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Ken Rolston Comes Out Of Retirement With Big Huge Games

obediah

Erudite
Joined
Jan 31, 2005
Messages
5,051
suibhne said:
Nobody's arguing that consoles aren't computers. We're arguing that "CRPG" doesn't mean "console RPG", and that "computer" colloquially means PC in this usage.

Otoh, Wikipedia seems of two minds on the subject: "computer role-playing game" does not include consoles to Wiki, but the Wikids also seem to think that "console role-playing game" is "often abbreviated CRPG" (which I've never seen before). W/e.

You'll run into a few codexians that will argue that crpg stands for 'character rpg' which could run on a computer or console. Therefore.

A crpg is a crpg found predominately in crpgs. There are a few examples of crpgs being crpgs, but the vast majority of crpgs are not crpgs. It's becoming more common for crpgs to be released simultaneously as crpgs and crpgs, although the examples of this so far have not been crpgs. :shock:
 

Volourn

Pretty Princess
Pretty Princess Glory to Ukraine
Joined
Mar 10, 2003
Messages
24,924
PC RPG

Console RPG

CRPG

Western RPG

Japanese RPG

Action RPG

Dungeon Crawl RPG

MMORPG


All fun terms that in the end mean shit.


ON FUCKIN' TOPIC SINCE FUCKIN;' GUY ABOVE ME HAS A POINT:

I don't care for Bethesda games - any of them - so this guy means very little to me. However, I'll keep an eye out for his upcoming game. Mayhaps, he'll be able to make a game better than the overrated pile of shit known as Daggerretardsfall without Bethesda to ruin it all for him.


L0LLIGAGS! :twisted:
 

Lord Chambers

Erudite
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Messages
1,018
It's too bad you have to actually read this kind of shit to find out it is indeed shit.
 

Lumpy

Arcane
Joined
Sep 11, 2005
Messages
8,525
Yes, I love it how he supposedly left Bethesda to retire, but then joined another company without it having anything special.
Likely reason - he hated Bethesda.
 

Dark Helmet

Novice
Joined
Feb 4, 2007
Messages
30
Location
Texas
Meh, I'm not a big fan of Rise of Nations, but at least it attempted to evolve its genre into something more complex. Meaning they're probably a better creative outlet.

I think he was responsible for the more interesting/good parts of Morrowind, but this quote kind of killed any enthusiasm...

“A chance to work on a Big Huge Game with Big Huge Games? Who could resist?” said Rolston. “I had planned to retire and rest on my laurels after Oblivion, but Tim and his army of visionary charmers came along with a strikingly original and cunning concept for a console RPG…so now I’m back in the harness and chomping at the bit!”

Yeah, from Todd to Tim. Oh boy.
 

HardCode

Erudite
Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
1,138
Volourn said:
Same shit, different pile.

Consoles *are* computers.

Game over.

So a TiVO is the same thing too, right, because it runs a Linux OS? Moron. You lose. Game over.
 

Jed

Cipher
Joined
Nov 3, 2002
Messages
3,287
Location
Tech Bro Hell
Volourn said:
PC RPG
Console RPG
CRPG
Western RPG
Japanese RPG
Action RPG
Dungeon Crawl RPG
MMORPG

All fun terms that in the end mean shit.
Oatmeal

Pork chop

Applesauce

Sushi

Pepperoni pizza

Clam chowder

THEY ARE ALL FOOD AND THEREFORE NO DIFFERENCE!!!

Vollie, you should stay away from Post-Modernism.
 

OccupatedVoid

Arbiter
Joined
Sep 4, 2006
Messages
1,846
Location
East Texas
Jed said:
Oatmeal

Pork chop

Applesauce

Sushi

Pepperoni pizza

Clam chowder

THEY ARE ALL FOOD AND THEREFORE NO DIFFERENCE!!!

Vollie, you should stay away from Post-Modernism.
They all have natural ingredients too. ;)
 

Reklar

Liturgist
Joined
Jun 22, 2004
Messages
395
Location
Port Orchard, WA, USA
OccupatedVoid said:
Jed said:
Oatmeal

Pork chop

Applesauce

Sushi

Pepperoni pizza

Clam chowder

THEY ARE ALL FOOD AND THEREFORE NO DIFFERENCE!!!

Vollie, you should stay away from Post-Modernism.
They all have natural ingredients too. ;)

Not necessarily, they could be made entirely from synthesized or genetically modified organisms, or at least to the point where you could hardly call them natural anymore. :D

Anyhow, I don't know who this guy is and I'm not a fan of Morrowind, Oblivion, or Bethesda even, but I do think that Rise of Nations was one of the best designed and executed RTS games I've ever played. I much prefer the Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War RTS now, as well as Medieval II: Total War, but as far as generic "reality" based RTS games go RoN was a good game for its day. It was certainly more fun and less tedious to play than any of the Age of Empires games.

-Reklar
 

dagorkan

Arbiter
Joined
Jul 13, 2006
Messages
5,164
Genetically modified organisms are teh EVUL tho. Greenpeace told me that.
 

Reklar

Liturgist
Joined
Jun 22, 2004
Messages
395
Location
Port Orchard, WA, USA
dagorkan said:
Genetically modified organisms are teh EVUL tho. Greenpeace told me that.

