Development Info InXile consults academics to create Wasteland authenticity

[TwinkieGorilla]

You're right, I shouldn't care at all - it's not me who sees his money wasted carefully spent on this very important feauture because I haven't pledged.

I know, right? I mean to think that in the midst of playing this game I might come across some extra flavor-text and think "Where'd they get that from, that's pretty intense but since it actually seems like they consulted somebody who knows what they're talking about instead of thinking that was a cool move to go the extra mile suddenly this game is fucking destroyed oh WHYOHWHYOHWHY did I pay for this?!"

Yeah. That's going to suck. I better just give up hope now.

 

[Alex]

If It was some hard sci-fi shit I'd understand, but hiring scientists to help write a post-apocalyptical setting? What's the point?

I guess Obsidian will now have to step up their game and announce they hired a cabal of occultists to help write and design Project Eternity.
(snip...)

 

[Admiral jimbob]

Can't wait to see the scientifically accurate Scorpitron.

I guess Obsidian will now have to step up their game and announce they hired a cabal of occultists to help write and design Project Eternity.

BUT THEY ARE ALREADY A CABAL OF OCCULTISTS BECAUSE THEY ARE LIBRULS ha ha you see those libruls

 

[Surf Solar]

You're right, I shouldn't care at all - it's not me who sees his money wasted carefully spent on this very important feauture because I haven't pledged.

I know, right? I mean to think that in the midst of playing this game I might come across some extra flavor-text and think "Where'd they get that from, that's pretty intense but since it actually seems like they consulted somebody who knows what they're talking about instead of thinking that was a cool move to go the extra mile suddenly this game is fucking destroyed oh WHYOHWHYOHWHY did I pay for this?!"

Yeah. That's going to suck. I better just give up hope now.

Please give me the quote where I said the game will flat out suck. Thanks.

You also haven't explained how this will directly influence the gameplay, btw.

 

[Goral]

(...) Do you seriously need to pay a scientist to design a better game than Bethesda?

Apparently, yeah. Look at Fallout 2. It was retarded when compared to Fallout 1 and while not as retarded as Fallout 3 there were fire Geckos, magicians and other shit. With scientists looking over inXile's employees shoulders such epic ideas are less likely to be implemented.

 

[LeStryfe79]

Cool stuff. I doubt he wasted too many resources on it.

 

[Excidium]

If It was some hard sci-fi shit I'd understand, but hiring scientists to help write a post-apocalyptical setting? What's the point?

I guess Obsidian will now have to step up their game and announce they hired a cabal of occultists to help write and design Project Eternity.
(snip...)

I was instantly reminded of it when I wrote that post. :D

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

Please give me the quote where I said the game will flat out suck. Thanks.

Didn't say you did. You whined about it and called it a waste of time and/or money and implied this is something that those of us who've spent money on the game will be upset about.

You also haven't explained how this will directly influence the gameplay, btw.

Added flavor to text? More interesting back-story or dialogue? Enhanced environment? Who the fuck knows. I could sit here imagining all the cool benefits...

...or I could whine about these guys seeming to put in a little extra effort because I'm too edgy for this shit, man.

 

[felipepepe]

Just why? I understand super-mature & edgy games like Deus Ex HR doing science porn, but Wasteland? How does this goes with the scorpitron or the slicerdicer?

 

[Excidium]

(...) Do you seriously need to pay a scientist to design a better game than Bethesda?

Apparently, yeah. Look at Fallout 2. It was retarded when compared to Fallout 1 and while not as retarded as Fallout 3 there were fire Geckos, magicians and other shit. With scientists looking over inXile's employees shoulders such epic ideas are less likely to be implemented.

Do you have potato for brains? They didn't add that stuff to Fallout 2 because they thought it was plausible, they added because they wanted more wacky stuff in an already wacky setting.

 

[Haba]

Yeah, those Thwacke guys surely getting paid some fat dollars from the consultancy, unlike their poorly paying neuroscientist day jobs. I bet InXile will pay 1-2 million dollars to them. Not like they are doing this shit for fun and enjoyment, with some minor cost covering. No way. Millions. Of Dollars.

Those fucking scientists, they are serious boring cunts with no fun ideas at all. Oh the decline!

 

[Alex]

This doesn't mean the game will be super-realistic. Fuck, every crazy ass sci-fi movie out there has "scientific consultants" in the credits.

