- Joined
- Jan 28, 2011
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Tags: Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura; Blizzard Entertainment; Diablo III; Leonard Boyarsky; Matt Barton; Obsidian Entertainment; Temple of Elemental Evil; Tim Cain; Troika Games; Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
The third and final episode of Matt Barton's interview with Leonard Boyarsky is all about his post-Interplay, post-Fallout years. It's the most interesting part of the interview in my opinion, because it reveals just how full of regret Leonard is about this part of his career. He spares no words in describing how Troika mismanaged the development of Arcanum due to the naive idea that they could replicate the favorable conditions of Fallout's development at their own company with a skeleton crew. And how their choice to work with the unfinished Source engine crippled the development of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, something which ended up severely damaging his health and has left him traumatized to this day.
Leonard also has regrets about his work on Diablo 3 at Blizzard, which is something he's talked about before - though interestingly in this interview he also seems to put some of the blame for the game's problems on a lack of decisive leadership at higher levels of management. However, in retrospect, Leonard's biggest regret is not putting more of Troika's top writing talent on The Temple of Elemental Evil, which he believes has harmed the game's legacy in comparison with the studio's other two titles.
In summary, it's Leonard's belief that he was extremely lucky with Fallout, and he's never been able to replicate that experience since. The interview does end on a positive note though, when a jovial Tim Cain shows up and starts up an impromptu dual interview. They talk a bit about the circumstances that led to Leonard leaving Blizzard to work on Obsidian's unrevealed new project, but there are no new details. Let's hope, however, that they finally manage to unlock some of that Fallout magic.
The third and final episode of Matt Barton's interview with Leonard Boyarsky is all about his post-Interplay, post-Fallout years. It's the most interesting part of the interview in my opinion, because it reveals just how full of regret Leonard is about this part of his career. He spares no words in describing how Troika mismanaged the development of Arcanum due to the naive idea that they could replicate the favorable conditions of Fallout's development at their own company with a skeleton crew. And how their choice to work with the unfinished Source engine crippled the development of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, something which ended up severely damaging his health and has left him traumatized to this day.
Leonard also has regrets about his work on Diablo 3 at Blizzard, which is something he's talked about before - though interestingly in this interview he also seems to put some of the blame for the game's problems on a lack of decisive leadership at higher levels of management. However, in retrospect, Leonard's biggest regret is not putting more of Troika's top writing talent on The Temple of Elemental Evil, which he believes has harmed the game's legacy in comparison with the studio's other two titles.
In summary, it's Leonard's belief that he was extremely lucky with Fallout, and he's never been able to replicate that experience since. The interview does end on a positive note though, when a jovial Tim Cain shows up and starts up an impromptu dual interview. They talk a bit about the circumstances that led to Leonard leaving Blizzard to work on Obsidian's unrevealed new project, but there are no new details. Let's hope, however, that they finally manage to unlock some of that Fallout magic.
