: offers wolf skin, dear skin, unique: deer shawl, rabbit socks, wolf hat, Premium wolf-Rabbit coat (unique + 15 Celsius) Trades only by daytime and if the weather is fine.

Fisherman: offers all kinds of cooked fish, unique: smoked fish which lasts three times longer, fishing pole (the line never breaks but uses 5% condition every time you use it) Trades only at night and if you can find the fish hut he is in.

Forester: Offers all types of firewood, can sometimes have birch or maple sapling, unique: flint, flint arrows. Trades only at night and if the weather is fine.

Trading unique items can be one time thing, afterwards you will have to wait for a couple of days or maybe a week for example for 2-8 days if you want to get something unique again.

An interesting idea but my main problem is would a non-transient trading NPC make sense, thematically, in the long dark?

Who is the trapper trapping for? There's no longer a market to buy furs. Are they trapping only for food? If so, why would they need to trade for yours?

Why would the fisherman (who presumably has food and supplies to stay alive) need to trade? Also, why would they ever give up their spare rod? They'd be screwed then if the one they have ever breaks.

The forester makes sense... but why are they out there to begin with? Wouldn't they need to be part of a larger group in order for someone to devote all of their time to felling trees? Also, why would they be looking for rocks or crazy enough to work at night?

A person or group marching south to escape the cold would make sense as traders. Since they're on the move their opportunities to hunt, fish and scavenge would be limited. But if you're supplied well enough to keep doing your pre-apocalypse job you wouldn't really need to trade for anything since you should already have it on hand...

[vancopower]

43 minutes ago, cekivi said:

An interesting idea but my main problem is would a non-transient trading NPC make sense, thematically, in the long dark?

Who is the trapper trapping for? There's no longer a market to buy furs. Are they trapping only for food? If so, why would they need to trade for yours?

Why would the fisherman (who presumably has food and supplies to stay alive) need to trade? Also, why would they ever give up their spare rod? They'd be screwed then if the one they have ever breaks.

The forester makes sense... but why are they out there to begin with? Wouldn't they need to be part of a larger group in order for someone to devote all of their time to felling trees? Also, why would they be looking for rocks or crazy enough to work at night?

A person or group marching south to escape the cold would make sense as traders. Since they're on the move their opportunities to hunt, fish and scavenge would be limited. But if you're supplied well enough to keep doing your pre-apocalypse job you wouldn't really need to trade for anything since you should already have it on hand...

Well I did not want to make a major post since it's 5 am here, but I should fill in some gaps:

These three people will not only trade with you but will other people for example they are professionals and can make unique items that other people need desperately, so instead of just surviving they do their thing and other people bring them everything else they need. Also they charge a lot for their unique items, more detailed explanation could be for example the fisherman is old and could not go in to the world for very long to collect wood, guts and metal to make his equipment so he constantly needs supply, he is an expert in crafting rods from maple sapling, fishing line and hook  which no one knows how to craft so that's why he offers fishing rods. The forester only trades in the night  when he is in his cabin.  By the day however he travels collecting wood and flint, maybe other things mushrooms and other plants so you can not find him.  The trapper is Jim by the way, he has family and his house is decorated with furs from the inside so his family will be safe from the cold. He makes clothes for them he used to be a tailor before the apocalypse and a good one too  

Also they are in different regions and can not communicate with each other, so they are all dependent of each other's resources for example the fishermen needs maple sapling which the forester could provide but they are too far apart that's where you come in the forester on the other hand needs food that doesn't spoil so much so he could travel and collect things from the forest, he is Jacob by the way he used to be herbalist and alternative medicine doctor he likes walking through the forest. 

 

P.S. Jacob "the forester" also brews alcohol from maple syrup which he makes from maple trees, which can be used as antiseptic, and Jim needs this in case he runs in to a wolf also he likes to disinfect himself internally   I hope this story will inspire some creative thoughts

 

[SteveP]

This is the apocalypse! What makes you guys think these few people left can be trusted at all? Judging from so far, they've left a trail of blood and corpses. Beware of the home made shine; it'll blind ya.

[Dirmagnos]

I dislike idea of specialized NPCs hanging out at some spot, its 2 casual and predictable.

While world have ended, it didnt happen that long time ago in the beginning of the game, so time should also be a factor. At the same time there is a lot of confusion of what has happened, so people would be suspicious of everything, conserving supplies(at least smart ones, but then again, corpses of dumb and unlucky ones can be found) and wont stock what they dont need.

