Interview The Tragedy of Leonard Boyarsky: "Diablo III was going to have branching storylines"

[thexspr]

I'm failing to see the problem here. What does "different paths" mean? That eventually you couldn't have access to the same cities/dungeons/whatever than your friend? Or what? Like, you're playing together and suddenly because of some previous choice, you can't go on the same quest together and stuff?

Take bandits from poe, basic choice and simple consequences, but even something as primitive never could have made it to d3 for the fear of confusing their target audience, your senile gramma.

I... I don't play MMOGS, because I'm not a gigantic faggot. I googled that and some stuff about vendor recipes and difficulty came up and so i know as much as i knew before. Ah well.

It's not that complicated. Three bandit lords and player's given a choice of either wiping them all or helping one to finish another two, obviously with different rewards. Irrelevant to choice, player also recieve an item to continue with mainline quest, so it's just simple branching. Oh and in party some pvp ensues if members choose different lords to help or one could simply wait out his party in town.

edit: bunnies are faster.

so... would i be correct in saying that the solution in this case was to make choices pretty much inconsequential?

No. Rewards are rather substantial and thus, for this genre, choise is quite consequential. Besides, that was a quick example that choises, at least simple are possible to implement in this genre, and it's not playing mode's to blame for failing to do so.

 

[Kane]

So basically they stopped trying to make a good game so they could focus on making a bad game instead?

 

[Grotesque]

Let's kickstart the campaign "Save Boyarsky" in which we gather money to pay his utilities+ expenses (to a reasonable level) for 3 years, pay the bribes to Obsidian if they're fool enough not to hire him and also pay a trip to Eastern Europe and Iran to find his inner voice.
Hey Leonard, if you read this, I love you man!

(If this doesn't earn me a Boyarsky fanboy tag, I don't know what)

 

[Crispy]

It was a stupid hire on Blizzard's part, it was stupid for Boyarski to accept the position (except for the money), and it was stupid to try to implement branching storylines in this kind of a game.

In Diablo, it's the loot. It's always been the loot. There is nothing BUT the loot.

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

There is a place for Boyarsky, a place in Obsidian or inXile. There he wouldn't have to worry about anything. Kickstarter money will pay the bills and he will be able to work in peace. I....just can't stand seeing him wasting his potential It's painful.

 

[General Maxson]

If nobody else has realised it already, all the "nerd geniuses" from Troika and Black Isle are either burnt out or have definitely lost their edge. This shit happens; it happens to artists, directors and writers.

Hell, it has happened to a lot of the videogame designers who created all the cult classics.
Plus, it seems that the next generation that is supposed to follow them in making great games is nowhere to be found.

Well too bad for us I guess that the new generation of rpg devs have been brought up on games like Oblivion, Mass Effect & company. Bodes well for the future rpg's we'll get if these few hopeful KS projects become a failure...

Crispy

Sorry but one of the reasons D3 failed IS that IT'S ALL ABOUT LOOT (and they failed in that department too ). That way you create a game as interesting as a slot machine and it can only attract gambling addicts...

 

[Cassidy]

BSB as it is, EVE Online is unfortunately the best example of Choices and Consequences in a massively multiplayer game environment.

 

[Gruia]

Fucking Multiplayer... Blizzard HAD TO HAVE IT... because they know THATS WHERE THE MONEY IS?

fucking drones

2nd. Ofcourse you can make it work.. you vote for decisions, there is a leader who will impose his will ! Consider the party as 1, there is one leader one host one whatever.. geez guys.. You didn't have a solution? really?

 

[Harg Harfardarssen]

It was a stupid hire on Blizzard's part, it was stupid for Boyarski to accept the position (except for the money), and it was stupid to try to implement branching storylines in this kind of a game.

In Diablo, it's the loot. It's always been the loot. There is nothing BUT the loot.

Yeah, Diablo's draw was never the story, that was just something extra. Did anyone ever play multiplayer Diablo and do anything other than click through the dialogue?

Beyond Diablo specifically, Blizzard was never really strong on narrative. Particularly the kind Boyarski is known for. In its heyday, Blizzard was really good at addictive gameplay, multiplayer mechanics and balancing and so forth. The narrative was really something geared towards teenagers; really "epic" stories with a melodramatic tone along the same lines as the action movies and comic books I got into as a thirteen year old. When done well it can be entertaining, but its not what I'm looking for when I play Fallout or Troika games.

 

[Gruia]

Diablo1 strong point was the lack of narrative.. it was little put perfectly done. Only Dark souls borrowed something from it. All other games are like headless chicken in comparison. When I think of Bioware's games phlegm is gathering in my throat.

