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Headlines
Fri 24 August 2007
KOTOR 2 review at Thunderbolt Games
Fallout 3 award list
11 most epic RPGs at UGO
New Piranha Bytes game details
Spiderweb's Nethergate released!
Pete Hines interview at GameStar
Gothic 4: Genesis for PS3, XBOX 360, and PC
Thu 16 August 2007
Depth of Peril demo is out!
Thu 09 August 2007
Rise of the Argonauts Q&A;, part 2
Wed 08 August 2007
Completely fucking nuts: a Molyneux article


Articles
08.06.07: Are the paradigms of role-playing outdated?
07.24.07: Chris Avellone dialogue monologue
07.19.07: What is Fallout 3?
06.30.07: Depth of Peril preview
06.21.07: Calling Fallout 3 into question(s)
06.17.07: Some thoughts on the Fallout 3 article
05.18.07: The dialogue interview
04.27.07: Neverwinter Nights 2 interview
04.18.07: Jade Empire review
03.30.07: The Role We Don't Play


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Fri 24 August 2007

KOTOR 2 review at Thunderbolt Games ( Review )
posted by Vault Dweller on Fri 24 August 2007, 18:26:37
More info on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords - More info on BioWare


It looks like KOTOR 2 has finally reached the distant shores of England, prompting Thunderbolt Games to write a review. The score is 7/10.

One of example of the game�s lack of difficulty comes at the end of the game during a climactic duel. The baddie was being trounced with no problems whatsoever, but then a cutscene came up and one of the characters said the enemy is too strong. It was humorous, considering my party had nearly full health and the foe was helpless, and this was on the highest difficulty setting.
Happened to me in both games. Combat was ridiculously easy and ruined it for me.



There are 9 comments on this article. Click here to comment.

Fallout 3 award list ( Game news )
posted by Vault Dweller on Fri 24 August 2007, 18:05:33
More info on Fallout 3 - More info on Bethesda Softworks


Maybe it's old news, but I've just noticed it and decided to share it with you - Fallout 3 impressive E3 awards list. I guess nobody gives a shit about legacy and respect these days. More exploding eyeballs please.


There are 2 comments on this article. Click here to comment.

11 most epic RPGs at UGO ( Editorial )
posted by Vault Dweller on Fri 24 August 2007, 17:57:15

UGO has compiled an epic list of the most epic RPGs.

As RPGs became more advanced, simple dungeon crawls were replaced by games with truly deep, literate stories - truly epic games in every sense of the word. Exploring issues of identity, fate, destiny and loyalty, these games stand with any other entertainment medium as truly worth the commitment it takes to play them.

Begin: The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion...
What does Oblivion have to do with "truly deep, literate stories" and "issues of identity, fate, destiny and loyalty"? Let's find out!

Oblivion: ... the player has dozens of ways to tackle the main quest, and can also choose to ignore it and explore the living, breathing AI world, taking on hundreds of other jobs and tasks. Of course, when it is time to confront the Daedric Lord and close the gates forever, the resultant kick-ass battle is a climax for the ages, but the genius of Oblivion is that you're never in any rush to get there.
...

Gothic: Trapped inside the mining city of Khorinis, you find yourself forced to ally with one of three factions trying to break the magical barrier keeping them imprisoned. Gothic is awesome because of the massive, seamless game world - the entire city is one, huge area, with the exception of three underground complexes. In addition, the game's world is carefully crafted, with the camp's inmates speaking a unique and profanity-laced patois and the fascinating tale of trickery and heroism that the game lays out for the player. In the end, of course, the player must find their own way in between all three of the factions to destroy the barrier - but at what cost? The unique, nihilistic ambiance of Gothic makes it stand in a league of its own among role-playing games but rest assured that it's an experience you will not soon forget.
...

