Interview Interview with David Gaider

[Vault Dweller]

I think the bit where you print the questions he didn't answer was a bit cheesy, since it gives the appearance of evasion, but the "not enough time" thing classes it up somewhat. It does keep more of the balance of power in the domain of the interviewer, though.

It's an interview. I ask questions, a developer answers. No answer is an answer too, isn't it?

 

[Micmu]

Can better graphics replace the narrative effect of older games? Or does the reliance on graphics lead developers into becoming sloppy with their dialogue or even neglect it to a much greater degree?

I can't wait when videocards will be able to animate "You notice a fishy smell on him" and "The blade feels cold on touch" in full 3D. Hope they won't neglect narrative completely in favor of full movie-style presentation.

 

[Vault Dweller]

I'm sure David Gaider did have time constraints. And I take VD's word that his questions weren't meant to be loaded... but.. I've got to confess that the first time I read them, they did appear to be asking for a developer to either dump on another game or confess to something like wasting time over a feature. Perhaps a little more neutrality in the wording might encourage a future developer to confess that he thought Dungeon Lords was a pile of shit on release from his own initiative?

Can you be more specific? I don't see anything in those questions inviting David to be negative about another game or acknowledging faults in his own design.

 

[DemonKing]

A good little read. I agree with most of what Gaider is on about.

I'm actually looking forward to when Bioware start pimping Dragon Age full time, which is a bit scary!

 

[Mefi]

@FrancoTau - Yeah, it's the point Gaider raised about moving to cinematic exposition. The problem is that cinema does not rely on immersion to the same extent as a computer game. You go into the cinema expecting to be the 'fourth wall'. Games though are more like Brechtian theatre only with the writer trying to get over the inherent V-effekt of playing the game. A game tries to be more like one of Brecht's street plays where the audience is encouraged to participate in the 'action'. It's hard enough for an actor to ad-lib enough in order to keep the narrative progressing, aren't we asking too much of pile of plastic and metal to do the same, especially with an even more spartan script to follow?

@micmu - great point. But how often do you see any sense but the visual used in a game? Is that proof that we're so focused on the visual that we (including the developers) have forgotten that those big lumps of text can also evoke other senses?

 

[galsiah]

...I don't see anything in those questions inviting David to be negative about another game or acknowledging faults in his own design.

With 7:

7. Going with party mechanics again, in Knights of the Old Republic some NPCs had unique abilities, which made playing without them impossible, thus forcing players to have them in the party (only T3-M4 can open the Sith base, only Mission can open that force field, etc.) At the same time, the nature of those abilities was hardly unique: all characters had access to Security or Computer Use skills, yet your skills, no matter how high, would be useless in the above mentioned circumstances. Do you feel it was the best way to make NPCs more important?

It seems clear to me from the question that you think this certainly wasn't "the best way to make NPCs more important?". [right?]
I'm not sure how you could have rephrased it, but it doesn't seem the most open of questions. Perhaps putting the issue generally (as you did with most other questions) would have been more likely to get a response. I.e. to ask about an issue, but mention a game, rather than asking directly about a game. That way if the issue is a touchy subject in the game he can evade the specific question and answer more generally. If he wants to discuss the game he can.

I don't see much that you could have done better with questions 11 and 13. You'd already covered the general aspect with 10, so specifics were probably necessary to get any further. A more general question 7 might have been interesting.

Clearly there is a balance to be struck between asking questions that will definitely get answers, and asking questions that might get very interesting answers.
There were certainly enough interesting answers to make it a good interview IMO.

 

[Mefi]

Can you be more specific? I don't see anything in those questions inviting David to be negative about another game or acknowledging faults in his own design.

Take the final question for an example:

13. Choices & Consequences. One may argue that Bioware games were more of adventure games with stats than role-playing games due to linearity and cosmetic choices. Yet recently you made some comments about giving characters "reasonable" options fitting those characters and consequences that go with those options. Are we talking about a new design direction here or the same level of choices seen in Baldur's Gate and Knights of the Old Republic? If it's the former, what caused such a change?

Using 'one' could be seen as you presenting your opinion, and after having expressed that opinion you then move on to ask whether future games would be better than the old 'rubbish' (paraphrasing here but you know what I mean).

I'm sure it wasn't meant that way, but it could be read that way.

As an alternative, why not something like this:

Recently you made some comments about giving characters "reasonable" options fitting those characters and consequences that go with those options. Could you expand on what you meant by that and how you see Bioware games evolving in the future with regards to avoiding choices without consequences?

Does that make sense? It's neutral no matter which way you read it and it gives the developer a platform rather than having to bat off the criticism as the initial starting point of the question.

I'm guessing this interview was over e-mail via PR person which makes addressing a specific criticism to a person very difficult to do as the bald text is the bald text and there isn't the human interaction to take any (perceived) sting out of it. In a face to face interview, you can get away with raising a specific criticism much easier without it seeming to be loaded as your body language will tell the other person you aren't being 'hostile'.

