Interview Feargus talks Obsidian at IGN

[Spazmo]

Tags: Feargus Urquhart; Obsidian Entertainment

<a href=http://www.ign.com>IGN</a> had a nice, long <a href=http://pc.ign.com/articles/684/684902p1.html>interview</a> with Feargus Urquhart of Obsidian Entertainment about... Obsidian Entertainment.<blockquote>Feargus admits that he gets yelled at sometimes for saying that games aren't art. "I think that sometimes games can be art in a certain way but that's not what we're doing. We're providing entertainment." And for Feargus and the team at Obsidian there's one cardinal rule for making sure a game is entertaining: "Don't frustrate the player. If there's any one thing that should pervade every form of game design it's that you shouldn't make the player fight the game."</blockquote>Games not being art is kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy, though, especially coming from Feargus "Slam Dunk" Urquhart.
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Thanks for the heads up, <b>baby arm</b>!

 

[Drakron]

Funny thing is Kojima (from Metal Gear fame) says the same thing (games not being art) and he does not get yelled at.

 

[DemonKing]

Games not being art is kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy, though, especially coming from Feargus "Slam Dunk" Urquhart.

Well, Obsidian are in the industry to make money, so logically any kind of artistic impression they leave is secondary to their primary goal.

 

[dunduks]

Very interesting read.

"Don't frustrate the player. If there's any one thing that should pervade every form of game design it's that you shouldn't make the player fight the game."

This is excellent approach, but it looks like it does not always work.

 

[Twinfalls]

Games not being art is kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy, though, especially coming from Feargus "Slam Dunk" Urquhart.

Oh come on, he's just being honest and unpretentious. The greatest games ever made have not been art, they're entertainment. There's art in them, sure, but it's not the same thing.

 

[Blacklung]

The only game I'd call art, recently, would be psychonauts. That game was the most imaginative thing I've seen in this industry in quite some time. My friend bought it and I just sat and watched (something I usually don't like to do). It reminded me of Tim Burton's style of animation in Nightmare Before Christmas, just without as much black and death.

 

[Screaming_life]

Funny thing is Kojima (from Metal Gear fame) says the same thing (games not being art) and he does not get yelled at.

And yet he makes such beautifull games

 

[Jon]

That was an interesting article. Obviously something wrong at IGN...

I didn't know that Feargus et al started out in QA. Bet that doesn't happen much anymore.

 

[FrancoTAU]

Movies and Books are entertainment and profit driven... yet they're considered art by most people, no? Personally, i think most movies, books and games would only be art by the most liberal of definitions. But, i do think there are gems in all genres that show exceptional thought, emotion and overal expression of the creators that i'd consider "Art"

 

[aweigh]

omg ico !!11!!!

 

[Greatatlantic]

Could somebody refresh my memory why he's called "slam dunk". I know thats his nick name know, I just can't remember where it came from.

On a related not, who was the idiot who made the "Tyranny of choice" comments. I think it was either Peter Molyneuax or Warren Spector... hmmm... I need to quote more developers in my sig to keep track of them all.

 

[Vault Dweller]

http://www.rpgcodex.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=3931

Meanwhile, the "tyranny of choice," as he [Warren Spector] puts it, can threaten to make the player freeze up because they're simply given too many options for things to do and places to go. The player doesn't know the particular rules are of the game--what he or she can get away with, what the long-term repercussions are of "bad" behavior, and the rewards of "good" behavior.

http://www.rpgdot.com/phpBB2/viewtopic. ... 4e03b2abdd

That brings us to June of 2001. We then tried to ramp up TORN, because it was obviously in trouble and pretty much everyone that wasn't working on the new game went to work on that project. Then with Interplay's financial problems, we layed some people off and cancelled TORN. So that I could retain as much of Black Isle as I could, I had to come up with a project that could be finished relatively quickly and was a slam dunk with very little to no risk of it getting done on time. That project is the Monroe project which we are announcing within the week.

 

[TheGreatGodPan]

http://www.rpgcodex.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=3931

Meanwhile, the "tyranny of choice," as he [Warren Spector] puts it, can threaten to make the player freeze up because they're simply given too many options for things to do and places to go. The player doesn't know the particular rules are of the game--what he or she can get away with, what the long-term repercussions are of "bad" behavior, and the rewards of "good" behavior.