Betrayl at Krondor: With a dense, complex nine-chapter storyline based on the fantasy novels of Raymond Feist, this incredible adventure is widely regarded as one of the forebears of the epic RPG. Following a trio of unlikely allies through a story of warring nation-states, magical trickery and the titular betrayal, the player will explore sewers, cities and alternate planes of reality in order to lead the trio to their individual destinies. The narrative is as rich as any of Feist's novels and is considered a canonical part of his writing. The unique tactical battle system brought a new dimension to combat, forcing players to carefully position their warriors for maximum effect. Praised as a revolutionary development in computer RPGs, Betrayal at Krondor proved that mature, complex storylines had a place in fantasy role-playing forever.
...

Knights of the Old Republic: What could be more epic than a space-faring struggle in the Star Wars universe? Set four thousand years before the rise of the Empire, BioWare's awesome RPG casts the player as a lone Jedi in opposition to the marauding Sith. In their quest to recover a powerful weapon, the Star Forge, the player is confronted with the revelation that they themselves are actually a Sith Lord, Darth Revan. Will you choose to continue your quest and eradicate the Sith or will you relapse into your evil ways? The constant struggle within every Jedi between the light and the dark side makes for extremely compelling drama, with most players tackling the light side first and then using their second play-through to gleefully unleash their inner Vader on the game. Every action you take in the game is tracked and used to determine your moral standing, affecting how characters react to you throughout the galaxy-spanning adventure.
...

Wizardry 8: Nine years after the last Wizardry title, Sir-Tech's long-lived franchise brought itself to a close with the biggest and best installment. In the quest to collect three magical artifacts and transcent the mortal plane and become a god, Wizardry 8 brings hard-core, old-school role-playing action into the modern world with multiple unique paths and bonus ?retro dungeons? in the style of older games in the series. One of the coolest aspects is the vital nature of diplomacy in the game - you need to watch what you say to cement your alliances with one of the game's two main factions. Of course, you could always choose to make enemies of both factions, which will give you yet another unique ending. Unfortunately, during the production of the game, Sir-Tech went bankrupt, bringing one of the legends of role-playing to an ignoble end.
...

Planescape: Torment: When a game opens with the main character waking up in a mortuary, you know you're in for a wild ride, and Planescape: Torment doesn't disappoint. Taking your horribly-scarred, unkillable main character across numerous planes of existence, trying to piece together your missing identity, the very nature of reality is called into question. With over 800,000 words in the game's script, this is an RPG that progresses more through conversation, investigation and characterization than all-out combat - in fact, it is possible to complete the game and only fight four times! The emphasis is on the story, and what a story it is - rife with flashbacks, multiple lifetimes, and quirky, unique characters including a floating skull, a sentient suit of armor, and a luckless succubus, there's a reason Planescape: Torment has one of the most loyal fan followings of any PC RPG - it's just that good.
...

Baldur's Gate 2: Truly the Infinity Engine's finest hour, the awesomely deep Baldur's Gate II (and we're including the Throne of Bhaal expansion here) takes the Dungeons & Dragons universe and spins it out to an epic narrative of fate and betrayal. Moving away from the constant combat of most RPGs, Baldur's Gate II gives the player a host of ways to proceed through the story - they can play a barbarian and cleave skulls until the sun comes up but there are several other ways to play. Midway through the game, the player is given the choice to ally with one of two factions. This choice is one of many branches in the deep, dark narrative, which eventually sees the main character revealed as a dark avatar of the deity Bhaal. The multiple moral decisions that a player must make comprise the real meat of this fascinating adventure.
Discuss!


There are 14 comments on this article. Click here to comment.

New Piranha Bytes game details ( Game news )
posted by Vault Dweller on Fri 24 August 2007, 17:30:09
More info on Piranha Bytes


RPG Watch has posted the first details about Piranha Bytes new game:

As stated yesterday, the game is set on a volcanic and �forbidden� island. All character animations will be made anew, the game will have dungeons, traps, secret doorways and riddles. The developers are known for maintaining close contact to their fanbase and took up some suggestions like increasing the effectiveness of certain weapons when fighting particular foes, like a hammer for golems. Instead of having a myriad of items in virtually indistinguishable variations, the game will concentrate on fewer but clearly recognisable weapons, armour sets and items.