Just my twopennethworth of constructive criticism of an excellent interview.

 

[Slylandro]

That's a very good interview. Is it Codex exclusive? It's better than most of the stuff I see on IGN at any rate.

How come when I click on the link "answers a few questions about" I get a funny message?

Will Dave answer the rest of the questions when he has time? I'm sure the questions are a bit "pointed," but no more so than the ones he already answered anyway. Nice work VD.

 

[Twinfalls]

I can't wait when videocards will be able to animate "You notice a fishy smell on him" and "The blade feels cold on touch" in full 3D. Hope they won't neglect narrative completely in favor of full movie-style presentation.

Thankyou micmu for nicely articulating exactly what I was thinking. I had hoped Gaider would be more enthusiastic about a return to text-augmentation, rather than do the 'but the new graphics are so awesome!'

Very nice interview, and very good of David for taking the time.

 

[Whipporowill]

How come when I click on the link "answers a few questions about" I get a funny message?

Just needs an ok from the Massah (Saint), so it can go into the editorials instead of being posted as a full-length newspost. VD just wanted it out quickly, and bypassed it. The weird link, is to where it's going to end up when it's moved.

 

[galsiah]

I had hoped Gaider would be more enthusiastic about a return to text-augmentation, rather than do the 'but the new graphics are so awesome!'

I agree, but I see his comments more as respect for, rather than adoration of modern graphics.

I have to say that it’s very impressive...

I can describe juggling 17 fish as "very impressive" - that needn't mean I think it's the newest, greatest thing.
Admittedly, he does go on to discuss working alongside the new graphics, but that's no concession really. It means the graphics take care of the visuals, and he's free to attack the senses of touch, smell and taste all he wants.

 

[Vault Dweller]

It seems clear to me from the question that you think this certainly wasn't "the best way to make NPCs more important?". [right?]

Right. So? My opinion that it wasn't the best way doesn't automatically make it a confirmed case of bad design that Bio should apologize for, does it?

That way if the issue is a touchy subject in the game he can evade the specific question and answer more generally. If he wants to discuss the game he can.

Why would it be touchy? If I were to ask MCA why KOTOR 2 ending is fucked up, that would be a touchy issue. In this case, it's a relatively minor design decision that didn't have a huge effect on the game, a decision that couldn't be measured in right or wrong, but only explained, which is what I asked Dave to do.

A more general question 7 might have been interesting.

A more general question would have given a general answer, which is not what I had in mind. For the record though, Obsidian did a better job with Bao-Dur's ability to destroy force-fields.

There were certainly enough interesting answers to make it a good interview IMO.

Thanks.

 

[Vault Dweller]

That's a very good interview. Is it Codex exclusive? It's better than most of the stuff I see on IGN at any rate.

It is.

Will Dave answer the rest of the questions when he has time? I'm sure the questions are a bit "pointed," but no more so than the ones he already answered anyway. Nice work VD.

Thanks. I don't think that David would answer those questions anytime soon, but I'm sure he will drop by soon, so you can ask him some questions here.

 

[FrancoTAU]

Hey VD, i'm just curious how you usually handle interviews. Do you do phoners? IM convos? Email?

 

[The Internets]

@FrancoTau - Yeah, it's the point Gaider raised about @micmu - great point. But how often do you see any sense but the visual used in a game? Is that proof that we're so focused on the visual that we (including the developers) have forgotten that those big lumps of text can also evoke other senses?

Sadly, I expect that when games look and feel like a real-time Toy Story, then, and only then, when resources for game creation are so prohibitive developers will miraculously, 'rediscover' the power of the written word.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Using 'one' could be seen as you presenting your opinion, and after having expressed that opinion you then move on to ask whether future games would be better than the old 'rubbish' (paraphrasing here but you know what I mean).

I'm sure it wasn't meant that way, but it could be read that way.

Don't think so. Adventure games aren't rubbish in any way. My opinion that Bio games are more on the adventure games side neither makes it a fact, nor insults Bio or David personally. What's in a name after all?

Dave's recent comments got many of us excited. I simply wanted to ask about those comments, what lead to them, etc. If I asked without the first sentence, I could have gotten a more generic "choices are cool" response.

Just my twopennethworth of constructive criticism of an excellent interview.

Thanks.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Hey VD, i'm just curious how you usually handle interviews. Do you do phoners? IM convos? Email?

I did 4 interviews, if I'm not mistaken. All of them were done through emails. It's much eaiser that way, and it gives more control over the content to PR folks.

 

[Mefi]

Don't think so. Adventure games aren't rubbish in any way. My opinion that Bio games are more on the adventure games side neither makes it a fact, nor insults Bio or David personally. What's in a name after all?

