Interview More Pete on GameGestapo

[Saint_Proverbius]

Tags: Bethesda Softworks; Fallout 3

Another <A href="http://www.gamegestapo.com/news/archive/04_07_12/fallout3_2.htm">interview</a> with <a href="http://www.bethsoft.com">Bethesda</a>'s <b>Pete Hines</b> over at <A href="http://www.gamegestapo.com/">Game Gestapo</A>, basicalling asking will <b>Fallout 3</b> be like <a href="http://www.interplay.com/fallout">Fallout</a>:
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<blockquote><b>Q. Is the SPECIAL system going to remain intact? What changes are planned?
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A.</b> Again, too early, although I will say that as a general rule we plan to remain as true and faithful as possible to what made Fallout such a great and memorable experience.</blockquote>
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Then the correct answer is <i>Yes, we will be using SPECIAL</i> if you want to remain as true and faithful as possible. Honestly, <b>Pete</b>, some of these questions really should have easy answers, even at the planning stage.
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.nma-fallout.com">No Mutants Allowed</A>

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Q. Is the SPECIAL system going to remain intact? What changes are planned?
A. Again, too early, although I will say that as a general rule we plan to remain as true and faithful as possible to what made Fallout such a great and memorable experience.

That's a commendable attitude. Although, i feel i have to give this fair bit of advice. Whores + whacked, senseless comedy + easter eggs + profanity = NOT what made Fallout a great and memorable experience.

I shudder to think at how many people will push for this as time goes by, though.

 

[Vault Dweller]

A logical question at this point would be: And what made Fallout such a great and memorable experience? Somehow I think his opinion is different from ours.

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

True, it would be interesting to hear his opinion. Although, will it be of any use? That he believes X or Y elements are what made it a great game doesn't necessarily mean they'll be in. Or maybe it does mean they will be in, but might end up not being well developed.

Still, more on their stance would be welcome.

 

[corvax]

A logical question at this point would be: And what made Fallout such a great and memorable experience? Somehow I think his opinion is different from ours.

his opinion ??? Pete's a PR guy, not a designer/developer...one thing that i've learned is that Bethesda's PR staff is not into revealing this sort of stuff at all...i gues you guys are going to find this out the hard way

 

[StraitLacedDeviant]

We can find out whatever we want by levering open his skull with a crowbar and having a look inside....

 

[Vault Dweller]

A logical question at this point would be: And what made Fallout such a great and memorable experience? Somehow I think his opinion is different from ours.

his opinion ??? Pete's a PR guy, not a designer/developer...one thing that i've learned is that Bethesda's PR staff is not into revealing this sort of stuff at all...i gues you guys are going to find this out the hard way

I didn't mean Pete the guy but Pete the Bethesda's PR face repeating what he was told to say (multiplatform, no isometric BG game - why BG?, btw, etc).

 

[suibhne]

The fact that there's even a sliver of a doubt about using some version of SPECIAL, particularly when such an announcement would slightly calm the rabid dogs - well, 'tain't a good sign.

This kind of shit should have been set in stone before BethSoft even bid on the franchise.

 

[corvax]

same thing, they guy, the pr...why bg?...god knows why?...most likely when one mentiones isometric games bg comes to mind...it sold a lot A LOT, so a lot more "common folk" know about it than about fallout...

multiplatform - unfortunately that's slowly becoming a standard, just to bring up mw again...it sold well on pc...but extremely well on xbox...combine the two...it's a simple business decision

 

[StraitLacedDeviant]

They will have to use the SPECIAL system, it won awards for frinks sake. I think the sooner they make some solid decisions the better.

 

[Vault Dweller]

You are right, hussar, now look at what your wrote: they used BG as an example because it sold a lot, and more people are familiar with it. That's where all the flags are supposed to go up. They look at Fallout and see BG-like gameplay, they see sci-fi BG. How wrong would that be? Add multiplatform on top of that, and you get a really dumbed down sci-fi BG that will probably sell well because people are that fucking stupid.

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

multiplatform - unfortunately that's slowly becoming a standard, just to bring up mw again...it sold well on pc...but extremely well on xbox...combine the two...it's a simple business decision

Is it? I'm not entirely sure of that. Brotherhood of Steel flopped on consoles. It alienated fans of the original series and didn't really garnered the attention of new fans to a meaningful degree. What are the odds that a game like Fallout 3 - in theory, closer to Fallout than BoS was - strikes it rich on a console system when most console players don't care for the original titles? Is there a point in trying to make changes to a game formula to get attention from two different market layers when one of them doesn't exactly show interest?

 

[DamnElfGirl]

Honestly, I suspect Pete the PR Guy was sent out without being given any information and told to calm the rabid dogs as best he could. Maybe the decisions have been made or are being made, but they want to shore themselves up and have a solid plan before they release the info to the world. Pretty much no matter what they do, there will be things people won't like, and I'm sure they know it. If I were them, I'd want to take my time and build a fairly solid design plan before taking on the fans.

