Development Info InXile consults academics to create Wasteland authenticity

[Kosmonaut]

The Turdlicker is back!

 

[Vault Dweller]

I'm not being negative, I'm stating a fact. The Eternity Kickstarter only recently ended. We don't know yet whether they will go dormant like Wasteland 2 did after that first "screenshot" or whether they will continue providing regular updates.

So far, they've told us a lot more about the game in 30 days than Fargo did in 6 months. So, far they've been very open about pretty much everything. Unlike Fargo. So far, they've already done post-KS updates and promised specific info in the next one - "Next week, we'll be talking about system design and how we're approaching mechanics like class design, advancement, and the role of equipment"

So, saying "well, but what if they stop..." to make a hypothetical point is kind of silly. Like saying "well, what if they spend all the moneys on drugs and hookers?". What? It can happen.

 

[Vault Dweller]

What we're talking about, what that consultant is talking about in that interview, is something else: making the gameworld science-approved,

Oh sure he does.

"GamesBeat: How do you strike that balance between realism and fantasy and being scientifically accurate or plausible without inundating the player with minute details?

Alvarado: While some may think we are out to achieve “realism” in gaming fiction, we are actually out to help shape plausibility and logic of a fictional world."

http://wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2778

And what do you think plausibility and logic of a fictional world mean?

 

[hiver]

I dont know... looks like plausability and logic of a fictional world to me. How about you?


How about you read more and then get back to me?
There are several links to a lot of material at the bottom of that wasteland forum page.

 

[Vault Dweller]

I dont know... looks like plausability and logic of a fictional world to me. How about you?

I.e. science! approved world. Questions?

How about you read more and then get back to me?
There are several links to a lot of material at the bottom of that wasteland forum page.

We did. We all read the stuff about Bioshock and laughed and laughed...

 

[curry]

We did. We all read the stuff about Bioshock and laughed and laughed...

We also read the stuff about your grandiose plans and laughed and laughed and you ended up being the laughing stock. How many pre-order units did you sell?

 

[Vault Dweller]

Oh, curry. The loveable retard. Whatever would we do without your insightful comments? Always trying so hard to troll like a big boy...

 

[curry]

Oh, curry. The loveable retard. Whatever would we do without your insightful comments? Always trying so hard to troll like a big boy...

I figured you couldn't come up with an intelligent response.

 

[hiver]

I see why you are confused.
It seems you are confused.

no, that sentence does not mean "i.e. science approved world". It means they enhance plausibility and logic of a fictional world.
its two different things. really.

and there is more about specifics in that same article on venturebeat.
but it requires reading.


/

We did. We all read the stuff about Bioshock and laughed and laughed...

We? You started speaking in royal we now? And what... one very short article?
Did IQ of codex got a sudden boost recently?

-edit-

im not going to quote it for you

 

[Vault Dweller]

I figured you couldn't come up with an intelligent response.

You've learned how to understand those already? My, my. Kids grow up so fast these days.

 

[Brayko]

Get a room fags.

 

[Jaesun]

Get a room fags.

What is your opinion on this?

 

[hiver]

Researching for your games: Scientific black boxes in video game narrative

 

[Brayko]

Get a room fags.

What is your opinion on this?

On what, the thread? Already posted it a few pages back. I'll also add that it's pretty goddamn dense to immediately get a negative reaction to this particular news, like hiring a professional consultant to gather scientific data in certain setting-relevent fields is going to automatically make the game hard science and no fun in the absolute.

I mean, I guess if I was struggling to finish a game it took gods know how long to complete, to the point where I quit my job to live off of Dead State Kickstarter funds in desperation to reach the finish line, I'd be pretty blasting towards other peoples projects to, even if it does get very fucking old and lose it's value at some point.

