Girl from G4 gets demo time, immediately tries to break the game for our curiousity. 
 

That chicken stood absolutely no chance. I then saw a little boy in the town and took my axe to him as well. The dev told me that you aren't allowed to kill children in Skyrim, but that they would alert the townspeople that I'm a maniac, which is exactly what he did. I ran around the town killing dogs and cows before the townspeople finally came after me with pitchforks and axes of their own. But let's be serious, they're no match for a Dragonborn.

With my fire spells in my left hand and my trusty axe in my right I made quick work of the two townsfolk who tried to teach me a lesson. It's what happened next that basically had me in stitches. After killing the townspeople, I looted their bodies, and when you loot people in Skyrim, you actually take all of their belongings, clothes included. I took everything from these two, including all of their clothes, trinkets, and weapons, and then noticed that I had killed them by the same stream I had been wading my way through earlier. The developer told me that if I wanted to drag them in to the water I could, so you can guess what happened next.

During the demo, I was still only a level one character, and the temple I was in was a bit too high level for me so I was dying constantly. There are checkpoints for when you die, but not after every turn so I found myself having to go back through the same parts of the temple a few times before finally getting to new checkpoints. The developer assured me this was because I was too low level for this area, not because there were other, more strategic ways to get through. He was probably just being nice.

Disabling invulnerability for children is the first mod I will download. I'm [probably] not going to go on a child killing spree; I just want to be able to dispatch witnesses if I need to and invulnerable witnesses are bullshit.

Who the fuck wants to kill kids!? Jesus, that'd be a fucked up MOD, I doubt kids will be able to report you, and if they do it's your dumb ass fault for killing someone and getting caught.

Who the fuck wants to kill kids!? Jesus, that'd be a fucked up MOD, I doubt kids will be able to report you, and if they do it's your dumb ass fault for killing someone and getting caught.

The comments already trump the OP. Extra points lost for using *cringe* the word "lulz"

I always feel a little affronted that you can't kill kids in games like Fallout and Elder Scrolls. Not because I want to, but because I should be able to. It frustrates me when game developers let the potential of a Fox News report affect the immersion of their game.

If kids can die in movies, they should be able to die in games, and I think people need to get over that fact.

All I know is, mudcrabs better be in Skyrim, nothing like being hit 20 times and not being able to see what's hitting you only to find out you're getting owned by a mudcrab in dark grass.

Allowing child killing in your game bumps your ESRB rating from 'Mature' to 'WE DUN LIKE YER KIND 'ROUND HERR'

Killing kids in games is kinda weird subject. The whole idea can be morally disgusting, but at the same time it will break the immersion if you're not able to. Imagine the scenarion where you suddenly decide to make the game a wasteland by slaying every npc avaivable, and despite your greatest efferts you'll still have a bunch of cheery kids running around. It's weird.

Disabling invulnerability for children is the first mod I will download. I'm [probably] not going to go on a child killing spree; I just want to be able to dispatch witnesses if I need to and invulnerable witnesses are bullshit.

All I know is, mudcrabs better be in Skyrim, nothing like being hit 20 times and not being able to see what's hitting you only to find out you're getting owned by a mudcrab in dark grass.

I could care less about killing kids. The fact that townspeople will come at you with pitchforks is good enough for me :D

Yay, if it moves it dies! 
 
Angry townsfolk with pitchforks? Come at me!

If you install a child-killing mod, Hilary Clinton will show up at your house and steal your pets.

@MrKlorox said:

The comments already trump the OP. Extra points lost for using *cringe* the word "lulz"

I lost all excitement about the OP's first statement in the topic when I saw lulz.

@bioblood22 said:

Who the fuck wants to kill kids!? Jesus, that'd be a fucked up MOD, I doubt kids will be able to report you, and if they do it's your dumb ass fault for killing someone and getting caught.

Mercilessly killing a simulated child in a game really isn't any worse, psychologically speaking, than mercilessly killing a simulated adult in one.  It just takes (A) a greater commitment to what kind of person you want your character to be, or (B) little to no care whatsoever about who you kill in video games.  Also, I personally have no doubt children will be treated no differently from adults in terms of how the AI reacts when you commit offenses against them, same as in Fallout 3 (which, it's worth noting, has mods that make children killable).

Allowing child killing in your game bumps your ESRB rating from 'Mature' to 'WE DUN LIKE YER KIND 'ROUND HERR'

To the original point...

I still have doubts, of course, but I'm very hopeful about the idea that the world actually has progression. This bodes well.

@bioblood22: Jeez, calm down. Kids are no more or less people than adults. The only difference you can really make is between a helpless indicidual and an individual who can protect his or herself. But when your talking about blasting fire at people, chances are, no matter what innocent you go up against, they will be pretty helpless. I've always hated that idea that killing children is a million times worse than any other person. Shouldn't it just stop at "yo don't kill humans unless you absolutely have to to protect yourself or others"? I don't think it should be in the game by default, because then the game would be ripped apart, but a Mod can't be put on bethesda, so I don't see the problem. Personally, I'd have such a mod for the same rason I want there to be no invulnerable quest folk, I want to have to be careful not to kill people, including children if I desire, or kill them, if I feel the need or desire. I doubt I ever will, but it's A) just a game and B) mostly for immersion, not acting out child murdering fantasies.

@Adamsons said:

@indus said:

Allowing child killing in your game bumps your ESRB rating from 'Mature' to 'WE DUN LIKE YER KIND 'ROUND HERR'

Oh man, water everywhere.

^.^

@MrKlorox said:

The comments already trump the OP. Extra points lost for using *cringe* the word "lulz"

I lost all excitement about the OP's first statement in the topic when I saw lulz.

That's cool, but can I chop down a tree?

