Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Interview Fallout 3 Q&A with Emil at GameTap

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,024
Tags: Bethesda Softworks; Fallout 3

<a href=http://www.gametap.com>GameTap</a> has posted a very informative <a href=http://www.gametap.com/home/read/article/8a25090114bc79790114bd403ea50dc8>interview</a> with Emil Pagliarulo, Fallout 3 lead designer:
<br>
<br>
<blockquote>How important is it to telegraph to the player about the ramifications of what they’re about to do when presented with these kinds of options? In other words, you’ll know what you’re getting yourself into if you decide to do something like blow-up <b>Megaton--the first town</b> you encounter outside Vault 101.
<br>
<br>
You never want the player to feel ambushed or cheated. That’s the bottom line. Everybody knows how much it sucks to have something bad unexpectedly happen in a game, and have no way to recover. With Megaton, it’s such an extreme thing; it’s pretty hard not to know what’s going to happen. I mean, if you nuke the place, it’s gone. </blockquote>The biggest problem I have with the Megaton quest is it's the first town you see in the game. So, you just get out of the vault, squint at the world with your unused to the daylight eyes, and see a town. A guy there tells you "Hey, wanna blow it up? I would be cool, trust me!" and you say ... "Sure, why not?"?
<br>
<br>
I'd understand if you had to make this decision later on, after you explored the wasteland and came to hate (or like) Megaton. Then, after your dislike of the Megaton ways became known, you are approached, and then and only then you'd have a *reason* to wipe the town off the map. Anyway...
<br>
<br>
<blockquote><b>Have you encountered any issues where you’ve come up with an idea, but later think that you shouldn’t implement it because it’s not what Fallout is about? Basically, how restrictive has it been to work within the Fallout universe?</b>
<br>
<br>
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!</blockquote>An honest answer.
<br>
<br>
<blockquote>One of my big responsibilities as lead designer is playing “content cop”--making sure I know what’s going in the game at all times. With the nature of Fallout, it’s easy to say “Anything goes!”--but if you do that, things become diluted. The jokes you do have become less funny, the profanity you have becomes less noticeable and meaningful. So really, any idea that comes up has to fall under the microscope.
<br>
<br>
That said, the Fallout world is the Fallout world; it’s non-restrictive by nature. There’s not a whole we couldn’t include, if that’s what we wanted. So really, for us, it’s always a matter of asking ourselves, “Do we really want this? Does it fit with the world, does it fit with our story. At the end of the day, does it make Fallout 3 better?” If the answer to any of those questions is “no,” it doesn’t go in the game.</blockquote>- Hey guys, how about Intelligence checks in dialogues?
<br>
- No. It doesn't fit a Fallout game and we don't want it there anyway.
<br>
- What about a nuclear catapult? It shoots radioactive Barbie-heads that explode on contact? They also sing 40's songs...
<br>
- Great idea. We definitely want THAT in the game.
<br>
<br>
<blockquote>GameTap: The VATS mode looks like a good compromise between Fallout’s traditional turn-based combat and <b>modern, real-time first-person combat.</b></blockquote>Modern? You mean games like Doom (1993)?
<br>
<br>
<blockquote><b>One of the most memorable parts of Fallout was the fact that you could convince the last boss to kill himself. This is part of a larger aspect of Fallout, in that you could conceivably finish the game without killing anyone. Without spoiling anything, would it be accurate to say that Fallout 3 maintains this tradition--that the endgame can be done without violence?</b>
<br>
<br>
How do you know there is an end boss, huh? Huh?!
<br>
<br>
OK, let’s assume for a second that there is an end boss. And I’m a master of verbal manipulation. Will I be able to use these skills to my advantage, to maybe defeat my opponent without lifting a finger? You can count on it.</blockquote>Maybe?
<br>
<br>
<blockquote>Now, that’s not to say you can talk your way through the entire game without ever engaging in combat. ... But within the quests, and several other places, yeah--you can talk your way through, if you’ve got the skill.</blockquote>Hopefully, it's implemented better than in NWN2.
<br>
<br>
Thanks, Jaime.
<br>
<br>
Edit: Missed one:
<br>
<br>
<blockquote><b>...I’ve heard that in Fallout 3 intelligence doesn’t affect dialogue, that it’s almost all in speech or charisma. Is there a specific reason? Why can’t I wander around as some sort of nuclear cro-magnon?</b>
<br>
<br>
It really all comes down to the best way to balance our resources and our time, and concentrate on the things that really matter (liek teh graphikz - VD). Throughout the game, the player has so many choices, so many ways to define their character, we don’t want to get hung up on something like that.</blockquote>Makes sense. I'm sure that most people prefer to define their characters through facial customization anyway.
<br>
 

