Ivan the Terrible

I bet most of 'em aren't even Blonde.

From game development to timber exports? Hmmmm....ok. Interesting career choice. Thanks.

Seeing as how even the most serious wounds could be patched up in a few seconds with Force Heal, I don't think it matters much. I kinda got a sick enjoyment out of watching Mission run through minefields, collapsing over and over again.

I've programmed in......none of the above. Nope. I'm not getting hired as a programmer by any company that doesn't have a death wish.

It doesn't. Visit Tatooine sometime after you give him the Tach gland. Otherwise, though, I agree wholeheartedly. The slideshow depiction of what happened to the places you visited was a stroke of genius on Fallout's part.

Think it's because the programming stuff requires people to know something about computers. Any idiot can write a crappy short story and think he'd make a good writer/designer, but sit a random guy down and try and have him program a game and he'll be weeping like a little girl in a room full of onions and tear gas by the end of the day.

Yes, but there are 'good' endings in the sense of sugary-sweet, the-entire-cast-and-crew-waving-to-cheering-crowds stuff and 'good' endings in the sense of.....say, the originally proposed redemption of the female Revan by Carth. If you haven't read about that, if you went Dark Side as a female and were involved in a romance with Carth, he would confront you on the Star Forge and you had the option of being redeemed by him and destroying the Star Forge with you and him on it to save the Galaxy. Bittersweet stuff. Unfortunately, it never made it in game.....but that's an example of a 'good' ending that doesn't make me want to gag.

I used to post on the Black Isle message boards as a somewhat more wee lad, anticipating Fallout 2 and making an ass of myself. At that time, the 'voice of Black Isle' on the boards was a canuck chap by the name of Dave Hendee. So is he dead?

Easily Designer/Writer. Hell, if I had the experience and the computer know-how, I'd be applying this very instant.

Just played Deus Ex for the first time. Great game, really great; I predict I'll be playing it again soon. Remarking on the ending(s), though they were somewhat disappointing, I really liked how there was no clear 'right' and 'wrong' choice. You had three options; all three had their good sides and their down sides, and in the end which one you chose had less to do with whether you were 'good' or 'evil' as simply what values you hold dearest; freedom, stability, or power wielded for the good of all? I think the chances of this being the case for KOTOR II are pretty low; the Star Wars universe isn't exactly a place of moral ambiguity. Nevertheless, with several strong statements from the folks at Obsidian implying the game will be 'darker', I can't help but hope that when we reach the end, our options will consist of something more developed than 'save the Galaxy' or 'conquer the Galaxy.' They can still do that, but have the victory in either case be a little less clear cut.

Playing as a Soldier/Guardian, it was too easy. Playing as a Scoundrel/Consular, it was too easy. Playing as a Scout/Consular, it was too easy. Those are the only combinations I've played. It felt like Baby's First RPG when it came to the combat.

In preperation for having to write a romance, I heard Chris Avellone exhausted the local library's entire collection of soft porn.

I certainly hope so. Personally, I think he'd get much more inspiration just rewatching Empire Strikes Back; reading too much uninspired crap associated with popular franchises can do things to your brain.

*shrug* On the plus side, the more that's predetermined about a character, the more they can flesh out the story. I'm definetely not expecting a Morrowind-like freedom, but if it's both as restrictive and as engrossing as Planescape: Torment, you won't hear me complaining.

Also, for the record....

Holy sh*t. He read ALL the Expanded Universe novels and such in preperation for KOTOR II!? Even the ones with Mara Jade and such with no relevance whatsoever to the KOTOR II time period!?! That's dedication. I just looked up a Star Wars encylopedia on the 'net, personally.

Jolee makes it clear that the Sith of this time period are not the same Sith faced during the Exar Kun war. There is no mention of Revan walking into an existing Sith Empire and seizing control, nor does the Jedi Historian on Dantooine say anything about Revan gaining soldiers from an existing Sith Empire when you ask him (he says they come from his fleet and from flocks of new recruits gathered as the Sith conquered worlds.) In short, if there is an existing Sith Empire, they certainly don't do a lot to publicize it in-game. Beyond that, it makes no sense that the Republic (having wiped out Exar Kun on Yavin IV) wouldn't go that extra mile and prevent the Sith from ever emerging as a threat again by reconquering their Empire. And I think the reference to "many" of the ships being of the Republic was used to point out that many others were of an alien design; namely, ships produced by the Star Forge.

When you talk to Canderous, during his description of how Revan was such a badass, he says something to the effect that 'the Sith had retreated into their Empire' and wouldn't have been able to stop the Mandalorians. In other words, he implies that the Sith Empire still existed despite the pounding they received during the war with Exar Kun. This contradicts everything else that was said in the game, so I'm wagering it was just a SNAFU by the writer, but it would make Revan's rise to power make a bit more sense. It always struck me as a bit retarded that an entire fleet of Republic soldiers and pilots would just abandon the Republic and join Revan's bid to conquer the galaxy; if Revan could have called on an already-existing Empire for the soldiers he needed when he fell, then it might make more sense.

To be honest, I've never seen the appeal of Designer Diaries or screenshots. I want to play the game; looking at a picture of it or listening to someone talk about making it is pointless. You might as well go to a restaurant and have the cook regularly send you photos of your cooking dinner, as well as a status report of what he's doing next.

Yes, please. Let's forget them. They never happened.

Jolee Bindo, easily. HK-47 was funny, but very one note. Jolee Bindo, on the other hand, was easily the most developed and interesting character in the game.

Bioware has 'Bioware Wednesdays.' He's just copying the suggestion off of them.

It isn't. Ask Leia, she's got the scars to prove it.

And they would've gotten away with it too, if not for us meddling kids. BTW, Shaggy with a Light Repeating Blaster is a sight to behold. Alternatively, the Sith Lord could be Master Vandar on stilts. His annoying Yoda speak might in the way get, though.

The Head Sith Lord is actually Mission in a black robe and mask riding on Zaalbar's shoulders. Those wacky kids!