While we're trying to keep the Meet the Devs feature up to speed, here are a few more interesting quotes (also thanks to Briosafreak):<blockquote>Which matters more to you, a game that sells a lot and makes a lot of money or a game that’s great and will be loved, maybe even worshipped by its fans?
(Carter) This is a false dichotomy. There’s infinite space for success between those two extremes. That said, if I had to choose between making a game that everyone loves but causes financial ruin to myself and my coworkers, and one that makes us rich, you better believe I’d rather eat I don’t believe success is anathema to quality, though. Far from it.
Anyway, I hope someone’ll answer my question. I already asked twice, and I think it’s a really interesting one because it’d show/say a lot about how the devs think/feel about dialog…
(Carter) What can change the nature of a man? I played Torment and thought it was fantastic. I don’t think the amount of dialog has much to do with a game reaching a mass audience. I think to reach people, all aspects of gameplay have to have something compelling about them. Also, I’ll set up my own false dichotomy and say I’d rather have better words than simply more words
On Oblivion:
(Zeleny) Personally, I thought Oblivion was a big advance in RPGs of its day. It provides freedom of direction and play-style that hadn’t been seen in any RPG since the heydays of Fallout, System Shock, and other classics in the field. Its expansive size ensured that players who enjoyed it could lose themselves in it for days, weeks, and months and still discover new things. And the inclusion of the construction set meant that players were free to easily change elements of the game they didn’t like, and to create new experiences for others.
But it’s important to point out is that nobody here thinks it’s perfect. Like any finicky creative types, we’re painfully aware of the flaws in the final piece. And, like any creative types, knowing about those flaws means we can focus on overcoming them in our next piece. That’s one of the reasons I’m always working on writing more dialogue for characters and adding options to quests.
This awareness, coupled with more resources to work with – thanks to the commercial success of Oblivion – means we’re set to make our next work better than our previous. And that’s always the goal of any creator, isn’t it?
Caps or Gold Coins? (Opinion)
(Zeleny) When I got the collector's edition of Oblivion, it came with a replica golden septim coin, like in the game. It's a nice little keepsake, and it's got a substantial feel to it. But after playing a character up to level 30-something, I realized he was running around carrying nearly twenty thousand of those coins. That's gotta take a lot of strength, especially with all of the jumping I was doing.
So, I think I'd prefer a bottle-cap based currency. They're lighter, more colorful, and as they say, "Drink a Nuka Cola - get a free cap!"
I have to ask though, who makes the most important decisions about the game? Is it the lead Designer or management (suits)? Do you guys come to such decisions together, or is it one man that calls the biggest shots? Maybe DoctorSpooky can enlighten that a little, if its not to nosy...
(Caponi) I'm obviously not going to go into very much detail here, but the talented people in our management and administration have absolutely no hand in the development of the games here. They recognize that it is our job to make games and their jobs are to sell them, manage the money, save us from the piles of paperwork that come with running a business, and make sure our lights stay on. They are very good businesspeople. There has never been and likely never will be someone from administration down here telling us to change art, change a system design, or anything like that.
So, don't worry, Fallout is safely hidden and protected from evil men and sinister women in suits.
if there was one thing you absolutely hated about the original Fallouts, what is it and why?
(Gonzalez) Whenever I start an RPG, I always make a version of myself. Who doesn't want to live vicarously in a game world? Anywho, the very first time I played Fallout, this meant low Strength and Endurance, high Intellect, tag Science. Annnnd I died horrendously over and over at the hands of Radscorpions and got really frustrated and didn't pick up the game for a day or two. Then I sucked it up, tried again, realized that the time game abounded with non-combat alternatives, and lived happily ever after.
On fan input (thanks starwars)
(Gonzalez) While there are a number of things already set in stone about the game, there are also a number of things that aren't, that is to say, things above the "Easter Egg" level. The devs do read these forums ( not all of us, but a goodly number ) and we do discuss a number of good ideas brought up right here. Some we've already implemented, some we bat around and put on the "Good Idea" pile, and some we disagree with. So, to bluntly answer your question here, yes, we are listening, your ideas are heard and talked about "behind the scenes".
That being said, the best way to get our attention and get us talking amongst ourselves to write out a reasoned post. Flames and rants, while fun to write ( and read, on occasion ), are usually low on good content and thus ignored. We also, obviously, can't say on the forums, "Yes, this is a good idea, and we'll definitely think about putting it in the game" since 1) we all have very powerful pieces of paper with our names on them in triplicate that can and will destroy us and everyone we love if we leak info, and 2) we're pretty busy developing the game, so we can't stop to reply to every thread that catches our eye. So there. To the people who hold out hope, keep writing! To those who thought we've been ignoring you, sorry to disappoint? </blockquote>Link: Meet the Devs
(Carter) This is a false dichotomy. There’s infinite space for success between those two extremes. That said, if I had to choose between making a game that everyone loves but causes financial ruin to myself and my coworkers, and one that makes us rich, you better believe I’d rather eat I don’t believe success is anathema to quality, though. Far from it.
