Josh Sawyer Q&A Thread

[Infinitron]

The Codex is a forum full of allegedly prestigious gentlemen who'll argue for hundreds of pages about RPG balance minutia in a dry tone. It's not about what you like in games, it's about how you actually act

I think Sawyer and Avellone both embody different aspects of the Codexian personality. You could probably make it a Freudian id/ego/superego thing.

 

[Rev]

The key phrase being "at least not more than any other Obsidian..."

He's not a crazy SJW, but he is a SJW, supported Anita Sarkeesian, GamerGate, etc. I don't particularly blame him for it, because you kind of had to to survive as a developer in the political climate at the time, but let's not pretend that Sawyer is with the Codex on this.

He's probably left-wing, but that doesn't automatically makes him a SJW or a lunatic like some devs we all know. He doesn't have the same political views of a lot of users here but who cares? Neither do Feargus, MCA, Cain, Ziets or whoever you may bring to the table.

His systemfag beliefs and historyfag desires are often in conflict.

How so?

Most of the Codex hates dry writing. Are you kidding?

I don't think so, there are users who hate it, others who enjoy it. I mean, we even have people who were happy with Wasteland 2 style dialogues because it was a return to the old days, and those were fuckin' terrible.

 

[Fry]

What's the opposite of dry writing... Florid? Exuberant?

Plenty of such is also bad writing.

 

[Azarkon]

For references.

On Anita Sarkeesian: https://twitter.com/jesawyer/status/214839768918392832

On GamerGate: https://twitter.com/jesawyer/status/582200461127634945

 

[Infinitron]

That's not really what "GamerGate" means. A typical supporter of GamerGate would have been in favor of keeping the tranny poem in the game, but he didn't explicitly refer to the movement in that tweet, so it's just as relevant to GG as the Sarkeesian one.

Anyway give Sawyer a break on that stuff, he's been subtly mocking liberals on Twitter about the election ever since Trump won. (I bet because Wisconsin voted for him and it's "my state right or wrong")

 

[Rev]

For references.

On Anita Sarkeesian: https://twitter.com/jesawyer/status/214839768918392832

On GamerGate: https://twitter.com/jesawyer/status/582200461127634945

The first tweet was made in 2012, I remember someone (maybe Roguey) saying how he (and plenty others) stopped supporting her when it became obvious she was just a scam artist.
The second tweet is a normal PR answer, the bad thing about that is that Obsidian actually changed that joke but I don't know if that was his call or somebody else's (he mentions talking it with the producers). Don't seemed connected to GamerGate, though.

 

[Fry]

Anyway give Sawyer a break on that stuff, he's been subtly mocking liberals about the election ever since Trump won. (I bet because Wisconsin voted for him and it's "my state right or wrong")

It's fair to say Sawyer's political beliefs are more complex than the typical American retardo "liberal" vs "conservative" narrative.

 

[anus_pounder]

As long as Obsidian keeps making fantastic games, it's all good. They haven't failed once and I doubt they ever will, so it's all clear sky as far as I can see.

 

[Sentinel]

As long as Obsidian keeps making fantastic games, it's all good. They haven't failed once and I doubt they ever will, so it's all clear sky as far as I can see.

What?
Pillars of Eternity and Tyranny are very far from what I'd call "fantastic".

 

[Azarkon]

For references.

On Anita Sarkeesian: https://twitter.com/jesawyer/status/214839768918392832

On GamerGate: https://twitter.com/jesawyer/status/582200461127634945

The first tweet was made in 2012, I remember someone (maybe Roguey) saying how he (and plenty others) stopped supporting her when it became obvious she was just a scam artist.

That would imply he would support her more had she been serious about her beliefs.

The second tweet is a normal PR answer, the bad thing about that is that Obsidian actually changed that joke but I don't know if that was his call or somebody else's (he mentions talking it with the producers). Don't seemed connected to GamerGate, though.

This is kind of like bending backwards to try and absolve Sawyer of responsibility, especially in the context of a game he himself was project director of.

 

[Rev]

That would imply he would support her more had she been serious about her beliefs.

Only that he thought it would be interesting to have a different perspective on the subject (women in videogames), but after seeing that it was all bullshit filled with nonsense he stopped supporting it.

This is kind of like bending backwards to try and absolve Sawyer of responsibility, especially in the context of a game he himself was project director of.

No, I think they shouldn't have change the content because it was a joke and only morons could get offended by that. It's just that it's impossible, at least for us, to trace down the responsible for that decision.

 

[Azarkon]

That would imply he would support her more had she been serious about her beliefs.

Only that he thought it would be interesting to have a different perspective on the subject (women in videogames), but after seeing that it was all bullshit filled with nonsense he stopped supporting it.

This is kind of like bending backwards to try and absolve Sawyer of responsibility, especially in the context of a game he himself was project director of.

No, I think they shouldn't have change the content because it was a joke and only morons could get offended by that. It's just that it's impossible, at least for us, to trace down the responsible for that decision.

This is Sawyer on the Something Awful forums:

 

[Rev]

That would imply he would support her more had she been serious about her beliefs.

Only that he thought it would be interesting to have a different perspective on the subject (women in videogames), but after seeing that it was all bullshit filled with nonsense he stopped supporting it.

This is kind of like bending backwards to try and absolve Sawyer of responsibility, especially in the context of a game he himself was project director of.

No, I think they shouldn't have change the content because it was a joke and only morons could get offended by that. It's just that it's impossible, at least for us, to trace down the responsible for that decision.

This is Sawyer on the Something Awful forums:

Well, I don't know what they mean by lame gender stuff (I saw a lot of that in Tyranny, but I have the feeling that's not what that poster would criticize), but this answer is pretty stupid. Still, his games and the content he made in whatever rpg he worked on doesn't stink of SJW retardedness.