Crap like trading meat for an endless supply of bullets is the last thing this game needs. NPCs may have high grade stuff, but will they be willing to trade it to begin with, and how much convincing it would take to do so, to what lengths player would be forced to go to get what he needs ? Limited supplies are limited, so while initially finding some1 with a few extra rifle rounds, that he would be willing to trade, may be relatively easy, later on it could become far more scarce and NPCs would have pretty much same stuff as survivor, with slight possibility of extremely pricey items, like same ammo or even hatchet(as if they come thru from a different area or found it somewhere in the middle of the forest under a log).

[vancopower]

3 hours ago, Dirmagnos said:

Crap like trading meat for an endless supply of bullets is the last thing this game needs.

Nobody wants that, if you read all the posts you can see that we all agree on that. Also some people don't have a choice they have to stay in one place, and in order to survive they have to trade, and depend on outside help on the other hand staying in one place means you could get raided by someone who is desperate or just a bad person anyway my point is yes everyone will be hoarding nobody will be trusting but some people will be forced to trade just to get by, I read some diary of a Serbian war survivor he explains the crisis like this: First think what the people do is raid the shops and supermarkets it's a bloodbath but then after a week or two things quiet down people just try to get by trading, things for what they need at the moment he wrote sometimes I  traded food for bullets and other days bullets for food, medicine is the most valuable item and everyone wants it especially antibiotics because of the hygiene problems people often tend to get sick ect ect. so to sum up people will trade but only what they need in the moment not like in WOW, they are not goblins to have shops set up

[Tbone555]

i figure i should throw in my two cents. i once started a similar topic that never caught on.

i think that there should be NPC survivors in this game. i mean, its necessary in any survival game or movie, and realistically if something to this extent were to happen in real life, there are going to be people out there who want to help one another, there are going to be thieves, and there are going to be raiders who would kill over a bottle of water. humans are dangerous and fragile creatures when experiencing trauma.

take this situation for example. a person comes to your shelter, hungry, freezing, scared, in need of help. so you help him. you let him inside, offer him food, medicine, etc, then send him on his way. say the person you just helped has a starving child at home. well mr desperate comes back a day later with a group of his buddies, after telling them how loaded you are and explaining the layout of the inside of your shelter, and knocks you over the head and loots your entire shelter, only to leave you to wake up with nothing. these are things you should be prepared for in any global emergency. whether that be in real life or on a video game. interaction with other people really begs the question of how far you would be willing to go, and what you would be willing to do for those around you, unknowing of the consequences of your chosen actions.

[cekivi]

Still not a fan of that mechanic. Yes, it could happen (and I'm sure it does) but I'd rather not have to deal with those interactions in the sandbox. Single player is fine but since the sandbox is more of a blank slate I always liked the freedom it offered and how different it was from normal AAA gameplay. Having generic NPCs that may steal from you after you helped them... just rubs me the wrong way.

[Tbone555]

On March 2, 2016 at 7:37 AM, cekivi said:

Still not a fan of that mechanic. Yes, it could happen (and I'm sure it does) but I'd rather not have to deal with those interactions in the sandbox. Single player is fine but since the sandbox is more of a blank slate I always liked the freedom it offered and how different it was from normal AAA gameplay. Having generic NPCs that may steal from you after you helped them... just rubs me the wrong way.

I agree that it can potentially ruin some of the feeling of freedom in the current sandbox.

it does, however, add a whole new survival element which, to me, would be really fun to play with.

maybe if they made it an optional thing. Like, go into settings and you can tick or untick a little box that says "NPCs" beside it. That would solve everyone's problems

[cekivi]

Unfortunately the developers already said that toggling NPCs was not going to be an option in the game.

While I respect their decision (especially since they're reading this forum and presumably absorbing our input) I'm still apprehensive. NPC interactions will fundamentally change the sandbox. Likely for the better (fingers crossed) but I'm still apprehensive since I've gotten a year+ now in the game used to the quiet darkness and solo survival.

It would be interesting actually on the game's final release to have "Mystery Lake Classic" as an optional map. Just Mystery Lake from the early release alpha before even Coastal Highway was an option. That would be really cool (oh, nostalgia) and it would also let people who didn't participate in the alpha see how far the game has come

[Tbone555]

I'm still a newbie, personally  been playing since about September of last year. Made a profile on here in October. I was really surprised when I read that this whole thing started off as a mobile survival game, it is amazing how far the hinterland team and this community has come with this game.

[SteveP]

NPCs or other items such as books can be used to rationalize certain skill sets such as forging and tempering knife blades, flint knapping, game calls, hunting tactics and so forth.