It seems to me the solution is to let the player know the game rules.

 

[aweigh]

Seriously, did anyone actually play ICO? That game is as much art as any fucking painting or poem. Another game I would nominate as art is Planescape fucking Torment, and who could disagree with that? Kojima has said that he doesn't consider the MGS series art, and I would agree, although that doesn't mean it's any less good. The MGS series is very post-modern.

 

[Elwro]

Still Life had some good art, and is a piece of art in itself.

 

[elander_]

There is a photo acrhive in that interview.

Obsidean employes have strange work habits.

http://media.pc.ign.com/articles/684/68 ... 63396.html

Obsidien great QA departement.

http://media.pc.ign.com/articles/684/68 ... 63404.html

Their meeting room with a NWN2 screen:

http://media.pc.ign.com/articles/684/68 ... 63409.html

Look at the crap they drink. WTF is Perrier ?

http://media.pc.ign.com/articles/684/68 ... 63398.html

 

[aweigh]

Perrier is carbonated sparkling mineral water. It is fucking awesome. And you can buy it at Walgreens.

 

[DorrieB]

Seriously, did anyone actually play ICO? That game is as much art as any fucking painting or poem. Another game I would nominate as art is Planescape fucking Torment, and who could disagree with that?

Sure not me. But I've never even heard of ICO. Is it something I could get still? I have a lot of time on my hands lately.

Another game that I would call art (although I don't know how you feel about adventure games): Grim Fandango.

 

[Volourn]

No game is fuckin' art. Art is art. Art = paintings and drawings. Games are games. Movies are movies. Books are books. Dumb fuckin' morons. I sure as heck didn't rea dbooks or play games in Art Class.


R00fles!

 

[kingcomrade]

LOL IM STUPID!

 

[FrancoTAU]

Art is art. Art = paintings and drawings.

R00fles!

This was quite possibly the dumbest thing ever said on this board.

 

[kingcomrade]

Don't be so quick to say that. Volourn has over six thousand posts.

 

[zenslinger]

Art is art. Art = paintings and drawings.

R00fles!

This was quite possibly the dumbest thing ever said on this board.

Ain't that the truth. Utter, utter foolishness.

 

[Azarkon]

I've always conceived of "art," in its generic definition, as creative expression of the highest excellence. Unfortuntaely, academic elitism in the subject has given off the impression that "art" and "pop culture" are mutually exclusive and clearly defined categories. That, in my mind, is problematic because part of what makes art "art" is its ability to transcend categories and genres. To limit the scope of "art" is to limit the scope of creativity, and that's a damn shame.

Much as you do not judge as film as you would judge a book, games should not be considered "art" only for their achievements in the artistic, literary, or musical spheres. Starcraft is "art" insofar as art can apply to games. So is PS:T - but in a different fashion.

 

[aweigh]

DorrieB, Ico is an adventure/puzzle (third-person) for the PS2. It is 1st-generation yet still sports the most stunning graphics and art direction found in any PS2 game. You play a young boy, Ico, expelled from your village because you were born with horns. They take you to a far-away castle (where they send all the other people born with horns) to be dealt with by the castles' master, and that's where you assume control. You have to guide Ico through the many puzzles of the castle. Pretty soon you meet up with the only other living denizen, a girl named Yorda, who can't speak your language (you can never understand what she is saying, as while it is subtitled the subtitles are in her language) but seeing as how you're both trapped and alone you decide to make a go of it together. Most of the time she doesn't need much minding, but she's physically weaker than Ico (for reasons later inferred) and sometimes you have to guide her through certain puzzles (which is in itself part of the puzzle). The only confrontations in the game come from magical shadows that appear and try to spirit Yorda away from you, but they're very weak and it's not meant to be "action-y", as Ico doesn't even have a health gauge. One good wack from your trusty stick is all it takes and everything's safe again until the next point in which they appear. I would recommend this game to ANYONE, but especially to lovers of puzzle and adventure games, as it has one of the best ambiances of any game ever made. It is delightful, mystical, nostalgic, and manages to convey more emotional depth, and flesh out its two characters, better than most games, even without letting the player understand what is being said.