Well, considering Greenpeacers litter the streets of Seattle like spent cigarette butts, I would hardly consider them an expert source. :lol: Anyway, you can just ask any EU member, or afficianado, and they'll say the same thing. I don't necessarily disagree with them, but the way the most vocal opposition to GMOs is handled certainly isn't very convincing to anyone who actually thinks. Then again, hardly anyone bothers to think for themselves anymore anyway, so I guess it isn't a problem. :?

So...in Ken Rolston's "decades" of game design experience, has he been largely responsible for anything that isn't a first-person, hack'n'slash cRPG like Morrowind and Oblivion?

-Reklar
 

dagorkan

Arbiter
Joined
Jul 13, 2006
Messages
5,164
Reklar said:
Then again, hardly anyone bothers to think for themselves anymore anyway, so I guess it isn't a problem. :?

Like most contraversial topics there are pragmatic arguments for supporting something and ideological ones. Like environmentalism in general, some people are for it because eg climate change can be a threat and others because they hate humanity and worship the pagan cult of Earthbeing.

So...in Ken Rolston's "decades" of game design experience, has he been largely responsible for anything that isn't a first-person, hack'n'slash cRPG like Morrowind and Oblivion?

I think the average Codexer is going overboard in praise because he's negative publicity for the hated Bethesda. Personally I haven't seen anything that great from him but I do know he was a major design influence in Morrowind, one of the shittiest RPGs of the decade which is basically Oblivion with worse graphics. I don't give a fuck about him.
 

Reklar

Liturgist
Joined
Jun 22, 2004
Messages
395
Location
Port Orchard, WA, USA
dongle said:
Reklar said:
So...in Ken Rolston's "decades" of game design experience, has he been largely responsible for anything that isn't a first-person, hack'n'slash cRPG like Morrowind and Oblivion?
http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=s ... torid=3446

Thanks for the link, dongle, that was an interesting read! I guess I should have been more precise and said computer games, but it is past 5 in the morning and I've been awake for a very long time. :shock:

-Reklar
 

Elwro

Arcane
Joined
Dec 29, 2002
Messages
11,746
Location
Krakow, Poland
Divinity: Original Sin Wasteland 2
Rolston was also responsible for WFRP's Realms of Sourcery, the first, unfinished version eventually rejected by GW and floating around the net. What Hogshead published a few years later was an example of how not to design an expansion to a PnP universe; I think Rolston's work was only a small part of it but I'm not sure now.
 

dongle

Scholar
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Messages
838
Reklar said:
I guess I should have been more precise and said computer games
This page:
http://www.mobygames.com/developer/shee ... rId,16278/

Lists these titles:
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006), 2K Games
The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon (2003), Bethesda Softworks LLC
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Game of the Year Edition) (2003), Bethesda Softworks LLC
Pirates of the Caribbean (2003), Bethesda Softworks LLC
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Collector's Edition) (2002), Bethesda Softworks LLC
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002), Bethesda Softworks LLC
The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal (2002), Ubi Soft Entertainment Software
PBA Bowling 2 (2000), Bethesda Softworks LLC
PBA Tour Bowling 2001 (2000), Bethesda Softworks LLC
Sea Dogs (2000), 1C Company
The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard (1998), Bethesda Softworks LLC
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (1997), Mindscape, Inc.

But I'm sure he was on the credits for Battlespire, no? Was he involved with Daggerfall? I don't remember off hand.

I suppose you can say PBA Tour Bowling is not "a first-person, hack'n'slash cRPG like Morrowind and Oblivion." :D
 

Damned Registrations

Furry Weeaboo Nazi Nihilist
Joined
Feb 24, 2007
Messages
14,980
The thing is I found Morrowind to have good and bad elements, while Oblivion had basically bad elements + shiny colors. If he was responsible for some of the good elements in Morrowind and left Beth because he was disgusted with Oblivion, I can have some hope for whatever he's working on. That seems to be the case, between the way he left/returned to the industry and the fact that his previous work is PnP stuff, I rather doubt he was campaigning for no consequences and pointless skills/stats that keep your character on the same treadmill at the same speed during the whole game.

Does anyone know what he focused on designing? Areas, characters, rulesets, lore? Would help immensely.
 

KazikluBey

Cipher
Patron
Joined
Feb 10, 2007
Messages
784
PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015
Some writer that worked on Morrowind for a while was interviewed about why he left gave the impression that Rolston was largely responsible for the story in Morrowind, including the whole "no one true account" for what happened at Red Mountain, important NPCs and such. Rolston is apparently a "top-down"-designer - he comes up with the story, then creates characters that fit with the story/stories, instead of the other way around.
 

suibhne

Erudite
Joined
Aug 21, 2003
Messages
1,951
Location
Chicago
The pomo fragmentation of Morrowind's central narrative was one of the best things about the game's story.
 

dongle

Scholar
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Messages
838
DamnedRegistrations said:
Does anyone know what he focused on designing? Areas, characters, rulesets, lore? Would help immensely.
Look at what's come out of Bethesda since Rolston left. Hoooorse Amooouuur.

Now, Oblivion may be bad, but if you've ever played one of the add-on packs you'll know it can be a lot worse. If you haven't, trust me; Storyline, quality, and nearly everything, took a nosedive. Even compared to what Oblivion offered. How much of that was due to losing Uncle Ken? I can't say for sure. I suppose the "real" expansion will tell us, not that I plan on playing it.

Doesn't bode well for Fallout.
 

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