Castle Paradox

[RedMaverickZero]

Make the townspeople feel the problems the town is going through. So the story opens up and the player can understand what's going on to a higher level.
_________________
---------------Projects----
Mr.Triangle's Maze: 70%
Takoyaki Surprise: 70%

[JSH357]

I still think townspeople are kind of a waste of time to have. They can add to scenery, but that's just cosmetic. I think, based on what I've read, most of the game nihilists like townspeople while gamers just kinda plow through. Based on these conclusions... I guess I'll decide about NPCs later.

[Uncommon]

You could do it like Final Fantasy Tactics, where you select a place from a menu.
For npcs, you could just put in a pub, where the player could hear rumors.

[Dan the Man Entertainment]

If you want to make large towns, maybe you should put some sorta minigame in each town.

[Fenrir-Lunaris]

[Shadowiii]

[RedMaverickZero]

Well you've shown the bad, what are examples of things for the townspeople to say that won't be a drug out bore?
_________________
---------------Projects----
Mr.Triangle's Maze: 70%
Takoyaki Surprise: 70%

[Uncommon]

[Shadowiii]

O_o

^_^
_________________
But enough talk, have at you!

[MultiColoredWizard]

I did that too.

[Dan the Man Entertainment]

If you ask me, the textboxes that explain part of the story are only to be read the first and second times you play the game (if the game has no replay value, then you won't need to bother). The npcs in towns might have a structure similar to this:

NPC#1- message npc (chat)
NPC#2- message npc (chat)
NPC#3- item exchange for info NPC (message depends upon what part
of the game you're at)
NPC#4- get out of my town until you stand up to that monster and get defeated npc (that gives you an item after you stand up to or defeat a certain monster)
NPC#5- Sidequest npc (switch a key item to get a key item)
NPC#6- Guide npc

This is just an example of npcs that would be in a town. Don't repeat the same NPCs in every town because that's what makes the towns boring.
Also, like Fenrir Lunaris said, don't give everyone the same dialect. Switch
between them.

[pharo212]

because of how I play, I find and talk to all NPCs, because I play very carefully. LIke, before I even go into a dungeon, I lvl up at least 3 times for no real reason, but to be prepared. Also, I try and do all the side-quests.

[Clamps]

(OMG FIRST POST EVAR WHOO!)

*Ahem*

The important thing about towns isn't size, it's density. Every NPC, I think, should contribute something, anything, to the game. They should generally all do one or more of the following:

1.) Provide information on the game world (exposition). This is difficult to do naturally, and even professional games tend to be bad at it. Generally, an NPC should imply information, rather than outright stating it. If the forest next to the hero's village has a cave in it, there's no reason for an NPC to go "There's a cave in the forest!". The hero probably already knows that. "Where's Johnny? If he's playing in the forest cave again, I swear by the gods he's getting a beating", is generally smoother, and more interesting. (More on this later). NPCs can also conflict with each other, which I'd actually kind of encourage a little.

2.) Offer a sidequest of some kind. This is a pretty basic one, and doesn't really need much explanation. The Shadow Hearts series has a lot of sidequests that happen to unlock new skills for your party, but that can be a bit of a carrot on a stick to look around, rather than making the player actually WANT to.

3.) Say something that elicits a response. If an NPC exposits that the local elf king likes to eat puppies, perhaps the elven thief might have something to say about that. The Knights of the Old Republic games are really good at this. Besides being more interesting, the can also provide some character development for your party members. If the player controls his party, then certain characters will react to certain NPCs differently, which allows for more reply value, as the player does quests with different party members to see how they react.

4.) Just be interesting. Just because an NPC only has ten seconds of screentime, doesn't mean he has to be bland. Is there a teacher in that classroom? Have him hate his students! Does the evil city have a lot of homeless people? How many of them think they're covered in spiders? Bad guy taken over the city? Maybe some people didn't even notice, and are now confused. In less wacky examples, maybe someone LIKES the evil empire, because it brought the world Doomritos. Maybe there's an NPC who gives bad information. That kind of thing. NPCs can have strong personalities that would grate after 10 seconds, because they're only around for 10. Use it from time to time. Having NPCs have differing opinions also encourages the player to talk to them all, in order to learn the whole story.


ETA: 5.) Have them affect the Karma Meter, if the game has one, or relationship values, or things of that nature, depending on the player's choices. Again, Knights of the Old Republic.

That's off the top of my head, I'm sure there's more things creative people can do with their NPCs.

[Dorumagesu]

I examine everywhere in the town, but don't talk to NPC's, cuz they usually give you worthless trivia. Searching throughly can get you items or money, which most times aren't very good items, but you can sell them. The only time I talk to NPC's in an RPG is a) there's an event that requires you to talk to EVERY NPC in the town/castle, b) when I'm bored, or c) I need the "worthless trivia" because I'm stuck.
_________________
国の為　重き努を　果し得で　矢弾尽き果て　散るぞ悲しき (General Kuribayashi (1891-1945))

[Rya.Reisender]

I usually explore everything, but often I can't enjoy the game anymore because of all the useless dialogue in the towns.

I guess the better way to play is to skip the towns, unless you can get items.
_________________
Snippy:
"curt or sharp, esp. in a condescending way" (Oxford American Dictionary)
"fault-finding, snappish, sharp" (Concise Oxford Dictionary, UK)
1. short-tempered, snappish, 2. unduly brief or curt (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)