Matt Chat Thread

[Destroid]

Eh, I don't watch Mattchat for his opinions, but for his great interviews.

 

[J_C]

And when he says every game should have its own engine, he only means that every game should be distinctly different from another made on the same engine. Like Divinity 2 on gamebryo.

And I think he fondly remembers the times, when every Ultima game was made on a new engine. Until Ultima 6 or 7 (I don't remember which one), Origin made a new engine every time.

 

[J_C]

J_C are you Matt Barton?

Damn, you got me.

No, of course not. I read his book and wrote a few emails to him, that's why I know some things about him and his opinion on RPGs.

 

[Bruticis]

I read his book and wrote a few emails to him, that's why I know some things about him and his opinion on RPGs.

How is his book, anyway? I've had it on my Amazon wish list for ages but never get around to purchasing it.

 

[Elzair]

And when he says every game should have its own engine, he only means that every game should be distinctly different from another made on the same engine. Like Divinity 2 on gamebryo.

And I think he fondly remembers the times, when every Ultima game was made on a new engine. Until Ultima 6 or 7 (I don't remember which one), Origin made a new engine every time.

Ultima kept doing that until IX. The Worlds of Adventure games were spin-offs, and Serpent Isle was called Ultima VII Part II.

 

[J_C]

I read his book and wrote a few emails to him, that's why I know some things about him and his opinion on RPGs.

How is his book, anyway? I've had it on my Amazon wish list for ages but never get around to purchasing it.

I say it is a good read. Quite long, and there are tons of discussions about the genre in it. Of course there are some things I don't agree with, but overall Matt does a really good job in it.

 

[LoPan]

Goodness that was a lovely pod. All I know of Matt is his interview of Arnold Hendricks and Tim Cain, but I did always find him to be a good talker on his own and he really brings it home in this.

And a good letter J_C.

Although his bashing of shooters and the assumption that the...

Most agreeable, and link that thing. If someone asks for it then it is no longer self-promotion, though I can't take the shame away.

 

[Daemongar]

The truth is that I wouldnt mind getting more from the same good thing(moar BG2 plz) but something important disappears from the recipe with every new clone and there is nothing to make up for it(DA:O--->DA2:we removed the isometric view and the tactical combat but dont worry you get same gender romances and conversation wheel in exchange).Somehow every game becomes worse than the 1 before,not enough that that nobody can come up with something new the dumbing down and trying to "appeal to the masses" never stops

Excellent summary. That is one thing he made a great argument for, but may be lost to those quitting after 5 minutes. Matt roasts inXiles "Hunted: the demons forge" even after his great interviews with Brian Fargo. It's just another FPS, just like almost every other game out there. Don't console gamers get sick of this as well after a while?

 

[Gregz]

Don't console gamers get sick of this as well after a while?

Well, if they are 'pure' (definitely not the right word) console gamers then they have only been playing functional shooters a few years now. Back when we were playing CS 1.5 there was no console equivalent, not even close. Halo was probably the first to partially solve the gamepad interface problem with shooters, and it's still not that great compared to kb/mouse.

So while PC gamers have had functional shooters since...('92 Wolfenstein?), console players had to wait a decade for technology to resolve the interface issue. Even today, 2 decades later, the mouse/keyboard interface handily beats the console UI.

10 years should have been enough time for shooters to get old for console players, but we are talking about console players (in many cases 8 years olds who may never have seen anything else).

At the same time, if a shooter is done right (Far Cry, Borderlands, Portal, TF2 etc.) they can be very fun. Matt raised that point. A game like Doom is 'genre defining' and then spawns hundreds of immitators, only a handful of which are memorable.

I think the biggest problem is AAA won't take risks, and Indie shops can't afford high-definition 3D art (another point Matt raised). KoTC is great fun but does indeed look retro, which turns off many potential players who GIS for screenshots and pass it by.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Goldeneye was a great console shooter. And how much time ago was it?

 

[Satori (original)]

Part 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5abbTOzs_Vc

 

[laclongquan]

Matt who?

 

[Destroid]

Got quite a few laughs out of this part.

Don't violate the EULA!

 

[Wild Slop]

Codexers have posted links to his youtube videos where he interviews devs such as Tim Cain.
Try to see some if you have the time some are pretty good.

Whoever he was quoting had an apt comparison of most video games stories to stories in porno.

 

[Renegen]

I couldn't stand his podcast, he sounded like an overacting southener. Listen closely, he takes a breath between every 2 words, no one talks like that. He did the same thing in his videos, but then again he hardly talked and it was a video... on drawn out podcasts he should sound more normal. And with that said I don't think he would even be interesting to listen to, he's more style than substance.

 

[MajorNova]

Isn't Matt Barton the guy who thinks Baldurs Gate is the best RPG ever made?

Haha, he only said that to mislead the youtube viewers. In this podcast he is criticising it much more.

"Jokes on them , I was only pretending to be retarded"

Still , only youtube video game stuff worth watching, nice interviews.

 

[Luzur]

http://youtu.be/ka3EzZbUCYw

for being such a RPG gamemaster its kinda odd he never played Daggerfall.

 

[Sceptic]

He actually skipped the custom character generator.

...

 

[Gregz]

He actually skipped the custom character generator.

...

To be fair it would take like an hour.

 

[Mastermind]

He actually skipped the custom character generator.

...

To be fair it would take like an hour.

Seeing how there is absolutely no reason to actually play Daggerfail after character creation, skipping it is akin to playing arcanum for the combat.

 

[Peter]

Did he seriously not see the first door immediately?

 

[Gregz]

Did he seriously not see the first door immediately?

Most of his comments were spot on for a new player, if anyone thinks back to their first play they will recall how difficult it was to discern doors, navigate the interface, and survive escaping the starter dungeon.

 

[Peter]

Did he seriously not see the first door immediately?

Most of his comments were spot on for a new player, if anyone thinks back to their first play they will recall how difficult it was to discern doors, navigate the interface, and survive escaping the starter dungeon.

Yeah, I agree with most of that, but come on, the first door? Dunno, I find it a bit odd that someone would have a problem with that since it's not at all hidden.

 

[Excidium]

When will Matt do a retrospective of the M&M series?

Did he seriously not see the first door immediately?

Most of his comments were spot on for a new player, if anyone thinks back to their first play they will recall how difficult it was to discern doors, navigate the interface, and survive escaping the starter dungeon.

To be honest I didn't have any of those problems.

The only thing that gave me some trouble in the few hours I could stand playing Daggerfall, was the terrible dungeon map.

 

[Luzur]

When will Matt do a retrospective of the M&M series?

i asked him to do a Jon van Caneghem interview/M&M retrospective, and i got something like "i'll get around to it" response.