Interview Josh Sawyer Pillars of Eternity Post-Release Interview at Gamasutra

[Infinitron]

If you'd followed it since October 2012, you would have seen how many of those 77,000 backers were romance-obsessed Bioware fans.

In all Kickstarter games, the active forum community becomes increasingly "grognardy" over time as the more casual backers step off to do other things.

But, we'll see how Obsidian's next Kickstarter does!

 

[tuluse]

I do believe that most backers' expectations were not met, for reasons I've mentioned - nothing in this game was 'gold' at the time of release, and the developers have admitted it for certain game aspects. If you don't like this, then seek further help for your butthurt elsewhere.

I doubt this. It looks like most people are pretty happy with it—or at least think it's good for what it is.

 

[AwesomeButton]

If you'd followed it since October 2012, you would have seen how many of those 77,000 backers were romance-obsessed Bioware fans.

In all Kickstarter games, the active forum community becomes increasingly "grognardy" over time as the more casual backers step off to do other things.

Guilty as charged. PoE was also the first KS game for me to have backed and followed.

Oh well, I guess unlike the grognards, the romance-obsessed Bioware fans are very happy with what they got

It looks like most people are pretty happy with it—or at least think it's good for what it is.

No way to know that, and what does it matter anyway - they've already paid for their copies. That was my point -- once the game gets funded Obsidian gets more leeway to produce the game the way they consider would be best. And with a self-righteous paladin of balance in charge, who pretends to know better than players about everything, for whatever reasons...

On the other hand, they have little other choice than to proceed the way they did - doing their best to maximize further funding through pre-orders - because the $4 mil. raised wasn't enough to cover the whole development cycle, as we know. So it's normal that the initial backers' vision becomes less and less of a priority to whatever decisions Obsidian think would attract more buyers from outside the KS funders. You don't need me to tell you these things all over again I guess.

 

[Irenaeus]

If you'd followed it since October 2012, you would have seen how many of those 77,000 backers were romance-obsessed Bioware fans.

In all Kickstarter games, the active forum community becomes increasingly "grognardy" over time as the more casual backers step off to do other things.

Guilty as charged. PoE was also the first KS game for me to have backed and followed.

Oh well, I guess unlike the grognards, the romance-obsessed Bioware fans are very happy with what they got

Nah, the romance-obsessed Bioware fans are playing Dragon Age.

 

[AwesomeButton]

If you'd followed it since October 2012, you would have seen how many of those 77,000 backers were romance-obsessed Bioware fans.

In all Kickstarter games, the active forum community becomes increasingly "grognardy" over time as the more casual backers step off to do other things.

Guilty as charged. PoE was also the first KS game for me to have backed and followed.

Oh well, I guess unlike the grognards, the romance-obsessed Bioware fans are very happy with what they got

Nah, the romance-obsessed Bioware fans are playing Dragon Age.

My point is who cares what they're playing as long as they've backed PoE? I'm pretty sure I don't care, and I'm pretty sure Obsidian doesn't either.

 

[Grinning Reaper]

If you'd followed it since October 2012, you would have seen how many of those 77,000 backers were romance-obsessed Bioware fans.

In all Kickstarter games, the active forum community becomes increasingly "grognardy" over time as the more casual backers step off to do other things.

Guilty as charged. PoE was also the first KS game for me to have backed followed.

Oh well, I guess unlike the grognards, the romance-obsessed Bioware fans are very happy with what they got

AwesomeButton, the official mouthpiece of butthurt grogs everywhere

Just so you know, your specific tastes don't define hardcore gamers, grogs, or anything else. Seeing people who have been preparing to hate this game for years talk about how much they hate this game is hardly surprising. Just for reference, I'm not a Bioware fanboy (since DA:O and everything since has sucked) and I'm not an Obisidian fanboy (In fact, PoE is their first game I've actually finished), but I'm having some fun playing PoE and don't think it's a steaming pile of sub-mediocrity with no redeeming characteristics as you and your ilk claim to believe.

Most cases of particularly butthurt haters seem to be attributable to either people with ridiculously high or specific expectations that Obsidian never promised or planned to deliver on, or people who have clearly been hating on this game and/or Sawyer for years now.

 

[ZagorTeNej]

Idk, it seems like what he says is straightforward enough.

Indeed, if I happen to like IE games' (most notably BG2) combat gameplay, systems, itemization and encounter design I'm either extremely nostalgic or an individual devoid of any logic. Just one of his usual nuggets of wisdom.

It's amusing that so many codexers, whom pretend to not care about offensiveness, turns into whiny little bitches if Sawyer criticises their game says that he chooses a different solution for his own game, or prefer solution x over y. Then it's obviously a targeted, personal insult

Codex criticizes everything and everyone (which makes it stand out among heavily policed "muh feelings" forums) and Sawyer's design approach/philosophy is like RTWP, a controversial topic that divides the crowd. Put those two in one place (a RTWP game designed by Sawyer) and you get 1000+ page threads.

Don't take it so personally, people shitting on the game you like and developer you revere isn't the end of the world.

