Company News Obsidian is hiring again = RPG overload

[Vault Dweller]

Tags: Obsidian Entertainment

<a href=http://www.obsidianent.com/>Obsidian Entertainment</a>, the last bastion of RPGs, is <a href=http://www.obsidianent.com/jobs/>hiring again</a> to increase the RPG output by 110%. Let's take a look at what skills and qualifications the best and the brightest must bring to the table:
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<blockquote>Applicants must be passionate gamers with the drive to make the best games possible.
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... a console role-playing game.</blockquote>Doesn't compute.
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<blockquote>Exceptional creativity.
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... a console role-playing game.</blockquote>What a waste of "exceptional creativity"
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<blockquote>Design experience on at least two titles, preferably at least one RPG, FPS, or other action title</blockquote>Signature material
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<blockquote>Obsidian Entertainment is growing, and we are searching for an experienced and talented lead designer to lead design for a brand new third-person action RPG.</blockquote>Code-named "Slam Dunk"
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.rpgdot.com">RPG Dot</A>

 

[Drakron]

If they are the last bastion then we are in the verge of being overrun.

 

[Kendar]

Last bastion, huh ? Then it looks like they won't last 6 more months before surrendering.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Are you kidding me? With 5 new action RPGs in development? Feargus has finally struck gold!

 

[obediah]

If it'll even out the statistics, I'll pledge to release a non-action crpg by 2035. I'll release a new F.A.Q. every 12 months so when I do release it VD can write a nasty review about the 29 years of hype.

I don't have 15 PhDs and my biceps aren't like 76", so don't expect too much.

F.A.Q. 1

Q. How much will your game cost?

A. It will be free, and I'll release the source as well.

Q. Why would I want to play your game?

A. Desperation? Trust me, you really don't want to play it.

 

[Twinfalls]

Design experience on at least two titles, preferably at least one RPG, FPS, or other action title

The keyword here is blackwhite... Applied to a Party member, it means a loyal willingness to say that black is white when Party discipline demands this. But it means also the ability to believe that black is white, and more, to know that black is white, and to forget that one has ever believed the contrary. This demands a continuous alteration of the past, made possible by the system of thought which really embraces all the rest, and which is known in Newspeak as doublethink.

 

[TalesfromtheCrypt]

RPG is ACTION
TURNBASED is BORING
SLAM DUNK is TEH WIN

 

[Keldryn]

Ah yes, RPG Codex, home of the unbiased and impartial news reports.

Isn't this site's beloved Gothic a "3rd person action RPG?"

 

[Vault Dweller]

Is it a console game? Also, how many "action RPGs" can you name that have the depth of the Gothic series?

 

[obediah]

Ah yes, RPG Codex, home of the unbiased and impartial news reports.

Isn't this site's beloved Gothic a "3rd person action RPG?"

Huh? I like tiramisu better than cheese cake, does that mean I can't get enjoy a good cheesecake?
I can even complain that it's impossible to find tiramisu around here, and eat and enjoy some cheesecake in the same sitting. Oh noes, the complexity.

Also a good portion of the boner-popping that goes on here is about freedom, consequences, and story all of which are theoretically independent of the combat system.

 

[NoisyKillerHPB]

Isn't this site's beloved Gothic a "3rd person action RPG?"

GOTHIC'S COOL MAN

 

[bryce777]

we're finally getting those hardcore games he was talking about.

 

[Spazmo]

No, guys, you'll see! Obsidian really is the successor to the great RPG legacy of Black Isle. Of course, that's the IWD/BGDA part of the BIS legacy, but still!

 

[Jora]

Also a good portion of the boner-popping that goes on here is about freedom, consequences, and story all of which are theoretically independent of the combat system.

The action part in ARPG means large amount of combat and lack of choices, not the combat system.

 

[Volourn]

"The action part in ARPG means large amount of combat and lack of choices, not the combat system."

Bullshit. JE is more RPGish than most full RPGs... more so most of bio's earlier RPGs like BG.

Heck, Troika's BL is an 'action rpg', and it has way more and way better role-playing than their earlier work than TOEE.

What's funny is I hate BL's combat, and like TOEE's (for the most part); but I actually like BL.

Go figure.

 

[Jora]

Bullshit. JE is more RPGish than most full RPGs... more so most of bio's earlier RPGs like BG.

In what way? Are there useful non-combat skills like persuasion? Or just peaceful options? The Baldur's Gate games are basically ARPGs with a lot of dialogue that rarely affects anything. There are usually no great benefits for choosing non-combat solutions and most of the games is spent in dungeons fighting goblins or in wilderness fighting wolves. I wouldn't be surprised if JE was less of an ARPG than the earlier Bioware products.

Heck, Troika's BL is an 'action rpg', and it has way more and way better role-playing than their earlier work than TOEE.

Yes but the lack of choices and the action-based nature of the game becomes appalingly clear at the end of the game. TToEE is an action game too.

What's funny is I hate BL's combat, and like TOEE's (for the most part); but I actually like BL.

I like both but I've replayed BL much more.

 

[Kendar]

In what way? Are there useful non-combat skills like persuasion? Or just peaceful options?

No, having hight enough skills was crucial to go through the non-violent options. One single example : there was that serial killer you had to kill.
Talking to her was rather hard, since you needed 55 in one of the persuasion skill, and 60 or 65 in the two others. Hard, but you could hear her story and eventually understand why she became a serial killer, then kill the one responsible for her fall, and at last kill her when she asks you.
If you hadn't had a hight enough persuasion, you would just have killed her at the temple and never learned anything about her.

