I stumbled upon an Interview with MCA at starwarsknights.com mainly about KoTOR II but it touches also other topics . It's very spoiler heavy, so reading at one's own risk.
Some quotes:
Emperor Devon: Fan opinion of TSL ranges from it being a miracle that's descended down from the heavens to brighten up our world to being the spawn of Satan. You're probably not very partial to either of those, but how exactly is it you think the game turned out (overall) and why?
Chris Avellone: I thought it could have used less content or more time to cook, take your pick, but the content issues are mine, so if you wish to laud hate upon it, feel free to target me, but save any praise you have for the rest of the team. I should have cut a planet or drastically scaled down the cut scenes in the game (which was done in the Neverwinter Nights 2 expansion pack, and to good effect, I think).
I probably should have bit the bullet and cut the mini-games as well, they were an unnecessary distraction in development and I don’t think they added to the value of the role-playing experience in comparison to other mechanics in the game. I suppose I felt they, like the number of planets, needed to be there to make the game comparable to the first, when that was actually less important to the player in the long run.
Emperor Devon: Did you feel that you learned anything from the development of TSL?
Chris Avellone: Less content of higher quality is better than trying to meet the gameplay length of a previous title. There’s more optimistic and cynical lessons as well, but that’s the most important one that jumps to mind.
Darth Moeller: I think the thing I'd like to know is more about the cut content and how late in development it was decided that it had to be cut from the game.
Chris Avellone: It was pretty late in development, and we were pushing so hard at times it was difficult to tell if it would make it or not. We had continuous setback and emergencies (mostly memory management and level division) toward the end, so at times it was difficult to judge. In general, the schedule for K2 was aggressive, but that doesn't excuse me not taking more time in forecasting what's possible to include in the time provided.
I am proud of what Obsidian was able to do, I just wish I'd trimmed my ambitions a bit more.
Some quotes:
Emperor Devon: Fan opinion of TSL ranges from it being a miracle that's descended down from the heavens to brighten up our world to being the spawn of Satan. You're probably not very partial to either of those, but how exactly is it you think the game turned out (overall) and why?
Chris Avellone: I thought it could have used less content or more time to cook, take your pick, but the content issues are mine, so if you wish to laud hate upon it, feel free to target me, but save any praise you have for the rest of the team. I should have cut a planet or drastically scaled down the cut scenes in the game (which was done in the Neverwinter Nights 2 expansion pack, and to good effect, I think).
I probably should have bit the bullet and cut the mini-games as well, they were an unnecessary distraction in development and I don’t think they added to the value of the role-playing experience in comparison to other mechanics in the game. I suppose I felt they, like the number of planets, needed to be there to make the game comparable to the first, when that was actually less important to the player in the long run.
Emperor Devon: Did you feel that you learned anything from the development of TSL?
Chris Avellone: Less content of higher quality is better than trying to meet the gameplay length of a previous title. There’s more optimistic and cynical lessons as well, but that’s the most important one that jumps to mind.
Darth Moeller: I think the thing I'd like to know is more about the cut content and how late in development it was decided that it had to be cut from the game.
Chris Avellone: It was pretty late in development, and we were pushing so hard at times it was difficult to tell if it would make it or not. We had continuous setback and emergencies (mostly memory management and level division) toward the end, so at times it was difficult to judge. In general, the schedule for K2 was aggressive, but that doesn't excuse me not taking more time in forecasting what's possible to include in the time provided.
I am proud of what Obsidian was able to do, I just wish I'd trimmed my ambitions a bit more.