True, but you can't rely on the developer (or their PR person) to intuit that. (Is intuit a verb? If not, I claim copyright). As I said, it was a paraphrase of how the question could have been read I know it wasn't hostile, I'm sure David Gaider didn't think it was hostile but another person asked a similarly styled question might take the reading I touched on.

Dave's recent comments got many of us excited. I simply wanted to ask about those comments, what lead to them, etc. If I asked without the first sentence, I could have gotten a more generic "choices are cool" response.

Sure, it was just a quick example of a more neutral phrasing of the same question. Something like "You made some recent comments... Could you tell us what led to you making them and expand upon what you meant?" then tie in to how/if future titles will implement them, would have been a better example. Hope you can see the point I'm making though, even if I'm doing it badly

In any case, this is not "grill VD over a couple of questions which weren't answered".
The answers you got were so thorough, I'm still reading through them to make sure I've got Gaider's points correctly. Some of them are very thought-provoking.

 

[Vault Dweller]

True, but you can't rely on the developer (or their PR person) to intuit that.

There is nothing to "intuit" here. I didn't say "poor RPGs" or something like that. I said adventure games with stats. Similarly, I may call Gothic an action game and I don't think the developers should find that offensive.

Is intuit a verb? If not, I claim copyright

A transitive verb, whatever it is.

Sure, it was just a quick example of a more neutral phrasing of the same question. Something like "You made some recent comments... Could you tell us what led to you making them and expand upon what you meant?" then tie in to how/if future titles will implement them, would have been a better example. Hope you can see the point I'm making though, even if I'm doing it badly

I see the point, I just disagree with you (which is, coincidentally, I hoped what David would do). Your question is asking for "I think options are great, and future Bio games will definitely have them" response, which still doesn't tell whether the future games would be any different from the past games. So, I wanted to a) establish what exactly we are talking about here and b) why change things (could be different reasons for that) if that's the case.

Some of them are very thought-provoking.

Indeed, so let's stop discussing the questions, and start discussing the answers. (Not that I mind talking about the questions, but I think that Dave's answers are more interesting)

 

[Volourn]

"There is nothing to "intuit" here. I didn't say "poor RPGs" or something like that. I said adventure games with stats. Similarly, I may call Gothic an action game and I don't think the developers should find that offensive."

Another lie. Keep piling up the lies. The questions are full of inconsistenices, lies, and flat out bull. The same stuff complained about 'mainstream media', and the Codex unshamefully commits every single one fo those sins.

Hypocrites at their finest.

However, still an entertaining interview.

 

[POOPERSCOOPER]

I dont think the interview revealed anything new, it looks like a lot of questions are ones that VD can use in the future as evidence in forum discussions with faggots.


Basically like 3 of the questions were the same and could of been put together in one, and the writing of the questions was bad(not as good as mine). You might as well have listed the age old topics like "realtime, TB, choices, cock, parties."


Next time say thats its like a codex interview on the front page because I'm pretty sure everyone thought it was one at another site until they found no link to it. All in all you suck, VD.

 

[FrancoTAU]

Volourn is the master of the backhanded compliment.

 

[Dgaider]

Just to be clear, I wasn't trying to be evasive on those questions. I originally had answers written, but I wasn't very happy with them -- I was disagreeing in part with some of VD's points in the questions and came off as being more defensive than I liked. I wanted to give complete answers ike with the other questions, but I didn't really have any more time to spend on something that wasn't part of my current project (and I had already spent quite a bit on it).

At any rate, I'm glad some people found it an ejoyable read. Thanks for the interest, VD. If someone *really* wants the answers to those other questions, I suppose I can think about it some more and write something for them later.

 

[Jason]

please do

 

[Zomg]

I'm having a hard time formulating any real commentary on the responses. They're pretty much about favoring the "moderate path" between the two poles of "golden age" PC RPGs, from the Darklands-type merciless freedom pole to the PS:T narrative verging on adventure pole, which is what you'd expect to be the core opinion at Bioware. They've shown that moderate philosophy over and over.

A few of the things are arcane Codex points of discussion, like class vs. skill based systems, that are, uh, academically interesting, but both have been done well and are ultimately quite flexible, such that they aren't really "good RPG" doctrine either way. Single character versus party is maybe a more thorny question, since party RPGs have been somewhat a Bioware specialty, but in general the response is the same: "academically" interesting, not doctrine. There are also things that I somewhat doubt the pure sincerity of (the defense of RTw/P, graphics over text) but it's ultimately attributable to taste.

On the low-magic thing, I think there's certainly a game design favoring element to low-magic, since a really madly fantastical world would be either incredibly difficult to manage by computer (imagine something like one of the more psychedelic Bugs Bunny cartoons as a game) or really banal (everyone can cast a fireball, but you still need the red key to open this door!).

Edit - I thought that showing the unanswered questions was cheesy in that I would guess that DG assumed they would be omitted, and that having the power to omit the interviewers questions was an implicit ground rule of the e-mail interviewee. That may not be the case.

Edit Edit - removed some extraneous shit