[schaeff13]

It would be an interesting dynamic to have other humans in the game. Maybe to support the "Lone Survivor" aspect, if you get too close they run away, maybe having them leave behind supplies, or leaving behind a dead victim who was attacked by them whom you can decided morally if you want to steal the dead persons supplies or leave him. Maybe  if they do attack another person, you can approach them and have them run off before the victim  is completely killed, so you find him "Unconscious" and have the option to build a fire and leave food. Also leaving the opportunity for others to follow you, so when you wake up from sleeping someone could leave supplies for you when you're struggling in a last hope for survival, or someone could even steal supplies if you are to much in the open. These options making it so you aren't having direct interaction with an NPC and making you feel almost more alone because you are so close yet so far. I've always felt the option to do good or bad increases immersion. In other games, giving the homeless money, killing someone for supplies makes me really think of my decisions and it weighs on you or increases hope, which then increases or decreases productivity to survive because of that "HOPE" factor.

[SteveP]

In a resource based game, it makes sense to implement trading with the NPCs. This opens up some interesting possibilities. The more generous you are with your offers, the more generous your trading partner might be. Remember Sid Meier's Civilization? There was lots of trading in that game and the traders always responded favourably to generosity while also wishing to exploit weaker countries. Shrewdness in bargaining might be something some trader's would recognize and respect while others might be petulant and take offense easily. I wonder if it will go to scripted conversations with options as is the common fashion or a more open world approach with great freedom to propose deals and offering gifts.

Suppose for example, you encounter the chief of the Nez Perce. If you fail to offer your most prized possession, you risk offending him. If you do give up your prized hatchet or rifle, you might be gifted with a horse or a prized daughter. You find the horse or bride is a great burden but somehow you manage to keep her fed. Upon the later return of the chief, you are rewarded for your faithfulness with a gift of much greater value or you find yourself the butt of ridicule for not riding off on the horse or some other activity you were expected to do.

[totorbanana]

YES THIS GAME NEEDS NPCS

[Axe]

A model for NPC’s in the sandbox.

NPC’s should be far more limited in number thereby promoting the need to travel to new areas rather than just staying in only one of them, perhaps only one survivor/group per map. You take on the role of a travelling doctor, you are the most wanted person in TLD and everyone needs you.

I liked the idea of the injured trapper who was attacked by wolves, this would be a great starting point. You need to collect antiseptic and antibiotics which he doesn’t have, heal him up and after that he can hunt animals and provides meat/furs. He won’t be able to travel since he’s leg hasn’t fully healed, and due to his age, he probably wouldn’t be able to travel far anyway. Grateful for saving his life he’s happy for you to take what you need from the cabin, he can provide meat, pelts and the knowledge of how to stitch them together which he’ll teach you in exchange for certain clothing undergarments and skinning knives.

At the coastal town you encounter a couple in one of the houses, the man is a logger who works up at lake valley and normally commutes by train. He’s wife is bed ridden and he’s been caring for her ever since disaster struck. In dire need of constant medical supplies, you’re able to help as Reishi tea helps keeps her condition in check. But in her current state she can’t be moved, and her husband is unwilling to leave her side. He’s willing to cut down plenty of wood from the surrounding trees and has plenty of water to provide you with in exchange for medicine but he needs another axe he’s old one won’t last much longer.

You keep going and find yourself at desolation point, you meet an odd fellow occupying the lighthouse, he seems to be doing rather ok but is really in need of clothing to keep him warm and wood for warmth and to melt snow for water, since there isn’t much wood around desolation point. He tells you he’s a ship engine mechanic, he can teach you quite a bit about forging, and has a few tools(axes/knives) that he’s makes and is willing to trade. Spending most of his life on a ship he’s an adept fisherman and doesn’t go hungry. Encouraged by the news of other survivors and with the coastal highway blocked he’s convinced that the best way for him to help will be to signal any ships that come close, for that he’ll need a flare gun and if help arrives he’ll let you know, but he does need that wood. The wood from the logger can be exchanged for the knives the trapper needs and the axes the logger needs.

In pleasant valley you encounter a social recluse, a woman who is too afraid to step outdoors, but who is rather adept with an old pedal driven sewing machine. Tailor by trade she provided her services to the locals before tragedy struck. In exchange for food/wood she’s willing to repair and/or provide you with clothing, she can make warmer winter garments and fix any damaged cloth garments you have. She does need food, so that meat from the trapper can be traded for clothing the trapper and the mechanic need.

