Interview Brian Fargo and MCA doing AMA on Reddit

[Zed]

Tags: Brian Fargo; Chris Avellone; MCA; Wasteland 2

You can ask Fargo and Avellone anything (AMA - Ask Me Anything) over at Reddit. Here's the link to the thread which is live, right this moment!

Our amazing Wasteland 2 Kickstarter is coming to a close in 3 days. Let's talk RPG's or anything else you've wanted to know about the industry.​

Update | The AMA is still ongoing. Here are some of the more interesting bits so far:

Fargo on Wasteland 2 camera perspective
I probably have not been clear on this but the main city exploration and battles will take take place on an isometric view. There will be limited zooming but unlikely for full rotation. And the world map which gives you the larger scope of the world may or may not be isometric. Straight down for that may suffice but I want to experiment to see if there is a nice look we can achieve with a more isometric angle on that perspective. I should re-iterate that these are the kinds of things that we will throw samples up to the forums for feedback. Once we agree on the look is when I turn the artists loose.

Avellone on playing the Codex' gifted copy of Arcanum
I am ashamed to say that I downloaded it (along with Avernum) and it still sits on my computer because FNV and DLCs consumed all my time. Also, I'm not going to apologize for this, but I'm also not going to play it any time soon because Wasteland 1 and Grimrock will now consume my time.

In repayment, I will draw RPG Codex trolls.

Avellone on games he would like to revive and work on
As for me, I'd love to do: Ultima (both conventional and the spin-offs like Martian Dreams), Wizard's Crown/Eternal Dagger (love the skill-based character building). In terms of existing franchises: The Wire, Archer, X-Com RPG, Deus Ex, and System Shock.

Wasteland was formerly one of the ones above, but then Brian contacted me, and made it a reality. Shiiiiit yeah
​

As we all know, Reddit is really shitty when it comes to readability. Therefore, you might want to check out these filtered links for pure developer goodness.
http://www.reddit.com/user/BrianFargo
http://www.reddit.com/user/ChrisAvellone
(Thanks for the links Infinitron)

Update 2 | The AMA is over since, like, 15 hours ago or something.
Here's a good recap of all the Wasteland 2-related questions and answers in an interview-like format, courtesy of No Mutants Allowed.

 

[lulurkinglurkerlurk]

Oh noes,they gonna retard on them i bet,much painfull lines gonna be read if i choose to follow this.

 

[thesoup]

BTE shall flourish with quotes from this.

 

[G.O.D]

First off... Thanks for showing up today. To answer the question: The things that we are "trading off" will be cinematic cut scenes and extensive audio from talking heads. Organizing and paying for cut scenes is a very expensive proposition. The fans have been very clear in their wishes of wanting more cause and effect and a bigger world and that is where we are going to spend our efforts. We also have the advantage in that we have the game systems in place which allows us to slide right into the sequel.

Good, good.

Bethesda has a great sense of open-world mechanics, and they've carried that through all their titles - Fallout is very much an open-world RPG, so I thought it worked well especially for that setting.
Also, Dogmeat.

Bah, too polite, AGAIN

EDIT:

Adapted

 

[likaq]

I probably have not been clear on this but the main city exploration and battles will take take place on an isometric view. There will be limited zooming but unlikely for full rotation. And the world map which gives you the larger scope of the world may or may not be isometric. Straight down for that may suffice but I want to experiment to see if there is a nice look we can achieve with a more isometric angle on that perspective. I should re-iterate that these are the kinds of things that we will throw samples up to the forums for feedback. Once we agree on the look is when I turn the artists loose.

I hope this funding model takes off, and I hope Kicking It Forward helps promote it, too. I'm so sick of seemingly "dead genres" being dismissed out of hand by publishers, and Kickstarter is a way to see those games again. (Thanks, Double Fine - can't wait for another adventure game, and can't wait for Shadowrun, either.)

 

[mindx2]

I absolutely HATE reddit's format!! Why do people use it?

 

[Infinitron]

MCA shoots down an emotionalfag from the forums:

[–]TanglebonesGWJ 2 points 26 minutes ago

Do you expect the plot to be tied to a specific main character and their emotional reactions like Planescape, or more free-wheeling, and open-ended?

[–]ChrisAvelloneCCO Obsidian Entertainment 10 points 12 minutes ago

It's a party-based game, so my expectation would be it's based on your party's efforts, but I don't think that makes it any less compelling.
I'll also add that I don't feel the Nameless One in PST had an emotional reaction - the players did, and he was the cipher for it. I think this can happen whether it's a single avatar or a band of avatars.

 

[Oesophagus]

[–]pov_dave 12 points 58 minutes ago

As the kickstarter is reaching it's last few days, have you been contacted by any Big Ass Games companies that you've spoken to in the past about Wasteland 2? If so, are you at liberty to discuss what those conversations were like/about?

• permalink

​

[–]BrianFargoCEO inXile Entertainment[S] 26 points 16 minutes ago

Of COURSE I have had some publishers call me to voice their interest in Wasteland and of me doing RPGs. I knew that was coming. I had one group that wanted to fund my marketing for a piece of the pie. I politely explained that we have an ARMY of fans who are better than any marketing campaign.

 

[lulurkinglurkerlurk]

CFA about Arcanum:

I am ashamed to say that I downloaded it (along with Avernum) and it still sits on my computer because FNV and DLCs consumed all my time. Also, I'm not going to apologize for this, but I'm also not going to play it any time soon because Wasteland 1 and Grimrock will now consume my time.
In repayment, I will draw RPG Codex trolls.