 

[Azarkon]

That would imply he would support her more had she been serious about her beliefs.

Only that he thought it would be interesting to have a different perspective on the subject (women in videogames), but after seeing that it was all bullshit filled with nonsense he stopped supporting it.

This is kind of like bending backwards to try and absolve Sawyer of responsibility, especially in the context of a game he himself was project director of.

No, I think they shouldn't have change the content because it was a joke and only morons could get offended by that. It's just that it's impossible, at least for us, to trace down the responsible for that decision.

This is Sawyer on the Something Awful forums:

Well, I don't know what they mean by lame gender stuff (I saw a lot of that in Tyranny, but I have the feeling that's not what that poster would criticize), but this answer is pretty stupid. Still, his games and the content he made in whatever rpg he worked on doesn't stink of SJW retardedness.

That depends on what you regard as SJW. All I know is that Sawyer has indicated that he wants to make games that are diverse, inclusive, LGBT friendly, not sexist or racist, and which avoids Sarkeesian's negative female tropes, and that he's accomplished pretty much all of these. Does any of Obsidian's games strike you as particularly subversive when it comes to SJW themes? Because they aren't. In case avoiding the stupidity that are Bioware's attempts at SJW rules you out from being a SJW, then I suppose Sawyer and Obsidian can't be SJW. But that would be the equivalent of saying that only the dumbest liberals can be liberal. Most developers are smarter than this.

I remember arguing CD Projekt's games are more liberal and progressive - in the classic sense of the word - than the Codex love train at the time was willing to admit, but these days people are so used to classical liberalism that they think any game with hot women + straight sex = conservative. But when you apply the same standard and analysis to Obsidian, you find that they are much further along the path than CD Projekt has ever been. People hate Bioware for pandering to SJW types with making their female characters conventionally ugly, but have failed to observe that Pillars of Eternity follows a similar aesthetic - and which would be more obvious had Cadegund not been cut. People criticize Bioware for the forced inclusion of black people/racial diversity in an European Middle Ages setting, but seem to be completely oblivious to the fact that Obsidian does the same. People laugh at Bioware for their detailed policy on how to avoid being transphobic, but miss the evidence that Obsidian also has a comparable but less spoken about policy.

Am I saying Sawyer, or for that matter Obsidian, is as obvious in their SJW as Bioware? Of course not. But a close reading of the material shows many of the same tendencies and even social media & hiring practices, and I don't expect that to change. This, along with Sawyer's beliefs about how to make an excellent game system, will always serve as a divide between the Codex and Obsidian developers, even when, at times, they can't put into words what that divide might be. And thus, each time Obsidian releases a game, drama is just about certain.

 

[pippin]

re: Sarkeesian, I wonder if Josh has ever said anything about her using edited and out of context footage from New Vegas during one of her videos. Roguey ?

 

[Roguey]

re: Sarkeesian, I wonder if Josh has ever said anything about her using edited and out of context footage from New Vegas during one of her videos. Roguey ?

He did point out that he disagreed with one of their assessments of Fallout New Vegas some years ago. Some background decoration nonsense.

Dunno why anyone's bringing up Feminist Frequency now, the brand became poison with non-indie game developers and publishers when they went after Doom and violence in games. The farcical equivalent of HUAC going after the military instead of entertainers.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Dunno why anyone's bringing up Feminist Frequency now, the brand became poison with non-indie game developers and publishers when they went after Doom and violence in games. The farcical equivalent of HUAC going after the military instead of entertainers.

You're confusing Senator Joe McCarthy, who was brought down after he began attacking the military for supposed communist infiltration, with the House Un-American Activities Committee, which investigated the film industry.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

re: Sarkeesian, I wonder if Josh has ever said anything about her using edited and out of context footage from New Vegas during one of her videos. Roguey ?

He did point out that he disagreed with one of their assessments of Fallout New Vegas some years ago. Some background decoration nonsense.

Dunno why anyone's bringing up Feminist Frequency now, the brand became poison with non-indie game developers and publishers when they went after Doom and violence in games. The farcical equivalent of HUAC going after the military instead of entertainers.

Feminist Frequency has always been poison to me because of the fucking lies they tell about games they have no fucking idea about (Hitman being an early example).

Do you have a citation for this? I've been depressed by the sight of prominent game developers and filmmakers tie themselves to the Anita Sarkeesian mast, so it'll do me some good to see if people have publicly distanced from her.

I remember when Joss Whedon came out in support for her and I thought, "What the fuck? People like Sarkeesian are usually the first to call things like Buffy/Angel/superhero comicbooks sexist and now you're with her?"

 

[Roguey]

Feminist Frequency has always been poison to me because of the fucking lies they tell about games they have no fucking idea about (Hitman being an early example).

Do you have a citation for this? I've been depressed by the sight of prominent game developers and filmmakers tie themselves to the Anita Sarkeesian mast, so it'll do me some good to see if people have publicly distanced from her.

I remember when Joss Whedon came out in support for her and I thought, "What the fuck? People like Sarkeesian are usually the first to call things like Buffy/Angel/superhero comicbooks sexist and now you're with her?"

Some relatively-obscure Disney game developer felt comfortable enough releasing a video refuting her points https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXmlvz3lNNE

I don't believe she's been invited to any studios to speak or explicitly praised by any non-indie dev after the Great Doom Freakout of June 2015.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Sentinel]

 

[Infinitron]

O_o

 

[an Administrator]

 

[Excidium II]

http://jesawyer.tumblr.com/post/154576358641/im-wondering-is-arcade-gannon-is-meant-to-be

Is your middle name israel?

 

[Infinitron]

Israelis don't have middle names.