The new game is again made for a single player and the PC. At the moment no other platform is in development. Whether the game will be made for DirectX9 oder DirectX10 is still undecided. The graphics engine will consist of some licensed components but most of it is being developed by Piranha Bytes itself.
Also, Moriendor translated some RPB-related forum posts by the developers:

- Just as previous PB games, the game will feature a large, open world and a lot of dialog. It's supposed to be become a "typical PB game" according to Mike Hoge (from PB).
- There will be a volcano island that is called "The Forbidden Island".
- The story/theme: The Gods have disappeared from the world and a new power has taken their place. The player will be confronted with this new power.
And here is an unofficial fact sheet:

General
- The game will be set in a fantasy world including the RPG-typical monsters, magic, alchemists, smiths, hunters and fighters.
- Any references to Gothic will be left out due to legal reasons.
- There will be a pre-defined hero. No character generation.
- The world will be approximately of Gothic 1/2 size. Definitely smaller than Gothic 3.
- There will be different zones of vegetation as well as dynamic weather and day/night cycles.
- No loading screens.
- There will be interesting dungeons and caves.
- More emphasis will be put on riddles/puzzles.
- There will be several cities/camps.
- The game will be divided up in chapters.
- The game will not be related to Gothic and it will also not be a Gothic 1 remake.
- The graphics will be slightly improved over Gothic 3.
- There will be more women than in Gothic 3 and they will not all have supermodel shapes either.
- There will be shields.

Development
- The graphics engine will be self-made again but it won't be the Gothic 3 engine.
- Everything will be modelled by hand. Items and loot will be distributed by hand.
- The max poly limit of the armor models is at around the 6K mark.
- Some programs that are used in development are 3D Studio Max, Photoshop and ZBrush.
- SpeedTree will once again be used to render the trees.

Misc
- There will be a demo of the game.
- The game will be published in German and English language versions.
- The game will not be released in 2007.
It would be interesting to see what PB can come up with and compare their new game, which sounds like Gothic Reimagined, to Gothic 4.

Spotted at: RPG Watch

There are 11 comments on this article. Click here to comment.

Spiderweb's Nethergate released! ( Game news )
posted by Vault Dweller on Fri 24 August 2007, 16:57:44
More info on Nethergate: Resurrection


I dedicate this newspost to RPG Watch's Dhruin, whose loud complaints and endless bitching were finally heard. So, uh... Nethergate, an indie RPG filled with treachery, battles, and other awesomeness, has returned to Windows once again.

Nethergate: Resurrection is a huge, exciting, fantasy role-playing game, that features:

* Two different sides, the powerful Romans and the savage and cunning Celts. Each side has a completely different full-length adventure.
* Enormous game world, with dozens of dungeons and many characters and quests.
* Fascinating storyline. Fight for freedom, or further the glory of the Empire.
* Lost secrets of magic! Dozens of spells and hundreds of hidden magical artifacts.
* Innovative story and unique setting. Unlike any fantasy game you've ever played.
Give it a try, will you?



Spotted at: RPG Watch

There are 1 comments on this article. Click here to comment.

Pete Hines interview at GameStar ( Interview )
posted by Vault Dweller on Fri 24 August 2007, 16:50:51
More info on Fallout 3 - More info on Bethesda Softworks


GameStar has posted a video interview with Pete Hines. Here is a snippet:

Can the Oblivion engine, which you are using, is it actually useful for turn-based combat, could it do it?

I have no idea, 'cause we...I mean, it's just not something we ever seriously considered. You know, the Elder Scrolls isn't turn-based combat...and Fallout we just never really felt like that was a viable option. So at the end of the day we just felt like, if you're gonna do it in first-person, if you want it to be as immersive as possible, what kind of combat can we do that stays true to what Fallout presented in terms of tactical choice and being able to make decisions in combat and, you know, having that be really cool and memorable, but still do it in this immersive first- and third-person sort of over-the-shoulder perspective and that's ultimately what we went with.
That's nice, dear.


Spotted at: NMA

There are 4 comments on this article. Click here to comment.

Gothic 4: Genesis for PS3, XBOX 360, and PC ( Game news )
posted by Vault Dweller on Fri 24 August 2007, 16:45:27
More info on Gothic 4: Genesis


Gothic 4 for consoles, brought to you by technological progress, greed, and a fucked up publishing system. Here is a link:

JoWooD Productions Software AG is proud to present Spellbound Entertainment AG as the official developing team for Gothic 4.