Deleted member 7219

Guest
I objected more to this quote, which VD seemed to pass by:

The jokes you do have become less funny, the profanity you have becomes less noticeable and meaningful. So really, any idea that comes up has to fall under the microscope.

Jokes? Profanity? Is this meant to be some post-apocalyptic comedy? Sam & Max in a wasteland? Forgive me if I'm wrong here Emil, but did NPCs in Fallout swear because it was HILARIOUSLY funny? Did you play through the game with a fist in your mouth to stop yourself cackling with laughter? I mean, for fucks sake. These idiots aren't going to make a worthy successor to Fallout if they go about inserting jokes like they were the thing that made the original so great. The original was tongue-in-cheek, it had some humour, but the game really wasn't about that. It was a serious game about life in a world gone to hell. Sure the Vault Boy images were quite funny but that is a far cry from saying the game was a comedy.

It's an offense against Fallout to say it was all about the laughs and the violence.
 

stony3k

Augur
Patron
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
470
Strap Yourselves In
That is what has been most disturbing to me about Fallout 3. Bethesda seem to think a bunch of crass jokes and excessive violence means Fallout - it's like they've played some bizarro version of Fallout and not the actual game itself.
 

Brother None

inXile Entertainment
Developer
Joined
Jul 11, 2004
Messages
5,673
Re: Fallout 3 Q&A with Emil at GameTap

Vault Dweller said:
The biggest problem I have with the Megaton quest is it's the first town you see in the game. So, you just get out of the vault, squint at the world with your unused to the daylight eyes, and see a town. A guy there tells you "Hey, wanna blow it up? I would be cool, trust me!" and you say ... "Sure, why not?"?

I'd understand if you had to make this decision later on, after you explored the wasteland and came to hate (or like) Megaton. Then, after your dislike of the Megaton ways became known, you are approached, and then and only then you'd have a *reason* to wipe the town off the map. Anyway...

It's the first place out of the vault, though. The first place you enter is Capital Wasteland and the ant-infested "ghost town" of Springvale.

I'm hoping that despite megaton being the first settlement you enter, you won't be able to get and finish that quest off the bat. I don't see how you could, since you have to go to Tenpenny Towers to finish it and Tenpenny is in mutant territory, kinda hard to survive at earlier levels. I think.
 

Bluebottle

Erudite
Patron
Joined
Oct 17, 2005
Messages
1,182
Dead State Wasteland 2
stony3k said:
That is what has been most disturbing to me about Fallout 3. Bethesda seem to think a bunch of crass jokes and excessive violence means Fallout - it's like they've played some bizarro version of Fallout and not the actual game itself.

Fallout 2? ho ho ho.

:too easy:


You're right though, Fallout 3 does seem to be quickly evolving into some bizarro 18 rated 'The Three Stooges in the Wasteland' shit.
 

TheLostOne

Savant
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
770
Location
Limbo
Re: Fallout 3 Q&A with Emil at GameTap

Brother None said:
I'm hoping that despite megaton being the first settlement you enter, you won't be able to get and finish that quest off the bat. I don't see how you could, since you have to go to Tenpenny Towers to finish it and Tenpenny is in mutant territory, kinda hard to survive at earlier levels. I think.

