George Ziets opening a new RPG studio - Digimancy Entertainment

[BlackGoat]

Phillip K Dick said he never wrote a novel without the aid of amphetamines until the late 70s, and he was quite prolific.

Of course he also died in 1982 only in his mid-50s.

But he'll live forever

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

So recipe for perfect RPG is watching Brazil on a loop while high on mushrooms.

 

[santino27]

Alcohol can be great for writing, but it's almost invariably shit for editing.

 

[fantadomat]

alcoholic writer

IS a good writer.

By that logic you oughta be great

I am not a bad writer for sure,spelling aside. Tho i rarely write because it is pointless. Compared to obsidian writers i am a divine being made out of pure imaginations and quality dialogue .

 

[fantadomat]

Alcohol can be great for writing, but it's almost invariably shit for editing.

That is why boring people should be editors and creative people should be writers.

 

[Roguey]

Deus Ex could have used some actual voice actors instead of letting the devs mic the lines in lmao:

It did, but yeah, it had so many characters that they couldn't go with high quality voice actors for everyone (same as the Bethesda problem).

 

[LudensCogitet]

I hope his game is fully voice acted. I first thought it was decline compared to text but over time I grew warm to voice acting. Imagine if PS:T was fully voice acted?

If PS:T was fully voiced it couldn't be PS:T. VO is a terrific drain on resources and it locks down the text far too early. Without full VO they can keep tweaking the text all the way to release.

I was just thinking this through the other day. Imagine being a designer in charge of a semi self-contained area in a game and being given free reign to design and write all the local quests. In the middle of one, a great idea occurs to you that will double the complexity, but the whole thing will become a memorable gem.

No VO: You passionately work until 4 AM a few nights in a row. Maybe it could use a few more editing passes, maybe it contains some bugs, but your vision is realized.

Full VO: You have to get it approved by the leads because you need time in the recording booth. Voice actor A has already moved on to another project and actor B is only scheduled for one more 2 hour session next week and it's booked up. No can do.

I'd love to hear the perspective of a dev on this, but that's got to be how it goes down right?

 

[G Ziets]

I hope his game is fully voice acted. I first thought it was decline compared to text but over time I grew warm to voice acting. Imagine if PS:T was fully voice acted?

If PS:T was fully voiced it couldn't be PS:T. VO is a terrific drain on resources and it locks down the text far too early. Without full VO they can keep tweaking the text all the way to release.

I was just thinking this through the other day. Imagine being a designer in charge of a semi self-contained area in a game and being given free reign to design and write all the local quests. In the middle of one, a great idea occurs to you that will double the complexity, but the whole thing will become a memorable gem.

No VO: You passionately work until 4 AM a few nights in a row. Maybe it could use a few more editing passes, maybe it contains some bugs, but your vision is realized.

Full VO: You have to get it approved by the leads because you need time in the recording booth. Voice actor A has already moved on to another project and actor B is only scheduled for one more 2 hour session next week and it's booked up. No can do.

I'd love to hear the perspective of a dev on this, but that's got to be how it goes down right?

You're right - that can happen, usually toward the end of production after VO recording has started. The addition of VO to a game also means that text lock (the date when text can't be changed anymore) is set much earlier. That can interfere with fixing bugs - if you discover a problem with a quest, but the VO for it has already been recorded, you may have to solve it in a way that doesn't require a dialogue change (which is often not optimal) or live with dialogue that doesn't quite match the quest content. (Sometimes that is the course of weird inconsistencies you'll encounter as a player.)

VO adds another consideration too, which is the total number of voiced lines in the game. Management may limit the total dialogue lines in the game to avoid high VO costs. In some cases that might be good (encourages tighter writing), but it can also discourage individual designers from pushing ahead with passion projects like the one you describe.

 

[Neanderthal]

Elves are kinda played out, at least for me. I wouldn't want to include them (or the usual halflings, dwarves, etc.) in a setting that Digimancy creates from scratch. They’re not present in the world we’re developing now.

 

[ArchAngel]

G Ziets what is your stance on barbarians? And what is your stance on elves?

I like barbarians if they fit the setting. Elves are kinda played out, at least for me. I wouldn't want to include them (or the usual halflings, dwarves, etc.) in a setting that Digimancy creates from scratch. They’re not present in the world we’re developing now.

What is really played out is humans. You should create a game where players are Orc or Goblins and Humans are their main enemy.
Player races should be: Orcs, goblins, kobolds, gnolls, hobgoblins.

 

[DeepOcean]

This thread should be renamed "Let's push LSD to George Ziets."

 

[Lyric Suite]

G Ziets what is your stance on barbarians? And what is your stance on elves?

I like barbarians if they fit the setting. Elves are kinda played out, at least for me. I wouldn't want to include them (or the usual halflings, dwarves, etc.) in a setting that Digimancy creates from scratch. They’re not present in the world we’re developing now.

