Will Ooi interviews J.E. Sawyer

[funcroc]

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/WillOoi/201...d_cat_lover.php

 

WO: Hi Josh, thank you for your time. Please tell us about yourself, your role at Obsidian, and what your interests are.

 

JS: Hi, Will. I'm glad to be a part of the series! I'm a project director at Obsidian and I've been in the game industry for about twelve years, most of that as a designer. Project directors are the "lead of leads", on the team, the individuals who define the high-level goals and scope of the project and help keep things focused on quality and consistency. Though technically part of the production staff, project directors have a somewhat adversarial relationship with the project's lead producer (in the case of Fallout: New Vegas, Larry Liberty). The project director defines the direction, but the lead producer tracks resources and effectively "writes the checks", serving as a voice of sanity for scope and scheduling.

 

My game development interests are primarily in finding ways to give the player more meaningful choices in how they build and use their characters and in how they can influence the story. I'm also a fervent, possibly fanatical, advocate of strong core mechanics. "Good for an RPG" is an insult, and no player or developer should settle for that level of quality. Outside of video games, my interests are varied but shallow. I enjoy bicycling, motorcycle touring, firearms, languages, music, history, and a bunch of other things I never feel I explore in enough depth.

 

WO: What are you up to at the moment, career-wise and outside of it?

 

JS: I'm working on a new game for Obsidian as a project director. It's a busy time, but every once in a while I get a few minutes to relax and I like where we're heading. Outside of work, I spend most of my time bicycling, reading, gaming, or spending time with my girlfriend and our cats.

[Wombat]

Thanks, funcroc as usual.

 

As for the interview, it's mostly just updated info. That said, you may not believe this, Sawyer, but I respect you about living as a professional designer while answering to hobbyist gamers like us, at times.

More recently, I've really enjoyed Demon's Souls and Deus Ex: Human Revolution, especially the latter's integration of stealth mechanics into an RPG. Outside of the RPG genre, I'm a fan of the Castlevania series (though I just started playing Lords of Darkness), Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, Assassin's Creed, and Katamari Damacy.

Glancing at the list, I feel myself a mere casual gamer, after all. I played only the two games in the stealth genre. I wonder if I should play Katamari Damacy and Ninjya Gaiden. Currently, I'm keeping a distance to playing games, though...probably till every single DLC comes out for New Vegas and that post DLC bugs are settled, at least.

 

PS BTW, how did he make friend with the Booker prize writer in her seventies?

[J.E. Sawyer]

Poor phrasing on my part. The book belongs to a friend, who is not Ludmilla Petrushevskaya.

[Wombat]

Poor phrasing on my part. The book belongs to a friend, who is not Ludmilla Petrushevskaya.

And poor conjecture on my part.