That's sort of the impression I got based of of you guys' preview. They even said that the only reason they were able to handle those encounters so soon was because of having stats boosted and equipment planted for the function of the demo. I'm really hoping the demo was over the top because of trying to show a broad spectrum of the game in a short time frame. Hopefully, it just seems "bizarro" because its so condensed.

Hopefully...
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,024
That would kinda go against Bethesda "we make games for people with short attention span" design philosophy, so I think it's safe to assume that you can finish the quest very quickly. That's why we have those scripted BoS and Protectron encounters, to ensure that you survive the journey.
 

TheLostOne

Savant
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
770
Location
Limbo
Point taken.

thesheeep said:
I honestly think that, since the announcement of F3, the word "hope" is written at least two times as often as before...

It's sad, but true. The further into development the game gets, the more I feel like my endless search for the silver lining is just delusional. It just bugs me that they keep saying things they know we want to hear about depth and choice and consequence, but all I see is bloom and boom.

It sucks because I know I'm going to give the game a chance, and I know I'm going to be disappointed. I can't help it.
 

Micmu

Magister
Joined
Aug 20, 2005
Messages
6,163
Location
ALIEN BASE-3
TheLostOne said:
It sucks because I know I'm going to give the game a chance, and I know I'm going to be disappointed. I can't help it.
Your kind allows developers and publishers to make this shit.
 

TheLostOne

Savant
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
770
Location
Limbo
micmu said:
TheLostOne said:
It sucks because I know I'm going to give the game a chance, and I know I'm going to be disappointed. I can't help it.
Your kind allows developers and publishers to make this shit.

Well, I am sure this game will sell well regardless. Oblivion wasn't a huge seller because of the unsatisfied RPG crowd who reluctantly bought it anyway. Alot of my Navy buddies are the usual FPS/football sim/racer goons, and they all had the 360 Obliv. I had the PC version, but didn't play it much except for trying out some mods.

I know where you're coming from, but I don't think your boycotting mentality would work even if all "true" fallout fans were to not buy the game.

Edit: Basically saying the console market is there regardless. All not buying the game does is convince Dev's that making games for consoles is the way to go.

Besides I'd rather play a mediocre game than not play at all. Not many RPG alternatives out there these days.
 

cuthbert

Novice
Joined
May 28, 2007
Messages
56
Location
california
I thought the interview came off as pandering to the skeptical fans who are still on the fence about it, as in if he exaggerates enough he might win a few over.
 

Bradylama

Arcane
Joined
Jul 24, 2006
Messages
23,647
Location
Oklahomo
I like how he thinks less profanity has less meaning. Like deluging the player with foul language is going to make its use have greater impact and not just be more prolific.
 

Human Shield

Augur
Joined
Sep 7, 2003
Messages
2,027
Location
VA, USA
Megaton is the first town so they can set up the one choice in the game first to trick reviewers (which you know are ALL going to mention how great it is) and keep the town worthless incase the player doesn't blow it up.
 

Lingwe

Liturgist
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
519
Location
australia
In other words, you’ll know what you’re getting yourself into if you decide to do something like blow-up Megaton--the first town you encounter outside Vault 101.

It is really quite sad how pathetic quest design at Bethesda is. Of the myriad of ways they could create a quest with two different outcomes they chose the most unlikely situation possible.

Megaton Plot Holes

Town is built in crater of unexploded bomb - what unexploded bomb creates a crater large enough to build a town in?
Man asks stranger who he has never met before to help him nuke said town - what person would ask someone they have never met before to help them detonate a nuclear weapon?
Man doesn't detonate bomb himself - why is the man sitting in a bar just waiting for someone else to come along and detonate the bomb?
Man wants to detonate bomb because he considers town a "blight" - wouldn't the man consider a huge crater filled with nothing but radiation to be a larger blight?
Player is supposedly meant to be taking the evil path if he chooses to detonate the bomb - is the player meant to be roleplaying a homicidal mass murderer?