I certainly hope so. But still, this pretty weird. The thing is, to really get this kind of mood, you want the designers to go wild with science ideas. Hiring a firm to consult about this kind of thing seem pretty counterproductive. Still, maybe they are people the guys there know and trust, but this still sounds pretty weird.

 

[Captain Shrek]

You also haven't explained how this will directly influence the gameplay, btw.

uh.

They are wasting money on stuff they need not even have in the first place. We want a *campy* game. Let's face it; that is exactly what Wasteland was. And it was good.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Hmm.

... I'm okay with that.

 

[shihonage]

You're right, I shouldn't care at all - it's not me who sees his money wasted carefully spent on this very important feauture because I haven't pledged.

I know, right? I mean to think that in the midst of playing this game I might come across some extra flavor-text and think "Where'd they get that from, that's pretty intense but since it actually seems like they consulted somebody who knows what they're talking about instead of thinking that was a cool move to go the extra mile suddenly this game is fucking destroyed oh WHYOHWHYOHWHY did I pay for this?!"

Yeah. That's going to suck. I better just give up hope now.

Resources don't come out of thin air. The smaller the company is, the harder it is hit by every questionable deviation of time, focus and money.

Also - one thing is to use common sense (a virtue long abandoned by Bethesda), and another is is trying to create a compelling/fun narrative with a scientist barking at your every move.

With a science consultant attached at the hip, "Terminator 2" would've been a touching story about a mother-son reunion, brought to you by Lifetime network.

 

[jiujitsu]

This is p cool bros

 

[Alex]

Can't wait to see the scientifically accurate Scorpitron.
BUT THEY ARE ALREADY A CABAL OF OCCULTISTS BECAUSE THEY ARE LIBRULS ha ha you see those libruls

Come on, man. Keep this stuff to GD.

Yeah, those Thwacke guys surely getting paid some fat dollars from the consultancy, unlike their poorly paying neuroscientist day jobs. I bet InXile will pay 1-2 million dollars to them. Not like they are doing this shit for fun and enjoyment, with some minor cost covering. No way. Millions. Of Dollars.

Those fucking scientists, they are serious boring cunts with no fun ideas at all. Oh the decline!

I am sure they can bring nice ideas to the project, but I want something that feels like a continuation of Wasteland out of this game. While this certainly is not enough to "spell doom over the entire project", it just seems like the complete opposite direction they should travel. Heck, hiring a bunch of pre-schoolers to brainstorm science fiction ideas after watching a bunch of 70s and 80s movies seem more in line with the basic premise of Wasteland, I guess.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

Wasting money.

I love how every Codex member is an accountant for Obsidian and InXile now. I find it very hard to believe they're going to use the resources they need for more important things on "flavor" stuff like this if they aren't very confident with their budget and how it's spent.

 

[Jaesun]

Authentic Thaumaturgy

I'd be willing to bet Sawyer has read that. The dude reads practicably everything.

Anyways carry on codex. Don't let me down now.

 

[Jaesun]

Brian Fargo ‏@BrianFargo
Don't worry...Wasteland will still keep its odd humor, mutants and Scorpitrons etc. Thwacke helps with overall logic and science in parts.

Brian Fargo ‏@BrianFargo
Fun factor is most important element for Wasteland 2.

 

[Zed]

Brian Fargo ‏@BrianFargo
Don't worry...Wasteland will still keep its odd humor, mutants and Scorpitrons etc. Thwacke helps with overall logic and science in parts.

Brian Fargo ‏@BrianFargo
Fun factor is most important element for Wasteland 2.

Yeah, I saw it too. Updated news post!

 

[Sam Ecorners]

BTW I don't think this is that unusual. I'd be very surprised for instance if DX:HR didn't have scientific consultants. That game had tons of plausible technobabble.

They did. They even put out a short documentary about current state of human augmentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nx4TvGauDw

Thankfully that worked out better than boss battle 'consultants'

 

[felipepepe]

Thwacke helps with overall logic and science in parts.

But I like logic-less science...

 

[Snerf]

I guess Obsidian will now have to step up their game and announce they hired a cabal of occultists to help write and design Project Eternity.

Come on now, I thought we already decided that they weren't going to listen to the Obsidian Order.

 

[Surf Solar]

Brian Fargo ‏@BrianFargo
Don't worry...Wasteland will still keep its odd humor, mutants and Scorpitrons etc. Thwacke helps with overall logic and science in parts.

Brian Fargo ‏@BrianFargo
Fun factor is most important element for Wasteland 2.

So they have to hire someone to watch over them not to get too whacky or making sense/logic at all?