Codex Interview: Josh Sawyer

[InD_ImaginE]

As a veteran, how does game dev change over these years?

In spite of development tools, human and physical (e.g. money) resources being more readily available, many would say that new games created to emulate the better games of the 80s and 90s often failed to capture the magic. This is one of the factor that contributes to the declining crowdfunding as game dev funding platform. Why is that, in your opinion? And what can developers do in facing this challenge?

Right now Obsidian is considered an AA developers. Too small to do whatever you want kind of game, too big to have long development cycle with mediocre sales. This results is compromise of design where the game Obsidian create might not fully sit well with both the new, younger audience, and the older gamer. Moving forward where do you think Obsidian should go? How will Obsidian relationship with new publisher comes into the picture?

 

[Bester]

NWN2 was the last "all-out" attempt to provide players with a toolset that gave them complete freedom to create, [...] writing C code scripts

It uses the same syntax as C, but it's not C. It doesn't have pointers for example, and most things you'd expect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NWScript

 

[DavidBVal]

NWN2 was the last "all-out" attempt to provide players with a toolset that gave them complete freedom to create, [...] writing C code scripts

It uses the same syntax as C, but it's not C. It doesn't have pointers for example, and most things you'd expect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NWScript

well, I know, heh. It's just scripting, you can't define classes etc.

 

[deuxhero]

If you oppose censorship why did you tell someone you'd say "I'll talk to our producers about it" when asked to censor something?

Did your "talk" to producers involve screaming at people, as you have previously said you regularly did in the workplace when you did not get your way?

Do you regret your choices of encouraging further organized harassment of developers by giving it a "victory", with the ringleader publicly stating he will return "twice as deadly" and still plans to commit genocide, now that the consequences are clear?

 

[Viata]

You backed Serpent In the Staglands on kickstarter. Have you played it yet and if so, what is your impression of the game?

http://steamcommunity.com/id/baby_goat/games/?tab=all A little over 30 minutes, so not much of one.

He has more hours playing FO4 than NV. Whoever says they play those games for research should be hanged.

 

[Malpercio]

Hmmmm


1) If you could back in time, would you still pinch a second megatown for PoE kickstarter?

 

[Roguey]

He has more hours playing FO4 than NV. Whoever says they play those games for research should be hanged.

I was going to post Tim Cain's Steam profile (I'm pretty sure he also played Fallout 4 more than New Vegas) but he made his Steam profile private. A coward like Todd Howard.

 

[Neanderthal]

Your lot have Steam online all time? Never turn mine on, cept when i've bought someat.

 

[Excidium II]

Your lot have Steam online all time? Never turn mine on, cept when i've bought someat.

I use it to chat with some people

 

[Neanderthal]

How often do you need to tell somebody "fuck off i'm virtual mudering/wanking/both?"

 

[AwesomeButton]

One more question: "Which of these views do you feel closer to: that there should be as few encounters as possible which a party would overcome in the same way (dubbed "trash combat"), or that purposeful saturation of the gameplay with combat encounters, even if they lack originality and challenge, can be a welcome break for the player from dialogue, and balance out the game's general pacing?"

 

[DavidBVal]

One more question: "Which of these views do you feel closer to: that there should be as few encounters as possible which a party would overcome in the same way (dubbed "trash combat"), or that purposeful saturation of the gameplay with combat encounters, even if they lack originality and challenge, can be a welcome break for the player from dialogue, and balance out the game's general pacing?"

The question is good but he'll just say "somewhere in the middle", wouldn't he.

 

[Roguey]

Sawyer favors low amounts of trash combat, but there's a player expectation that RPGs have dozens of hours of content, so that time has to be filled up somehow.

 

[AwesomeButton]

The question is good but he'll just say "somewhere in the middle", wouldn't he.

I'm hoping the interviewer won't let him get away like that...

Sawyer favors low amounts of trash combat, but there's a player expectation that RPGs have dozens of hours of content, so that time has to be filled up somehow.

I've heard him express such views, and I know that in general, both in videogames design and in DMing, he considers unique challenges to be the better approach, but this runs kind of counter to what they did in PoE. Yes, they did downscale encounters, I think when they were releasing TWM1 (August 2015), so he would probably mention that, but I'm curious what lessons were learned in that regard from PoE that will be applied to PoE2. He will probably also mention the fact that ultimately it comes down to the amount of development time they've got versus the amount of encounters they have to design. TWM features the best designed combat in the game, IMO (and I strongly advise you to play the expansion), so for me that's where the bar is set right now, what would he say to that?

 

[HoboForEternity]

Your lot have Steam online all time? Never turn mine on, cept when i've bought someat.

I have steam installed in my work computer. >_>

 

[Fairfax]

What did you do in Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows?

 

[CptMace]

Looks more like Codex Trial : Josh Sawyer to the bar.

 

[Roguey]

What did you do in Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows?

Nothing in the finished game, all his work was thrown out.

 

[Lady_Error]

Looks more like Codex Trial : Josh Sawyer to the bar.

Public defender prosecutor: Roguey

 

[Sizzle]

Looks more like Codex Trial : Josh Sawyer to the bar.

Public defender prosecutor: Roguey

Roguey's more of a character witness.

Judge: "How well do you know the accused?"

Roguey: "Better than he knows himself."

 

[a mod]

Do you regret your choices of encouraging further organized harassment of developers by giving it a "victory", with the ringleader publicly stating he will return "twice as deadly" and still plans to commit genocide, now that the consequences are clear?

We'll see how the next realtime with elves kickstarter does, I guess. Though anyone who backed the first was already kinsa hopeless.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Please ask if they are planning to experiment with changes to the min/max zoom levels or the camera perspective, to move the view point higher instead of viewing the scene more from the side (i.e., more similar to the IE games). I'm pretty sure they aren't doing it but anyway.

 

[Delterius]

Yes, they did downscale encounters, I think when they were releasing TWM1 (August 2015), so he would probably mention that, but I'm curious what lessons were learned in that regard from PoE that will be applied to PoE2.

Was this a more general change to the game or something that was only applied to Od Nua? I might replay PoE to check how things have changed so I'd like to know.

 

[Infinitron]

Yes, they did downscale encounters, I think when they were releasing TWM1 (August 2015), so he would probably mention that, but I'm curious what lessons were learned in that regard from PoE that will be applied to PoE2.

Was this a more general change to the game or something that was only applied to Od Nua? I might replay PoE to check how things have changed so I'd like to know.

There are rumors that the changes were applied more widely than the patch notes said, but I don't think anybody has done a comprehensive comparison.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Yes, they did downscale encounters, I think when they were releasing TWM1 (August 2015), so he would probably mention that, but I'm curious what lessons were learned in that regard from PoE that will be applied to PoE2.

Was this a more general change to the game or something that was only applied to Od Nua? I might replay PoE to check how things have changed so I'd like to know.

Some interview with Josh was mentioning they reduced encounters in the woods around gilded vale as well, and in the vicinity of twin elms, but I can't really give you a quote.

I'm pretty sure about the twin elms encounters, because my gf who finished the game before me was surprised when I got to the same areas playing on PoTD and there were missing encounters which she had seen when playing on Normal.