Ragequite interviews Josh Sawyer

[FlintlockJazz]

Just seen this, he mostly talks Pillars but also talks about other things like other Obsidian games such as Alpha Protocol and the Aliens RPG, and he also mentions his tabletop characters.

 

http://www.ragequit.gr/specials/item/josh-sawyer-obsidian-interview-ragequit

 

 

[juanval]

Josh talks about the possibility of developing a turnbased game in PoE setting. I don't like the idea.

 

Long life to Real Time with Pause Combat!!!

[rheingold]

Hmmm, interesting, in particular the part about the stronghold not having as much attention as it needed. It definitely is one of the weakest parts of the game, that and the whole 15 levels of Caed Nua.

Really surprised though at his influences, fair enough I get the whole historical influence, but seriously, was Zelazny's Lord of light not a massive influence on the story. Be a huge coincidence if that was the case. To much of a coincidence in fact, there are way to many parallels.

[Zenbane]

If we are taking Turn Based similar to Wzardry 8 then hell yeah, I'd fund that!

[JerekKruger]

If PoE2 was turn based I'd be a little disappointed because I love RTwP, but in the interview he talks about a separate turn based game in the PoE world. Honestly that sounds pretty good to me.

[Starwars]

I'd heartily welcome a turnbased PoE game, that'd be awesome. But for a full on sequel, I hope they continue with the stuff they've developed for the first game (and that's coming from someone who doesn't even like realtime w pause that much). Develop what you have. One of the things that excite me about the whole PoE thing is that they can do a BG2 style sequel, where you can really build on what you already have in the first game and focus a lot more on content creation, rather than tearing everything down and rebuild it all into a "new experience" so to speak. I hope that's the plan they have for PoE2.

 

Good interview, thanks for linking.

[tinysalamander]

Boarding the turn-based train.

[AndreaColombo]

RTwP for life.

[the_dog_days]

If it's turn based with interactive environment like Divinity Original Sin, I'm all for it.

[Leferd]

I'd spend money on a turn based game.

[bronzepoem]

Do hope they can add more contents to the orginal companions.

[Bill Gates' Son]

I doubt the main games will ever been turned based, but a spinoff with turned based combat similar to Divinity and ToEE would be glorious.

 

I'm also glad he actually noticed the problems that many people had with the main story and companions.  Improved story element is the main improvement I want to see in Pillars of Eternity 2.

Edited November 19, 2015 by Bill Gates' Son

[JerekKruger]

A turn based game focusing more on tactical combat rather more than story, perhaps set in the Saints War, would be excellent.

[FlintlockJazz]

I doubt the main games will ever been turned based, but a spinoff with turned based combat similar to Divinity and ToEE would be glorious.

 

I'm also glad he actually noticed the problems that many people had with the main story and companions.  Improved story element is the main improvement I want to see in Pillars of Eternity 2.

Yeah this was what I noticed too, that he actually mentioned how they realised many of the things like the descent into madness of the Watcher not being put across properly.

[Zenbane]

Spin-off and "companion" software is definitely the future of gaming, imo. I actually have my own personal gaming project being drafted based on this dynamic. But that's for funsies, what PoE is doing here is just another great way for them to show initiative and break new ground.

[Parasol_Syndicate]

If it were more akin to Shadowrun Returns and less like final fantasy, I could definitely have some fun with a turnbased system. 

Edited November 20, 2015 by Parasol_Syndicate

[aluminiumtrioxid]

A turn based game focusing more on tactical combat rather more than story, perhaps set in the Saints War, would be excellent.

 

If this could free up the main gameline from the obligation to put trash fights every-****ing-where because "what about the part of the fanbase that thrives on the tactical combat experience?", that would be even better.

[Michael_Galt]

World of Darkness setting?  Sure, that would be great.  What I would do, to be able to play a werewolf.  In Vampire: Masquerade, you better believe that I played as the vampire class that was essentially a werewolf.  How I would love to play an actual werewolf, taking down vampires and zombies and all that good stuff.

 

No mention of Mistborn, which makes me sad.  I had heard that there were talks between Obsidian and Brian Sanderson, but....  probably just another broken dream, like BG3, Kotor 3, Arcanum 2.  Also, nothing particularly concrete regarding the more distant future, which makes me a bit sad.  Oh well.  Maybe I'll have the new ME next year, depending on the reviews.  If they do what Bethesda did with Fallout 4, no thanks.