 

[Jaesun]

 

[xemous]

I always liked this kind of orc better:

those pigmen minatures look great ty for posting them

 

[MRY]

Assuming the cost is low, it's hard to get too worked up about this. Still, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Generally speaking, games with pulpy settings should be more about adhering to the logic of pulp, not the logic of reality. In other words, Wasteland should feel like a pulp science fiction setting (like the 2000 AD comic, or A Canticle for Liebowitz, or A Boy and His Dog, or pick your more modern equivalents) rather than like a scientific setting. If the point is simply to dress the pulp up with technobabble, I have no objection to it, since good pulp does have technobabble in it.

My concern is that the science folks come in and say things like, "Radiation might make mutations in the sense of, like, your sperm will be crooked and your kids will have bad kidneys, but it's not going to make green-skinned cannibals." Or "the aftermath of nuclear fallout is really pretty mild in the long term, if you check out the area around Chernobyl." I mean, maybe they're right! But they suck all the fun out of things. Just like people who think that space operas should try to give a logical, scientific framework for space ships fighting each other. It's not just futile (because there really will never be a good framework), it's actually counterproductive because it takes a lot of the fun out of space operas. The only framework that should matter is one that creates a fun setting for players to experience an interactive pulp space opera.

Obviously, I'm not saying every game has to be pulp. I'm just saying that if your game is pulp, and Wasteland plainly is, you need to embrace it and not be self-conscious.

But I imagine all this is really just a marketing thing that is costing them very little.

 

[SCO]

This potentially reminds me of those dull writers that do fantasy settings just so they can copy paste a 'real world' contemporary character/problem/mentality into them.

You know, people who do 15th century 100 years war setting just so they can have Jeanne d'Arc buying shoes in Orleans.

I've always admired authors that can make a alien society come alive into it's own rules, even if the rest of the writing is subpar (for instance Michelle West sunsword, or most of CJ Cherryh).


Then again, considering most of gaming is a wasteland of invincible obnoxious 'cool dudes' shooting stuff with impunity, maybe a bit of grounding won't be so bad.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

My concern is that the science folks come in and say things like, "Radiation might make mutations in the sense of, like, your sperm will be crooked and your kids will have bad kidneys, but it's not going to make green-skinned cannibals." Or "the aftermath of nuclear fallout is really pretty mild in the long term, if you check out the area around Chernobyl."

Unlikely, since they'll know it's for a game. I expect it'll be more along the lines of "Assuming a giant irradiated mutant guy existed, he would move this fast" and "Assuming nuclear fallout lasted that long, the world would look more or less like this"

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

And what do you think plausibility and logic of a fictional world mean?

THAT THIS GAME WILL BE SHIT HOLY SHIT THEY'RE WASTING THEIR MONEY I WISH I COULD CANCEL MY PLEDGE FUCK!!!

 

[Commissar Draco]

If it means the game won't have glaring errors high school dropout outside KWA will spot I am all for it. things like correct method of gunpowder production, basic tanery and metal working, etc... Well I hope the crafting will be implemented and used either by PCs or NPCs at Ranger Base Camp.

 

[Infinitron]

You're being a philistine, VD. Yes, fictional worlds absolutely can use logic, plausibility and internal consistency.

So far, they've told us a lot more about the game in 30 days than Fargo did in 6 months. So, far they've been very open about pretty much everything. Unlike Fargo. So far, they've already done post-KS updates and promised specific info in the next one - "Next week, we'll be talking about system design and how we're approaching mechanics like class design, advancement, and the role of equipment"

So, saying "well, but what if they stop..." to make a hypothetical point is kind of silly. Like saying "well, what if they spend all the moneys on drugs and hookers?". What? It can happen.

Whatever. We'll talk again in two months.

I mean, I guess if I was struggling to finish a game it took gods know how long to complete, to the point where I quit my job to live off of Dead State Kickstarter funds in desperation to reach the finish line

 

[hoverdog]

I am really angry about Wasteland 2

 

[Excidium]

You can't say anything remotely negative about Wasteland 2 without angering the horde.

The Codex is the place to be critical about things, if you can't handle the heat then stay in the respective circlejerk threads.

 

[St. Toxic]

They should hire some religious consultants to counteract the science and logic and enhance the fantasy aspect.