Interview ToEE posers and retorts at WorthPlaying

[Saint_Proverbius]

Tags: Temple of Elemental Evil; Tim Cain; Troika Games

There's an <a href="http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=12701">interview</a> with <b>Tim Cain</b> about <A href="http://www.greyhawkgame.com">Temple of Elemental Evil</a> over at <a href="http://www.worthplaying.com/">WorthPlaying</a>, featuring questions about how much of the engine from <A href="http://www.arcanum1.com">Arcanum</a> is being used, why it's turn based, and so on. Here's one about multiple endings:
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<blockquote><b>7. As you have stated earlier there will be multiple endings that will require you to use other characters. How are you planning to keep the game fresh for those players who are going to try and accomplish all the endings?</b>
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<b>TIMMEH:</b> These endings are not simply choices you make at the last minute of the game. Many of them are simply not available unless the party is evil, or good, or has an item in their possession, or performed an action earlier in the game. If a player tries to accomplish a different ending, he will see quests and dialogs that were not there on his first time playing.</blockquote>
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The above is an excellent reason why <i>TIM CAIN > WARREN SPECTOR</i>.
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Spotted this at <A href="http://www.shacknews.com">Shacknews</a>.

 

[Voss]

Wow. A fairly informative interview, too.

Party and individual alignment is checked... I want to see how this works out.

Up to 5 PCs, 3 NPCs, 5 summonables/animal companions.
Very first edition style adventuring-with-a-horde.
Maybe I will only have one front line fighter... if I run into trouble I can definitely find a way to compensate.

Kudos to Worthplaying and Tim Cain for an actual informative interview.

 

[HanoverF]

Pfft Informative? I didn't even find out his favorite color, or what historical figure he'd most like to meet


(for the reading impared thats sarcasm)

 

[Voss]

Oh, right. How could I forget the truly important things.

 

[EEVIAC]

Correct me if I'm wrong but Spector doesn't *make* games in the same way that Tim Cain makes games, does he? I'll use a cooking analogy to explain myself. Tim and his team could have a project to make choc-chip cookies, and he and all the other people on the team would be up to their elbows in dough, mixing flour, adding chocolate chips and such. Where as Warren would organize a team, tell them the cookies need to be done within the hour, delegate groups to work on dough and lay out trays, but still get credit at the end for "making" the cookies. I'm not trying to belittle Warren (he seems like a good guy) but he seems more likely to have his name as a prefix on a product ("Warren Spector's Deus Cookies") and it doesn't seem equitable. Its like a label A&R representative getting his name on the front of a record instead of the band.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Spector wrote an article for Gamasutra a few years ago detailing that developers shouldn't bother with making multiple avenues in CRPGs because most people only play the game through once anyway.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

Loved the interview, this game will be absolutely insane. And Spector said what? Play through them only once? wow.

 

[Deathy]

Y'know, that's probably one of the stupider things I've heard from Warren Spector.

If there is only one path through the game, then of course they'll only play through it once.

However, if, as most games go, a friend buys it and tells other friends about it, then when they all discuss how they played the game, they'll realize either (a they all played the game the exact same way, since that is the only path through the game, or (b if there are multiple paths through the game, they'll think to themselves "Wow, this game is deep. Let's all play it again" and thus the entertainment value of thegame is doubled, and the game becomes more memorable in the eyes of the gamer.

EDIT: Damned emoticons

 

[DarkUnderlord]

I think playing a game through again depends on what other people who've played the game say. Play Fallout 2 then check some of the forums. Someone will be asking about that armour you can have implanted, while someone else will be giving tips about the robot you can get as a companion. If you've done neither of those things, it sparks your interest and makes you play it all again, just to get that extra 10% that you've missed.

 

[Crazy Tuvok]

You know I really have to give Tim Cain (even more) credit. How many times is he asked the same questions over and over again and manages to not lose his shit? Just once outside of an interview done here at the codex I would like to see a dev asked "Why real time when DnD itself is turn based?" If this has been done does anyone have a link?