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Incline Questions for the Codex interview with Feargus and MCA.

Joined
Dec 12, 2013
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Thanks to Crooked Bee DarkUnderlord and Infinitron I will have an opportunity to have interviews with Feargus Urquhart and Chris Avellone during developers conference in Cracow. What would a good interview be without good questions? Post good questions and I will try to have them answered for you!

Fairfax You seem to know every interview with MCA. I am sure you can come up with some outstanding questions and point out anything which was already asked in the past, so no question will be boring and repetitive!

We have about 36 hours time limit before the list will be completed.
 

Mustawd

Guest
For Feargus:

1. It's been a bit since fig has launched. As part of the advisory council, any thoughts on its performance? Any unexpected challenges?

2. Any plans for Obsidian to use fig? If not, does that mean fig is not currently a viable crowdfunding platform?

3. Do you have time to play your company's games? If so, which one do you lavish praise on while barely acknowledging the existence of the rest of them?

:P


For MCA:

1. Don't you owe the codex some troll drawings? :M
 
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Neanderthal

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Probably not be answered but i've always wanted to ask a dev whether they thought accessibility has gone too far, I mean players are treated like fuckin droolin cucumbers, do they think that they're (not specifically Obs just devs in general) underestimatin players a bit?

Related: Whose gonna have balls to take quest markers round back o barn an put a bullet in their head, an instead design a world that you can navigate organically, roads, signs, milestones, house numbers, an explore in wilderness, using landmarks an whatnot?

Will we ever see a modern RPG wi a livin world an NPC schedules like old Ultimas, or should we resign uselves to fact that its too much hard work now?

Any plans for this VR shit, or gonna wait til its tried an tested an not just this years gadget fad?
 

Roguey

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Ending the debate: What's Feargus Urquhart's personal opinion about turn based RPGs?
 

Fairfax

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Jedi Master Radek Thanks for the kind words, and nice job setting this up. :greatjob:

I'll write something up and check for repeated questions tomorrow (no PC atm).
 

Trashos

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You are not giving us much time to think about it, so off the top of my head...

Feargus:
- What's his dream project and does he think that Obsidian will one day realize it. On the same note, if hypothetically he didn't have to care about financial returns, what game would he make?
- What's his favorite Obsidian game and why.
- What Neanderthal above said, or in my own words: How does he go about the challenge to make games that are accessible to large crowds, but that he also likes himself? Is there some element that he feels should never be compromised no matter what?

MCA:
- What's his dream project?
- What functionalities and gameplay elements does he want to see in future RPGs?
- Does he feel there is pressure in the industry for the inclusion of certain political/social themes in the games? If yes, then do those themes change in time or have they been the same all along?
- Is he going to do an Age of Decadence Let's Play?
 

Trashos

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Feargus:
- At what point can a company like Obsidian innovate and take big creative risks instead of following marketing trends? Is such a thing on the table for Obsidian in the forseeable future? (the question is meant to appeal to his businessman side and is not meant to be aggressive- I am really curious for his answer)


EDIT
MCA:
Are there themes he does not include in his writing for fear of pissing people off?
 
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NullFlow

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Is there a dream project any of them wish they could have worked on but could not for whatever reason?

What is the most recent RPG you've found engaging and enjoyable?
 

Lady_Error

█▓▒░ ░▒▓█
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MCA: Are you planning to stay a freelancer for the forseeable future or are you looking at other options as well?

MCA: What would a company need to offer you so that you would join them? Creative control of a project? Something else?

MCA: Do you still want to create The Wire RPG?
 

Howdy

Guest
Who was that dude you were fawning over in that yacht pic with Fargo and Romero? Someone particularly *special*?
 

Goral

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After you ask these questions, stalk him to the toilet and ask some more difficult questions (it's not like you will have a chance like that again). Ask him off the record whether Bloodlines 2 is in the works, then PM Dark Underlord his answer and then he can mass-PM every users here. That way there will be no trace of the answer here, and even if, no self-respecting journalist would post a rumour found on some forum without anything to back it up. If he refuses to answer we will know that they're doing it.

