Cain on Games - Tim Cain's new YouTube channel

[Russia is over. The end.]

Cain on tropes: "I hate when the player gets hit on the head and then the game starts"
FNV: "Cool."

Tells you how much pull TC had at Obshitian.

 

[Roguey]

"It was our responsibility to do more to make the game better, but the people making the decisions on game quality kept getting distracted by shiny objects." - Avellone on perfect being the enemy of good on New Vegas (referring specifically to caravan, ammo crafting, and the looping reload animations)

Monarch in TOW was originally supposed to be a big open world area but had to be cut.

The reason why you have a jagged walk in Fallout is because they spent too much time trying to make sure the walk didn't look floaty.

Fallout 2 should have continued the story of the Vault Dweller, I always thought this was a big missed chance that led the world timeline advancing too fast due to the time jump, and then we got the F3 nonsense

I disagree. It would have been weird to start all over as a level 1 nothing. 2 also doesn't advance too far ahead; Tandi's still alive as an old woman.

Cain on tropes: "I hate when the player gets hit on the head and then the game starts"
FNV: "Cool."

There's an occasional misconception that getting shot in the head in New Vegas gives you amnesia, but that isn't the case.

kotor 2 is an example of a game without amnesia that does things awkwardly. It's bizarre when your character refers to events you've never heard about, or expresses great familiarity when greeting characters you've never met.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

There's an occasional misconception that getting shot in the head in New Vegas gives you amnesia, but that isn't the case.

I know that some people think he's from NCR because he never asks about NCR, so he doesn't have amnesia.
But it's so paper thin, I want to say it doesn't count. For all intents and purposes, the courier plays 99% as amnesiac.
Being from a vault really gave a good explanation for not knowing the world. In FNV, there's no explanation at all that the courier has no past from before being hit on the head. The elephant in the room is ignored.

 

[Butter]

Cain on tropes: "I hate when the player gets hit on the head and then the game starts"
FNV: "Cool."

Tells you how much pull TC had at Obshitian.

He didn't work there when they made New Vegas.

 

[Roguey]

There's an occasional misconception that getting shot in the head in New Vegas gives you amnesia, but that isn't the case.

I know that some people think he's from NCR because he never asks about NCR, so he doesn't have amnesia.
But it's so paper thin, I want to say it doesn't count. For all intents and purposes, the courier plays 99% as amnesiac.
Being from a vault really gave a good explanation for not knowing the world. In FNV, there's no explanation at all that the courier has no past from before being hit on the head. The elephant in the room is ignored.

There are dialogues where you can talk about your past. You're just not particularly familiar with this region, having done most of your courier work elsewhere.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

There's an occasional misconception that getting shot in the head in New Vegas gives you amnesia, but that isn't the case.

I know that some people think he's from NCR because he never asks about NCR, so he doesn't have amnesia.
But it's so paper thin, I want to say it doesn't count. For all intents and purposes, the courier plays 99% as amnesiac.
Being from a vault really gave a good explanation for not knowing the world. In FNV, there's no explanation at all that the courier has no past from before being hit on the head. The elephant in the room is ignored.

There are dialogues where you can talk about your past. You're just not particularly familiar with this region, having done most of your courier work elsewhere.

"What's a deathclaw?" is not a dialogue option indicative of a dweller of post-apocalyptic US. Being from another state doesn't cut it.

 

[Roguey]

"What's a deathclaw?" is not a dialogue option indicative of a dweller of post-apocalyptic US. Being from another state doesn't cut it.

Unless you can link to the dialogue where this happens I'll assume you misremembered it. https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/QJChompsLewis.txt doesn't have a "What's a deathclaw?" dialogue option. It's assumed you know about them, and ghouls, and super mutants. And why wouldn't you? This is a follow-up to Fallout 3, a game played by millions of people. Players know what these things are.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

I'm certainly going from an impression of the game, as I remember that impression 13 years after the fact, not from factual data. I hated the game.

 

[AW8]

kotor 2 is an example of a game without amnesia that does things awkwardly. It's bizarre when your character refers to events you've never heard about, or expresses great familiarity when greeting characters you've never met.

I think it was natural and creative way to do exposition through the dialogue options. A lot of the story has to do with your past, so it makes sense that your character would have dialogue options pertaining to it instead of just reacting to what others say.

 

[Wintermute]

Fallout New Vegas release date: October 19, 2010
Tim Cain joined Obsidian in 2011.

 

[Harthwain]

It's a minor issue, but you occasionally do increase your Barter skill by selling and buying crap. However these skill increases do nothing for you as you're probably not investing in the perks. All it accomplishes is bump up your level with "dead skills" which is counter productive to you if you are leveling up via non-combat skills.

One speech perk I liked was the ability to bribe guards when your notoriety was low. I wish RPGs offered more options, such as barter (including trading a personal reputation with an NPC for stuff), more diplomacy options (soft-threatening with your faction-related gravitas) and other similar stuff. It is very rare to see more than the most basic functions when the whole speech section deserves its own system (same goes for relations with NPCs).

I disagree. It would have been weird to start all over as a level 1 nothing.

