Incline Questions for the Codex interview with Leonard Boyarsky.

[ghostdog]

Jedi Master Radek , after the excellent MCA interview, We're expecting even more from you. Be sure to ask follow up questions whenever something interesting comes up, or when an answer is short or vague.


1. Along his career, which is the project he was most disappointed about getting scrapped?

2. What can he tell us about the Mystary! project which was one of the last things that Troika worked upon? Anything about gameplay/story? How difficult was finding a publisher for an RPG game at that time? Is there anything he can tell us about the other Troika project, Journey to the center of Arcanum? Is there any concept art done my him for these projects that has survived to this day?

3. Being both an artist and a gameplay designer, how difficult is it to combine meaningful gameplay mechanics with artistic vision? Which is the game he believes he achieved both in the most successful way?

4. Is there a certain setting that he would like, both as an artist and designer, to work on?

 

[Wesp5]

Calling Wesp5, he should have some interesting questions to ask.

Yeah, I read about this thread on the GOG board. I would really like to know if there is any kind of design document on Bloodlines with all the background story and the cut stuff and how can I obtain it ? Or if there is actual time to ask for specic things:

- As already mentioned, was one ending slot reserved for a Sabbat expansion or similar?
- Was the Cabbie intended to be Caine before WW changed it in the Gehenna book?
- Did they include the cut assets because they planned to do expansions later on?
- Was Jack inside the container on the Dane or did he enter the ship near LA?
- Who was writing the emails "from a friend" to the Bloodlines player?
- What maps were cut from the game besides the library one?
- What quests were cut from the game besides Trip's one?
- Are they working on a Bloodlines sequel right now?

 

[Space Insect]

Since the collapse of Troika, have there been any game's art style that, as an artist, appeal to him? And if so, what are they?

 

[Raziel]

Do you think there is a too great focus on balancing everything to perfection in modern games?

And citing online competitive games is cheating. I don't think anyone wants to go back to the broken imbalance that was Red Alert.

And that is where you are wrong.

I loathe games like SC2 where everything is done for perfect balancing that removes anything of interest.

Take a look at games like Warlords Battlecry 3*. 13 races. 13! And most of them quite varied in how you play them, sure with their own identity. Add to that your hero who could chose from.. uhm... at least 20 classes if I remember correctly.
That is some interesting stuff right there, I don't think I played any RTS game as much as WBC 3.
Was that game perfectly balanced? Hell, no! Some race/class combinations were clearly stronger than others. Some races themselves were stronger to begin with.
You could impose on yourself a challenge if you wanted, or play it safe. Or you could just play Faeries, because goddamn those cute high-pitched guys are powerful when massed.

Was this good for competitive multiplayer?
It barely had a functioning lobby, so... Let's just pretend it had a functioning lobby, would it have been good for competitive gameplay then?
Nah.
But... Fuck. Purely. Competitive. Gameplay.
I am so sick and tired of inviting friends to play some RTS games for some fun only to hear "nahh, I'm not good enough" and "I don't want to invest the time to git good."
They are absolutely right. No sane person wants to spend all of their rare free time getting gud at something just to play with some friends every once in a while.
But they feel that they would have to because most companies put such a large weight on competitiveness instead of just enjoyable co-op time.
How many more people just played the campaign(s) of SC2 and maybe some fun custom maps online (like TD) than people who play competitively? 2x? 5x? 10x? 100x?
Those games are missing their audience by such a large margin it's absurd.
All they'd have to do is focus on interesting stuff and variance instead of balancing everything into the ground.

Playing most RTS games with friends who are of a different skill level than you is absolutely impossible. Playing against them is out of the question.
Playing with them means people will either be bored because the AI level is below their skill or they will be overwhelmed because it is too high.
And all of that would be so easy to solve if at least some RTS devs would put more importance on co-op and just interesting variance than competitiveness.

Seriously, the lack of creativeness of devs (especially in my beloved RTS sector) really makes me angry.
And yes, I do blame the balancing madness.
UGH!
[/RANT]

*Yeah, WBC3 had serious issues, by far not a perfect game, by some standards not even a very good one. Yet it is the one RTS game that showed what could be possible if it was done right.