On a more serious note, ask him why can't they do something more creative when they have such talented people like Boyarsky or Cain and how come Iron Tower and Whalenought studios bring freshness to the genre and they only bring the same thing over and over. Pillars of Eternity was supposed to be their own project, showing their creativity but it ended as we can all see. Where is something as fresh as Arcanum, Age of Decadence or (to a lesser degree) Serpent in the Staglands?
 

Black

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What next rpg is there to look forward to and which company will make it?
Also, how outraged exactly do you have to be on twitter for Obsidian to change their game?
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Ask Avellone about inXile's next project and if he's going to be involved with it. You'll probably get a non-answer, but it's worth a try.
 

DeepOcean

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Ask Feargus:

What are the differences of the today RPG market after 2012 and the old RPG market Obsidian used to deal with?
Why Obsidian doesn't make turn based RPGs?
What is the market Obsidian is trying to appeal to with games like Tyranny?
With games like XCOM selling millions of copies, does Obsidian see market potential for TB games?
Who will be the lead writer for Tyranny?
How many writers Obsidian will employ on Tyranny? How Obsidian plans to organize the writing on such choice heavy game?
What are the things Obsidian think they did right and wrong on PoE? What are the things they plan to improve in the future?
Why didn't Obsidian announced their next crowdfunding game yet? What are the crowdfunding drawbacks that keep Obsidian from using platforms like kickstarter more?
Does Obsidian have a core philosophy on RPG design or they design RPGs based on the whims and fads of the moment?
What Obsidian think of nostalgia? Does a game that only appeal to nostalgia and doesn't innovate is good? Why?
Can we expect Obsidian to get out of the mold of copying other companies to create its own path?
Does Feargus still play games? What games he likes to play? Why he likes to play them? What is his dream personal game?
What Obsidian thinks of romances? Is that and be bought by EA the next steps?
What he would do different for Obsidian if he had the power to go back in time?


Ask MCA:
Fans really want an RPG game with MCA being lead writer again. Will that ever happen? Even if that means working for Larian, Inxile or other companies that show interest?
What is the difference between young Avellone at the time of Planescape Torment and today's Avellone? Is being the lead of a project too much of a burden for today's Avellone?
What are the strong points of your writing? Why gamming isn't as recognized as a storytelling medium as something like movies and books? What is lacking on video game storytelling?
What is his dream game?
What he thinks of storytelling and player input on videogames? Too much linearity and not enough reactivity?
What he thinks of the approach of some games to storytelling like Dark Souls and like D:OS 2 where the player more discover the plot than the plot shove itself on the throat of the player? What are the advantages and disadvantages of those non-linear approaches to storytelling?
How MCA views his career? Is there something he regrets not having done?
What he thinks of the pragmatic approach to game design vs. the creative approach to game design?On the game industry, you need to do compromises, compromise on difficulty, scope, mechanics, innovation and acessibility to actually deliver a successful product, but what point those compromises become too great? Is there a point where a game can completely lose any creative and artistic merit because of those compromises?
 
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Feb 19, 2005
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Strap Yourselves In Codex+ Now Streaming!
Probably not be answered but i've always wanted to ask a dev whether they thought accessibility has gone too far, I mean players are treated like fuckin droolin cucumbers, do they think that they're (not specifically Obs just devs in general) underestimatin players a bit?

Related: Whose gonna have balls to take quest markers round back o barn an put a bullet in their head, an instead design a world that you can navigate organically, roads, signs, milestones, house numbers, an explore in wilderness, using landmarks an whatnot?

I absolutely agree, but I think shit started going downhill much earlier when they started spelling everything out for the player in the journal.

Betrayal at Krondor had this game-spanning quest where the player could assemble a powerful sword made out of several pieces that cod be found throughout the game and the player had to figure it out pretty much by himself. How do you replicate something like that when you have a journal that tells the player every single step of every quest?
 

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