In a recent interview with Edge Magazine, Skyrim Director Todd Howard shared some interesting information on the games behaviour tracking. When asked whether each in-game faction is capable of tracking your long-term actions in the game, Howard told the magazine that:

“We track how ever person and faction feels about you, and their own limit for how many illegal things they will do. You can get followers and command them, and they may like you enough that no matter who’s attacking you they will join in, even if it’s the guards.”

Howard then puts much of this ability to become a celebrity or outcast with NPC’s is put down to the games story manager.

“The story manager is looking at everything you do and then making things happen. So if you set a chicken on fire, or you drop an item, or pickpocket somebody or if you kill a dragon in town and absorb its soul, how people react all goes through the story manager”

This is all pretty exciting as it promises an extremely varied play experience for everyone. Perhaps more interesting however is the way Skyrim’s level of detail goes as far as letting you set a chicken on fire! Even if it does have consequences..

You can get more Skyrim tidbits in the latest issue of Edge magazine, available online and at newsagents now!