Anyway, I hope someone’ll answer my question. I already asked twice, and I think it’s a really interesting one because it’d show/say a lot about how the devs think/feel about dialog…
(Carter) What can change the nature of a man? I played Torment and thought it was fantastic. I don’t think the amount of dialog has much to do with a game reaching a mass audience. I think to reach people, all aspects of gameplay have to have something compelling about them. Also, I’ll set up my own false dichotomy and say I’d rather have better words than simply more words
On Oblivion:
(Zeleny) Personally, I thought Oblivion was a big advance in RPGs of its day. It provides freedom of direction and play-style that hadn’t been seen in any RPG since the heydays of Fallout, System Shock, and other classics in the field. Its expansive size ensured that players who enjoyed it could lose themselves in it for days, weeks, and months and still discover new things. And the inclusion of the construction set meant that players were free to easily change elements of the game they didn’t like, and to create new experiences for others.
But it’s important to point out is that nobody here thinks it’s perfect. Like any finicky creative types, we’re painfully aware of the flaws in the final piece. And, like any creative types, knowing about those flaws means we can focus on overcoming them in our next piece. That’s one of the reasons I’m always working on writing more dialogue for characters and adding options to quests.
This awareness, coupled with more resources to work with – thanks to the commercial success of Oblivion – means we’re set to make our next work better than our previous. And that’s always the goal of any creator, isn’t it?
Caps or Gold Coins? (Opinion)
(Zeleny) When I got the collector's edition of Oblivion, it came with a replica golden septim coin, like in the game. It's a nice little keepsake, and it's got a substantial feel to it. But after playing a character up to level 30-something, I realized he was running around carrying nearly twenty thousand of those coins. That's gotta take a lot of strength, especially with all of the jumping I was doing.
So, I think I'd prefer a bottle-cap based currency. They're lighter, more colorful, and as they say, "Drink a Nuka Cola - get a free cap!"
I have to ask though, who makes the most important decisions about the game? Is it the lead Designer or management (suits)? Do you guys come to such decisions together, or is it one man that calls the biggest shots? Maybe DoctorSpooky can enlighten that a little, if its not to nosy...
(Caponi) I'm obviously not going to go into very much detail here, but the talented people in our management and administration have absolutely no hand in the development of the games here. They recognize that it is our job to make games and their jobs are to sell them, manage the money, save us from the piles of paperwork that come with running a business, and make sure our lights stay on. They are very good businesspeople. There has never been and likely never will be someone from administration down here telling us to change art, change a system design, or anything like that.
So, don't worry, Fallout is safely hidden and protected from evil men and sinister women in suits.
if there was one thing you absolutely hated about the original Fallouts, what is it and why?
(Gonzalez) Whenever I start an RPG, I always make a version of myself. Who doesn't want to live vicarously in a game world? Anywho, the very first time I played Fallout, this meant low Strength and Endurance, high Intellect, tag Science. Annnnd I died horrendously over and over at the hands of Radscorpions and got really frustrated and didn't pick up the game for a day or two. Then I sucked it up, tried again, realized that the time game abounded with non-combat alternatives, and lived happily ever after.
On fan input (thanks starwars)
(Gonzalez) While there are a number of things already set in stone about the game, there are also a number of things that aren't, that is to say, things above the "Easter Egg" level. The devs do read these forums ( not all of us, but a goodly number ) and we do discuss a number of good ideas brought up right here. Some we've already implemented, some we bat around and put on the "Good Idea" pile, and some we disagree with. So, to bluntly answer your question here, yes, we are listening, your ideas are heard and talked about "behind the scenes".
That being said, the best way to get our attention and get us talking amongst ourselves to write out a reasoned post. Flames and rants, while fun to write ( and read, on occasion ), are usually low on good content and thus ignored. We also, obviously, can't say on the forums, "Yes, this is a good idea, and we'll definitely think about putting it in the game" since 1) we all have very powerful pieces of paper with our names on them in triplicate that can and will destroy us and everyone we love if we leak info, and 2) we're pretty busy developing the game, so we can't stop to reply to every thread that catches our eye. So there. To the people who hold out hope, keep writing! To those who thought we've been ignoring you, sorry to disappoint? </blockquote>Link: Meet the Devs
