Ken Rolston's new RPG

[Vault Dweller]

http://www.kotaku.com.au/games/2008/06/ ... e_rpg.html

Sega's denial to MTV Multiplayer earlier today that it was publishing the game seen in the leaked Crucible video that spilled out of the Intellisponse fiasco sounds legit, according to a source. We've been told that that clip has nothing to do with Sega's game of a similar name, but is instead the work of developer Big Huge Games and Oblivion designer Ken Rolston. The former Elder Scrolls designer joined Big Huge Games last year to work on a "strikingly original" console RPG due to be published by THQ in 2009.

According to the source, the footage that was leaked on Sunday represents an "absolutely archaic build, and doesn't even come close to representing what the game is or where it's going" calling it "orders of magnitude better" than the footage suggests.

 

[dagorkan]

I thought he'd left for retirement... or is that just another example of Pete's skillz?

 

[JarlFrank]

He left because he didn't like how Oblivion turned out. So his game is probably going to be better than Oblivion, although the fact that it's for consoles doesn't help much.

 

[Vault Dweller]

http://www.rpgcodex.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=18509

He left Bethesda due to some creative differences and was offered to lead a project by Big Huge Games.

 

[dagorkan]

It looks stupid to me and I have no reason to think highly of this Rolston guy. So he did Morrowind, not exactly my favorite RPG. What else is he credited with? I don't think he was with BS during Daggerfall.

 

[Vault Dweller]

No, he wasn't.

http://www.rpgcodex.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=10408

Ken and I also disagreed on "relativism" and "betrayal," among other things. I appreciate disinformation, but I believe it works best when you know what the truth is. I like to write a true account and then conceal it among carefully designed false accounts. Ken wrote a dozen different accounts, apparently without any personal preference to which, if any, was accurate, and ignored the contradictions. I wanted to have NPCs betray the player in a few quests, but Ken had a "no-betrayal" rule (and some other rules, like "only one coincidence allowed"), which didn't make sense to me. I can't say that I'm right and he's wrong. In fact, I often felt that he was talking past me or over my head. I understood all of his words, but they didn't combine into sentences that made sense to me.
...
There were quite a few of them (Ken's rules - VD), but since I didn't understand most of them, this is something you ought to ask Ken if you get the chance. The only ones I'm sure I understood were "no betrayal" and "everything must be a metaphor/everything must be based on something."

"No betrayal" meant that key NPCs couldn't turn on the player, lie to the player if they were honest in the past, nor could an NPC steal an item from the player, etc. This is good as a general rule, but it's the kind of rule that begs for exceptions.

 

[dagorkan]

http://www.rpgcodex.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=18509

He left Bethesda due to some creative differences and was offered to lead a project by Big Huge Games.

He definitely said he left for retirement. Google it

How do you plan to spend your retirement?

Rolston: I aspire to be the nicest, most charming, most reliable husband, son, sibling, and friend in history. Against that laudable ideal, I plan to play the accordion. A lot. And sing in close-harmony groups. And wander around and sponge off friends, and have adventures. And play stupid paper-and-pencil RPGs. And paint toy soldiers. I may also become a positive force in society. Yeah. That's the ticket.

So what made him change his mind?

Maybe the real story is Todd realized he's a crappy designer but didn't want bad PR with the slobbering 'old ESF' fans. Sounds just about possible to me.

 

[Gragt]

"strikingly original"

Yeah, right...

 

[easychord]

I really want to hope that this game is going to be good since Brian Reynolds is involved. The guy was heavily involved in Alpha Centauri and the tech tree and factions in that game lead me to think that he could make an RPG setting that is better than most if not all.

The information linked to here about Ken Rolston and the generic third person action RPG look so far are discouraging. There were many things that I liked about Morrowind and it does seem to be a bit mean spirited to think that this guy was responsible for all of the things I dislike.

 

[Admiral Rimjob POOBUM]

If I recall correctly, Ken was responsible for most of the good parts in Morrowind... much of the setting, the lore and so on.
I could, of course, be entirely wrong. However, I believe he is/was known as "Admiral Rolston" as some kind of inside joke, so I suppose I have to support him either way.

 

[dagorkan]

Here's the video (it had been deleted from the Youtube):
http://kotaku.com/5017297/sega-says-lea ... ights-game

 

[elander_]

Ken Rolston was a victim of group design that Bethesda wanted to introduce in Oblivion to prevent game designers of have too much influence. It looks like the old man has some talent but he is a possessive kind of game designer.

 

[Kingston]

Ahh, its Ken "no betrayal" Rolston. At least I know what to expect from npcs - no betrayal.

 

[Lumpy]

At least the "only one coincidence" rule makes sense. Too many coincidences occurring during a plotline will reek of bad storytelling.