Josh Sawyer Q&A Thread

[Hace El Oso]

Doesn't matter. It's about the people, the devs, not the tech.

Today you have collosal teams with billions and the best technology and they make trash because the developer declined. There is no creativity, no originality and no passion and no balls.

Infinitron said something about this a couple years ago (I think during the embarrassing release of the Outer Worlds) that I still remember, because it was the truth and the truth is easy to remember.

It was that 'the time of games being developed by overeducated white men born in the 1970s was over.' Barring rare-occasional exceptions, the culture and human material is simply not there.

 

[luj1]

games being developed by overeducated white men

back then it wasn't overeducated, it was just called educated

 

[Hace El Oso]

back then it wasn't overeducated, it was just called educated

Very true. I think he meant men who weren’t simply trained in producing 3D models or programming and nothing else as is the norm today, but actually genuinely educated and enthusiastic.

 

[luj1]

the difference is that back then there werent video game design degrees, so people came from literature, art or philosophy

 

[Ninjerk]

the difference is that back then there werent video game design degrees, so people came from literature, art or philosophy

Or German studies

 

[Roguey]

back then it wasn't overeducated, it was just called educated

Sawyer really didn't need a history degree to design video games nor Avellone his English degree nor Fenstermaker his computer science degree from Harvard etc

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Doesn't matter. It's about the people, the devs, not the tech.

Today you have collosal teams with billions and the best technology and they make trash because the developer declined. There is no creativity, no originality and no passion and no balls.

Infinitron said something about this a couple years ago (I think during the embarrassing release of the Outer Worlds) that I still remember, because it was the truth and the truth is easy to remember.

It was that 'the time of games being developed by overeducated white men born in the 1970s was over.' Barring rare-occasional exceptions, the culture and human material is simply not there.

Ah I see we've arrived at the inevitable "bitch about millennial female writers" part of this game's lifecycle. Might as well get it over with.

But look, this isn't a thing that's going to go away. In fact it's going to get worse. And it's not really about California. Look at the demographics. Which of the two sexes reads more books today? Which one earns more college degrees, especially in literature and the humanities?

We're not going to return to the era where most of an Obsidian RPG's writers were overeducated dudes who were born in the 1970s and played Planescape: Torment in college. That generation has moved on. You should actually expect majority-female or even all-female RPG writing teams to be the norm in the future.

Infinitron referred specifically to Obsidian and to writers, not to game developers generally regardless of company or position.
It would be interesting to determine the earliest game I enjoyed that was developed primarily by people born in the 1970s; probably something later than Daggerfall, which released in 1996.

 

[Hace El Oso]

Infinitron referred specifically to Obsidian and to writers, not to game developers generally regardless of company or position.
It would be interesting to determine the earliest game I enjoyed that was developed primarily by people born in the 1970s; probably something later than Daggerfall, which released in 1996.

Thanks for finding the quote, I tried searching and was buried in an avalanche of newsposts and so went off of my (in this case less than exact) memory.

I would, though, point out that he does refer to 'RPG writing teams' in general and not only Obsidian. And the truth is that the rise of dedicated writing teams, all created via dedicated university pipelines, is new, so one can't handwave it away by pointing out that many programmers will still be male. The writing teams have far more power.

In the end the point about the loss of education in the classical sense and its consequences for RPGs (and everything else) stands.

 

[Frozen]

I think problem now is programing attracts rock bottom people. When doctors etc. had it as a hobby quality of product and productivity was way higher.

We have to get rid of most of these "professional" game designers they are all trash. Just look at the games they make. Learn to code may save gaming.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Infinitron]

 

[deuxhero]

Can someone with an applicable account ask "Joshua Graham's class in the GECK is "NVDLC02DestroyingAngel". Is the "Destroying Angel" part a reference to Porter Rockwell, a famous and reportedly supernaturally skilled gunslinger from Graham's "tribe" that was given that title?"

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Can someone with an applicable account ask "Joshua Graham's class in the GECK is "NVDLC02DestroyingAngel". Is the "Destroying Angel" part a reference to Porter Rockwell, a famous and reportedly supernaturally skilled gunslinger from Graham's "tribe" that was given that title?"

It's more likely just a biblical reference given Sawyer's background.

 

[deuxhero]

The term doesn't actually appear in the Bible from my look. There's angels that destroy, but they aren't called that.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

The term doesn't actually appear in the Bible from my look. There's angels that destroy, but they aren't called that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destroying_angel_(Bible)

translations can be fuzzy

given his background, that's what he'd likely know it as rather than "angel of death" or somesuch

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Shadenuat]

dont like setting but 2/3 of question isn't fair, there is a quest in the game to save child from becoming sacrifice, half of tribe you meet are cannibals and generally glanfagamarians often happy to attack you without being any reasonable.
his reply on citizenship also looks alright.

and Josh did write in slavery into FNV, even though say, Vince didn't allow you to buy some personal and combat slaves in his haaaardkorr post apoc roman world of AoD, so there's that.

poe problems primarely lie within realm of presentation and writing by committee, bad editing, and so on, it's not like you can't make something your team history nerd wants interesting.

 

[A-Minish]

The Coligny Calandar is nice but if he could just name an historian/historical figure while talking about the gauls, it could make things easier to verify his claims. For god-sake if you have the books and references somewhere at your home or on your computer, just name/link them. This is as insulting as those arm-chair historian on the internet not able to give proper sources. Hearsay are not enough. For a start, I very much like to hear about the celts and especially about the gauls but this is the first time I hear they where semi-nomadic... Where the hell did he get that ? Never heard or read about this in decades. May be I have missed it, and Im genuinely interested to have a source for it, but WHAT-THE-FUUUCK ?!? Which tribe/people ? What season ? What place ? When ? Resettling in time of war does not makes them nomads but refugees at best last I checked(or invaders in a way).

As for mathematics and astronomy, his statement is dubious at best. Each time I hear about it there is somehow contestation as a large part of the so-called "arabic" knowledge was inherited from the Byzantine and Sassanids they conquered. So no incompatibilities but probably still a stretch.

I dont know, his knowledge does seems as grounded as coming out of his ass. No wonder he probably helped to create the vailians...

 

[Shadenuat]

The person asking him questions did not provide any sources of their own and asked entirely in casual manner so neither Sawyer is obliged to, basically, work for free.

 

[A-Minish]

*sigh* I suppos he doesn't, indeed.

I hope he is more accurate and careful with his medieval-renaissance theme game.

 

[Curious_Tongue]

(it's the only IE game that requires you to download a mod to keep spells from crashing the game).

I couldn't figure out how to use magic in that game. I could have played it back in the day and never encountered that bug.

 

[FriendlyMerchant]

I think Anonymous Wife Scholar has some good questions for Sawyer.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I beat poe like 3 times and I still have no idea what or who the glamfawhatevers are
pretty sure that druid guy that can join you is one I think

don't think I've ever played a game and been so detached from the lore/world as poe

 

[Fredward]

Hey could someone with a tumblr please ask Josh about his skincare routine? He looks really good for 54.

 

[Curious_Tongue]

Hey could someone with a tumblr please ask Josh about his skincare routine? He looks really good for 54.

Sweating from cardio?

I stopped doing stuff that makes me sweat and now my skin looks like its aged ten years.