inXile General Discussion Thread

[Russia is over. The end.]

That doesn't mean he hasn't got a big family.

 

[Roguey]

I felt that there were some other crowdfunding projects that outlined whatever they were going to do and then they got it out - they checked the boxes - but that was kind of it, it was minimal. I felt like we had to do more than just check the bare minimum boxes, we just had to.

You didn't even "check the bare minimum boxes" on Tides of Numenera.

With Wasteland 3, we aren't making it as big as Wasteland 2; only like five percent of players finished Wasteland 2, so I'd rather have less maps

Isn't this grand?

 

[FeelTheRads]

I guess less turd collecting is a good thing in theory, but if W3 is also a turd collection simulator then what is there left to do? Perhaps modders can save it, can't be too hard to add more turds.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Fargo already planning some budget cuts on the BT/WL3 graphics? Breaking it to us gently, perhaps.

 

[Iznaliu]

Fargo already planning some budget cuts on the BT/WL3 graphics?

No, Fargo would say "What is this thing you call a budget?", and he knows next to nothing about the games InXile is working on, so he would not know about any 'budget cuts' unless they affect his salary.

 

[DosBuster]

 

[Alienman]

What the hell was that?

 

[StaticSpine]

I can't even come up with a witty comment.

 

[Sensuki]

Using the Westworld theme lmao

copyright????

 

[MRY]

Fargo already planning some budget cuts on the BT/WL3 graphics? Breaking it to us gently, perhaps.

It's as if he were hiding some new game message in plain view...

Spoiler

grateful to have...

Spoiler

dragon...

Spoiler

age!

Spoiler

All lies.

 

[Infinitron]

WTF? This video has been hiding in plain sight for over a month. Some kind of bonus material they're putting together for Torment's release? The guy has a bunch of inXile-related videos, going back to before Kickstarter even: https://vimeo.com/pasadenajones/videos/page:1/sort:date

 

[CrawlingDead]

inXile makes some cringy ass videos.

edit: spelling

 

[Zombra]

inXile makes some cringy ass videos.

Agree, but I'll be honest - if my workplace asked for volunteers to be in on something like this, I'd say "........... Yeah, OK." It's nice to see them just screwing around for no reason.

 

[ga♥]

Still a better love story than Twilight (?)

 

[CrawlingDead]

inXile makes some cringy ass videos.

Agree, but I'll be honest - if my workplace asked for volunteers to be in on something like this, I'd say "........... Yeah, OK." It's nice to see them just screwing around for no reason.

Yeah, their videos are cringy, but they're enjoyable in a cringy way.

 

[Kev Inkline]

"You're hired!"

 

[Crooked Bee]

 

[TT1]

Fargo already planning some budget cuts on the BT/WL3 graphics? Breaking it to us gently, perhaps.

This is from Adventure (Atari). Another remake, maybe?

 

[Zombra]

This is from Adventure (Atari). Another remake, maybe?

I am really ready for inXile to stop bringing back butchered sequels and just make a new property however the fuck they want to make it. No bullshit about trying to stay true to the original, no so-called "conversation" with the old school fans, just try to make a good new RPG.

 

[Iznaliu]

I am really ready for inXile to stop bringing back butchered sequels and just make a new property however the fuck they want to make it. No bullshit about trying to stay true to the original, no so-called "conversation" with the old school fans, just try to make a good new RPG.

That won't get Fargo the media attention he desperately craves.

 

[Rev]

I am really ready for inXile to stop bringing back butchered sequels and just make a new property however the fuck they want to make it. No bullshit about trying to stay true to the original, no so-called "conversation" with the old school fans, just try to make a good new RPG.

How could they con persuade people to support their crowdfunding campaigns without a strong name behind them, then?

 

[Zombra]

I am really ready for inXile to stop bringing back butchered sequels and just make a new property however the fuck they want to make it. No bullshit about trying to stay true to the original, no so-called "conversation" with the old school fans, just try to make a good new RPG.

How could they con persuade people to support their crowdfunding campaigns without a strong name behind them, then?

I am also ready to see them do it on a shoestring budget, no stretch goals, no feature creep, no inflated scope.

 

[FeelTheRads]

I don't think they can or even know how to do that. Imagine the disaster if W2 or Torment only got what they asked for on Kickstarter.

And even if they could do that, I'm pretty sure right now they don't want to. They're too much caught into trying to become AAA.

 

[Infinitron]

Fargo has implied that he wants inXile's next project to be an original IP: https://www.gamereactor.eu/articles/453153/Brian+Fargo+is+swinging+for+the+fences+with+Torment/

When we asked whether any older franchises may get revisited in the future, Fargo was hesitant. "I'm more interested in doing something new also. I think having a mixture of existing titles with new ideas is good for us and interesting. We're kind of finally starting to get to a point where we can start entertaining that, but you have to get your library built, you have to get the momentum, get the trust that you know what you're doing and have followers that buy what you do, and they're willing to take a chance, because if they've had a couple of great experiences with our roleplaying games it's a lot easier to get them to buy a new title or a new concept that they've never heard of before. So we're building our way towards that."

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinmu...rt-1-writing-for-video-games-the-writers-job/

The George Ziets Interview Part 1: Writing For Video Games, The Writer's Job


Torment: Tides of Numenera. Credit: InXile

George Ziets is the Lead Area Designer for InXile's RPG Torment:Tides of Numenera. He graciously consented to devote a good deal of his time to this four-part interview about the video game writer's job and the special challenges and opportunities of writing Torment. The interview took place through email and has been edited for comprehension.

