Codex Interview Brent Knowles Interview: An Insider's Look at BioWare, 2000-2009

[MRY]

As well, because the game content did not have to be locked down too early (for voice over and cinematics), we actually had more development time.

I only played a bit of DA:O, but wasn't everything voiced other than the protagonist's lines? If so, this seems somewhat unpersuasive.

 

[Infinitron]

I only played a bit of DA:O, but wasn't everything voiced other than the protagonist's lines? If so, this seems somewhat unpersuasive.

He's talking about Baldur's Gate 2 in that quote.

 

[MRY]

Ah. Then I agree wholeheartedly.

 

[Lilura]

Just the thought of no-party control DnD seems boring, but are SoU/HotU actually worth playing? I understand NWN had a solid modding scene, are there mods that let you control you companions ala NWN2/IE?

There is no marquee select or strategy cam in NWN1, no. You have a degree of control of your companions by means of dialogue (buffing, basic tactics etc). If you're interested in seeing how this plays out, you won't find better examples online than in my HotU and current Aielund Saga recountings (see sig).

 

[tuluse]

I thought the question was pretty productive actually. It's exactly the same answer that Schafer gave regarding Broken Age being "an old school adventure game (picture of Day of the Tentacle)". Both are great examples of a developer claiming they're making a spiritual successor while completely missing the point about what people actually liked in the original. I have to say I found the parts about DAO to be the most interesting, since his answers seem to clearly point out that DAO was consolized from the start, that the whole spiel about "old-school CRPG" was just hot air from the get-go, and that EA had nothing to do with any of that after all, it was all Bioware's doing and part of their initial vision for the game, a bizarre mishmash of Mass Effect and Baldur's Gate that would please both sides, and even seems to have succeeded in the eyes of many.

One of these games sold about twice as many copies as the game it claimed to be a spiritual successor to, and one sold about 1/5 as many copies.

I don't think they missed what the majority of BG2 customers liked about the game. The niche that liked delving into ad&d intricacies? Yeah they got left behind, but it was a small number of the overall picture, or it was one of many things people liked about BG2 and were willing to experience what was left.

There's nothing very action-y about DAO, how do you see it as a hybrid BG-ME?

 

[Lilura]

I still don't understand what people like about HotU though. Yeah sure it's a stellar game compared to the OC, but that's not saying much, and it carries over many of the same problems that are inherent to it (repetitive environments, endless trash mobs, slow-ass and deathly boring combat, no real party control, unoptimized and ugly engine...)

It seems you don't know what you're talking about, but it is hilarious just how pig-headed and ignorant the Codex has been with regard to HotU over the years. There have been casual fumblings in random threads, and then there's this enlightening topic:

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/neverwinter-nights-hordes-of-the-underdark.3166/

 

[Athelas]

How many times is this that Lilura derailed a thread to take the opportunity to extol the virtues of NWN1?

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/neverwinter-nights-hordes-of-the-underdark.3166/

Now you're the one who's being ignorant. That topic (and other topics like it for numerous other games, all empty) is just a relic of an older Codex version. Some kind of site thing that got automatically converted into a forum topic at some point.

 

[Lilura]

Ok, but then show me all your HotU content..

 

[Infinitron]

Ok, but then show me all your HotU content..

Well, we did have newsposts about it back in the day: http://www.rpgcodex.net/tags.php?id=6

I did say it was underrated in the interview.

But, I also said the NWN expansions didn't change the fact that it was a mechanically limited game at its core. Some people will never be able to look past that, and that's their prerogative. *shrug*

 

[Lilura]

I like that Lith My'athar screenshot btw, whoever took it must be awesome.

 

[hiver]

Very good interview, especially because mr Knowles answered so many questions and did so as candidly as he could, but the questions were also good.
Who knows, maybe one far away day you will be able to get what is Fallout. Although i doubt it.


Its not really surprising to me to see that BG games were one time lucky confluences and peaks of those teams and times creativity. Especially BG 2 which benefited from better engine and all the experience of previous ones.
And its not anything strange to see how and why they went down the drain, when it comes to actually creating works of quality, instead of popularity.

 

[Greatness]

Has there ever been an actual good RPG with a voiced protagonist. I'm coming up blank. Does "Updated my Journal" count?

 

[Infinitron]

Has there ever been an actual good RPG with a voiced protagonist. I'm coming up blank. Does "Updated my Journal" count?

Does Deux Ex count

 

[Infinitron]

All right, some responses: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=976418

Good ones, even.

 

[Kem0sabe]

The reddit comments are hilarious, goddamned degenerates.

 

[Transfiguring Roar]

All right, some responses: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=976418

Good ones, even.

Was just about to comment on this.

Looks like your interview was very well received there.

The comments on reddit just show that some people don't get what pushing game design means. Fucken tragic.

 

[Infinitron]

The Reddit folks seem mostly concerned with how evil EA ruined the ending of their precious Mass Effect trilogy. The idea that Bioware may have gone through other, earlier changes is far outside their scope.

 

[Arulan]

All right, some responses: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=976418

Good ones, even.

Give us some credit. Some of us know what we're talking about, even if we're in the minority there. You'd think after five separate "DA:I is shit" threads, ME3, and DA2 their opinions of BioWare might have changed a little, but no.

 

[Kem0sabe]

Neogaf is all about the flavor of the month, it's a self feeding hype cycle.

I have rarely seen a forum so wonderfully delirious.

 

[Zeriel]

The Reddit folks seem mostly concerned with how evil EA ruined the ending of their precious Mass Effect trilogy. The idea that Bioware may have gone through other, earlier changes is far outside their scope.

Who is Baldur, and where is his Gate?

(to be read in Arnold's "who is your daddy?!" voice.)

 

[Mastermind]

Good interview, for a while I thought it was an Andhaira one.

 

[tuluse]

Most of the neogaf posts are pretty but there is this one:

There's just no way you could have a half voice acted game. It would feel cheap and unfinished.

Not to mention the players. I started playing the Dragon Age series over the holidays and in Origins you never feel like your character actually exists in the game universe.

 

[Transfiguring Roar]

The Reddit folks seem mostly concerned with how evil EA ruined the ending of their precious Mass Effect trilogy. The idea that Bioware may have gone through other, earlier changes is far outside their scope.

Sure, mostly. That's not what I was focusing on, though.

From reddit:

... Bioware continually gets better at what they do (nobody in the industry is as good at managing the ridiculous amount of quests, choices, and dialog they have)

...

Kem0sabe wrote:

They haven't actually improved on their design tho

Spot on.

 

[Zeriel]

Haha, that is pretty bad. It's like the exact opposite of what actually happened (i.e they keep getting worse at their core competencies).