What is this? Be Brief.

Just a Face In The Crowd

NPC screen

Simply put, this is an attempt to see if I can survive inside the PC game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion if I run my character like any old random NPC (Non-Player Character). You know, those nondescript, friendly-enough but not terribly important characters you brush by on your way to sell the hundreds of pounds of loot from your latest fortress raid? That’ll be me.

Along the way, I hope to answer some questions:

Does the economic system in Oblivion really work? Can I find a job, and earn enough money to live comfortably? Can I can scrape together enough to move to the big city, maybe even own a small hovel of my own?

Do the other NPCs really lead interesting, multi-faceted lives, or are they just mindless robots following a predetermined path? Will I fit in with them either way?

Is it even possible for a player to live as an NPC? How hard is it to avoid getting sucked into the enormous, sprawling adventure the game has planned for me? Will trouble find me even if I’m not looking for it?

Nondrick

With the help of the idiot pictured above, I’ll find out. No quest to light the Dragonfires, no mansions crammed full of treasure, no heroic deeds of legendary proportions. Just an ordinary guy trying to scratch out a living and blend in with the crowd.

Comments

  1. Spirited Treasure says:

    I’m really enjoying Nondrick .. Though if I could sneak and make his face dashing and handsome I would =g= Thank you for sharing it and I hope to read more =s=

    Spirit

  2. Daniel The Great... I AM KING....NO....LORD OF OBLIVION says:

    Are there any realy things stopping you from surviveing in oblivion if you dont battle, you dont have to eat sleep of do anything, you could just stand there for ever.

    what is the point of this sure you can make a living from foraging and selling items, but what are you going to buy with the gold you get from this, new shiny armor and weapons for you not to fight with.

    dont get me wrong i think its funny that some one is actualy playing oblivion but not doing anything, you find useless items that sell for nout, sell them and buy stuff you cant use, even if your were to make potions as an alc you could sell them but for what, you would just be selling them to another NPC.

    i dont see any gain from playing like this apart from a couple of hours fun.

    and surely in order to reach the world map of oblivion you had to kill and complete the quests in the prison sewer, so already there the boundrys of this lifestyle / class have been broken.

  3. SovietRazor says:

    Daniel The Great said:

    “and surely in order to reach the world map of oblivion you had to kill and complete the quests in the prison sewer, so already there the boundrys of this lifestyle / class have been broken.”

    Nope, he used a mod.

  4. @daniel the great:

    It seems you didn’t read the mods section at all. He has mods on for a lot of stuff. One of the things is that he has to eat and sleep in order to keep his fatigue levels from falling. He also has mods that skip him past the sewers (as SovietRazor said.)

  5. Needs more Frohman.

  6. A Concerned Citizen says:

    anon….shame on you, concerned is over. if your looking for more chris comicy stuff head to 1fort.

  7. Huh, A Concerned Citizen

  8. G rules

  9. Lolwut.

  10. I rule!!!! whoooooooooooooooooooo fuck you joey

  11. Lol’d be my balls off when I saw his face.

  12. This post is great. thank you for sharing these helpful infos. I appreciate your work man

  13. hi,
    I am very glad to thank yousharing this post.I also appreciate your work here.nice blog

Trackbacks

  1. […] only know of two good ones: Arwen Evanstar’s Oblivion Journal, and Nondrick’s "Livin’ in Oblivion". In the link to Nondrick’s journal, the first few posts explain what he’s doing, and then moves on […]

  2. […] Livin’ In Oblivion :Chris Livingstone, Elder Scrolls, Nondrick, Oblivion No comments for this entry yet… […]

  3. […] “Livin’ in Oblivion” tries living as a face in the crowd as a Non Player Character, instead of taking the normal approach of adventure-seeker. […]

  4. […] Just a Face In The Crowd « Simply put, this is an attempt to see if I can survive inside the PC game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion if I run my character like any old random NPC (Non-Player Character). You know, those nondescript, friendly-enough but not terribly important characters you brush by on your way to sell the hundreds of pounds of loot from your latest fortress raid? That’ll be me. […]

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  6. […] due to the freedom of the player to make decisions? Save the world from the oblivion gates, or don’t. Shoot the krogran or talk him around. Take the road less travelled, or follow the crowd. […]

  7. […] of examples of this kind of gaming chronicled before (One particularly brilliant example – Living in Oblivion – was a huge inspiration to me in deciding to attempt this.) So, in keeping with their […]

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  9. […] due to the freedom of the player to make decisions? Save the world from the oblivion gates, or don’t. Shoot the krogran or talk him around. Take the road less travelled, or follow the crowd. […]