Of course, they could also have no idea what they're doing or have decided to do something stupid and are trying to distract everyone with hand-waving. Could go either way.

 

[Sol Invictus]

The fact that there's even a sliver of a doubt about using some version of SPECIAL, particularly when such an announcement would slightly calm the rabid dogs - well, 'tain't a good sign.

This kind of shit should have been set in stone before BethSoft even bid on the franchise.

I'd say that Bethesda getting their grubby mits on the Fallout franchise instead of Troika, Obsidian or even Bioware isn't a 'good sign' of what's to come.

 

[EEVIAC]

Diablo II sold several shitloads more than BG and it's isometric. Come to think of it, The Sims is isometric as well.

 

[corvax]

You are right, hussar, now look at what your wrote: they used BG as an example because it sold a lot, and more people are familiar with it. That's where all the flags are supposed to go up. They look at Fallout and see BG-like gameplay, they see sci-fi BG. How wrong would that be? Add multiplatform on top of that, and you get a really dumbed down sci-fi BG that will probably sell well because people are that fucking stupid.

i wouldn't go as far as raising red flags...it's only pr talk, nothing even close to conclusive...what you said would be the worst case scenario for fallout 3...but i remain optimistic thinking that this will not happen

 

[Avin]

one point: i can't remember jokes and easter eggs in morrowind or buggerfall. for good or bad it will probably be more serious than FO2. and we probably won't have stupid talking plants.

i read at obsidian that the game isn't goint (probably) isometric and will be multi-platforms... if it's that it's really over.

 

[corvax]

Diablo II sold several shitloads more than BG and it's isometric. Come to think of it, The Sims is isometric as well.

we're talking about rpg's

 

[manco]

I don't understand how one would not just say "Yes, stupid!". I mean, no matter how fucked up they make the game, they could shoehorn and distort special for the fan service. Either they use it correct, which would be nice, or they use it and butcher the execution, but SPECIAL will be in the game.

 

[mr. lamat]

all they've mentioned in any 'interview' so far was how the cussing, violence, campy humour and kitchy 50's sci-fi made it great.

parsley!

 

[plin]

multiplatform - unfortunately that's slowly becoming a standard, just to bring up mw again...it sold well on pc...but extremely well on xbox...combine the two...it's a simple business decision

Is it? I'm not entirely sure of that. Brotherhood of Steel flopped on consoles. It alienated fans of the original series and didn't really garnered the attention of new fans to a meaningful degree. What are the odds that a game like Fallout 3 - in theory, closer to Fallout than BoS was - strikes it rich on a console system when most console players don't care for the original titles? Is there a point in trying to make changes to a game formula to get attention from two different market layers when one of them doesn't exactly show interest?

The harcore fallout fanbase that felt alienated and didn't buy it wasn't why it flopped at all. It flopped because it was a shitty game, period. Not because it was a shitty fallout game.

If beth made a great CRPG, and ported it to console, just fixed the interface so it would work with an X-box controller, and if it got good reviews, is advertised well, it will sell well. Console gamers are not as stupid as you guys think, and they will buy good games on their system.

 

[mr. lamat]

is rosh busy taking nickles from sailor's for gumjobs? where's the longwinded rants with copious use of the term 'asshat'?

it's a black day when he's too sad to vent.

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

The harcore fallout fanbase that felt alienated and didn't buy it wasn't why it flopped at all. It flopped because it was a shitty game, period. Not because it was a shitty fallout game.

And where did i say it failed only because of the Fallout fanbase? Try reading this bit again:

Brotherhood of Steel flopped on consoles. It alienated fans of the original series and didn't really garnered the attention of new fans to a meaningful degree.

It failed because it didn't interest either side. Why? Because it was both a bad game and a bad Fallout game.

 

[Volourn]

Nah. FOBOS wasn't that bad. Not great; but a nice little actiony game. More challenging then the BGDA series of games (but not as good). LOL

 

[plin]

The harcore fallout fanbase that felt alienated and didn't buy it wasn't why it flopped at all. It flopped because it was a shitty game, period. Not because it was a shitty fallout game.

And where did i say it failed only because of the Fallout fanbase? Try reading this bit again:

Brotherhood of Steel flopped on consoles. It alienated fans of the original series and didn't really garnered the attention of new fans to a meaningful degree.

It failed because it didn't interest either side. Why? Because it was both a bad game and a bad Fallout game.

I wasn't talking about you really, it's just alot of people bring up the misconception that just because the fallout fans didn't like it, it didn't sell well, and because of that, a good FO3 CRPG port can never interest console gamers. Which is stupid logic.

If it get's good reviews, if it's advertised well, and if people like it and spread the word, there's no reason it wouldn't sell. But this is all IF the game is good. We'll see.