One of the most convincing and central arguments for choosing Spellbound, was the scope of RPG experience brought in by Spellbound team member Jochen Hamma, who was involved in creating the legendary �Nordland Trilogy� based upon the Pen & Paper RPG �Das Schwarze Auge�.

Furthermore, Spellbound has created own tools for achieving exceptional standards in Quality and Quality Assurance. Both parties are confident to produce a game of highest quality, and Spellbound intends to focus on the traditional strengths of the brand, setting new standards in the original, authentic Gothic essentials.

At the Games Convention 2007 in Leipzig, Mr. Jochen Hamma, Spellbounds Executive Producer, is showing the first facts and plans to curious fans and special interest media, outlining which strengths are essentially to be intensified, and which weaknesses are tagged for elimination.

Gothic 4 is being developed for PC and Current Gen console systems, a release date will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Spellbound Entertainment AG is one of the leading German Game developers. The company based in Kehl has been responsible for the creation of more than 20 games. Spellbound got known internationally by its Desperados and Airline Tycoon series that sold worldwide with great success.
It's hard to find a better developer to set new standards in the "Gothic essentials", whatever they may be, than a fabled developer of Airline Tycoon.

Desperados 2 was a highly acclaimed game with a 65% meta score. Airline Tycoon set new standards, recognized by a 70% meta score. The Airline Tycoon sequel perfected these standards, getting a 71% meta score. It's clear that the good times for the Gothic series are about to roll.

There are 21 comments on this article. Click here to comment.



Thu 16 August 2007

Depth of Peril demo is out! ( Game news )
posted by Vault Dweller on Thu 16 August 2007, 20:55:22
More info on Depth of Peril


Depth of Peril demo is now available.

Depths of Peril is a single player action role-playing game (RPG) with strong strategy elements. You play as a faction leader protecting the barbarian city, Jorvik, by destroying threatening monsters and completing quests. At the same time, you compete with rival factions to see who will rule the city. Barbarians choose their leaders by fighting to the death!

As a faction leader, you must deal with rival factions through diplomacy, trade, and in time, war. Between battles and raids against other barbarian factions, you build the most powerful faction possible, to withstand your enemies. Building the power of a faction involves exploring a fantasy world, slaying dangerous monsters, solving quests for the city, avoiding deadly traps, and plundering loot to share within your faction.

But in this world, actions actually have consequences, so take care. Annoying the powerful and aggressive Legion of Fear faction will cause them to declare war and destroy you. Ignored orc uprisings in the Black Forest might lead to attacks on the town or even more trouble. Protect ally covenants that are being raided, because friends are hard to come by.

The Depths of Peril demo is available from the following mirrors:

Gamershell
http://www.gamershell.com/download_20642.shtml

GameSpot
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/depthsofperil/download.html?sid=6176725

WorthPlaying
http://www.worthdownloading.com/game.php?gid=2853

FanGaming
http://www.fangaming.com/fileinfo.php?fileid=1991

StrategyInformer
http://www.strategyinformer.com/pc/demos/depthsofperil/

FileShack
http://www.fileshack.com/file.x/10986/Depths+of+Peril+Demo

Gameguru Mania
http://www.ggmania.com/?smsid=24055

Atomic Gamer
http://www.atomicgamer.com/file.php?id=49

File Front
http://files.filefront.com/Depths+of+Peril+Demo/;8327830;;/fileinfo.html

ComputerGames.ro
http://computergames.ro/ro/downloads/viewitem/id/9055/name/depths-of-peril-demo.html
Take a look and post your impressions here.


There are 48 comments on this article. Click here to comment.



Thu 09 August 2007

Rise of the Argonauts Q&A;, part 2 ( Interview )
posted by Vault Dweller on Thu 09 August 2007, 15:05:52
More info on Rise of the Argonauts


Here is the second part of the Rise of the Argonauts interview. If you missed the first part, click here.

