funcroc Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) http://schedule.gdconf.com/session/6657/Th...n_an_Open_World The Music of the Wasteland: Interactive Music in an Open World SPEAKER/S: Scott Lawlor (Obsidian Entertainment) DAY / TIME / LOCATION: TBD TRACK / DURATION / FORMAT / AUDIENCE LEVEL: Audio / 60-Minute / Lecture / Intermediate DESCRIPTION: In this session, Scott will discuss his approach to the interactive music system in Fallout: New Vegas. Music in an open world game presents a unique set of challenges due to the size and scope of the game. With hundreds of hours of gameplay in a gigantic world, it is important that the music transitions seamlessly and does not get stale. He will discuss the techniques used to achieve this including; location based music, battle music transitions, reactive emotional switching and more. SCOTT LAWLOR (OBSIDIAN ENTERTAINMENT) AUDIO DIRECTOR OBSIDIAN ENTERTAINMENT Scott Lawlor is the audio director for Obsidian Entertainment. Over the years he has had the opportunity to work on some of video game's biggest franchises; Medal of Honor, Tony Hawk, GUN, Command and Conquer and Fallout. Scott studied music and audio production at The University of Colorado at Denver. Edited January 7, 2012 by funcroc
funcroc Posted January 24, 2012 Author Posted January 24, 2012 (edited) http://schedule.gdconf.com/session/1347326...ive_Design_in... Do (Say) The Right Thing: Choice Architecture, Player Expression, and Narrative Design in Fallout: New Vegas SPEAKER/S: Joshua Sawyer (Obsidian Entertainment) DESCRIPTION: This talk addresses what continues be a major issue for developers: how to structure branching conversations in ways that feature compelling gameplay, accomplish narrative goals, and support player agency. Despite making increasingly successful games, RPG developers have not fundamentally changed their approach to structuring conversations in over a decade. With RPGs becoming more "mainstream" in the eyes of publishers and the public, now is the perfect time to do so. By examining ten years of conversation tree evolution from the original Fallout to New Vegas - and many other RPGs along the way - this retrospective will analyze what has changed for the better, what's taken a turn for the worse, and what designers and writers need to do about it. TAKEAWAY: Attendees will learn a systemic approach to structuring branching conversations. This approach will ensure that designers, writers and players are all getting what they want out of the content. In turn, this means that more players will enjoy dialogues instead of viewing them as a chore or guessing game. INTENDED AUDIENCE: Writers and designers working in the role-playing game genre will benefit most from this presentation. Knowledge of the basic conventions of player choice and consequence in RPGs is helpful. Familiarity with branching dialogue mechanics and dialogue tools is also helpful, but not required. ----------------------------------------------------- JOSHUA SAWYER (OBSIDIAN ENTERTAINMENT) PROJECT DIRECTOR OBSIDIAN ENTERTAINMENT Josh Sawyer is a project director at Obsidian Entertainment. He has been working in the industry since 1999, when he started his career as a designer on the Icewlnd Dale series at Black Isle Studios. Since 2005, he has been working at Obsidian Entertainment and has contributed to Neverwinter Nights 2, Alpha Protocol and was the project director and lead designer on Fallout: New Vegas. Starting with the "red box" Dungeons & Dragons basic set, Josh has a long history with playing, modifying, and developing tabletop RPGs. Much of his development background has focused on adapting and updating classic rule systems for contemporary gamers and gaming platforms. A Wisconsin native and graduate of Lawrence University, Josh currently resides in Santa Ana, California with his girlfriend and cats. Edited January 24, 2012 by funcroc
C2B Posted February 9, 2012 Posted February 9, 2012 (edited) http://schedule.gdco...rtem%3A_Fallout Classic Game Postmortem: Fallout Speaker/s: Timothy Cain (Obsidian Entertainment) Day / Time / Location: Thursday 10:00-11:00 Room 3014, West Hall, 3rd Fl Track / Duration / Format / Audience Level: Game Design / 60-Minute / Lecture / All Description: It's changed developers' hands several times, switched perspectives, and jumped from turn-based to real-time gameplay, but the Fallout series' survival and consistently high quality games are a testament to the original's strengths. The first Fallout offered players a post-apocalyptic open world filled with distinctive characters, moral dilemmas, and quests that could be solved in multiple, oftentimes unconventional ways. Timothy Cain, who was the producer, lead programmer, and one of the primary designers for the beloved game, will deliver a talk on how he helped create a franchise that set a new standard for open-world RPGs and still resonates with players. Edited February 9, 2012 by C2B
funcroc Posted February 11, 2012 Author Posted February 11, 2012 OT: Video Game Design Club, CSUF Guest Speaker: Jim Rivers Jim Rivers, hiring manager of Obsidian Entertainment came out to speak with us this week. He gave us great tips about how to prepare for the upcoming Game Developer
funcroc Posted March 3, 2012 Author Posted March 3, 2012 OT: http://meetings.gdco...rams%5Bid%5D=73, http://www.gdconf.co...ents/hiring.pdf
funcroc Posted March 8, 2012 Author Posted March 8, 2012 https://twitter.com/...!/Garyou_Tensei - ((( (((????Obsidian Entertainment?Josh Sawyer?