Why doesn't Bethesda think about these sorts of things? Shouldn't the choice to blow up Megaton come at the very end and be because otherwise someone else will steal the bomb and detonate it in your vault or something at least half reasonable. Not some cheesy reason like "you wanna make a quick buck?". Of course about 90% of the people who buy Fallout 3 will choose to detonate the bomb on their first run through anyway just to see how cool it is. Bethesda should have just given that as the reason why you are detonating the bomb.

e.g
"Hey kiddo. Wanna see a fucking cool nuclear explosion?"
"Fuck yeah."
"Well then go arm that sucker in the middle of town and meet me at Tenpenny Towers to be blown away by the most insane bloom and particle effects you will ever see in a game."
"This is going to be fucking sweet."
"I know, now don't do anything stupid like tell the sheriff because otherwise you won't be able to see the fucking cool explosion."
"Don't worry, I bought this game just so I could see this myself."

Makes more sense than "I want to build a suburb there" and is probably closer to Bethesda's original intention anyway.
 

Texas Red

Whiner
Joined
Sep 9, 2006
Messages
7,044
"Well then go arm that sucker in the middle of town and meet me at Tenpenny Towers to be blown away by the most insane bloom and particle effects you will ever see in a game."

I think after this sentence the average Gamespotter would say "tldr", even if its voiced and just click to end it.
 

Pegultagol

Erudite
Joined
Feb 4, 2005
Messages
1,183
Location
General Gaming
You know that Megaton is going to be the showpiece interactive pinnacle magnum opus of choices and consequences as following the time honored tradition of the Fargoth quest that so well defined the wonders of roleplaying in Morrowind, right?
 

Sir_Brennus

Scholar
Joined
Jun 7, 2006
Messages
665
Location
GERMANY
Re: Fallout 3 Q&A with Emil at GameTap

The comments are not on your typical hate level, VD. Had a smooth day?

Well, probably not, or you would've thanked the interviewer for some nagging questions or Emil for trying to answer honestly.

Still, the only thing on the Codex in the last months that reminded me of something remotly connected to journalism.

*tHuMpS uP*
 

Koby

Scholar
Joined
Aug 8, 2006
Messages
356
Re: Fallout 3 Q&A with Emil at GameTap

Vault Dweller said:
GameTap: The VATS mode looks like a good compromise between Fallout’s traditional turn-based combat and modern, real-time first-person combat.
Modern? ...

A classical game journalism moment indeed.

You know, now that i think of it just about every interview has questions like these, I wander if questions like these are in fact a part of the game journalist code of ethics, of some sort, that a journalist must meet in order to ensure a quality interview, something along these lines..

- "In cases in which it is already established that the game has meet a minimum level of awesomeness (review), it is encouraged that the reporter will mitigate the parts of the interview that are already know to be awesome and thus save from the interviewer the burden to answer questions that the answer for it is already known and from the reader the burden to read the said already known facts.

- "In regard to preview, in order to ensure high quality reporting the reporter may and can assume that the game will meet said minimum level of awesomeness if he has good ground to do so and conduct the interview accordingly."
 

sabishii

Arbiter
Joined
Aug 18, 2005
Messages
1,325
Location
Gatornation
Re: Fallout 3 Q&A with Emil at GameTap

Sir_Brennus said:
The comments are not on your typical hate level, VD. Had a smooth day?

Well, probably not, or you would've thanked the interviewer for some nagging questions or Emil for trying to answer honestly.

Still, the only thing on the Codex in the last months that reminded me of something remotly connected to journalism.

*tHuMpS uP*
So on this other message board I visit, trolling without providing backup evidence ends up in literal banning. Can't see why it can't be like that here.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom