Llyranor

IPlay released the Fallout 2 editor at some point. In any case, I'll stick with NWN2.

Being in a fan project is no easy task. A common mistake is getting too many people involved, and the project goes nowhere and eventually withers away. Smaller, more focused group is the way to go. The most important part is that you have to share a common vision, at least. The Chosen One Must Choose RIP ;-; I wanted those dual-wielding saberstaves

I miss Fanout And Return to Black Isle All the fan projects are dead

All I can say is :ph34r:

Is anyone else being stalked by this Damnhippies50 guy?

Yeah, Darque, dude, give the guy a break.

He ended up not getting modded EDIT: How fitting, thread locked by Fionavar <_<

http://forums.obsidianent.com/index.php?showtopic=193&hl= > that thread

PC gamer here. The only console games I would still play would be console RPGs, and the ones from that genre that I really want to play are few and far in-between. <3 <3 Starcraft 64

Forget her personality or philosophy, Kreia was a looker. Rawr.

Draconis - another community member - also had a cameo, as one of the dragons in ToB. The one who'd cast Heal on himself upon nearing death, no less <_<

Let us dedicate this thread to be a shrine for our beloved Fionavar.

Fionavar has a winning personality once you get to know Fionavar.

Of course, it doesn't have anything to do with the purely coincidental fact that we've posted in each and every one of those threads.

On the bright side, this new guy is following the philosophy of pretty every thread of this forum. LOCKDOWN IMMINENT

FLAME ON!

EDIT: oopsie, that was to myself

I love GW. Its PvP aspects are awesome. Its main flaw is level-grinding, which is ALREADY much much less significant than in MMORPGs.

It doesn't matter how good one can be with the controller. If you throw away auto-aim, of two individuals with equivalent skill with both devices, if you pitch one with a controller against the other with a kb/mouse setup, chances are the latter will win. It doesn't matter if the controller can do a decent enough job, when there's a superior alternative available. That makes the controller obsolete.

That sounds pretty cool. Very cool indeed. Having grown up on console RPGs before tackling PC RPGs, my approach and expectations to RPGs is a bit different. Frankly, I'm pretty much dissatisfied with the way EVERY game in the industry so far has implemented storytelling (though I can enjoy them regardless). I'm not very fond of quite many gaming conventions, and feel they really detract from the storytelling. As a storytelling medium, I feel gaming can go a long way, ultimately having the potential of being more involving than books or movies. "If I wanted a story, I'd read a book." is a valid argument, but that doesn't mean it is the only right perspective. I think many game stories suffer BECAUSE they are games. And yet, it shouldn't be this way. Xenogears' tedious gameplay made me not appreciate the game as much as if, say, it were an anime. Its game elements, effectively, got in the way of the story. Of course, the argument could go either way, and I suppose many gamers may feel that it should be the story that doesn't get in the way of the gameplay. Again, I don't see why it doesn't have to be this way for EVERY game. Even the beloved Torment falls victim; there were moments where I felt its nature as a game detracted from the story ("Why did I have to H&S my way through that area again?"). And yet, one reason why I loved Torment's story so much was BECAUSE it was a game. I felt many choices TNO made were my own - it being a game effectively made me identify with the protagonist that much more. It made the ending that much more touching as well. PST, I suppose, is an example of gaming having the potential of being the ultimate storytelling medium, despite its flaws. On the other side of the spectrum (as opposed to the completely linear nature of books where you can only be passive), there's PnP. Pretty involving, with the story having the capacity of adapting to your every actions. Some PC RPG devs try to mimic this, but I personally feel this isn't what we should be aiming for, as it's a futile goal. Why opt for a lesser alternative when you could just as well play PnP and have *absolute* choice? Instead, I feel gaming can be used to enhance storytelling, in a more structured way than PnP (structure can be good for a story, it can reflect what the writer wants to project to you, all within the controlled setting of an RPG), more akin to a book - the difference being that YOU are the protagonist, as opposed to you wishing you were. If we take lessons from both PC and console RPGs, we can promote storytelling more akin to console RPGs (I'm not praising so much their actual stories as their methods of telling it), and add in a roleplaying element to involve the player even more and to ENHANCE the story, then you get the best of both worlds. Granted, I'm not a hardcore PC RPGer as much as many others, and so don't value roleplaying for THE SAKE of roleplaying as much as others may. Instead, I value roleplaying in the context of storytelling in order to reinforce and enhance the latter. Cutscenes (not FMVs) in console RPGs seem more cinematic. For example, when the party gathers and discusses what to do next. Character/party interaction = good. The downside, of course, being that the player doesn't actually interact. On the other hand, you see the protagonist interacting more realistically to the other characters and to the environment. You rarely see this in PC RPGs. In PC RPGs, too often for me is it that you're either being spoonfed/led by the nose, or it's you who drives everything. A cutscene involving the PC where control is taken away from the player is BAD, when this wasn't the case a minute ago. That's poor storytelling, given the context of the PC being controllable otherwise. Sometimes it's the opposite, you and you alone are the driving force for whatever happens. 'Chosen One' syndrome. Save people/cities/worlds completely on your own while the rest of the world remains passive and awaits for your rescue. You're free to do whatever you want, to the DETRIMENT of the story ("I don't care if my vault needs a water chip, I'm going to kill this dragon, and it makes sense only in a gaming context --> this would never be acceptable without proper justification in any other medium"). Initiate a deep meaningful conversation with an important NPC? No problem! Suddenly the world shuts down and it's a 1-on-1 convo. Worse still, it's a Q&A session ("Who are you?" "What is your job?" "Have you heard of this name?" "What can you tell me about this water?") --> this is completely unrealistic and is NOT how the natural flow of a conversation should go; it feels segmented and is accepted ONLY in a gaming context. I'd be pretty pissed-off if dialogue was so segmented and unnatural in a novel. And in the meantime, your party members shut down and say nothing. Which brings me to another complaint - party members. Be it novels or movies or even PnP, characters have actual personalities THAT DON'T SHUT DOWN at random moments. In console RPGs, party members say nothing when not in 'cutscene mode' (ie. when talking to random NPCs). In PC RPGs, they often say nothing unless directly talked to. Sometimes you'd be lucky enough to have some random banter initiated btw 2 NPCs, but this is minimal. TOO minimal. Some people may be satisfied with it - I'm not. Sometimes they'll even add in to a convo you're having with another NPC. If you're lucky, it might even be a two-liner. Again, NOT ENOUGH. Even the famous convo with Rav** in PST was pretty much just btw you and her. Your party members were just passive bystanders. That being said, characters from PC RPGs have the potential to be really fleshed-out. I love talking to Dak'kon and Morte, discovering more about them, etc. Now, imagine if their personality was reflected in other parts of the game, in a manner that would be more akin to realistic behavior. If you talk to some NPC on the street, to investigate something or look for useful info, your party members should jump in if they have something insightful to add, and I won't believe that they never have anything insightful to add. Heck, it shouldn't always be insightful, it should just reflect normal interaction. If you come across something new, I'd expect the party members to be curious as well, not just the PC (akin to RP's "Not just seeing the sights and greeting the locals: we want to do our best in creating a place where the player can interact with everything " comment). The party members are not the PC's slaves (but they could be!), the PC is just ANOTHER character in the party. S/he should have as much say as the others (not being led by the nose with no choices --> complete linearity; if this were the case, the story wouldn't be taking advantage of the gaming nature of the story to enhance it) (also, not having complete control over the choices of the party - other members' opinions should be as important as yours --> your should be able to discuss amongst yourselves in a civilized manner.... if you want to). The world does not revolve around the PC, and the PC does not resolve solely around the world. They are separate entities in a relationship where meaningful interactions are possible. Of course, all I've PMSed about has exceptions, but the bulk of the medium is still suffering from these problems, and what's available so far is just not good enough. Someone has to try to for at least just one game, maybe, to rectify them. This is what I'm attempting, perhaps. I'm not trying to design the ultimate RPG. I'm trying to design a story, that HAPPENS to be from a game, and not a game that happens to have a story. A story, perhaps, that can FORGET it's from a game (and avoid gaming conventions that detract from proper storytelling as much as possible), but never forgets that it can be ENHANCED *because* it's from a game. If the story sucks, I'd want it to be because my storytelling skills suck, NOT because it's a game story. And that is the message I'd want to deliver. Hmm, maybe it's also this different approach that attracts resistance to the way I'm tackling the intro. Chapters can go on in novels, for example, where nothing plot-wise "happens", and yet those can remain compelling, offer insightful character development, etc.

DEFINING GAMING MOMENT

The moment a game's enjoyment is impeded because of a lackluster control scheme (especially when there's a superior alternative) is the moment I say no to the genre. But that's just me.

In terms of pure action, I'd go with HL2. That, and all its mods give it mega-longevity, whether it be pure visceral mayhem via HL2DM (gravgun + mp = win) or coordinated tactical teamwork via CSS (it *really* depends on the server, though once you find a good tactical server where teams cooperate and coordinate their plan via mics = win), and all the upcoming mods. I can't wait for the upcoming DOD:S, either. In terms of memorable campaign, though, Call of Duty. Some pretty defining gaming moments in that one. I won't forget the time where the assault on Red Square begins and a beautiful orchestral score picks up as legions of your comrades charge desperately at the enemy machinegun fire. It was just.... beautiful *sniff*

Bah, what I really want is for Day of Defeat: Source to be released already (I believe Sept was the latest expected date). I also want some sort of update on Team Fortress II