At Timberwolf mountain you find a mountaineer, ex-military she’s the most capable person out of all you’ve met so far. She tells you that she is an avid hiker with her husband, who went into the mountains to investigate a plane crash, as she’d injured her shoulder while climbing the previous day he went alone. She’s convinced he’s still alive out there somewhere and probably lost his way due to the bad weather. She won’t leave until she finds him, dead or alive she has to know. She needs a rifle (husband has it) due to the wildlife and may disappear for a day or 2 at a time after to search for her husband, she has a bullet press and can provide you with ammo and some medicine in exchange for the rifle of course and different items from time to time (varies). She believes that rescuers will come and search the wreckage of the plane and believes the best chance of survival is for someone to tell them that there are others that need rescuing.

Basically each NPC has accessibility to certain resources and needs resources that other NPC’s have, most will need clothing from time to time and you act as the link to all these resources, you are also a resource in yourself as provider of medicine. Every NPC will from time to time need medical help.

You now find yourself as the only person who can keep the group of people healthy and alive, but just how long can you keep them and yourself alive for, will help ever come from the air or sea, or will you all slowly succumb to the long dark.

[stray_cur]

It would be kinda exhilarating to see a sign of life, a glow of a fire, a lit window now and then - like, one a map. It'd get you thinking, friend or foe?  Will they kill me for my stuff... do I need their stuff?   -- I'd be all for it in Sandbox!

And if you wanna stay the only one around (as mentioned in previous reply) -- well, you can make it so.  (take em all out = "only one around achievement unlocked")

[Axe]

I don't know where people get this idea that they need to kill everyone else to survive or that everyone else is trying to kill them. It's such a typical and overused element in both television and gaming that to be honest i'm exhausted of seeing, how this unoriginal concept has lasted this long I don't know. But I think it's the main reason gaming has historically been dominated by adolescent males as violence seems to appeal to this group most, TLD has the chance to appeal to a broader market. If you looking for a game based on shooting stuff, may I suggest you type "FPS games" in google, you will not be disappointed with the truly enormous number of results following the same repetitive paradigm. This is a survival simulator not a FPS or hack n slash game.

Been stuck indoors on an island during a category 4 cyclone, and even when the accommodation was leaking and in some sections coming apart, people didn't suddenly start killing each other. People were scared, yes some were angry and there were verbal fights, and general unrest but people don't just start killing each other, more than anything they looked for assurance and the biggest threat was the elements.

The whole reason I enjoy playing TLD is because it offers something different, no zombies, no other people looking to hack me to pieces. Real life just isn't like that, your chances of survival improve when other people are present, not reduced. Based on the locations given, most people in these areas would be trades people (mechanics, plumber's , hiker's, hunter's, etc). Even in the unlikely event that you encountered a truly desperate person, firstly they'd demand things from you, and only if you refused to help them at all would they be likely to rob you, people would be more scared than anything else, and if you gave them what you had they'd generally leave you alone. Your choice would likely affect the outcome, but murder is not a likely outcome. Besides there's already so many other sandbox games out there where everyone is busy killing everyone else, if TLD implemented this it would be offering nothing new.

There's a lot of knowledge and assistance that other people could offer to help you with, your hardest decision realistically would be you trying your best to save a dying person, by looking after them and at the same time rationing supplies to make sure you yourself stay alive.

I don't think it would be an achievement to kill everyone, it would be the most tragic failure of humanity. The game would then be a psychopathic killer simulator if you were to kill the last few survivors. A survival simulator is about preserving life, not taking it. Keeping alive, keeping others alive is the makings of a survival simulator.

[vancopower]

10 hours ago, Axe said:

I don't know where people get this idea that they need to kill everyone else to survive or that everyone else is trying to kill them. It's such a typical and overused element in both television and gaming that to be honest i'm exhausted of seeing, how this unoriginal concept has lasted this long I don't know. But I think it's the main reason gaming has historically been dominated by adolescent males as violence seems to appeal to this group most, TLD has the chance to appeal to a broader market. If you looking for a game based on shooting stuff, may I suggest you type "FPS games" in google, you will not be disappointed with the truly enormous number of results following the same repetitive paradigm. This is a survival simulator not a FPS or hack n slash game.

Been stuck indoors on an island during a category 4 cyclone, and even when the accommodation was leaking and in some sections coming apart, people didn't suddenly start killing each other. People were scared, yes some were angry and there were verbal fights, and general unrest but people don't just start killing each other, more than anything they looked for assurance and the biggest threat was the elements.

The whole reason I enjoy playing TLD is because it offers something different, no zombies, no other people looking to hack me to pieces. Real life just isn't like that, your chances of survival improve when other people are present, not reduced. Based on the locations given, most people in these areas would be trades people (mechanics, plumber's , hiker's, hunter's, etc). Even in the unlikely event that you encountered a truly desperate person, firstly they'd demand things from you, and only if you refused to help them at all would they be likely to rob you, people would be more scared than anything else, and if you gave them what you had they'd generally leave you alone. Your choice would likely affect the outcome, but murder is not a likely outcome. Besides there's already so many other sandbox games out there where everyone is busy killing everyone else, if TLD implemented this it would be offering nothing new.