I think players will really get a kick out of how refreshingly different our combat system is from those in most RPGs, and from action / adventure games in general. First off, our combat is executed in real-time, which in and of itself is a significant departure from the turn-based approach found in many RPGs.
You guys are true pioneers of game development. :salute:

There are 18 comments on this article. Click here to comment.



Wed 08 August 2007

Completely fucking nuts: a Molyneux article ( Preview )
posted by Vault Dweller on Wed 08 August 2007, 14:58:40
More info on Fable: The Lost Chapters - More info on Lionhead Studios


Yes, I know. It's not the best title for a newspost, but it's really hard to come up with something better after reading this article, featuring Peter Molyneux and Fable 2.

"Stupidly, the ambition on this thing [Fable 2] is I want you to measure this against any fighting game. It's amazing for a role playing game, because most role playing games are shit! Oblivion was a great game, but the combat was rubbish; we all talked about it being rubbish. So imagine you had a great role-playing game and really, really good combat system."
...
Molyneux explained that games today are mechanically too hard and too difficult, and that to reach his goal, some careful thinking will be needed. Lionhead's ambition, he said, is to make a "truly great RPG". And how will he quantify the success of this ambition? "As a designer I want as many people to enjoy my game as possible. I'll put a number on that: the number is five million; that's pretty ambitious, and to do that I need to innovate."
...
"...I've got to innovate combat. And the problem is an enormous number of games you see are totally unplayable for the vast majority of the population. Give Halo 3 or Call of Duty to a casual gamer and they will just run away screaming, they wouldn't have the first chance. But, hardcore gamers are getting so demanding now, they're requiring ultimate balance, enormous depth, and love experimenting throughout the whole of the game. Those are polar opposites, on one side accessibility, and on the other, depth. How can I create a combat system that combines both together?"
...
"I am certainly suggesting that a good proportion of [casual players] can't even control a character, and get stuck, and we're spending a lot of time getting that right. I could say draw your sword and they wouldn't even have a clue what we're talking about. But if you say push forward and just push the button more, they could get through the whole game like that. It would take them a lot longer, and the hero would look atrocious by the end of it, and wouldn't be nearly as powered up as 'your' hero, but they could finish it. And I want to do that, because I want more people to play the game."
...
Initiating a fight in the game, Peter starts with some 'button mashing' - hitting the button without any coordination or rhythm, involving little skill. "You would think button mashing would be one thing I'd want to get rid of, but I don't. For some people, it's what they want to do." The idea, he explained, is that the depth comes from getting more out of doing cooler things.
...
"How can I reinforce that?" he ponders. "With another new thing, which is using music, and effects, and camera cuts. I want you to think of the sword as a conductor's baton. As you're fighting, we'll be introducing different musical elements, the more successful you are. And we'll be upping the tempo of the music, the more abilities that you unlock. So you not only get more of a score, you get a cooler soundtrack. This is literally unlocking different musical instruments that are in there, which makes me feel more engaged with the combat."
...
"Remember, this is a role playing game; all the different weapons have different music sounds and give a very individual feel to the combat."
...
"Death... is rubbish. It makes me feel bored and it's tedious. We've got to think of another way to make combat feel like it means something. As we saw in Fable 1, the world reacts to what you're like; if you walk down the street and look heroic, people will greet you, but if you look evil they'll run away. And this is our answer to death. Very simply put, when you're fighting anybody and you see your hit points go down to nothing, your hero collapses, but instead of the screen going black, we keep the camera on the hero. The baddies will come in and start laying in to you - kicking him, punching him, slashing with a sword - and it's quite an emotional thing to see that with everybody laying into you.

What actually happens is your hero is getting permanently scarred all over his body. And those scars will never go away. The more times you die, the more you get scarred, the more ugly and disfigured you will look, and the more the world will react. We tested with loads of kids, and most people loathe looking like it, and the interesting thing is how that makes you feel. If you're willing to pay 500 experience, you can get up immediately and not be scarred at all, and continue the battle from where it was. The longer you wait, the cheaper it costs to get up.

That actually works; it makes combat so much more impactful, because the cost is not tedium any more; the cost is your look and how cool you are as a player, and that coolness is very important."
...

