Tacticular Cancer: We'll have your balls

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Editorial Michael A. Stackpole's Wasteland Memories at RockPaperShotgun

Discussion in 'RPG Codex News & Content Comments' started by Crooked Bee, Apr 11, 2012.

  1. Crooked Bee Nyadmin Patron

    Crooked Bee
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    #1
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    Tags: Michael A. Stackpole; Wasteland

    Oh my, too many news today. Still, this one is definitely worth posting. Michael A. Stackpole has penned a guest blog post for RockPaperShotgun on the making of the original Wasteland:

    One of the key reasons Wasteland innovated all over the place is because Ken and I, and to a lesser extent Alan, had never done a game like this before. From my COLECO days, and time spent at Flying Buffalo, Inc., I’d learned how to understand programmers; and Alan was up for any challenge we tossed at him. Because we were wandering into the unknown, adding skills to a game where skills had never existed before, and doing other unique stuff, there were no boundaries we couldn’t cross. There was never a “No, we can’t do that,” dictum; but a “let’s figure out how to make that work” ethic that really defined the whole project.

    While Alan and I were working out details of the system, other folks were coding maps. We were doing this decidedly old-school. Ken was working on a C64, I was using an old Osborne computer. We’d generate text files which Alan would turn into map code; and the maps themselves were drawn on graph paper and someone at Interplay put them together. Because we had limited space for each map, we got really tricky with spacing. Looking back I’m surprised we managed to jam as much as we did into each map.

    Work fell into a normal pattern. Alan and I would work details out, I’d pass it down the line to the folks designing maps. If they had problems, they’d tell me, Alan and I would discuss things, and they’d get an answer. In this way the practical problems of scenario design directly influenced the game system and vice versa. Map designers even talked amongst themselves, sharing strategies and some of these became standard routines we all later used.

    [...]

    The maps I designed comprised roughly the last third of the game: everything after Las Vegas. I also did the Guardians of the Old Order maps. As a result, I was able to play through the first part of the game and really enjoyed it. It was my first experience with that whole “just one more turn” aspect of a game. The storytelling and personalities in the game, along with the multiple keys to every puzzle aspect of it, made me want to stay in the world just a little bit longer.

    Be sure to read this good shit in full.
    Kz3r0 and Knotanalt Brofist this.

  2. malko_sundervere Learned

    malko_sundervere
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    #2
    Somewhat related: Michael A. Stackpole is coming to Phoenix Comicon next month, and I'll probably get the chance to talk to him in the author booth. Does anyone have any questions they want to ask him?

  3. Zed RPG Codex Staff

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    #3
    Ask him what his favorite post-2000 RPG is.
    boobio Brofists this.

  4. General Maxson Cipher

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    #4
    Yeah, do a proper rpgcodex interview! :)

  5. malko_sundervere Learned

    malko_sundervere
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    #5
    Eh, it's just an informal affair where you walk up and ask him to sign stuff, maybe discuss something with him. I don't think that'd be appropriate, but I can see if I can squeeze in a couple of queries if he seems receptive to them.
    Also, a "proper" RPGCodex interview is mostly illegal.
    Alrighty, I'll keep that in mind.
    DwarvenFood and Morkar Brofist this.

  6. DwarvenFood Cipher Patron

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    #6
    This is a great read BTW, usually I am satisfied with the Codex short version but it's worth it!

  7. villain of the story Magister

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    #7
    Ask him about post 2000 games in general whose stories he liked. Also be sure to bring up the Codex approved post 2000 games, eg. Troika games, and whatever else.

  8. malko_sundervere Learned

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    #8
    Spoke with Michael Stackpole today. He didn't have a lot of visitors at his booth, but I walked up, introduced myself as "an emissary of RPG Codex," and his eyes lit up immediately. I told him I was really excited about Wasteland 2, and I asked him the above question ^.
    He said what amounts to "honestly, I have really played very few post-2000 games." He says that he's been way too busy to be a gamer, and he knows that that sounds bad, but he's still passionate about Wasteland 2. I brought up Bloodlines and a couple of other games, and he said "well, I'm a Mac guy, so I've never really had the chance to play them - plus, too busy."
    He did say that the game that sucked him in the absolute most recently is Civilization, which he modestly admitted isn't really a story game, "except for the story I make up in my head." He mentioned that he loved working with Chris Avellone and the rest of the creative team, that there's a lot of synergy going on there, and seemed genuinely enthused about Wasteland 2. Nice guy.
    Araanor, DwarvenFood, CappenVarra and 6 others Brofist this.

  9. Marsal Prophet

    Marsal
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    #9
    Oh, God...

    I guess there is some hope for him.

  10. Morkar illiterate

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    #10
    Ahem, let's just assume he needs the Mac for work...

    Thanks malko_sundervere

    Very few post 2000 games is a good sign in my book :D and Civilization as a timesink, too :salute:

  11. commie Magister Patron

    commie
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    #11
    Unless he means Civ V....
    DwarvenFood Brofists this.

  12. Marsal Prophet

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    #12
    [IMG]
    Motherfucker...

  13. SCO Arcane

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    #13
    Ask him why his age of discovery books suck so much.

  14. General Maxson Cipher

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    #14
    Thx bro, for a short "interview". :incline: Nice to hear, but I hope Civilization 5 didn't suck him in, as it is utter boring garbage, even as a timesink. Even Civ 4 is better.

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