The idea that your character is a complete newbie is understandable and can work in some circumstances, but it is too commonly used. I would love to see more RPGs allow you to start with a few more levels, ideally in exchange for difficulty being higher to compensate. That way you can design your character a bit more and you don't have to grind through your first couple of levels to get into the swing of things.

 

[Infinitron]

In a brief digression from talking about game development, I discuss some lessons I have learned about making a YouTube channel.

 

[Roguey]

In this video he reveals that he records them in the afternoon and then uploads them the following morning. I was wondering about that since he typically puts them up around 6-8 AM his time.

 

[sans.aesthetic]

I talk about common tropes in video games, including ones I like and ones I don't like, and what tropes I have used in my own games.

Amnesia makes Cain seethe. Fallout 2 originally started with you playing as the Vault Dweller who gets beaten back to level 1 and left with amnesia.

"I don't like romance options in RPGs." Tim was all for paying for sex and casual flings in games, but long romance arcs? Ick. Though in our post-Tropes-vs-women world we couldn't even get the prostitutes in The Outer Worlds so (good old Sawyer included them in the Pillars games, though I'd be surprised to see them in Avowed).

Oh, please cite where "playing as the Vault Dweller who gets beaten back to level 1 and left with amnesia" was a Tim Cain original.

As for the rest of your statements, I'd already inferred you aint much a cerebral type so won't bother commenting in depth. You are a fool though.


Edit:

I do realize that I am replying to a staff member and won't be heard by most anyone else, but that is the point; in case you were wondering. I hold you in contempt and will make that known here, to you.

 

[Roguey]

Oh, please cite where "playing as the Vault Dweller who gets beaten back to level 1 and left with amnesia" was a Tim Cain original.

Is this an ESL issue? I never said it was his idea.

Fallout 2's original design by the original team that was doing it had the player waking up after being being attacked bandits and beaten over the head and having all their gear stolen and they had amnesia so this was a reason to reset the player to level one with no skills or perks or items.

I did not like that, neither did anyone else outside that team. It is part of the reason Fallout 2 got reassigned to me, that's how much people don't like amnesia.

 

[Infinitron]

I talk about my biggest development regrets, one for Fallout and one for Fallout 2.

 

[Roguey]

Companion AI (predictable) and that he wasn't able to introduce a rival faction for the Brotherhood of Steel (a group that wanted to rediscover and share the knowledge of the old world with everyone).

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

a rival faction for the Brotherhood of Steel (a group that wanted to rediscover and share the knowledge of the old world with everyone).

Followers of the Apocalypse seem to fit the description, no?

 

[Roguey]

a rival faction for the Brotherhood of Steel (a group that wanted to rediscover and share the knowledge of the old world with everyone).

Followers of the Apocalypse seem to fit the description, no?

"It [The Abbey] did not have the Followers there. It was supposed to be an independent organization, probably of Jesuits or something like them (I'd probably go with the latter to avoid right-wing complaints). The monks preserved knowledge in the form of books, blueprints, and items, and they tried to preserve technical knowledge mainly. Unlike the BOS, who hoarded their technology and used it to stay superior, the abbey was open to anyone as long as they did not damage anything. All they had to offer was knowledge, because not a single preserved item functioned."
"One more thing: the monks did not understand the knowledge in the books they preserved. They treated them like holy materials, to be read and copied and cared for, but not acted upon. Think of the book "A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller, which was the inspiration for the abbey."

 

[Diggfinger]

The Abbey of Lost Knowledge, a direct reference to Miller's classic book, sounds brilliant and way more interesting than most quests/storylines that ended up in F2 IMO

 

[Roguey]

Hedonic Adaptation


Like many Codexers, Tim has entered a malaise where he feels like he's seen and done everything now, and he's bored with it all.

Unlike many Codexers, the guy decided to replay and finish(!) Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, and Fallout 4 in preparation for Starfield so that anything new will really stand out (he tried Daggerfall and gave up ). I think he's likely burned himself out on Bethesda-design.

 

[Eirinjas]

Hedonic Adaptation


Like many Codexers, Tim has entered a malaise where he feels like he's seen and done everything now, and he's bored with it all.

Unlike many Codexers, the guy decided to replay and finish(!) Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, and Fallout 4 in preparation for Starfield so that anything new will really stand out (he tried Daggerfall and gave up ). I think he's likely burned himself out on Bethesda-design.

That was depressing to listen to. Don't let the homies in the suicide thread watch this video.

 

[Egosphere]

Hedonic Adaptation


Like many Codexers, Tim has entered a malaise where he feels like he's seen and done everything now, and he's bored with it all.

Unlike many Codexers, the guy decided to replay and finish(!) Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, and Fallout 4 in preparation for Starfield so that anything new will really stand out (he tried Daggerfall and gave up ). I think he's likely burned himself out on Bethesda-design.

Man wants variety in gaming, ends up playing the whole bethesda lineup from the past 25 years LOL
What I don't understand is how he can say that he's tired of tropes in gaming, yet Outer Worlds was this pastiche of them?

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Roguey]

What I don't understand is how he can say that he's tired of tropes in gaming, yet Outer Worlds was this pastiche of them?

Perhaps a question for Leonard.