There is a simple answer to why it happens though: You are whiny little bitches. Waaaaah mommy Josh doesn't like class systems waaaaaaah

Sorry bro, next time I'm about to criticize Sawyer or his latest product I'll be sure to pause and consider your feelings first and I urge others to do the same. Petition to censor Roxor from reviewing any of his future games might be in order as well given that he showed his true colors with his latest "review" (ugh, it still makes me sick to my stomach, how dare he).

 

[tyrannosaurus rex]

I couldn't explain the main problem of PoE better myself.

To cater for nostalgia IE fans, they stayed with classes, but in their heart they don't wanted to make a class based game.

To cater for nostalgia IE fans, they implemented a RTwP combat system, while a turn based system could have been much better for PoE.

They aimed to make infinity engine games again, this isn't catering this is the fundamental aspect of the game. They failed to make PoE good for RTwP combat, not RTwP combat good for PoE.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Seeing people who have been preparing to hate this game for years talk about how much they hate this game is hardly surprising.

Yeah, you're right, I hated the game, that's why I backed it in the first place.

And I only state facts, like the game being unfinished, because of my hatred.

I'm having some fun playing PoE and don't think it's a steaming pile of sub-mediocrity with no redeeming characteristics as you and your ilk claim to believe.

Good for you.

 

[Kz3r0]

I'll be sure to pause and consider your feelings first and I urge others to do the same.

I always consider other peopl's feelings before posting, to hurt them the most.

 

[HiddenX]

I couldn't explain the main problem of PoE better myself.

To cater for nostalgia IE fans, they stayed with classes, but in their heart they don't wanted to make a class based game.

To cater for nostalgia IE fans, they implemented a RTwP combat system, while a turn based system could have been much better for PoE.

They aimed to make infinity engine games again, this isn't catering this is the fundamental aspect of the game. They failed to make PoE good for RTwP combat, not RTwP combat good for PoE.

Maybe I'm really a Grognard, but I think turn-based combat is better for D&D (and D&D lookalike) party CRPGs. It was really good in the Goldbox games and it would have been better for ALL IE games and PoE.

 

[Black]

Seeing people who have been preparing to hate this game for years

Wow, is this what you use to defend fo3 from criticism too?

 

[Grinning Reaper]

Seeing people who have been preparing to hate this game for years

Wow, is this what you use to defend fo3 from criticism too?

No, I wouldn't defend the heaping pile of shit that is Fallout 3 under any circumstances. However, if people were entrenching themselves in a position of "this game is going to suck" for years before release, then I'd suspect those people to hate it regardless of its quality; how often do such people admit they were wrong? The fact that Fo3 was a piece of shit, or the quality of any game really, isn't dependent upon or affected by the hatred of people who make up their minds before they have all the facts and then spent months or years preaching that a game is undoubtedly going to suck.

 

[Black]

So who are you talking about when you say "people were preparing to hate on PoE for years"?

 

[Kz3r0]

So who are you talking about when you say "people were preparing to hate on PoE for years"?

Yeah, it's not like the Codex is Obsidian Fanboys Central, or thaT Codexers love the most games made by people working at Obsidian, or that PoE was one of the most anticipated games here.

 

[Grinning Reaper]

So who are you talking about when you say "people were preparing to hate on PoE for years"?

Any hypothetical or actual people who fucking bitched about how moronic Sawyer is and/or how PoE is going to suck ass for the last year or more. Next question.

 

[Black]

Hypothetically you make sense.

 

[Irenaeus]

So who are you talking about when you say "people were preparing to hate on PoE for years"?

Check the official Codex review.

 

[Kz3r0]

So who are you talking about when you say "people were preparing to hate on PoE for years"?

Any hypothetical or actual people who fucking bitched about how moronic Sawyer is and/or how PoE is going to suck ass for the last year or more. Next question.

Except that those people were right, hatred sometimes is earned.

 

[Grinning Reaper]

So who are you talking about when you say "people were preparing to hate on PoE for years"?

Yeah, it's not like the Codex is Obsidian Fanboys Central, or thaT Codexers love the most games made by people working at Obsidian, or that PoE was one of the most anticipated games here.

All I saw for the last six months or so was people constantly bitching about how Sawyer is ruining the lives of Codex members because he cares about balance. And, like Irenaeus said, Roxor.

So who are you talking about when you say "people were preparing to hate on PoE for years"?

Any hypothetical or actual people who fucking bitched about how moronic Sawyer is and/or how PoE is going to suck ass for the last year or more. Next question.

Except that those people were right, hatred sometimes is earned.

No they weren't. And sometimes hatred isn't earned. Opinions, man.

 

[Irenaeus]

So who are you talking about when you say "people were preparing to hate on PoE for years"?

Any hypothetical or actual people who fucking bitched about how moronic Sawyer is and/or how PoE is going to suck ass for the last year or more. Next question.

Except that those people were right, hatred sometimes is earned.

Yeah, like for DA:O

 

[UnknownBro]

It's a mediocre game with very good art direction, let's hope they'll release some modding tools.

And JS is full of hot air.

 

[Irenaeus]

It's a mediocre game with very good art direction, let's hope they'll release some modding tools.

And JS is full of hot air.

It's way better than New Vegas.

 

[UnknownBro]

Maybe. But it's better than the IE games? I don't think so.

 

[Irenaeus]

Maybe. But it's better than the IE games? I don't think so.

I think it's equivalent, which already puts it above almost everything released in the last 15 years.