Interview Obsidian Entertainment Interview Roundup

[Jaesun]

I never played DSIII mainly because it was a SquareSoft game and all of their games (even PC ones) require a consolepad to play them. I don't own one.

 

[Roguey]

"Perhaps in a foolish and misguided effort to "adapt for console gamers," we end up with the clunky interface of the turd, er, third game. A bigger problem, though, is the forgettable cast of characters and gameplay shallower than a water-saving toilet basin. I guess they're taking the "siege" part seriously, particularly the part about sitting around and being really bored."==Matt Barton on DS3, 2011

"I played the game, it's fun"--Matt Barton on DS3, 2012

Forever a charlatan.

Camera was one of the absolutely better parts of the experience, for me. It never obstructed my view. It never required me to constantly jiggle with it. Levels were designed with great attention to comply with the camera. It just fucking worked, a first in any 3D action game of this type with freely rotating camera.

It would have been better if it was a behind-the-back camera instead of pseudo-isometric. There's things in the horizon that I want to see but I can't.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

I enjoy how J_C will rip on a game like Dungeon Siege III and puts it on his "worst of the year" list and then come interview-time be all "I thought it was good for what it was ".

Yip. Journalism.

Fixed.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

Jesus Christ Codex work goddamnit.

 

[Cynic]

The camera was fine in single player but the tilt was bad sometimes, I really wanted to see further into the distance but couldn't. In MP it was fucking horribad. I played couch co-op though so that wasn't TOO bad but there were times when it was just retarded.

 

[Brother None]

I think he was being nice, but Im sure you understand that. Besides Obsidian should be aware quite well what people think about DS3.
Ill be honest from my point of view I saw J_C as fellow gamer, who got us some more background info and not as "Journalist".

I know. I don't hold him up to particularly high standards. But at some point it's not even about being a journalist, but just about being mealy-mouthed. Matt seems to take his own opinion and insights very seriously, and if you want people to take you seriously, one of the first things you have to do is be honest and consistent. That's really not much to ask. Do you really think a developer will pack up and go home if you note you weren't a fan? Josh barely even worked on that title, FFS.

You have a point though, and partially I can understand it, it can be a bit awkward to smack someone in the face with "I hated this game" in a face-to-face interview. Hell, best way for a developer to get you guys to tone down is to post here and y'all immediately simmer down a bit. Works like that on any forum. But if your goal is to be taken seriously, which I think Matt's is, you have to be willing to be consistent and honest across rants and interviews.

This coming from someone who is not very good at interviews, note.

I enjoy how J_C will rip on a game like Dungeon Siege III and puts it on his "worst of the year" list and then come interview-time be all "I thought it was good for what it was ".

Yip. Journalism.

Fixed.

So good you fixed it twice.

 

[Apexeon]

Should I bother to waste my time playing DS3?
I am kind of really busy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhK1BmM8pOQ

Oh I just wasted 30 minutes of my life.
I am melting.

 

[Black_Willow]

Should I bother to waste my time playing DS3?
I am kind of really busy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhK1BmM8pOQ

Oh I just wasted 30 minutes of my life.
I am melting.

You shouldn't. It's a very bland action game, a bit like Game of Thrones. There's not a pound of this fabled "Obsidian quality" in it.

 

[Roguey]

Do you really think a developer will pack up and go home if you note you weren't a fan? Josh barely even worked on that title, FFS.

Josh did more work on Alpha Protocol, which Matt also asked about without chiming in with his own opinion (it too made his list of worst RPGs evah, right below DS3 even). If he were more self-aware he would have continued with his neutral stance, just referring to issues brought up in other reviews.

 

[Kalin]

Nice interviews and all, but I could not help but notice that Yoshi actively praised their Alpha Brotocol-style "reactivity" nonsense. Good old and dialogue trees will always be superior to Obsidian's dumbed-down cinematic quick-time garbage!

Also, while low intelligence dialogue options might be somewhat entertaining, advanced options for characters with high intelligence are far more important. Most computer role-playing games tend to suffer from a severe lack of these, not least New Vegas, which, while being somewhat above Fallout 3's "Man 3-dawg! U fight dem good fights with yo VOICE!" retardation, still doesn't offer a whole lot of intricate or rewarding options to pursue while interacting with otherwise potentially interesting characters and situations.

In short: STOP with the animated reactivity shit with h-game one-word choices and scripted BioWarian cut-scenes, bring about MOAR talky-talky in multi-headed branching dialogue trees with good stat-checked quality choices like in Planetary Escapes: Tournamentu!

 

[Roguey]

Nice interviews and all, but I could not help but notice that Yoshi actively praised their Alpha Brotocol-style "reactivity" nonsense. Good old and dialogue trees will always be superior to Obsidian's dumbed-down cinematic quick-time garbage!

He wasn't praising the presentation, he was praising how they were structured (no recursive dialogue so it feels more like an actual conversation) and how most choices are valid (a reduction of no-brainer choices where any choice is obviously the right one or the wrong one regardless of your playstyle and character concept). He went into more detail about this in his Do (Say) the Right Thing presentation.

 

[Kalin]

Skip to 14:10 and you can hear for yourself that he praised the story-based choices, calling them excellent. He also praised the way the system handled reactivity, calling it really really great. He further said that conversations felt like conversations rater than circling through a dialogue tree, as if that was a good thing, and he even praised the quick-time aspect. Ultimately, he stated that the choices and consequences were excellent.

 

[Infinitron]

I would say that there's an argument to be made that a cinematic game should have cinematic-style conversations. The third-person perspective shooter genre is at its core, an evocation of cinema. Why not go all the way?

If you want dialogue trees, buy isometric games, not popamole games.

 

[Roguey]

He further said that conversations felt like conversations rater than circling through a dialogue tree, as if that was a good thing,

That is a good thing though. Recursion should have been dead and buried a long time ago regardless of genre.

 

[Apexeon]

Josh just got my eternal respect when he said "he got lucky" when he got his job.
Bingo. If you want to get in the door now you have to basically throw punches like the big boys (or try to get close).
But then again I never really wanted to get in the door and work on such utter rubbish that is made today.

 

[jewboy]

I think getting a job at a game company, even one without a reputation for making good games, was always nearly impossible. Even if all you wanted was to be a code monkey following orders. Getting lucky has always been necessary, but usually not sufficient. The truth is the best way to get a job at a game company is to actually make a game. Then when you go for the interview you can just hand them a DVD-R and say, "Here's the game I made. Any questions?". If it's a fun game then that's better than any resume. Mods are good too of course, but not as good as a complete game.

 

[Infinitron]

I think getting a job at a game company, even one without a reputation for making good games, was always nearly impossible. Even if all you wanted was to be a code monkey following orders. Getting lucky has always been necessary, but usually not sufficient. The truth is the best way to get a job at a game company is to actually make a game. Then when you go for the interview you can just hand them a DVD-R and say, "Here's the game I made. Any questions?". If it's a fun game then that's better than any resume. Mods are good too of course, but not as good as a complete game.

I think that's true for many jobs.

 

[Stinger]

Hey! I LIKED DUNGEON SIEGE 3 this much.