Ziets received a Masters degree in Cognitive Psychology with an emphasis on Human-Computer Interaction in 1999. (Disclosure. I was a member of his thesis committee.) In 2001 he took a job writing dialog for the MMO Earth & Beyond. Since then he has held various positions as a writer, designer or creative lead on games such as Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeons & Dragons Online, Neverwinter Nights 2, Elder Scrolls Online, Dungeon Siege 3, Fallout: New Vegas and Torment among others.

Minor spoilers follow.

Here's a question to get us started. How much do the answers to the following questions depend on who's making the game and what kind of game it is?

A lot! You’ll see that I often qualify responses with some version of “it depends.” As a general rule, bigger studios mean more specialization, while at smaller studios like InXile, game developers in all departments perform a wider variety of tasks. (Indie games are the most extreme form of this because there might only be three or four developers on the whole project.)

Also, the type of game is important. I’ve spent my career making RPGs, which are story-heavy, and that means the writer’s role is critical. But on some games (usually those that are more action-oriented), story doesn’t matter as much, and the writer’s role is diminished. They might even be hired late in the project to provide some dialogue and context, but the game has largely been designed already.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a trend toward much better storytelling in games, and many more writers work in the industry than when I first started in 2001. So I’d say that the importance of writers on game development teams is increasing… but their experiences still vary quite a bit.


Torment: Tides of Numenera. Credit: InXile

What does a writer do during a typical day at work? How does this change over the development cycle?

Early in the project, writers are pulled into preproduction tasks. At InXile, we’re in the initial stages of Wasteland 3, so the writers have been brainstorming ideas for characters and factions, writing up design documents for companion NPCs, evaluating possible improvements for our writing tools, getting pulled into story meetings, and updating our dialogue-writing guidelines. The early part of a project can be unpredictable, with lots of impromptu discussions on every aspect of design.

Once preproduction is finished, writers will settle into a more regular routine. We’ll assign them dialogues and text, plus deadlines they need to hit. We try to make sure that each writer can “own” a chunk of the game. It’s usually better if one writer handles all the writing for a particular level or zone. They feel more ownership, and the tone for that area of the game will be more consistent.

Toward the end of production, when all the dialogue and text has at least a first pass, the writers start revising and fixing bugs. They’ll go back over their work to make it better, while our testers send them all the typos, inconsistencies, and logic errors that they’ve found. At the very end of the project, some of our writers might be pulled into publicity events with the press, and they’ll help write and review our marketing materials. Then, even before the project is finished, they’ll start brainstorming ideas for the next project… and the cycle continues!

How does your time divide between writing original content and reviewing and editing content to make sure the whole thing hangs together?

Most writers spend a majority of their time writing new content or fixing bugs. The task of reviewing their work usually falls to the narrative lead. When I’ve been in that role, I spent about 30% of my time reviewing other people’s work. Larger studios sometimes have full-time editors who handle much of the reviewing and editing burden, but it’s still a good idea to play the game carefully and make sure everything is consistent – character voices, tone, presentation of themes, etc. Writers know the story better than anyone, and we’ll catch problems that other people miss.


Torment: Tides of Numenera. Credit: InXile

To what extent does a writer contribute to the overall story as opposed to filling in the blanks of a story outlined by somebody else?

Most projects have a narrative lead who lays out the framework of the story, but multiple writers (and sometimes others) review that story and contribute ideas. Game stories are always evolving.

Early in development, we’ll write multiple drafts of the story, incorporating feedback from many different people. Later, as we start designing the game, we might find out that some parts of the story don’t work so well, or they don’t support the gameplay. Sometimes the game is too big, and it’s running over budget, so we need to make cuts to the story. Those are all opportunities for different writers on the project to make contributions.

On Torment, Colin McComb was the narrative lead, so he came up with the story of the Changing God and the Last Castoff, but it changed many, many times over the course of development. The whole writing team provided fun ideas to improve the story or fix problems, so it’s impossible to say that any one person is entirely responsible for Torment’s narrative. We all left our fingerprints on different parts of the game.


Torment: Tides of Numenera. Credit: InXile

Do writers commonly have the opportunity to contribute ideas for quests, locations, characters or NPCs?

On some projects, a writer might be hired late in development and told to create a story that ties together a bunch of levels that have already been designed. Most writers don’t love that.

On other projects, a writer might focus only on dialogue, so they don’t contribute much to designing quests or locations. They’re given characters to write, and they find ways to present them in interesting and entertaining ways. (My first job was like this.)

More experienced writers can play a much bigger role on the team. They’ll write the main narrative, plan the major locations, lay out quests, create characters and NPCs, and more. If they want to step into a bigger role, it’s important for writers to develop their game design sensibilities, which makes them much more versatile on a development team.

This is the first of a four-part interview

• Part 1. Writing For Video Games, The Writer's Job
• Part 2. Writing For Video Games, Collaboration in Game Development - Saturday, February 25
• Part 3. Writing For Torment: Tides Of Numenera, Engaging the Player - Sunday, February 26
• Part 4. Writing For Torment: Tides Of Numenera, Writing the Game - Monday, February 27

Torment: Tides of Numenera releases on PC, PS4 and Xbox One on Tuesday, February 28.