Leferd

To get a better idea about what Avellone is about, look up: 1) The Planescape: Torment Design Document/ Vision Statement 2) The Fallout Bible Both available in the internets. (contains massive spoilers)

XP from completed quests thereby encouraging/rewarding non-psychotic behavior? Viable non violent rpg paths and skills? I like.

To add to the OP, I want my starting inventory to include the +7 Vorpal Deathsword of Hades. Because I'm gonna CLUA Console the sucker in anyway, might as well save me the hassle. Thanks Obsidian, you are the bestest!

I liked the low level cap of BG. The pacing seemed right vis a vis game length and number of party companions. Each level up was a significant event and gives the player a sense of accomplishment/reward.I really do hope that such is the case for PE.

Thanks for that.

We'll see how this one goes. Perhaps down the line, they'll make that spiritual successor to Torment.

Team Amerika. World Police.

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/ As of today, Obama is projected to win 308 to 230 with the voting breakdown as 51.1% to 47.7% For what it's worth, the blogger, Nate Silver, has some serious street cred within baseball's "Moneyball" community.

I cringed. Hard. Quite cringeworthy.. Pretty sad and desperate, really.

Holy Cow. It is Interplay. http://interplay.com/games/battlechess.php They attempted to do a kickstarter for Battlechess.

Guys, guys. It's so transparently obvious it was Herve Caen/ Interplay and their RPG label, Black Isle Studios! http://www.blackisle.com/ Lols.

Conspiracy theory: Well...something happened. Coincidence??? Either the docs got fired or they both got fed up with EA. Looks like part of their severance includes a non-compete clause as they aren't coming back to the industry for some time.

I've found that being conscious of achievements has affected how I would normally play; in that I may play in such a manner that is conducive of me chasing said achievement as opposed to "role playing" my character. Please, please take out achievements! I don't want to be a munchkin gamer!

Hmmm.... Novel concept: game design is a balance of resources with opportunity cost for every decision made.

Rangers should make use of their tracking/wilderness ability in-game.

Best way to get noticed from outside the industry is to create some mods using existing toolsets. That said, lots of designers started out in QA and worked their way up. Also recommend reading Chris Avellone's blog entries regarding finding employment in the industry: http://forums.obsidian.net/blog/1-chris-avellones-blog/ Good luck!

I especially liked Bodhi's quest line from BG2, and visiting the graveyard during after hours with vampires loose really creeped me out.

This is especially encouraging.

DA:O, ME1-3. Alpha Protocol, NWN2, VtM:B, KotORs, DS3 etc.,...pretty much most RPGs post Infinity Engine.

Knowing Sawyer et al, these mechanics will be something that a great deal of thought will be allocated to. I'll trust his (their) judgment as professional game designers. Granted, some are better than others, but I appreciate Josh's sensibilities in this area in particular.

Something all the Infinity Engine games + the Fallouts have in common was a running world clock. Time passed, morning to night. You have clear day and night times with associated activities reserved for each period. Characters are fatigued and need their sleep period. Recent games have done away with this. This has made things easier for both the player and developers alike and is more convenient for gameplay purposes. That said, I never got comfortable and in many ways, negatively affected immersion into the game world. Let's do away with this convenience shall we?

Looks like part of their severance includes a non-compete clause as they aren't coming back to the industry for atleast a few years.

Well, based on the kickstarter page, we already know that there will be at least 5 classes and potentially expanding to at least 7, with dwarven ranger presumably being an option.

How fast do we level up? What's the level cap? Are we going low (ala BG1) or high ((DA, ME, etc.) Do we learn by action? Are XP's dished out per kill/action or only for completing quests? Thoughts? preferences? I prefer sticking with low levels and XP only for completing quests. Nice byproduct being that you don't necessarily have a body count of an overpowered psychopath - being diplomatic or sneaky won't seem like the self-gimping option.

Black Isle definitely had some insane talent back in the day.