Thanks, Lestat.

There are 111 comments on this article. Click here to comment.



Sat 04 August 2007

The best RPG ever made ( Review )
posted by Vault Dweller on Sat 04 August 2007, 02:48:07
More info on Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - More info on Bethesda Softworks


GamePlanet, a New Zealand gaming site, has decided to join the civilized society by acknowledging the awesomeness of the best RPG ever made.

The Elder Scrolls series is the most popular set of solo role playing games ever developed. ... The release of the PS3 now means that RPG fans on the PlayStation can now experience the undisputed king of role playing games.
A promising beginning.

The world of Oblivion is a living, breathing world. ... The AI hidden within the game is one of the best ever developed for a RPG game. Kill someone in the street, and you will be chased down; stealing will result in a time in prison (unless you bribe the sentry). Importantly, though, you need to realise it's not all about you. These AI driven people interact with each other as well. There are stories of players witnessing a computer controlled thief being pursued through the town by the sentries in a random AI event. It's stunning how alive the towns and cities feel because of this.
Bethesda PR department strikes again!

As you explore you will soon find factions and guilds abound. Choosing a guild will lead you to new and guild specific quests while at the same time placing you at odds* with some of the other guilds.
* vivid imagination required

There are 41 comments on this article. Click here to comment.

Rise of the Argonauts interview at RPG Vault ( Interview )
posted by Vault Dweller on Sat 04 August 2007, 02:15:02
More info on Rise of the Argonauts


Rise of the Argonauts is ... yes, how did you guess? ... an action RPG. You can never have too many of those. Anyway, it's an action RPG loosely based on the famous ancient epic. The website informs you that RotA immerses gamers in a gladiatorial adventure, set in wondrously imagined vision of ancient Greece with deep exploration, epic quests, and brutal combat! If you are dying to learn more, here is a detailed 3-page interview:

In Rise of the Argonauts, you take on the role of Jason, a young warrior king whose wife is assassinated on their wedding day. In an attempt to bring her back, he sets out aboard his massive warship, the Argo, in search of the Golden Fleece. Along the way, he will encounter an all-star cast of characters from ancient Greek mythology...
If I may ask, what exactly was wrong with the original setup? Why the extra "assassinated bride" drama? Is it supposed to make Jason more likable as a character as of opposite Jason who simply wanted the crown?

The catalyst for Jason's journey is the shocking assassination of his wife on their wedding day. After grimly hunting the assassin through his own palace and ultimately exacting his savage vengeance, he is left gutted, wracked with guilt and anger - and his wife remains dead. It is then his Uncle Pelias tells him of the Golden Fleece, hidden away on the primordial isle of Colchis, and its ability to unmake the fabric of life and death. Jason immediately knows what he must do. After attaining the blessing of the gods Hermes, Athena, Ares and Apollo, and leaving his uncle Pelias to reign over his kingdom in his absence...
*sigh*

In examining combat, we really wanted to convey a sense of weight, impact and lethality that is so prevalent in the stories of the time; just read a battle sequence from The Iliad to get a sense of what we're talking about. Therefore, we felt that we not only needed real-time combat...
Makes sense. You can't convey impact and lethality without real-time combat.

This led us to a physics-driven approach to combat, where power and resistance are more important than damage and hit points.
How Xtreme!

...we knew we needed robust storytelling tools and a means to make meaningful narrative choices...
Looks like meaningful choices are all the rage these days.

...we've created an entirely new experience that will really appeal to fans of both RPG and action / adventure games alike.
Perpetuum Mobile of the gaming industry.

We are always seeking to design "clever" reinterpretations of creatures, places, NPCs, etc., leveraging familiar elements to ensure that the player can identify them, and then taking them in entirely new directions.

For example, in myth, Daedelus is the greatest engineer of the ancient Greek world, but he is often represented as a thin and wiry scholar. In our game, he is an avatar of Hephaestus, a great worker of metals, and thus equal parts artisan and smithy. Our version is strong and stocky, reinforcing not only the tone and style, but also the logic of the world.
Thanks, that's very thoughtful. I don't need any skinny nerds on my ship. It's a "cool people only" party, if you know what I mean.