 

[Metro]

Crazy to expect multiplayer in Diablo 3 when it was a huge success in D2, amirite? Diablo 1 was good but, please, let's not exaggerate.

 

[thesheeep]

You feel good now, Infinitron, rubbing salt into the wound?

 

[Duraframe300]

Leonard should leave Blizzard and Jason should leave Turtle Rock.

Then they both should join Obsidian and head up a kickstarter together with Tim.

 

[General Maxson]

Leonard should leave Blizzard and Jason should leave Turtle Rock.

Then they both should join Obsidian and head up a kickstarter together with Tim.

Amen brother!

 

[Rake]

Leonard should leave Blizzard and Jason should leave Turtle Rock.

Then they both should join Obsidian and head up a kickstarter together with Tim.

^ That! i would kill for two kickstarters from Obsidian running in parallel, one by Tim with Leonard and Jason, the other by Avellone with Ziets and Fenstermaker, in friently competition to one another.

Spoiler

Sawyer should be in both so the games are actualy fun to play, not enduring the gameplay to enjoy to content

 

[Volourn]

All that creativity yet he couldn't find a solution. FAIL.


" kinda like ds3."

One of the worst games evar. HAHAHA!

 

[lebe frei]

In the end, though, Boyarsky and his colleagues told a linear story that was easily skippable for the portion of Diablo’s playerbase who were solely interested in loot.

So a major title's World Builder just admitted that his job esentially boils down to "Make sure everything I create is easily skippable." This is coming from a man that has significant experience building interesting worlds that RPG fans actually enjoy. I know every man has to put food on the table, but this is pretty much the definition of selling out. Extremely disappointing to read.

 

[garren]

We always cared Boyarsky, please come back to the light.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

It was a stupid hire on Blizzard's part, it was stupid for Boyarski to accept the position (except for the money), and it was stupid to try to implement branching storylines in this kind of a game.

In Diablo, it's the loot. It's always been the loot. There is nothing BUT the loot.

Diable was also about atmosphere - music, graphics and voice acting.

Also, you could have BRANCHING LOOT O8 !

 

[Menckenstein]

still hope that one day there will be another vampire sequel

Let bad things stay dead.

 

[crawlkill]

the really sad part is that the story they did include was so hackneyed, badly scripted, jerky, tedious and intrusive that it seriously diminished the game. I liked the storytelling in Diablos 1 and 2--bits of atmospheric scrolly text you could time out to read if you wanted, but could easily skip if you chose. D3's full-on cutscenes and monologuing villains would've been bad enough even if they'd had interesting shit to say, but all we got was cartoonish bullshit taking us out of the action every five minutes. you could play Diablo 2 for hours and never be taken out of the fight and -still- have a better sense of what was going on and where you were, who you were up against, than you'd have in Diablo 3, where those same hours would've been broken up constantly by shittacular writing in an ugly engine with terrible World of Warcraft-looking closeups on models never meant to be seen at that range.

sooo much disappoint. it's the worst thing in the world when a feature of a project actually makes it -worse.- it's like, you put work into this, and you actually damaged your product. if you'd done nothing, it would've been better.

 

[Forest Dweller]

It was a stupid hire on Blizzard's part, it was stupid for Boyarski to accept the position (except for the money), and it was stupid to try to implement branching storylines in this kind of a game.

In Diablo, it's the loot. It's always been the loot. There is nothing BUT the loot.

Pretty much. I mean...yeah, of COURSE they would have to remove the branching storylines in order to make it the type of game their fans would expect and for it to be a proper sequel. What's surprising is that they would attempt it in the first place.

 

[hiver]

The man had to eat. The Man had to earn money and provide for his family.

The Man needed a stable long lasting job, after putting all on the line and we all know how that ended and why.
Thats all there is to it.

And if anyone deserved to get a position of a Lead of a major section of the game in any game dev, especially a high profile one like Blizzard it is him.
The Mans kudos is beyond 900.000 - he is beyond any reproach.

Leonard should leave Blizzard and Jason should leave Turtle Rock.

Then they both should join Obsidian and head up a kickstarter together with Tim.

^ That! i would kill for two kickstarters from Obsidian running in parallel, one by Tim with Leonard and Jason, the other by Avellone with Ziets and Fenstermaker, in friently competition to one another.

I would put a 1000 down for that. No, no...Zeits goes in too. Avellone can go on and make action crap console games as much as he want, on his own.

Spoiler

Sawyer should be in both so the games are actualy fun to play, not enduring the gameplay to enjoy to content

[/quote]
Only as a associate lower systems designer.

 

[Smejki]

Form a new B-team lead by Leo and Tim under Obsidian. Nao!

 

[Minttunator]

God damn what a sad read. Hope Obsidian hires him eventually.