SC2 wasn't even Josh Sawyer - level balanced until like late HotS, mid LotV. Still, compared to SC1 your point is valid.

Also it's important to note what kind of balancing you do, the kind of bland by the numbers balancing that Blizz went for in SC2 seems to be prevalent amongst other games as well nowadays. SC1 was much more unbalanced when you looked at each unit individually. It's not just unit design though, LotV went in the right direction with disruptor, lurker etc. -- but the shitty engine amplifies the weaknesses of the game and that's something they can't/won't ever fix.

As for the 'competitive RTS', it's a dying breed. SC2 was supposed to be the modern succesor, but it strayed too far away from its predecessor to keep the old crowd, and at the same time not far away enough to cultivate a new generation. SC1 had a far greater barrier to entry, but the casual player would still find more than in SC2. But to be fair that problem has more to do with the implementation of the arcade system, and less with the overall game design choices.

On topic. I wonder when Boyarsky/Obsidian will reveal their new project? I found it odd that Paradox acquired the rights to VtM:Bloodlines specifically--did not that IP by itself only entail to some new characters? Making any sort of conclusion based on IP transferences is probably an excercise in vain, but it does make you wonder why would they go out of their way to get those rights. VtM:Redemption's licenses still reside in the hands of Activision, I assume.

 

[Prime Junta]

Scratch the other questions and just stick with Wesp5's.

 

[Joni Odin von Hassenstein]

Scratch the other questions and just stick with Wesp5's and Joni Odin's.

Fixed.

 

[janior]

Would you save little child instead of a little dog?

 

[Sacred82]

needs more Arcanum 2 related questions.


Could you imagine bringing Arcanum back as an isometric, party based game (contrary to the design docs leaked on the Codex)?

 

[SausageInYourFace]

Leonard, do you prefer Brofists or Hitlerfists?

 

[Latelistener]

I guess I'm a bit too late, although I still would like to know how is it feels like working on one game for nearly a decade in such a big company. Obsidian managed to make several games while he was in Blizzard.

I'm also interested why he decided to join Obsidian, considering that it isn't exactly the most stable company in the industry. Not so long ago it was nearly a bankrupt, not to say about constant layouts when publishers feel like they aren't satisfied with results.

 

[imweasel]

Do you love Bethesda's popamole super casual garbage as much as Josh Sawyer and Tim Cain?

Baldur's Gate or Diablo?

 

[ArchAngel]

I want to know from him if he considers story in Diablo III good if you are older than 9 ? And how did it happen that such bad story was allowed to be put into that game?

Also if you cannot find out from him what they are working on at the moment, all other questions are meaningless :D

 

[Latro]

Isn't it about time you start calling yourself "Manarsky"?

 

[Abu Antar]

I want to know from him if he considers story in Diablo III good if you are older than 9 ? And how did it happen that such bad story was allowed to be put into that game?

Also if you cannot find out from him what they are working on at the moment, all other questions are meaningless :D

Diablo III was supposed to have C&C and a lot of other crap that we like. The game underwent changes during development. It wouldn't surprise me if the game was less retarded before the changes.

 

[Neanderthal]

Who wrote Torian Kel's description o battle between Grey Legion and Molochean Hand? Whoever it were fucking kudos.

Fuck it I want a full breakdown on Arcanum, quests, writers, cut content yadda, yadda. Get crackin.

 

[Kalin]

Always bet on Neanderthal

 

[Shin]

ask him if he'd rather play a roguelike with arcanum's battle system or play a full fledged fps with bloodlines wonkyness

 

[Elemental_wanamingo]

When he plays rpgs what kind of characters he likes to play (stealth and combat avoiding, brawler, mage etc..). How does his playstyle effect the way he designs his games?

 

[udm]

How did you end up becoming Gomez?

 

[StrongBelwas]

So Jedi Master Radek, how is this coming along?

 

[Joni Odin von Hassenstein]

So is it happening or what?

 

[Bester]

It was a nice bait, Jedi Master Radek.

 

[Goral]

Jedi Master Radek
Have the questions been sent or did Obsidian blacklist you too?

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

It is all going well. I am unblacklistable.

 

[Illuvatard]

I'd like to hear more about the tools he uses for his artwork and how he got into art in general, and the learning process.