The Outer Worlds 2

[Tyranicon]

I'm super sad that all the good RPG writers retired or otherwise fucked off, and that the new generation just sees gamedev as a more prestigious format for their social media activism.

 

[Dishonoredbr]

don't send this tweet to Obsidian, we wouldn't want her to get fired now, would we? GO, my personal army!

DA2 is not a very good game, but it's certainly more interesting , imo , than DAO and DAI '' We need to fight the big obvious bad guy that's bad while being on nose as fuck copy of LoTR ''. At least the setting , how the narative is told and how the characters position change thought out the story is at least cool. The characters don't rely 100% on the player character to progress with their personal stuff.

Sadly the rest of the stuff in the game is really just ... rushed and incomplete.

 

[Fedora Master]

don't send this tweet to Obsidian, we wouldn't want her to get fired now, would we? GO, my personal army!

Women in games were a mistake.

 

[Roguey]

Cross-posting from the Avellone thread

Obsidian also has Leonard Boyarsky and Tim Cain on board, even though both are on Outer Worlds (2), and Leonard and Tim are the original creators of Fallout.

I thought it was strange how Boyarsky and Cain were still on but not directing, but realized this is likely

Brandon Adler did weigh in on production decisions, but he wasn't always listened to. For example, he told me that in all future titles, Josh should not do any companion design or writing for a long list of reasons (which made sense - the biggest point was the time it consumed vs. overseeing the project as Project Director). That said, Brandon doesn't run Obsidian, and while his instincts may be correct (I agreed when he told me his opinion), he doesn't have the authority to make that happen vs. the "owners".

finally being applied. It's possible Boyarsky was likely unsatisfied with the quality of writing in TOW (who wouldn't be ) so he decided to become more hands-on as a full-time creative lead rather than spreading himself too thin as both creative lead and director. Cain also comes across as the kind of guy who would rather just program the things he wants to do instead of bearing the burden of leadership.

 

[Wulfric Pinewood]

And last good Metallica album was the black one.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I still like ...and Justice for All & Master of Puppets.

 

[gerey]

Women in games were a mistake.

It's possible Boyarsky was likely unsatisfied with the quality of writing in TOW (who wouldn't be ) so he decided to become more hands-on as a full-time creative lead rather than spreading himself too thin as both creative lead and director. Cain also comes across as the kind of guy who would rather just program the things he wants to do instead of bearing the burden of leadership.

Unless the writing team over at Obsidian saw some radical changes (and by that I mean less women and more men) then there's next to no hope the sequel will be any better than the first game.

 

[BlackheartXIII]

I see that the outer world 2 narrative team newest recruits is consist of "professional creatives" which can be divide in to two main groups: the first one are the YA writers: a group that mostly consist of older millennials; obviously they are from the YA fiction field which is in a constant decline since the mid 10's' (probably explain their migration to gamedev and the newer trends that we are witnessing in crpgs writing in the last decade) now it is in a extremely dire state. (the twitter thread below presenting the dire state in publishing in an accurate way)


The second group are the freelancers contact creators, mostly consist of younger millennials; it's characterized with a vague focus on a single creative profession; it reflected in their resume which contained various creative gigs such as podcasts, short stories, screenwriting and etc. it seems they are trying to find a gig that stick (which also indicate the qualities of their other gigs).

i think that our awareness of that phenomenon is important due to its profound effects on the quality of crpgs writing.

 

[Flou]

Cross-posting from the Avellone thread

Obsidian also has Leonard Boyarsky and Tim Cain on board, even though both are on Outer Worlds (2), and Leonard and Tim are the original creators of Fallout.

I thought it was strange how Boyarsky and Cain were still on but not directing, but realized this is likely

Chris previously claimed Cain had retired which seemed odd.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I see that the outer world 2 narrative team newest recruits is consist of "professional creatives" which can be divide in to two main groups: the first one are the YA writers: a group that mostly consist of older millennials; obviously they are from the YA fiction field which is in a constant decline since the mid 10's' (probably explain their migration to gamedev and the newer trends that we are witnessing in crpgs writing in the last decade) now it is in a extremely dire state. (the twitter thread below presenting the dire state in publishing in an accurate way)


The second group are the freelancers contact creators, mostly consist of younger millennials; it's characterized with a vague focus on a single creative profession; it reflected in their resume which contained various creative gigs such as podcasts, short stories, screenwriting and etc. it seems they are trying to find a gig that stick (which also indicate the qualities of their other gigs).

i think that our awareness of that phenomenon is important due to its profound effects on the quality of crpgs writing.

Being a "young adult fiction writer' is not a fucking career, it is a hobby.
I should feel bad for these people to some degree because they were lied to their entire life and convinced to go $100k into debt based on a lie. But I don't, because it's funny.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Let’s be honest and admit the supply of writers far exceeds demand. This is true in book publishing and in media. It devalues writing.

 

[BlackheartXIII]

Being a "young adult fiction writer' is not a fucking career, it is a hobby.
I should feel bad for these people to some degree because they were lied to their entire life and convinced to go $100k into debt based on a lie. But I don't, because it's funny.

most of YA writers are coming from affluent backgrounds so they can afford the education and the livelihood in major cultural centers like new york (Brooklyn is a great example). those who comes form a middle class background are usually married to a white collar professional that can support their writing career.

 

[Roguey]

Chris previously claimed Cain had retired which seemed odd.

He has in fact moved to Washington with his husband. Permanent remote work.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Let’s be honest and admit the supply of writers far exceeds demand. This is true in book publishing and in media. It devalues writing.

And yet so few authors write about...