Not that these options were extremely more rewarding (they often were less), but the combat is so painful that I was personaly glad to skip it. Bioware sure know how to make you try to discuss with the NPCs. Not the most popular way though, I guess.
The beautiful part is that you can use the transformation to make the whole so easy that even the final boss is crushed like a fly.

 

[obediah]

Also a good portion of the boner-popping that goes on here is about freedom, consequences, and story all of which are theoretically independent of the combat system.

The action part in ARPG means large amount of combat and lack of choices, not the combat system.

Oh great, another *RPG naming convention some dickwad pulled out of his ass.

Crusade somewhere else, an action rpg is an rpg where the action is FPS'ey or whack-a-mole clickey. It can be on rails (Diablo) or offer a lot of choices (Deus Ex). You generally see a lot of combat in an action rpg, but you generally see a lot of combat in most rpgs.

EDIT: Your particular definition of action rpg jives pretty well with dungeon crawl and hack'n'slash. Why not just use one of those two rather than trying redefine another term?

If you'd rather read it in math

Deus Ex = action rpg
Deus Ex provides choices.
Your definition is dumb.
QED

 

[Jason]

This argument is stupid so here's another Feargus picture (courtesy of MCA).

 

[HanoverF]

I think we found kingcomrade's illegitimate father...


They really need to hire an editor for their demo's

 

[Volourn]

"In what way? Are there useful non-combat skills like persuasion? Or just peaceful options? The Baldur's Gate games are basically ARPGs with a lot of dialogue that rarely affects anything. There are usually no great benefits for choosing non-combat solutions and most of the games is spent in dungeons fighting goblins or in wilderness fighting wolves. I wouldn't be surprised if JE was less of an ARPG than the earlier Bioware products."

JE has 3 dialogue skillz. Many quests (not all) have peaceful means to complete them.The above exmaple by the other fool above is good though he's dumb in syaing JE's combat sucks. That's just dumb talk.

In what way? Are there useful non-combat skills like persuasion? Or just peaceful options? The Baldur's Gate games are basically ARPGs with a lot of dialogue that rarely affects anything. There are usually no great benefits for choosing non-combat solutions and most of the games is spent in dungeons fighting goblins or in wilderness fighting wolves. I wouldn't be surprised if JE was less of an ARPG than the earlier Bioware products.


"Yes but the lack of choices and the action-based nature of the game becomes appalingly clear at the end of the game."

Irrelevant. It's still a rpg with action combat (though skills do matter to a point in combat). And, there are still choices at the end of the game, dumbasses.

 

[suibhne]

This argument is stupid so here's another Feargus picture (courtesy of MCA).

It's a little hard to tell from the picture, but she looks potentially hot.

 

[Seven]

Ah yes, RPG Codex, home of the unbiased and impartial news reports.

Isn't this site's beloved Gothic a "3rd person action RPG?"

Huh? I like tiramisu better than cheese cake, does that mean I can't get enjoy a good cheesecake?
I can even complain that it's impossible to find tiramisu around here, and eat and enjoy some cheesecake in the same sitting. Oh noes, the complexity.

Also a good portion of the boner-popping that goes on here is about freedom, consequences, and story all of which are theoretically independent of the combat system.

Nice analogy, except it goes down the shitter when the guy supplying you with the tiramisu is really giving you cheese cake and calling it tiramisu. Just a thought.

EDIT: ACK.. I can't read, for some reason I thought the comment was about Obsidian making console RPGs and calling them good'ole RPGs; don't ask me where I got that from.

 

[Jora]

Oh great, another *RPG naming convention some dickwad pulled out of his ass.

Crusade somewhere else, an action rpg is an rpg where the action is FPS'ey or whack-a-mole clickey. It can be on rails (Diablo) or offer a lot of choices (Deus Ex). You generally see a lot of combat in an action rpg, but you generally see a lot of combat in most rpgs.

So when you're defending your definition, you're not crusading? Anyway, I see an action RPG as a game where there's great emphasizes on combat and role-playing options are often limited to good vs. evil or thieves guild vs. mages guild. If I can play a stealthy diplomat character in a game that has fast-paced real-time combat, why call it an action game? Wouldn't it be better to say that a game is an ARPG when I can't play such a character ?

EDIT: Your particular definition of action rpg jives pretty well with dungeon crawl and hack'n'slash. Why not just use one of those two rather than trying redefine another term?

I'm just trying to have a more sensible use for the term.

JE has 3 dialogue skillz. Many quests (not all) have peaceful means to complete them

If Jade has plenty of good choices, I wouldn't call it an action RPG. Kendar's example had a lot of killing, though.

Irrelevant. It's still a rpg with action combat (though skills do matter to a point in combat). And, there are still choices at the end of the game, dumbasses

A game with action combat doesn't mean that a game is an action game (which BL mostly is, unfortunately). And the choices in the end don't require dialogue skills. And doesn't either of the vampire bosses die no matter what?

 

[Kendar]

If Jade has plenty of good choices, I wouldn't call it an action RPG. Kendar's example had a lot of killing, though.

Yes, that wasn(t a good example. There are definitely a significant numer of quests you can finish without fighting, but you also often rather choose who you kill (with a menu to gain good or evil points ; I guess it is called "motivation", but until now, it has never mattered, except to gain a useless fighting style).