Breath of the Wild Weird question, but do you feel you respect npcs? Here’s my reasoning:

[Dogzilla]

If you chop them to see what happens, if you answer unhelpfully to their plights, if you don’t listen to what they say the first time round ... I’d say these all show you don’t feel respect for them as conscious agents.

Now, be clear, I’m not putting a value judgment here by saying players should or shouldn’t feel respect. I’m only pointing it out as a factor in the overall game experience, and one that is sometimes overlooked. I notice in other games that there can be a cost to not showing the kinds of respect I mentioned, and so you end up FEELING respectful as if they are conscious agents with their own boundaries for what they will or won’t stand for.

I wonder if, for example, botw’s story would feel more immersive if you were compelled to feel respect for them, such as if they closing down negotiations if you try to chop them, if they gossip about you to others when you’re deliberately unhelpful about their plights, and when they don’t repeat what they said when you don’t listen the first time.

 

[Farore's Chosen]

Most of the time I do. Sometimes I'm really petty, when the game allows me to be.

I got ticked off at the crazy flower lady's shrine quest, so after I solved the damn thing, I found a safe place where she couldn't get at me, and I set her little portion of the field ablaze with fire arrows out of pure spite. Her horrified face was quite satisfying.

For reasons I can't remember, I helped Groose's lackey deliver a love letter to his crush.

I have yet to blow up Sakon with an arrow.

 

[Vanessa28]

Oh man there are actually two people who really tick me off. Magda the annoying flower ***** who gets all psycho if you hurt her flowers. Although funny to see her in such a rage she's annoying as hell.

The other one is that miserable guy in Tarrey Town who sends you on a quest against the guardians. He challenges you and after you fullfill the quest and talk to him again he's getting all snobby and damn arrogant towards you. To bomb him is cool but none of the npc really suffer from it because if you talk to them again they don't act any different

 

[Hero-of-Time777]

I don't actually find the flower lady annoying, probably because it's easy to walk to the shrine without stepping on the flowers. The one I hate is some guy who scams Link at one of the stables; he wants you to buy bread or something? Some ugly young guy that is a shame you can't cut down. Other than that, most of the npcs are okay and add decent backstory to the game.

 

[If (Fi's brother)]

My favorite NPC is the Spinach guy where his horse is also named Spinach.

 

[Chevywolf30]

I don't actually find the flower lady annoying, probably because it's easy to walk to the shrine without stepping on the flowers. The one I hate is some guy who scams Link at one of the stables; he wants you to buy bread or something? Some ugly young guy that is a shame you can't cut down. Other than that, most of the npcs are okay and add decent backstory to the game.

You mean the one that gives you an extra stamina wheel for 10 rupees?

 

[Azure Sage]

I'm always nice to NPCs. It's always made me feel bad if I'm not. I feel a strike to the heart every time I accidentally drop a rock on a korok. There was that one time where I repeatedly attacked a Goron because I wanted to see if I could push him into a shrine (I couldn't), but when I'm not goofing off like that, I'm nice. Although it is pretty funny to stand on tables in front of people. They Don't Like That.

The only game its acceptable to harass NPCs in is Untitled Goose Game. Those townsfolk deserve it.

 

[Magolor04726]

I talk to everyone. (Except the suspicious travelers who are obviously Yiga.)

This actually goes for every game ever, but I always take time to talk to, trade with, or in general interact with NPC's. I do it in BotW (I've probably talked to every NPC there is), in Miitopia (I've talked to everyone between worlds so I can see what they all say), and even in Minecraft (I refuse to hurt even the Iron Golem that spawns in villages and that apparently makes me a strategically bad player?).

 

[Link&Midna]

Depends on the game and whether they'll actually take damage, I won't kill villagers in my survival worlds but I will happily shoot Malo with the slingshot just to see his head whip back LOL. I generally try and form solid relationships with NPCs in my head if that makes sense, but I usually attack them out of curiosity too.

 

[Chevywolf30]

I'm a friendly person in general so I like to talk to the NPCs. A big example is when I go to get ancient arrows, I speak to Robbie. It's cool because he says something different based on the weather/time of day. Unlike Az, I don't regret dropping rocks on Koroks. I do it on purpose.

 

[Shrimpdragon]

The seller in Laurelin village is amusing, if you stand on her wares she tells you off!
I try not to drop rocks on the Koroks.
I do find the NPCs annoying as most just repeat the same thing!

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

Unlike Az, I don't regret dropping rocks on Koroks. I do it on purpose.

they deserve it

 

[Uwu_Oocoo2]

I'm not really a fan of when games won't let you have a second chance with NPCs. I love discovery. I want to know every line of dialogue and funny facial expression. When I did the quest in Kakariko village where you had to find the orb, I purposely followed the wrong people to see what would happen. If I had done that and the game then wouldn't let me follow the right person, I would've been mega upset because I was missing information. Sometimes the jerk responses are the funnier ones, but I still want to read the nice responses too. When I did the love letter quest in SS I gave the letter to the hand in the toilet and felt absolutely horrified that I couldn't undo it. Sure I knew it was the jerk option, but I didn't know it couldn't be reversed! If only I had saved before doing that so I could have erased it... I felt so bad XD

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

Sure I knew it was the jerk option

...but it's not the jerk option

 

[Azure Sage]

...but it's not the jerk option

Yeah it is. If you give it to the toilet, Pipit and Karane don't get together and that sucks for them. The kid is gonna be depressed either way, at least this one has a happy ending. and doesnt leave the kid with a ghost stroking his hair every night like a creep