Npc Roadblocks and Broken Bridges

[Yougotsomechocolate]

When an Npc just happens to be standing there or a bridge conveniently breaks when the heros arrive.
What do you think about them, and how do/would you implement them in the game that a player would not find annoying
and justify it in story.

 

[shockra]

One possibility that can work is if a major force is running the area (a king, a military unit, etc), they may have a checkpoint that ensures that people can't simply pass at will. They'd need some kind of permission to go through. They may also shut down an area if something very dangerous was seen (a vicious monster, bandits, natural disaster, etc.)

A good approach is to consider the story in an area (Why are the heroes here? What's happening here now?) From there, find a rational reason for a roadblock. For instance, if a nearby volcano is about to erupt, the rumblings beforehand may have caused a rockslide that blocks the path.

 

[Kes]

There is already a thread on blatant roadblocks in Game Mechanics Design with a wide range of opinions. I suggest you read that one.

 

[Yougotsomechocolate]

@Kes Oh, I didn't see that one.

 

[LycanDiva]

One of my favorite instances of a "broken bridge" is in Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (and, yeah, the PS1 Lunar games are my favorite RPG's of all time). There comes a point in the story when the party has to cross a rickety old bridge in this one town to move forward. However, the bridge breaks RIGHT when they're crossing it and it dumps them all into the water! It's absolutely hilarious and it's one of my favorite parts in the whole game (then again, it's a delightful, visually beautiful [for late 90's sprites with 2D anime cutscenes], wonderfully localized game...so almost every part is my favorite part).