Development Info InXile consults academics to create Wasteland authenticity

[Vault Dweller]

We don't care about their sense of smell or sight because it's limited by the screen size.

Actually we do. Because having some creatures using different senses and having different instincts may make ofr more diverse and interesting gameplay.

Missed the point about the screen size?

DX:HR is actually perfect example of both - having and failing to have the right consultants. Augs are mostly awesome. OTOH genetics was wince inducing and problems introduced by transhumanism were mostly missed completely.

Augs are mostly shit because the aug game design was shit, regardless of what the in-game text was.

1. There is a lot of shit to reality and any reasonably detailed setting. Shit in reality is interconnected in ways most of which we can't even imagine, nevertheless those ways exists and contribute to the reality forming a cohesive whole.It's good to have someone who spent most of their fucking life vigorously exploring some of those connections between stuff you're going to feature in your game.

It's a generic and vague statement. "Reality is complex, so it's good to have people who understand this complexity!" Good how?

Reality is complex, captain Obvious, but games aren't. In reality there are food chains, social hierarchy, hunting grounds, food scarcity, birth rates, different predators and prey for each animal, seasons, and all the other shit that forms complex ecosystems. In games you have monsters waiting for you in the middle of some caves. They have no purpose other than to provide challenge, loot, and xp.

Would be nice to change it? Of course, it would, but we don't need scientists for that, at least not yet. We need better AI and better BASIC design. The problem is not that developers don't know how to do these things, the problems are limited time, budget, and focus on accessibility.

2. There is a lot of shit to reality and any reasonably detailed setting. When making a setting you're going to be making tons of unwitting assumptions about stuff, architecture, culture, technology, biology, physics and fuckload of stuff. A lot of those assumptions are going to be at least partially asspulled and likely at least partially very wrong. Guess who could help?

Ghostbusters?

3. Reality is a goldmine of weird, awesome and consistent stuff. Stuff that can be used as basis for creating an interesting setting. Unfortunately to ask google about something you must first know that it exists, and know how it's called.

Like?

The picture you're trying to paint sounds like one of those kitchen gadgets commercials - a retarded woman fails at basic stuff like breaking eggs, peeling vegetables, cutting something, etc. In your picture a retarded game designer is trying to design a monster but he can't because he's stupid and didn't go to college. He's trying to look stuff up online but he doesn't know what to look for, so he tries things like "cool monster" or "scary monster" and get retarded results. Then a bespectacled scientist, learned and wise, steps in and starts drawing diagrams and sciency shit on a nearby board, eventually drawing a giant crab. The stupid developer is overjoyed and goes back to work. The scientist watches over his shoulder like a teacher, making occasional but helpful remarks.

 

[visions]

The picture you're trying to paint sounds like one of those kitchen gadgets commercials - a retarded woman fails at basic stuff like breaking eggs, peeling vegetables, cutting something, etc. In your picture a retarded game designer is trying to design a monster but he can't because he's stupid and didn't go to college. He's trying to look stuff up online but he doesn't know what to look for, so he tries things like "cool monster" or "scary monster" and get retarded results. Then a bespectacled scientist, learned and wise, steps in and starts drawing diagrams and sciency shit on a nearby board, eventually drawing a giant crab. The stupid developer is overjoyed and goes back to work. The scientist watches over his shoulder like a teacher, making occasional but helpful remarks.