There's a lot of knowledge and assistance that other people could offer to help you with, your hardest decision realistically would be you trying your best to save a dying person, by looking after them and at the same time rationing supplies to make sure you yourself stay alive.

I don't think it would be an achievement to kill everyone, it would be the most tragic failure of humanity. The game would then be a psychopathic killer simulator if you were to kill the last few survivors. A survival simulator is about preserving life, not taking it. Keeping alive, keeping others alive is the makings of a survival simulator.

Amen brother, or sister you truly described TLD perfectly I would play survival sim as you describe it every day over other FPS and the other type of violence games.

[romerabr]

27 minutes ago, vancopower said:

Amen brother, or sister you truly described TLD perfectly I would play survival sim as you describe it every day over other FPS and the other type of violence games.

Agree to both of you. I really like TLD, before that I used to play State of Decay, mostly for the survival part, not the zombies. I'd love to see the TLD engine, art and concept used in other environments, like a desert, island, etc.

[Axe]

Well to be honest death is so common in gaming nowadays that it's lost any sort of meaning, so now games are adding stats to see how many kills you can get, and provide creative methods for killing, but its just a derivative of a now very old gaming model. It's like gaming company's expect gamer's to just be these machines who kill and where killing has no meaning attached to it at all, its as insignificant as if you were making a sandwich.

Killing another person even in self-defense is a truly traumatizing experience, it's something that will haunt you for the rest of your life, every time you look in the mirror, will you see yourself or a killer? You'll question yourself over and over if you could have said something, or done something different then it might not have happened. I"m hoping TLD doesn't follow the clichéd and uninspiring scenario of kill after kill .

The only time I'm hoping to have to kill someone in TLD would be a mercy killing. For example if a tree fell on fellow survivor and their body was broken underneath it, they scream and tell you that its hurts so much! They beg that you don't leave them to die like that, they're scared, they cry, they git their teeth and groan from the pain. They ask you to end their life and assure you it's ok, and that its just like shooting a deer, just like they showed you before.... You slowly pick up the rifle, try and aim but then say you can't do it... They tell you that you can, that you must, please! You say you're sorry, you're sorry, you aim your rifle, they tell you its ok, please its ok.... Bang. You shoot them.... even though they dead, you still repeat, sorry, so sorry...

Now that death has meaning, it isn't just shooting and gaining a knife and some lantern oil, the death has meaning behind it because it's a story, it had emotion and it's something you think about and feel when you experience it. Death should be one of the most ultimate scenes to feature in any movie/game/art since it is so final, and to trivialize it is an insult to every human being who has ever died.

[vancopower]

10 hours ago, Axe said:

Well to be honest death is so common in gaming nowadays that it's lost any sort of meaning, so now games are adding stats to see how many kills you can get, and provide creative methods for killing, but its just a derivative of a now very old gaming model. It's like gaming company's expect gamer's to just be these machines who kill and where killing has no meaning attached to it at all, its as insignificant as if you were making a sandwich.

Killing another person even in self-defense is a truly traumatizing experience, it's something that will haunt you for the rest of your life, every time you look in the mirror, will you see yourself or a killer? You'll question yourself over and over if you could have said something, or done something different then it might not have happened. I"m hoping TLD doesn't follow the clichéd and uninspiring scenario of kill after kill .

The only time I'm hoping to have to kill someone in TLD would be a mercy killing. For example if a tree fell on fellow survivor and their body was broken underneath it, they scream and tell you that its hurts so much! They beg that you don't leave them to die like that, they're scared, they cry, they git their teeth and groan from the pain. They ask you to end their life and assure you it's ok, and that its just like shooting a deer, just like they showed you before.... You slowly pick up the rifle, try and aim but then say you can't do it... They tell you that you can, that you must, please! You say you're sorry, you're sorry, you aim your rifle, they tell you its ok, please its ok.... Bang. You shoot them.... even though they dead, you still repeat, sorry, so sorry...

Now that death has meaning, it isn't just shooting and gaining a knife and some lantern oil, the death has meaning behind it because it's a story, it had emotion and it's something you think about and feel when you experience it. Death should be one of the most ultimate scenes to feature in any movie/game/art since it is so final, and to trivialize it is an insult to every human being who has ever died.

I really hope that they'll hire you to make the story you sure know how to paint a scene. I've started a story way up at this topic, about three people that should be like permanent NPC's in the game maybe you can use your talent to develop it further