What is really played out is humans. You should create a game where players are Orc or Goblins and Humans are their main enemy.
Player races should be: Orcs, goblins, kobolds, gnolls, hobgoblins.

I don't think your incels RPG is gonna sell much.

 

[Lord Commissar Alexer]

Orcs and by extension all other non-human races are for exterminating or breeding.
Such is the law of the univere, kill'em or fuck'em.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Obligatory:

 

[Transfiguring Roar]

While there are many compelling and underrepresented settings, I think we (by "we" I mean RPG players) would be best served by George crafting his own original world. It's more work, and doesn't come with a fan-base and built-in recognition, so it's a financially riskier path. But I want to see what George can create with minimal external influences or constraints. That's the world I want to explore and experience.

Obviously, my opinion is biased. But my respect and admiration of Mr. Ziets comes through directly working with him in domains such as these. I suppose what I'm saying is that I can speak first-hand to George's abilities to create exceptional characters, places, events, civilizations. Ideally, we'll someday get to enjoy a Ziets-original setting.

That's absolutely fair enough, and I both respect your opinion and agree that an original Ziets setting would be preferable (I LOVE original/different/unique settings), and something I look forward to, but the question Ziets posted on twitter was "If we were to make a CRPG in an established setting, what setting would you choose?"

While we're on the subject, which established setting would you choose?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Orcs and by extension all other non-human races are for exterminating or breeding.
Such is the law of the univere, kill'em or fuck'em.

Hey Commissar Draco is this guy any relation of yours?

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

I'm fine with every setting as long as it has no elves.

 

[you know what time it is]

Love for these games is one of the top two qualifications I consider when hiring someone.

Speaking of which, are you hiring right now?

 

[Sentinel]

No Dwarves in Digimancy's setting? Complete decline. Dwarves are the best race.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Is this confirmed you are using an established D&D franchise (Dark Sun, Planescape etc) or are you just going to make your own?

 

[Darkzone]

"Everything I like is either illegal, immoral, or fattening, or at least causes cancer in rats."

I knew the other version of this quote without the "causes cancer in rats".

As shown by our patron saint among others, stims is the only class of drugs that should be codex approved. What other drugs causes manic shit-slinging interspersed with great productivity? Go on, I'm waiting.

Well that and alcohol. The alcoholic writer became a meme for good reason (and Chris certainly contributes to the meme).

Coffee and Cigarettes. The alcoholic writers were good writers, despite the alcohol and not because. They have learned and honed their arts not on alcohol, but perhaps they could get in an productive flow due to the alcohol. The alcohol could had dampen their limiting mental processes, that would otherwise have prevent them from writing. Most good writers are intelligent people that have to work through and compensate events in their past. The quote one of this author's: "Work is the curse of the drinking class."
Alcohol is also removing your natural inhibitions and leads to actions that you would have otherwise not do ( that leads to later regrets, like the regrets after a one night stand ). Or as the irish put it:
"Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you fight with your neighbor. It makes you shoot at your landlord, and it makes you miss him."

I'm do not speak against drugs, because i'm a unknowing konservative without experience fellow. I'm speaking against drugs, because i exactly know how drugs work, what they do and how it turns up in the end. And i considered ( still do ) many psychonauts as my friends.
One of my beloved books is from Albert Hofman: LSD - Mein Sorgenkind. Also i knew people who directly knew Albert Hofmann and if hadn't caught a flu i would have meet him in person.

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

G Ziets and ksaun have you read Seth Dickinson’s novella length lore books in Destiny/Destiny 2? Not really my cup of tea as a game, but the lore is great. Lots of mythic mode weirdness that I think you’d both enjoy.

https://www.ishtar-collective.net/categories/book-marasenna

https://www.ishtar-collective.net/categories/books-of-sorrow

Also highly recommend his actual books, but main thing: plz consider poaching him from Bungie.

 

[G Ziets]

Love for these games is one of the top two qualifications I consider when hiring someone.

Speaking of which, are you hiring right now?

We’re not hiring now, but we’ll take resumes for future consideration. Feel free to message me or contact on LinkedIn.

 

[G Ziets]

G Ziets and ksaun have you read Seth Dickinson’s novella length lore books in Destiny/Destiny 2? Not really my cup of tea as a game, but the lore is great. Lots of mythic mode weirdness that I think you’d both enjoy.

https://www.ishtar-collective.net/categories/book-marasenna

https://www.ishtar-collective.net/categories/books-of-sorrow

Also highly recommend his actual books, but main thing: plz consider poaching him from Bungie.

Very interesting. I wasn't familiar with his work, but if he's more of a freelancer, he might be open to other gigs. Will investigate further - thanks!

 

[Infinitron]

Love for these games is one of the top two qualifications I consider when hiring someone.

Speaking of which, are you hiring right now?

We’re not hiring now, but we’ll take resumes for future consideration. Feel free to message me or contact on LinkedIn.

sser