[Teioh_White]

I think Vampire is currently owned by Paradox? Maybe they'll do something with it, or rent it out, or something. At the least, a pre-patched and modded version of VtM:B on steam, sorta like Kotor 2 had recently, would be nice.

 

As for the rest of those, BG3 might someday get a 'spiritual' successor from kickstarter, as the gameplay and story presentation still seem to have some strong nostagila (just look around this forum, heh). Really doubtful we'll ever see anything like Arcanum again. Not that I personally mind, but that game really did it for some folks.

 

As for Kotor 3...well, Disney's got it, maybe they'll think something like Kotor 3 could be decent money someday. It might not be in same 'canon' exactly, but another single player Star Wars RPG is def something I could see happening someday. Otherwise, we'll just have to settle for SWTOR being pseudo Kotor 3. (I don't have the rabid hate for that game that most seem to, but I'd still have a preferred a legit Kotor 3 to a MMO that was doomed to fail).

[JerekKruger]

I can't imagine there being a BG3 as a direct sequel to BG2. Where exactly does the story go after the events of Throne of Bhaal? I suppose they could do some sort of related story but I don't really think there's much room for one. Something unrelated would be no more part of the Baldur's Gate series than Neverwinter Nights was.

[Michael_Galt]

I think Vampire is currently owned by Paradox? Maybe they'll do something with it, or rent it out, or something. At the least, a pre-patched and modded version of VtM:B on steam, sorta like Kotor 2 had recently, would be nice.

 

As for the rest of those, BG3 might someday get a 'spiritual' successor from kickstarter, as the gameplay and story presentation still seem to have some strong nostagila (just look around this forum, heh). Really doubtful we'll ever see anything like Arcanum again. Not that I personally mind, but that game really did it for some folks.

 

As for Kotor 3...well, Disney's got it, maybe they'll think something like Kotor 3 could be decent money someday. It might not be in same 'canon' exactly, but another single player Star Wars RPG is def something I could see happening someday. Otherwise, we'll just have to settle for SWTOR being pseudo Kotor 3. (I don't have the rabid hate for that game that most seem to, but I'd still have a preferred a legit Kotor 3 to a MMO that was doomed to fail).

 

 

I can't imagine there being a BG3 as a direct sequel to BG2. Where exactly does the story go after the events of Throne of Bhaal? I suppose they could do some sort of related story but I don't really think there's much room for one. Something unrelated would be no more part of the Baldur's Gate series than Neverwinter Nights was.

When I say, "BG 3", I don't mean, "continue with your protagonist from BG 1-2".  What I mean more, is FR, same/similar engine and game play.  They could start off after the Throne of Bhaal storyline, with some new set of adventurers.  It would be hard to make the storyline as epic, but the FR has tons of room for adventure.  I'd really like something that leaves the Sword Coast, to be honest.

 

I played the SWTOR game... and it just didn't do anything for me.  The travel was irritating, I got tired of people endlessly running around me, didn't like the graphics, found it confusing, trying to figure out where to go and what to do, and it just didn't "feel" serious to me.

 

What I really want is a game with the Imperial Knights http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_Knight. Way cooler- grey Jedi warrior empire, essentially.Then, you could play Jedi, Sith, or an Imperial Knight. I want a game where those factions exist, and maybe you start in the Imperial Knights, but the Jedi and Sith start trying to "recruit" you as you gain power and fame.Once you get past a certain point, if you don't switch alliances, they begin to target you as an enemy

 

Let Imperial Knights use light and dark side without penalties, while Jedi o Sith would have "stronger" respective powers like in Kotor. But, give the Knights some cool higher level abilities the others don't have. You could even have "fallen Jedi", which don't belong to any faction, but pursue their own interests.  If Jedi encounter them, they try to arrest/detain them.  Sith try to recruit or kill them.  Imperial Knights don't care about them one way or another. 

 

In reference to Arcanum, I'm more just interested in seeing a game that allows you to gamble, steal, seduce people, build robots or golems, has tons of replayability and is steam/cyber punk.  I really like Shadowrun, but it's incredibly linear.  You can only go to a very small handful of locations.  Arcanum had a huge world you could literally walk across, in its entirety.  Or, you could take a ship or train. Or, teleport. It explored a LOT of interesting topics, from religion, philosophy and science.  Hell, even psychology and political science. 

