Next Gen has an interview up with its own #24 hottest developer of 2008, Emil Pagliarulo:<blockquote>Not everyone’s happy, though. Particularly the hardcore Fallout fans who lament the “consolization” of a franchise that originated on PC. They expect Bethesda to “dumb down” the game for the masses on multiple levels, whether it be through gameplay or even story.
Writing for a franchise that has such an outspoken core fanbase puts writers in a precarious position: how much do you listen to that core fanbase, and how much do you ignore them?
“…That’s always the toughest question,” says Pagliarulo. “You listen to the fans and respect their ideas, but once you start designing a game that they want to make specifically, then you can get yourself into trouble. One of the things that I love about Bethesda, and that we all love about working here, is we’re all pretty hardcore gamers and we know what we want, we know what’s fun, we know what we like and so we design for each other. We’re our own best audience.
“So with Fallout in particular, we’re comfortable that the game is coming out this year—we can finally say that. The game is coming out this year, fall 2008. Knowing where we are in the project and all the work that is finished and all the work we still have to do, I think we’re all so wrapped up in the game that we’re creating, that there just comes a point where you just can’t worry what the hardcore fanbase is going to scream at you about on the forums, you know? You have to make the game that you’re making and know that it’s a good one and continue with that.”
(...)
“[Story] definitely does matter,” Pagliarulo says emphatically. “Look at some of the writing in Mass Effect or BioShock—games that are recognized as being story-heavy and having good stories. Look at Overlord, with that evil comedic wit.
“…It sometimes seems like a good idea to attract a big name writer or an established writer in either the comic book field or some other medium [to work on your game], but the fact is, writing for a videogame is a very specific beast. You have to understand how to compliment the gameplay with your fiction, and the best writer in the world, if he doesn’t understand videogames, can’t make that happen.
“So I think with games like BioShock, we can have really great writing and great gameplay to compliment each other. I think hopefully we’ll be seeing more of that as people understand the medium more and understand how to create for it. I think that’s the only way the writing is really going to get to a level it needs to be at.”</blockquote>Link: Fallout 3's Lead Unlocks Vault 101 on Next Generation.
Thanks Jesterka, Briosafreak and my RSS news feed.
Writing for a franchise that has such an outspoken core fanbase puts writers in a precarious position: how much do you listen to that core fanbase, and how much do you ignore them?
“…That’s always the toughest question,” says Pagliarulo. “You listen to the fans and respect their ideas, but once you start designing a game that they want to make specifically, then you can get yourself into trouble. One of the things that I love about Bethesda, and that we all love about working here, is we’re all pretty hardcore gamers and we know what we want, we know what’s fun, we know what we like and so we design for each other. We’re our own best audience.
“So with Fallout in particular, we’re comfortable that the game is coming out this year—we can finally say that. The game is coming out this year, fall 2008. Knowing where we are in the project and all the work that is finished and all the work we still have to do, I think we’re all so wrapped up in the game that we’re creating, that there just comes a point where you just can’t worry what the hardcore fanbase is going to scream at you about on the forums, you know? You have to make the game that you’re making and know that it’s a good one and continue with that.”
(...)
“[Story] definitely does matter,” Pagliarulo says emphatically. “Look at some of the writing in Mass Effect or BioShock—games that are recognized as being story-heavy and having good stories. Look at Overlord, with that evil comedic wit.
“…It sometimes seems like a good idea to attract a big name writer or an established writer in either the comic book field or some other medium [to work on your game], but the fact is, writing for a videogame is a very specific beast. You have to understand how to compliment the gameplay with your fiction, and the best writer in the world, if he doesn’t understand videogames, can’t make that happen.
“So I think with games like BioShock, we can have really great writing and great gameplay to compliment each other. I think hopefully we’ll be seeing more of that as people understand the medium more and understand how to create for it. I think that’s the only way the writing is really going to get to a level it needs to be at.”</blockquote>Link: Fallout 3's Lead Unlocks Vault 101 on Next Generation.
Thanks Jesterka, Briosafreak and my RSS news feed.
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no...simply...why say somthing ?!