At its core, Jason's character development is centered around the concept of dedicating deeds to the gods.

Any meaningful action within the world can trigger a deed. Killing 20 Dryads, discovering a secret grove, saving hunters from certain death, and successfully outwitting, intimidating, or earning the respect of an NPC are but a small sampling of events that will grant deeds.
Sounds meaningful indeed.

There are 10 comments on this article. Click here to comment.



Fri 03 August 2007

Welcome back to Fallout! ( Game news )
posted by Vault Dweller on Fri 03 August 2007, 21:16:51
More info on Fallout 3 - More info on Bethesda Softworks


As you may know, the official Fallout 3 site is now in business, and it comes with greetings from Todd Howard, the number one Fallout fan and true patriot.

For the record, I never compared the violence in Fallout to Jackass, I compared it to Kill Bill�big difference. I also never said "fantasy is riding a horse and killing things," but oh well.



The massive expectations of what this game means to everyone who loved Fallout, RPGs, and gaming-in-general is not lost on us.
That's what we figured after going through all the previews and interviews. Keep up the good work, Todd!

Thanks, Callaxes and Kotario

There are 25 comments on this article. Click here to comment.

Emil Pagliarulo: Fallout was real time! ( Interview )
posted by Vault Dweller on Fri 03 August 2007, 20:58:22
More info on Fallout 3 - More info on Bethesda Softworks


Emil Pagliarulo, Fallout 3 LEAD DESIGNER, has boldly stated that Fallout was actually a real-time rpg in this interview:

Fallout wasn't a turn-based strategy game...it wasn't a turn-based RPG for that matter. It was real-time RPG with turn-based combat. So capturing the spirit of Fallout really has nothing to do with where you put your camera. It has nothing to do with your engine. It has everything to do with the way you approach the setting, the characters, the ironic humor, that sort of thing.
...
Fallout 3 is really strongly character driven, and we really concentrate on the relationship between the player character and his/her father, voiced by Liam Neeson. Dad has raised you in Vault 101 your whole life, and then one day, he takes off. He leaves the vault. Nobody has ever done that. Why did he leave? Where did he go? So you leave the vault in search of your father.
...
There was never any question that Fallout 3 would first/third-person, fully 3D and interactive. For the first time, we're allowing Fallout players to fully enter into the universe they love so much. It's what we do best, and we're immensely proud of that fact.
Emil is such a great addition to the Fallout team.


Thanks, Kingston

There are 42 comments on this article. Click here to comment.



Wed 01 August 2007

Part 2 of Planescape: Torment interview at RPGWatch ( Interview )
posted by Calis on Wed 01 August 2007, 10:47:55
More info on Planescape: Torment - More info on Black Isle Studios - More info on Chris Avellone


RPGWatch has published the second part of the excellent interview with Chris Avellone and Colin McComb, conducted by Brother None. To this day, I rue the fact that Chris A was never as involved on the official forum while the game was still in development as his designer-underlings Colin, Adam and Scott. It's good that someone finally dived into that demented brain of his to extract this information. Obligatory interview quote, dealing with cliches in Torment:

- Rats became one of the most dangerous creatures to fight.
- Undead were often more human and sympathetic than their living counterparts (Pharod vs. Stale Mary, for example).
- Quest givers were usually people you had given quests to, but had forgotten you had (Pharod).
- Brothels indulged not physical lusts, but intellectual lusts. A LOT.
- The plane of chaos was incredibly orderly.
- Gaining information was often more important than increasing your stats.
- Death didn't end the game, and in places, helped progress it.
- You didn't get a name until the end of the game.
- You are frequently fighting against things and traps you set for yourself in previous lives.
- No swords - and there was an attempt to avoid conventional and expected spells and weapons.
- No dwarves, elves, halflings, etc.
- Options were provided for the player to easily raise dead companions so the game could keep going easily.
- The most prominent Succubi in the game was non-sexual.
- Devils were painfully honest, angels... well, weren't.

It's most definitely a must-read and even includes the original Torment pitch-it-to-the-management document. Go read it

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