Spoiler

 

[S.torch]

It's not bad than old RPG designers are leaving. Most of them became disloyal or became wimps. Effectively throwing every one of their fans and what they stood for under the bus.

There's no point on keep following people like that. The better they can do is retire so they stop desecrating their own legacy. It also will create a space for people who actually care about the ideals and things they abandoned and make them theirs.

 

[Tyranicon]

Being a "young adult fiction writer' is not a fucking career, it is a hobby.
I should feel bad for these people to some degree because they were lied to their entire life and convinced to go $100k into debt based on a lie. But I don't, because it's funny.

It's a hobby when you're mediocre and can't get hired. It stops being a hobby when you git gud get paid. That's the definition of a profession.

Nobody was lied to. I was told all throughout university that a writing degree is toilet paper. If you as a writer didn't either expect a lifetime of hardship and struggle (or 40 years of some corporate desk jockey job), then you were simply in denial.

I'm tired of people complaining about how hard their lives are when they write Gravity Falls fanfiction and sleep all day.

 

[Kem0sabe]

Outer worlds was one of the most basic low effort RPGs to come out of an established developer. Everything from the graphics, to the world design, to the combat and writing was at its best mediocre, but often it was just awful.

Obsidian needs to put 20x their effort into the sequel just to come close to their previous release, PoE2, that despite being just "ok", it showed a lot of dedication put into by its development team.

Sadly, Microsoft is mismanaging their first party studios into the ground, and obsidian with no one to pressure them, and with it's teams now comfortable with a corporate salary, will likely just release another piece of crap.

 

[Roguey]

Sadly, Microsoft is mismanaging their first party studios into the ground, and obsidian with no one to pressure them, and with it's teams now comfortable with a corporate salary, will likely just release another piece of crap.

They course-corrected with a babysitter in July of 2021 https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/obsidian-general-discussion-thread.84849/page-358#post-7509126

 

[santino27]

Being a "young adult fiction writer' is not a fucking career, it is a hobby.
I should feel bad for these people to some degree because they were lied to their entire life and convinced to go $100k into debt based on a lie. But I don't, because it's funny.

It's a hobby when you're mediocre and can't get hired. It stops being a hobby when you git gud get paid. That's the definition of a profession.

Nobody was lied to. I was told all throughout university that a writing degree is toilet paper. If you as a writer didn't either expect a lifetime of hardship and struggle (or 40 years of some corporate desk jockey job), then you were simply in denial.

I'm tired of people complaining about how hard their lives are when they write Gravity Falls fanfiction and sleep all day.

Yep. And it's easier than ever to make money writing (books) these days, provided you don't try to go the traditional publishing route where you're subjected to primadonna agents and risk-averse publishers.

 

[BlackheartXIII]

according to the the credits of the outer world 2 trailer in goodbye Kansas's website Brandon Adler is assigned as Game Director, Leonard Boyarsky as Creative Director, Daniel Alpert as Art Director and Brian Heins as Content Director.
https://goodbyekansasstudios.com/work/the-outer-worlds-2/

 

[Flou]

He has in fact moved to Washington with his husband. Permanent remote work.

That seemed more plausible move even back then, but some people were sure that Cain had retired because Chris said so. Now give Cain and Boyarsky their shot at a new Fallout game (or Arcanum)

 

[Marat]

The trailers for this one and the first one were pretty good. Shame it's the best thing to come out of the franchise.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

In Feb 2022 (4 months ago) Evan Hill joined Obsidian as a senior area designer for TOW2. he also the Executive producer/writer/sole employee (according to LinkedIn) of Self Hunter Studio.

Executive Producer / Writer
Self Hunter Studio
Jul 2019 - Present-2 years 11 months

Los Angeles, California, United States

Working with established writers and producers to develop IP for adaptation to film/tv/games

also worked on Torment: Tides of Numenera:

Level Designer / Technical Designer
inXile Entertainment
May 2015 - Jan 2017 1 year 9 months

Newport Beach

I focus on the creation and implementation of Torment: Tides of Numenera's "crisis sequences"

and on The Last of Us Part II:

Level Designer
Naughty Dog
Feb 2018 - May 20202 years 4 months

+ Principal level design, layout, and additional scripting for 4 sections of The Last of Us Part II
+ Narrative design, systems/feature design, and gameplay prototyping
+ Producer for owned levels. Scheduling, task/bug management, meeting coordination.
(Contracted through Yoh Services)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-hill-a7880949

game industry sure is full of people failing upwards

 

[gurugeorge]

In Feb 2022 (4 months ago) Evan Hill joined Obsidian as a senior area designer for TOW2. he also the Executive producer/writer/sole employee (according to LinkedIn) of Self Hunter Studio.

Executive Producer / Writer
Self Hunter Studio
Jul 2019 - Present-2 years 11 months

Los Angeles, California, United States

Working with established writers and producers to develop IP for adaptation to film/tv/games

also worked on Torment: Tides of Numenera:

Level Designer / Technical Designer
inXile Entertainment
May 2015 - Jan 2017 1 year 9 months

Newport Beach

I focus on the creation and implementation of Torment: Tides of Numenera's "crisis sequences"

and on The Last of Us Part II:

Level Designer
Naughty Dog
Feb 2018 - May 20202 years 4 months

+ Principal level design, layout, and additional scripting for 4 sections of The Last of Us Part II
+ Narrative design, systems/feature design, and gameplay prototyping
+ Producer for owned levels. Scheduling, task/bug management, meeting coordination.
(Contracted through Yoh Services)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-hill-a7880949

Hrm, well that's not exactly filling me with confidence

 

[CyberWhale]

Great MCA - from writing the best stories in the medium to Twitter gossiper. Decline is upon us.