George Ziets opening a new RPG studio - Digimancy Entertainment

[ERYFKRAD]

why make them elves

So they can be killed

 

[biggestboss]

 

[Trashos]

A lot of interesting things in this segment, about creativity, the "save the world" trope, RPG moral alignments, Dungeon Siege 3, the Pillars of Eternity narrative(s) etc-etc.

Did we ever find out who made that unfortunate decision to have a pitching contest for PoE's narrative? And, even worse, who decided that various elements from various pitches should be combined? Was it Feargus?

 

[Quillon]

MCA who didn't wanna be lead also pitched a story and were it to get approved was he gonna be lead?

 

[G Ziets]

A lot of interesting things in this segment, about creativity, the "save the world" trope, RPG moral alignments, Dungeon Siege 3, the Pillars of Eternity narrative(s) etc-etc.

Did we ever find out who made that unfortunate decision to have a pitching contest for PoE's narrative? And, even worse, who decided that various elements from various pitches should be combined? Was it Feargus?

I still don’t know who decided upon that particular approach to PoE's story development. The person who provided the "winning" story wasn’t necessarily going to be narrative lead, though. I think the idea was to grab good ideas from many sources and then give the best one (or, as actually happened, a composite of the ideas we liked the most) to PoE's narrative crew for further development.

 

[Trashos]

Well, Obsidian obviously realized the mistake, and, as you said in the clip, has not used the same method since. But ambitious projects need a Champion, someone who really-really believes in them and is determined to make them work. PoE clearly lacked a Champion on the narrative side. As an outsider, I attribute this to that mixing of ideas.

The old guards of good RPG writing have abandoned us, George. With Avellone mostly fucking around (although Kingmaker is awesome in every way), your new effort is a big hope for me. All the best!

 

[Sailor Woedica]

G Ziets do you have any cool insights and stuff into how you came up with the gods in Pillars of Eternity (mainly Queen Woedica)? Also were you responsible for the paladin orders because Steel Garrotes are like the fiercest super glossy of orders to roleplay as in any rpg world ever! Thx

 

[fantadomat]

Avellone

Ahh the new zombie game that he is a head writer could end up well. Maybe a New Vegas with zombies?!

 

[Prime Junta]

Maybe a New Vegas with zombies

 

[Delterius]

Maybe a New Vegas with zombies

- am i a joke to you

 

[Theldaran]

Steel Garrotes are POE2? I don't remember them from 1 and, uh, I don't know if I really want to know.

 

[G Ziets]

G Ziets do you have any cool insights and stuff into how you came up with the gods in Pillars of Eternity (mainly Queen Woedica)? Also were you responsible for the paladin orders because Steel Garrotes are like the fiercest super glossy of orders to roleplay as in any rpg world ever! Thx

During the original PoE Kickstarter campaign, I actually wrote a dev diary about the process of developing the gods, with a focus on Woedica: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obsidian/project-eternity/posts/395376 . One thing I didn't mention in that article was that the original visual image of Woedica also included the figure of her slave, following along on the road behind her - the character who eventually became Skaen.

re: paladin orders - The original paladin orders came from Josh and me, and yes, the Steel Garrote was one of mine. I think they appeared in my first design document for Woedica and her faith.

 

[Mikeal]

So many pages yet nobody asked most important question. G Ziets is it true that you're lost brother of Basshunter?

 

[Sailor Woedica]

G Ziets do you have any cool insights and stuff into how you came up with the gods in Pillars of Eternity (mainly Queen Woedica)? Also were you responsible for the paladin orders because Steel Garrotes are like the fiercest super glossy of orders to roleplay as in any rpg world ever! Thx

During the original PoE Kickstarter campaign, I actually wrote a dev diary about the process of developing the gods, with a focus on Woedica: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obsidian/project-eternity/posts/395376 . One thing I didn't mention in that article was that the original visual image of Woedica also included the figure of her slave, following along on the road behind her - the character who eventually became Skaen.

re: paladin orders - The original paladin orders came from Josh and me, and yes, the Steel Garrote was one of mine. I think they appeared in my first design document for Woedica and her faith.

That is so cool! Thanks so much George! I can't wait to see what new games you make!

 

[biggestboss]

 

[Goral]

Woah, George put Matt in touch with some other game developers that Matt had problems to get in touch (e.g. Kevin Saunders), so nice of him.

G Ziets

 

[nikolokolus]

Earthsea you say? I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

 

[frajaq]

when the game is coming out

 

[nyjsu]

George seems like a really cool guy based on these interviews, all the luck to him in the future

 

[LESS T_T]

Former inXile community/PR guy Paul Marzagalli is working with George: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulmarzagalli/

Consultant

Company Name Digimancy Games
Dates Employed Nov 2019 – Present
Employment Duration 4 mos

- Collaborating with a start-up video game company of industry veterans led by George Ziets on a variety of communications, publisher, and networking projects.

 

[Lyric Suite]

when the game is coming out

This seems to have a chance of being an actual good game, so never. The decline will mobilize to stop it from ever getting released lmao.

 

[LESS T_T]

Lead System Designer Doug Hill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasahill/

Lead Systems Designer

Company Name Digimancy Entertainment (Contract)
Dates Employed Dec 2019 – Present
Employment Duration 7 mos
Location Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Almost 20 years experience in the industry, to be frankly I don't see any game/company Codex would appreciate: mostly casual, online, and mobile games. But I believe George chose him for a good reason.

Also he worked with Kevin Saunders at Nexon on the Nebula project. From Kevin's LinkedIn recommendation:

Through much of his time at Nebula, Doug was forced out of his comfort zone, having to tackle both design and implementation challenges that were significantly different from his past experiences. (We both knew that this would be the case.) Doug exhibited great perseverence and dedication as he adapted to the ever-changing situation. He came through with what we needed of him.

Meanwhile, when working in a domain in which he's familiar, Doug is capable of brilliance. For example, within a couple hours after a team playtest involving some new gameplay mechanics, Doug made major balance changes that drastically improved the play experience.

 

[Sentinel]

I legit don't care about curriculum at all. All the people with 20+ years experience did was either shit out half finished abortions or put out incredibly mediocre trash. All the good games came from new blood.

 

[TT1]

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

So who's this lucky favorite publisher?
What kind of project is it? RPG, or shitty visual novel about vampires, or a match 3 in the Faerun universe? What's the scope of the project?
What's the contract about? Is it for an entire project with all milestones worked out, or is it just "yeah ok, make a prototype for us and then we'll see, here's a hundred bucks George".

Hard to get even a chub on for this complete nothing-burger.

But what irks me the most is the use of ’ instead of '. I don't even know where ’ is on my keyboard.