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Anyone who has played Skyrim has made the same mistake, killing the infamous Riverwood chicken while not knowing how severe a reaction they'd then face from NPCs – but Bethesda Game Studios developers apparently didn't plan the outcome themselves.
Bethesda'a Matt Carofano, who worked as lead artist on Skyrim, reveals as much in a new interview with Nintendo Life. "We made NPCs overreact to what you did," he admits. "Everyone attacks the chicken in Riverwood, which is the very first town you come to, and then you're wanted. There's no getting around it." According to Carofano, it's a defining memory of the RPG for its devs – one they didn't intentionally plan to have.
"We talk about that moment a lot, because it's fun and funny, but it just presented itself because we made it a crime to attack the chicken, and the chicken is in the same faction as the town, so the people of the town will defend the chicken," explains Carofano. "It was initially unintentional and became a bit funny, but it might be a bit punitive." This prompted the team to consider the game's risk-reward balance – it is an open-world experience, after all.
"We discussed how much we wanted to let you get away with playing around in the world without getting into too much trouble, and how quickly we can reset things," as Carofano describes. Skyrim's immersive, reactive world is part of what makes the RPG so special to him, too. "For me, it's the surprise of going somewhere, the systems of the game overlapping, and something unexpected happening."
As he concludes, "Whether it's a giant is hurting something, then monsters attack, and then a dragon shows up, and you're like, 'This is not what we planned for,' but it turns out to be really fun." I'd agree myself, as a longtime series stan and shameless hopeful that The Elder Scrolls 6 will feature a world that's just as lively – although part of me does question whether Riverwood's NPCs had to go that hard over a chicken.
If they didn't, though, the community wouldn't have one of its greatest memes – and with a good 14 years under its belt now, it's safe to say it's not going anywhere, ever. So, remember folks… if you see a chicken in Skyrim, keep walking.
