1UP Interviews Feargus Urquhart
1UP Interviews Feargus Urquhart
Interview - posted by Exitium on Thu 16 September 2004, 22:33:34
Tags: Feargus Urquhart; Neverwinter Nights 2; Obsidian EntertainmentOur favorite piñata has been given an interview by 1UP and he had the following things to say about his bad experience with the development at Black Isle Studios:
FUrquhart: Well my hell lasted from about June of 1996 until September of 2000. That was pretty much one straight crunch time - Fallout 1 to Fallout 2 to Baldur's Gate to Torment to Icewind Dale to Baldur's Gate 2. It pretty much sucked.
FUrquhart: Not to whine, but I got one vacation in there to get married.Oh, and before you all decide to flog him with a stick, check out the following:
FUrquhart: We've been talking a lot about older RPGs and how RPGs have evolved.
FUrquhart: We want to get back to the place where the world really played a role in the game. When you were playing Ultima IV, it wasn't just about your stats and the next big sword. It was about your place in the world.
FUrquhart: I guess we want to make it an adventure.
CGW: So how do you really feel about all the other RPGs out there now?
FUrquhart: They've started to fall into this "on a rail" feeling, or they are so expansive that you don't know what to do next. But Bioware did a great job with Kotor1 and brought the story back to being at the forefront.
CGW: So, for the most part you see lots of Diablos or Morrowinds.
FUrquhart: Exactly!
FUrquhart: I loved Diablo, but you didn't feel the accomplishment when you finished like you did when you finished an Ultima. And well, Morrowind, I think it's a good game in a lot of regards, but there are also a lot of problems with it.
CGW: I know, Ulitma IV was like a morality play...teaching you how to live a moral life and all. Sadly, I think I learned more from that than Sunday school. (They had an Apple in the rec room, what can I say?)
FUrquhart: Yep, and you still had the character system, items and spells - but that didn't over shadow what you were trying to do. We want to make sure that both reinforce each other and not have one overshadow the other.Hey, that's what I like to hear. Now, NWN2 should definitely feature more choices on morality, and unlike the later Ultima games (Ascension, anyone?), it would be best if it didn't pigeonhole you into playing a specific character/morality. I always liked that part about the Ultima series where you found out that the Gargoyles were an intelligent race of benevolent beings and that killing them all along was a bad thing to do.
FUrquhart: I can tell you that a big focus for NWN2 is on the NPCs - we want the player to care about them and have them be real. So, we are focusing on the key NPCs and putting a lot of time and energy behind them - to reinforce their part in the world.I'd like to see if Chris Avellone can work his magic with NWN2 like he did with Planescape Torment.
Thanks Mr. Teatime for the news tip.
FUrquhart: Well my hell lasted from about June of 1996 until September of 2000. That was pretty much one straight crunch time - Fallout 1 to Fallout 2 to Baldur's Gate to Torment to Icewind Dale to Baldur's Gate 2. It pretty much sucked.
FUrquhart: Not to whine, but I got one vacation in there to get married.
FUrquhart: We've been talking a lot about older RPGs and how RPGs have evolved.
FUrquhart: We want to get back to the place where the world really played a role in the game. When you were playing Ultima IV, it wasn't just about your stats and the next big sword. It was about your place in the world.
FUrquhart: I guess we want to make it an adventure.
CGW: So how do you really feel about all the other RPGs out there now?
FUrquhart: They've started to fall into this "on a rail" feeling, or they are so expansive that you don't know what to do next. But Bioware did a great job with Kotor1 and brought the story back to being at the forefront.
CGW: So, for the most part you see lots of Diablos or Morrowinds.
FUrquhart: Exactly!
FUrquhart: I loved Diablo, but you didn't feel the accomplishment when you finished like you did when you finished an Ultima. And well, Morrowind, I think it's a good game in a lot of regards, but there are also a lot of problems with it.
CGW: I know, Ulitma IV was like a morality play...teaching you how to live a moral life and all. Sadly, I think I learned more from that than Sunday school. (They had an Apple in the rec room, what can I say?)
FUrquhart: Yep, and you still had the character system, items and spells - but that didn't over shadow what you were trying to do. We want to make sure that both reinforce each other and not have one overshadow the other.
FUrquhart: I can tell you that a big focus for NWN2 is on the NPCs - we want the player to care about them and have them be real. So, we are focusing on the key NPCs and putting a lot of time and energy behind them - to reinforce their part in the world.
Thanks Mr. Teatime for the news tip.