 

[Brayko]

Yeah good, glad he's not letting any of those worms in, regardless of what they propose.

 

[G.O.D]

[–]pov_dave 12 points 58 minutes ago

As the kickstarter is reaching it's last few days, have you been contacted by any Big Ass Games companies that you've spoken to in the past about Wasteland 2? If so, are you at liberty to discuss what those conversations were like/about?

• permalink

​

[–]BrianFargoCEO inXile Entertainment[S] 26 points 16 minutes ago

Of COURSE I have had some publishers call me to voice their interest in Wasteland and of me doing RPGs. I knew that was coming. I had one group that wanted to fund my marketing for a piece of the pie. I politely explained that we have an ARMY of fans who are better than any marketing campaign.

Ladies & Gentlemen.. it's emotional.









Well, almost

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

Of COURSE I have had some publishers call me to voice their interest in Wasteland and of me doing RPGs. I knew that was coming. I had one group that wanted to fund my marketing for a piece of the pie. I politely explained that we have an ARMY of fans who are better than any marketing campaign.

A -way of showing the publisher the finger. Ride on Brian.

 

[Infinitron]

Direct links to Brian and Chris comments (you can view context for each one):
http://www.reddit.com/user/BrianFargo
http://www.reddit.com/user/ChrisAvellone

 

[General Maxson]

I sure hope that this kickstarter thing lives and that we start getting glorious games from ages past... Then I will again after so many years, truly enjoy my gaming hobby.

 

[mindx2]

How the heck do you know which questions Brian & Chris have responded too?!!!

edit:

Direct links to Brian and Chris comments (you can view context for each one):
http://www.reddit.com/user/BrianFargo
http://www.reddit.com/user/ChrisAvellone

Thank you!!

 

[Havoc]

I got no time. :/ I want to get to the game industry (maybe Level Designer? I even send my CV to Techland for an intership.). Can somebody ask them about that and get an answer? Thanks.
Oh, and get the best questions (and funniest) with answers here.

 

[mindx2]

I'm sorry but this whole reddit thing seemed like a waste of time. There is/was hardly ANY new or interesting information provided and the answers themselves have been given elsewhere. The best part was Brian talking about publishers now asking to invest in W2.

 

[CappenVarra]

For players able to bring Marcus the Super Mutant into Vault City, there's a huge bonus for taking him to the "real" Auto-Doc. It's a challenge, but worth it.

Wha-

Tim is hard at work on the combat systems in the South Park RPG. And baking cookies and treats for the team.

BTW, if anyone would want to see Tim Cain do a cookbook with all his recipes and would be willing to Kickstart it, let me know. Then I can strongarm him with the idea.

Wha-

I saw in one of your recent Kickstarter updates that you are sticking to the party system of 4 creatable ranger PCs. Will there be a way to designate one of them the leader, or player-represented avatar? In a game where choices and consequences will play a significant part, I feel that having a single character that takes responsibility for making those decisions on behalf of the party is important from an RP perspective. Otherwise, you have the cognitive dissonance of a party that presumably makes moral choices by, what, general consensus?

No, you reta-

 

[Duckard]

I'm sorry but this whole reddit thing seemed like a waste of time. There is/was hardly ANY new or interesting information provided and the answers themselves have been given elsewhere. The best part was Brian talking about publishers now asking to invest in W2.

I imagine it's mostly a publicity thing just to stir up the hype as much as possible for the final stretch of the Kickstarter. What questions would you ask, anyway? It's not like the game's very far into development.

 

[Sacculina]

Many moons ago the prestigious RPG Codex pooled our meager resources together and bought you a copy of Arcanum after hearing you had never played it. Did you ever play get around to playing it? What did you think of it?

I am ashamed to say that I downloaded it (along with Avernum) and it still sits on my computer because FNV and DLCs consumed all my time. Also, I'm not going to apologize for this, but I'm also not going to play it any time soon because Wasteland 1 and Grimrock will now consume my time.

 

[Duckard]

[–]KeenanW 4 points1 hour ago

Chris, what do you think of the Chris Avellone idolatry at the RPG Codex?

[–]ChrisAvelloneCCO Obsidian Entertainment 2 points1 minute ago

I love those guys. Even when they hate me. I get my best images from there, and their recent Wasteland threads are hilarious.

 

[Infinitron]

[–]KeenanW 4 points1 hour ago

Chris, what do you think of the Chris Avellone idolatry at the RPG Codex?

[–]ChrisAvelloneCCO Obsidian Entertainment 2 points1 minute ago

I love those guys. Even when they hate me. I get my best images from there, and their recent Wasteland threads are hilarious.

 

[mindx2]

[–]KeenanW 4 points1 hour ago

Chris, what do you think of the Chris Avellone idolatry at the RPG Codex?

[–]ChrisAvelloneCCO Obsidian Entertainment 2 points1 minute ago

I love those guys. Even when they hate me. I get my best images from there, and their recent Wasteland threads are hilarious.

Well we are a PRESTIGIOUS cRPG site are we not?

Think of all the publicity we've gotten from the Kickstarter interviews and the $10,000 pledge! I'm actually curious how many more visitors we've had since the W2 Kickstarter started than was the average before?

 

[mindx2]

Looks like Brian has confirmed the "1980s" retro feel will be in W2

Yes the cultural references are part of the charm of these games. We did quite a few in the first Wasteland and you can get you will get some more from the 80's.

 

[Infinitron]

[–]ChrisAvelloneCCO Obsidian Entertainment 2 points 3 minutes ago

Chris (Priestly) rocks.