 

As an example of its replayability, I've played as a suave talker that convinced an "army" to follow him, and inventor that made money selling his inventions and excelled at melee combat, a sniper that built his own weapons, a mage which would teleport around the continent and disintegrate people, a mage which was essentially a "spell sword", a gambler that was a duellist with pistols, and an extremely smart half-ogre that was perfectly reasonable until someone made some sort of racial joke or insult, in which case he would give them one opportunity to apologize, or he would kill them.  All of these builds played very differently, and I was able to make very different decisions throughout the game.  Some had lots of money, others little.  Some found out really interesting things because of their intelligence or charisma, others had no idea.  One, I made into a prostitute. Besides maybe F: NV, I haven't played any other cRPG that permitted that degree of "role-playing". 

[Kilburn]

I was all excited to play arcanum until i got in game. good lord what is up with those graphics?

 

legend of zelda for super nintendo looks better than that...

Edited November 21, 2015 by Kilburn

[Cantousent]

I actually prefer turn based combat myself, but I disagree with our Zennish friend in that I thought Wizardry 8 was too much of a slog. Too much combat around every corner.

 

I want a game world that reacts to my actions, but goes into turn based mode for combat. Sure, make it dynamic in that maybe some other critter or faction moves in to take advantage of the vacuum left by the exile or slaughter of the current power brokers, but don't have 'respawns' per se.

 

 

As far as story goes, there's one tiny thing that's simply unrealistic about Pillars of Eternity, and it's so central to the underlying philosophy that it makes it hard to address, and that's the idea that you 'prove' to people that one ancient culture invented the gods. As irrational as some people might view it, there will always be people who believe in some power greater than themselves that works in a more or less supernatural fashion. Hell, I'm Catholic and I can absolutely assure you that I've met so called 'atheists' who hold mystical or supernatural views that are in excess of the tenets of my personal religion. The idea that someone could 'prove' that the gods didn't exist is simply pie in the sky utopian (or perhaps distopian) crazy talk. I say that even if someone actually had iron-clad proof. Proof is the weakest argument against conviction.

 

 

...And, as I've said, I'm a Catholic. I certainly have no doubt that the gods did *not* exist.

[AndreaColombo]

 

^ I agree with you to an extent. If the gods in Eora were openly revealed as a fabrication, there would be a number of considerations that would come into play:

 

• Some people would be indignant and enraged for having been tricked into worshiping fabricated gods. Their everyday lives may remain unchanged, but they would feel like they had been conned and that would make them mad and possibly very bitter and skeptic of anything going forward.
• Other people would be dismayed, especially Priests and the most devoted. A big part of their lives and hopes would suddenly be taken away from them, leaving them distraught. Most would eventually come to terms with that, and of course their everyday life would be impacted; some may or may not become criminals in the wake of their emotional reaction.
• There would also be people who'd just shrug off the news because they weren't particularly devoted to begin with. The game isn't super clear as to whether a punishment awaits the heathen in the afterlife, and whether willful heathen get different treatment from ignorant heathen. That said, a portion of the population would just keep not caring as they didn't care before. Some might downright be happy to be proven right.

Then we have to consider that, fabricated or no, the so-called god exist and hold massive power. What makes them different from non-fabricated gods, in the end? The fact that they are merely "immortal" (quote, unquote because Eothas and the Godhammer) instead of eternal? The fact that they are not divine in nature? Do those two facts really matter, when the fabricated gods have proven their existence and power?

 

And all of the above is taking for granted that you can prove to everyone, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the gods are artificial. The game does not imply that you possess the ability or knowledge to do so. You have the word of Iovara and Thaos, both of whom are dead by the time you resurface from Teir Evron, and that's it. Who would believe you if you spoke? Indeed, the end-game slides make no mention of your spreading the word, for it would be rather foolish with no concrete proof in your hands.

 

But I appreciate this is largely off-topic. It's just been on my mind for a while and Cantousent's post just gave me an excuse to actually write it.

 

[juanval]

Jeje. AndreaColombo: all that you say about if people know the truth about Eora's gods would be great for the PoE2 plot. Our main character could take the Thaos role of avoiding people to know the truth, in order to keep the balance and avoid the chaos in the Eastern Reach. By good ways or evil ways jeje.

Edited November 21, 2015 by juanval