C2B Posted March 8, 2012 Posted March 8, 2012 https://twitter.com/#!/xlson/status/177814631635623936/photo/1
C2B Posted March 8, 2012 Posted March 8, 2012 http://uk.gamespot.com/shows/gamespot-live/?event=gdc12_fallout_session20120308 LIVE FEED
funcroc Posted March 9, 2012 Author Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) https://twitter.com/...!/patrickklepek -- "ARE YOU GUYS READY TO ROCK OUT ABOUT CHOICE ARCHITECTURE?!?!" Already pumped for this Fallout: New Vegas panel. -- Amazing point about how games with "freedom" often force players to make the "right" choice rather than one that fits their character. -- Another quote of GDC nominee: "Hey, there's a baby. Do you want to give it a smooch on the face or throw it into the oven?" -- Joshua Sawyer -- Joshua Sawyer firm believer in games with moral choices actively displaying the change to the karma system, i.e. +1/-1. I hate that stuff. -- At one point, Fallout: New Vegas had awards (i.e. at level 10) for players who didn't kill anyone. Didn't make it in for technical reasons. https://twitter.com/#!/metasynthie https://twitter.com/#!/emshort Edited March 9, 2012 by funcroc
funcroc Posted March 9, 2012 Author Posted March 9, 2012 http://www.famitsu.com/news/201203/09011309.html
C2B Posted March 9, 2012 Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) -- Joshua Sawyer firm believer in games with moral choices actively displaying the change to the karma system, i.e. +1/-1. I hate that stuff. That.... sounds weird. I thought Sawyer wasn't a fan of the Karma system? Edit: A whole lot of these comments sound weird considering.... Maybe some of it was misunderstood? Hopefully that panel gets on the internet sometime. Edited March 9, 2012 by C2B
Sannom Posted March 9, 2012 Posted March 9, 2012 That.... sounds weird. I thought Sawyer wasn't a fan of the Karma system? I thought the comment was about displaying the numerical value of how your character went up/down the morality scale... but surely that was already in Fallout 3? Why mention a change then?
WorstUsernameEver Posted March 12, 2012 Posted March 12, 2012 (edited) Was this posted? Slides of Josh's presentation: http://diogenes-lamp...Right_Thing.pdf Plus some things he had to say on it on his blog: http://twofoldsilenc...chitecture.html Based on feedback I've seen online, I want to attempt to clarify a few things: * My inclusion of the ME2 "ass" screenshot was to highlight its absurdity. In the context of that slide, it's an example of how developers have improved things like butt-framing shots but haven't made great strides in choice architecture. I don't have any problem with improving aesthetics, but I believe we should continue to refine how we develop choices for players. * When I was discussing karma/reputation displays of +1/-1, I wasn't championing karma systems, but I was championing visible changes in the GUI for all of what I call "Indirect Reaction Systems" (e.g. karma, reputation, influence, etc.). I think mechanical clarity is more important than immersion, and characters vary heavily in how much they emote reactions. * Validating all choices specifically does not mean that they should all be subjectively equal. I gave two examples of "good" choice agony from Greek tragedy: Orestes and Antigone. Both of these characters have two choices for one decision. The choices have good aspects and bad aspects, but they are not "six of one / half a dozen of the other". The values implied by each choice are subjective. There is not a single right thing to do for each character: both choices contain virtue and sacrifice -- and both are valid. Validation also does not need to come through mechanics, though using something like reputation or influence (i.e. an Indirect Reaction System) can make an abstracted validation easier than hand-scripting specific benefits and drawbacks to every choice. Edited March 12, 2012 by WorstUsernameEver
Lexx Posted March 12, 2012 Posted March 12, 2012 The Miranda ass-shot is even in ME3. I find this kind of embaressing, because it made the whole thing feel like it was done just to show Mirandas ass. So, pretty much like that scene in ME2. "only when you no-life you can exist forever, because what does not live cannot die."
Nepenthe Posted March 12, 2012 Posted March 12, 2012 The Miranda ass-shot is even in ME3. I find this kind of embaressing, because it made the whole thing feel like it was done just to show Mirandas ass. So, pretty much like that scene in ME2. It was so over the top in ME3 (and happened several times), I automatically chalked it up to self irony. Certainly wouldn't be the only example in the game. Btw. anyone else ever notice how that famous ass-shot scene pulls the camera back if you loop the dialogue? I'm almost positive it was a camera bug (ie. supposed to be there, but not so blatantly). You're a cheery wee bugger, Nep. Have I ever said that? Reapercussions
Giantevilhead Posted March 13, 2012 Posted March 13, 2012 (edited) Hey, maybe they only did it at Yvonne Strahovski's request. Didn't think of that, did you? I guess it's up to open minded people like me to think about Yvonne Strahovski wanting to show her ass. Edited March 13, 2012 by Giantevilhead
ShadowScythe Posted March 13, 2012 Posted March 13, 2012 She probably should've also requested that they fix Miranda's stupid potato face so that she actually looks as pretty as Yvonne Strahovsky.
Nepenthe Posted March 14, 2012 Posted March 14, 2012 (edited) Hey, maybe they only did it at Yvonne Strahovski's request. Didn't think of that, did you? I guess it's up to open minded people like me to think about Yvonne Strahovski wanting to show her ass. Personally I was entirely satisfied with that aspect of the game, but then again, I come from a morally less-repressed society. Edited March 14, 2012 by Nepenthe You're a cheery wee bugger, Nep. Have I ever said that? Reapercussions
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