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Interview Nothing: What Bethesda learnt from Oblivion

DarkUnderlord

Professional Throne Sitter
Staff Member
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Messages
28,547
Tags: Fallout 3

<a href="http://au.xbox360.ign.com/articles/886/886320p1.html">There's an interview up with Pete Hines over on IGN AU</a>. It's all about learning from Oblivion and how that helps them make Fallout 3:
<br>
<blockquote><b>IGN AU: What did you learn from making Oblivion? What didn't work?</b>
<br>
<br>
Pete Hines: There's no giant 'we can't ever do that again' stuff.</blockquote>
<br>
Hello, level-scaling encounters so that you're attacked by poor bandits wearing glass armour? Or how about using the same 5 voice-over artists to record everyone's voice and then mix and matching their voices <em>during dialogue with a single character</em>? Any of that ring a bell for stuff that, you know, you just might want to totally avoid next time? No...?
<br>
<blockquote>It's more how do we design quests, what kind of choices do we let the player make, how do we account for things we think the player might try and do and anticipate those? So that they're like 'Oh, I wonder what happens when I do this?' And then there's actually something in the game that acknowledges it and takes it into account. And they go 'that's really cool that I got to finish this quest in a really unique way and the game recognised that and gave me a satisfying response.'
<br>
<br>
In Oblivion the most extreme example is the bandits, who's armour keeps going up and up as you're playing through the game. Suddenly they've got glass armour and amazing weapons. It was an obvious thing that didn't feel right.</blockquote>
<br>
Oh, right. It was an "obvious thing" and yet... they missed it and put it in the game anyway. Erm... Okay. Sure you're not just saying that because everyone told you it was a dumb idea after the fact and you're just trying to spin it so you don't look completely daft?
<br>
<blockquote>We definitely spent more time on third-person as a real, viable, 'play the whole game in this way' mode. And it is becoming more popular – the third-person, over the shoulder. I definitely think it's a much more playable, viable option than before.</blockquote>
<br>
U-huh. Didn't they say that about Oblivion too?
<br>
<blockquote><b>IGN AU: How do the choices you make about whether you play as a good guy or a bad guy affect the game?</b>
<br>
<br>
Pete Hines: I don't think there are enormous differences.</blockquote>
<br>
Go on. <a href="http://au.xbox360.ign.com/articles/886/886320p1.html">Read the rest</a>. You know you want to.
<br>
<br>
Spotted @ <a href="http://www.gamebanshee.com">GameBanshee</a>
 

Xor

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DarkUnderlord said:
<blockquote><b>IGN AU: What did you learn from making Oblivion? What didn't work?</b>

Pete Hines: There's no giant 'we can't ever do that again' stuff.</blockquote>
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Joined
Feb 10, 2007
Messages
7,715
DarkUnderlord said:
<blockquote><b>IGN AU: How do the choices you make about whether you play as a good guy or a bad guy affect the game?</b>

Pete Hines: I don't think there are enormous differences.</blockquote>
.......................,-~*`lllllllllllllllllllllllllll¯`*-,....................................
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................\llllllllllll,-~*.....................)_-\..*`*;..)..........................
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...................*,.........`-,...)-,..............,-*`...,-*....(`-,............\.......
......................f`-,.........`-,/...*-,___,,-~*....,-*......|...`-,..........\........
 

Jaesun

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DarkUnderlord said:
<a href="http://au.xbox360.ign.com/articles/886/886320p1.html">There's an interview up with Pete Hines over on IGN AU</a>. It's all about learning from Oblivion and how that helps them make Fallout 3:
<blockquote><b>IGN AU: What did you learn from making Oblivion? What didn't work?</b>

Pete Hines: There's no giant 'we can't ever do that again' stuff.</blockquote>
Hello, level-scaling encounters so that you're attacked by poor bandits wearing glass armour?

From the article: In Oblivion the most extreme example is the bandits, who's armour keeps going up and up as you're playing through the game. Suddenly they've got glass armour and amazing weapons. It was an obvious thing that didn't feel right.

Apparently "Didn't feel right" =! "we can't ever do that again' stuff". I guess Pete is so conditioned that he can't even admit Oblivion had 1 huge glaring flaw.
 

DraQ

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Fat Dragon

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You can't always make sneaking fun and visceral every second
If you put the effort into doing it, yes you can. Thief, Dues Ex, System Shock 2...Stealth in those games was fun because the devs did a good job designing them.

Apparently only killing orcs with a rock-it launcher and teddy bears is considered fun these days. :roll:
 

BillyOgawa

Scholar
Joined
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Messages
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You know, Fallout is a very different game [to Oblivion]. You've gone from swords and melee weapons and one ranged weapon to now where you've got lots and lots of ranged weapons. It almost flips the gameplay balance stuff.
Such astounding differences!
 

Annonchinil

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Messages
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Fat Dragon said:
You can't always make sneaking fun and visceral every second
If you put the effort into doing it, yes you can. Thief, Dues Ex, System Shock 2...Stealth in those games was fun because the devs did a good job designing them.

Apparently only killing orcs with a rock-it launcher and teddy bears is considered fun these days. :roll:

I wouldn't call Deus Ex stealth well designed.
 

JarlFrank

I like Thief THIS much
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Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Bethesda are so full of themselves, even if there's something that many of their fans criticize it's just a minor problem that was a side-effect of freeform gameplay. What a fucking shit.
 

Unradscorpion

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Pete Hines said:
You know, Fallout is a very different game [to Oblivion]. You've gone from swords and melee weapons and one ranged weapon to now where you've got lots and lots of ranged weapons. It almost flips the gameplay balance stuff.
It's very different, now you have guns.
 

LRP

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Nov 15, 2007
Messages
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Surely this is only what their PR boi has been told to say, onliest and ever!

Nobody and no corporation and no business that wants to succeed has this attitude right?

What a bunch of idiots are in charge of Bethesda, from the top down. Everybody makes mistakes, and things can always be done better. Of course in Oblivion a LOT of things could have been done better, and they didn't learn from any of it.

The more I read Pete Hines releases the more I am convinced that the REAL Petie is a seventh grader of somewhat average to slightly below average intelligence and ability, console kiddie of the first order, and so totally and awesomely next gen kinda of guy. Did these guys ever grow up and develop a somewhat more advanced ability with the English language and ability to express themselves? After all he is in PR and the ability to communicate, one of the prime abilities that come with that job? The word 'stuff' as a descriptor for example, ohh and let's not forget the incessant use of the word 'cool'. This guy is really a piece of work.
 

VonVentrue

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Xi said:
How arrogant can this company get? That's just so arrogant it makes me laugh.

It is hard NOT to become arrogant (not to mention feel superior) upon having relentless, irrational praise bestowed on an utter piece of shit created with the minimum effort.
 

Mareus

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VonVentrue said:
Xi said:
How arrogant can this company get? That's just so arrogant it makes me laugh.

It is hard NOT to become arrogant (not to mention feel superior) upon having relentless, irrational praise bestowed on an utter piece of shit created with the minimum effort.

Actually everyone is spitting shit on Oblivion. Just check the interenet and you will see it is not only the Codex. Few fan sites are nothing compared to all the hatred people feel towards this piece of shit. Only one bestowing any kind words to Oblivion were console kids and bribed review sites. It sold well on PC because Morrowind was pretty amazing and people hoped modding community will again do developers job for free, which they did, but I think Bethcrap will be pretty shocked with slaes when they publish FO3 :lol:

Maybe console kids will save their ass.
 

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