I'm glad civilians will be no match for the character even at a low level.

I hate when kids can't die, especially in Bethesda games. They just don't understand that, if you write a character to be a massive cunthole (Princess, anyone?), you're gonna want to murder that asshole. Either let us kill everyone, or don't give us a reason to want to kill the youngins.

Wait a minute, are there even kids in the game?  There weren't any in Oblivion.  I know there were in Fallout 3, so I'm just wondering which way Bethesda will go in Skyrim.  
 
Anyway, I read a pretty interesting demo experience over on Joystiq.  There's a fun tale about the writer running into a camp of giants accidentally and getting whomped with one blow from their attack.  He was definitely too low for the zone.

I always feel a little affronted that you can't kill kids in games like Fallout and Elder Scrolls.

The ability to wander into a zone or situation you shouldn't be wandering into is way up there on my list of "Things All RPGs Should Have". 

@Impossibilium said:

@Tebbit said:

I always feel a little affronted that you can't kill kids in games like Fallout and Elder Scrolls.

You could kill kids in Fallout 1 and Fallout 2. Nothing like going batshit crazy when a town turns against you and then murdering every man, woman, child and dog with a minigun. That's role-playing a cold-blooded killer.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I narrow my answer to: all Bethesda games.

Wait, so you can't loot dead guys without taking everything they have on them? Does this mean encumbrance will be gone?

@TheSeductiveMoosesaid:

Wait, so you can't loot dead guys without taking everything they have on them? Does this mean encumbrance will be gone?

This needs to be answered. Not being able to choose what I want to loot from a body is GAME KILLING. It puts more emphasis on the worst part of any game, inventory management. If this is true, then I have to go into my inventory and drop items manually every time I loot. There is no way this can be true, Todd Howard isn't a masochist (as far as I know).

Wait, so you can't loot dead guys without taking everything they have on them? Does this mean encumbrance will be gone?

@TheSeductiveMoose said:

Wait, so you can't loot dead guys without taking everything they have on them? Does this mean encumbrance will be gone?

Even if the encumbrance is gone I don't want loot I have no use of cluttering up my inventory every time I loot someone.

weird thread

What if a kid starts stabbing you? Do kids just not stab you in this game?

@gike987 said:

@TheSeductiveMoose said:

Wait, so you can't loot dead guys without taking everything they have on them? Does this mean encumbrance will be gone?

Even if the encumbrance is gone I don't want loot I have no use of cluttering up my inventory every time I loot someone.

That's a deal breaker for me though. I love sprucing my house up with random kitchenware I've found when exploring.

"After killing the townspeople, I looted their bodies... " 
  
Sold. 

@gike987 said:

@TheSeductiveMoose said:

Wait, so you can't loot dead guys without taking everything they have on them? Does this mean encumbrance will be gone?

Even if the encumbrance is gone I don't want loot I have no use of cluttering up my inventory every time I loot someone.

That's a deal breaker for me though. I love sprucing my house up with random kitchenware I've found when exploring.

@TheSeductiveMoose said:

@gike987 said:

@TheSeductiveMoose said:

Wait, so you can't loot dead guys without taking everything they have on them? Does this mean encumbrance will be gone?

Even if the encumbrance is gone I don't want loot I have no use of cluttering up my inventory every time I loot someone.

That's a deal breaker for me though. I love sprucing my house up with random kitchenware I've found when exploring.

I never meant they should remove the useless items. I meant that auto-looting is bad because I don't want to have to go through my inventory and drop stuff I don't want every time I loot someone.

I always feel a little affronted that you can't kill kids in games like Fallout and Elder Scrolls. Not because I want to, but because I should be able to. It frustrates me when game developers let the potential of a Fox News report affect the immersion of their game.

If kids can die in movies, they should be able to die in games, and I think people need to get over that fact.

@TheSeductiveMoose said:

@gike987 said:

@TheSeductiveMoose said:

Wait, so you can't loot dead guys without taking everything they have on them? Does this mean encumbrance will be gone?

Even if the encumbrance is gone I don't want loot I have no use of cluttering up my inventory every time I loot someone.

That's a deal breaker for me though. I love sprucing my house up with random kitchenware I've found when exploring.

I never meant they should remove the useless items. I meant that auto-looting is bad because I don't want to have to go through my inventory and drop stuff I don't want every time I loot someone.

Didn't they say that they were going for a Fallout 3 approach where you visited an area and the enemies/loot were scaled to your current level and they'll stay that way throughout the game?

Didn't they say that they were going for a Fallout 3 approach where you visited an area and the enemies/loot were scaled to your current level and they'll stay that way throughout the game?

@eroticfishcake said:

Didn't they say that they were going for a Fallout 3 approach where you visited an area and the enemies/loot were scaled to your current level and they'll stay that way throughout the game?

Correct. But remember that in Fallout 3, you can wander over to the far west of the map at level 1 and be fed to a Deathclaw's babby by his mother. So the level-scaling in Skyrim is absolutely minimal. Each dungeon has mostly static enemies (you're not going to find bunnies at lvl 1 and all dragons at lvl 30) -- to the extent that those do change, which will be very little, they will "lock in" for the rest of the game. Meaning, you can get pwned, run away to lick your wounds, then come back after leveling up and be the pwn3r.

@Storms said:

@bioblood22: I see where Mord is coming from. Less realism is less immersion and invincible children are not realistic. But I don't expect Bethesda to include it in their vanilla game and I actually hope that litigious pressure is not the only reason for that decision -- but rather a result of the image they want to project as a company, the reputation they want to have (as not being the guys who make the child-killing game).

It's a game set in fantasy world with fantasy races and infinite fucking dragons. Realism isn't the soup du jour.