Carsten Strehse of SSE talks about the Fall and Fallout 3

Mr. Teatime said:
If SS gets the license, I hope they do the decent thing and give it to Troika or Obsidian, as a true Fallout fan surely would,
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Not likely, very rarely do companies choose to do anything that isn't profitable.
 
Big_T_UK said:
Mr. Teatime said:
If SS gets the license, I hope they do the decent thing and give it to Troika or Obsidian, as a true Fallout fan surely would,
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Not likely, very rarely do companies choose to do anything that isn't profitable.
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Especially since SS himself said he was only in to make games for cash and that's it. Fuck 'em.
 
I don't think what applies to The Fall applies would necessarily apply to F3 if SSE ever makes it. About excessive violence and killing kids- I don't think you could make a Fallout w/o them, but I would think that SSE would want their original game to be released in their own country w/o the local authorities butchering it.

That said, SSE does not have the ability to pull off a good F3 by themselves. The best case for them is to handle the technical aspect, and let people like Puuk, and whoever they can scrape together from the old VB team handle the creative aspects. Even then, it might not be good, but at least it has a chance to be. And I'm sure if we put on the fullcourt press day in and day out to get it to be TB only, they'd eventually cave.

At any rate, I doubt they're going to get it anyway, judging from Carsten's concern with profitability and Interplay's concern for being greedy bastards.

I wouldn't mind if Obsidian got it, and MCA was put in charge of the project. I know he gets knocked a lot for his story ideas, and inconsistency with the original FO, but I liked his writing and dialogue, judging from New Reno and Vault City. They may not have made all too much sense, but they were by far the most interesting parts for me and allowed for the most role-playing in F2.
 
Here's my 2 cents:

Yes, Interplay is a bad owner of the Fallout licence currently, but all they’re doing now is making shitty fallout games.

If another developer made a shitty Fallout 3, that would be worse, in my opinion, than other shitty Fallout games.
 
Llama-God said:
Personally, i'd like to see the license die, totally. Just get to the point where it's not possible for another to be made, like System Shock. FO3, no matter made by, will always be far worst than the originals. And even though I like Troika alot, i'd rather see an original Troikian masterpiece than a rehash of their older stuff. Remember, Fallout is what happened when they did something original (when they were at Interplay).

Also, Silver Style fucking sucks as worse as Interplay. It'd be the same damn fire.
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LIES! I hope to see Fallout 3,4,5 and 6!
 
Llama-God said:
Personally, i'd like to see the license die, totally. Just get to the point where it's not possible for another to be made, like System Shock. FO3, no matter made by, will always be far worst than the originals. And even though I like Troika alot, i'd rather see an original Troikian masterpiece than a rehash of their older stuff. Remember, Fallout is what happened when they did something original (when they were at Interplay).

Also, Silver Style fucking sucks as worse as Interplay. It'd be the same damn fire.
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You seem to be so desperate. For me, it doesn't matter so much if anyone produces a shitty Fallout, I will then see only the TRUE, non-shitty Fallouts. Of course, it would be nice to keep Fallouts out of shit, but I doubt it will. You seem to prefer the fame, not the game.
 
Posted at SSE:
http://www.silver-style.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1711&highlight=
Since the FO community is well known for its impatientness and hard criticism I think it's time for some statements.

Everybody should remember the start of this complete FO3 discussion. We always said that we would be more than happy to see a FO3 from a developer which was involved in the development of FO1 or 2. Simply why we love the game (Never forget: Game developers are also gamers. If you aren't a gamer, it's nearly impossible to work on the creative side of the games business). We made the risky step to ask the community about their opinion about a FO3 from SSE. Especially if no other developer can handle it because of financial reasons or something we thought this would make sense for the community. On the other hand we wanted to develop FO3 because we are fans of the FO universe. I'm very sure that I played both games more often than a lot of hardcore fans. Not only because it's fun playing them, but since it's my job to analyze games in detail. I appreciate comments telling me that a FO3 would need this and that, but you can believe me that none of these comments tell me something new. I always said, we would only develop a FO3 if a) we can make sure that it catches the "spirit" of FO1 and FO2 (including TB, blood & gore, FO1 humor etc.), b) we can make sure that ex-BIS staff is involved, c) the community thinks it makes sense.

Why a)? Because we don't want to be the one that make the FO-monument collapse. If a FO3 wouldn't fit to the first two parts, the legend around the game would get damaged.
Why b)? To make sure that a) can't happen. Nobody said that every developer can continue every game series. And we wouldn't be such impudent to say that we don't want the support of the people who were involved in FO1, FO2 or the cancelled FO3.
Why c)? Believe it ot not, the FO series wasn't a huge success from the financial side. I know that the core fans don't want to hear such stuff. However, it's the truths. The topic and style of the game is very focused on the US market. If someone develops a FO3 and the US FO community isn't supporting him, he's lost. If the community don't like the game and won't buy it, there are not that much gamers as customers left on the worldwide market. That doesn't mean that FO has no fans in Europe or Asia. But they're not enough to compensate a flop on the US market.

To make a long sentence short: SSE would only develop a FO3 if we are absolutly sure that we can do it the right way. If we have the feeling that we can't handle it, we would move on to other more profitable projects (yes, we need to make money, even if some gamers think that developers should live from air and love ).

As for the community in general I have to say that it's necessary to face the good and the bad sides if you work with it. You'll always have people who communicate with respect and like adults, because that's part of their character. You'll always have people who are aggressive or rude, simply because it's fun to them. It's not my job to judge one or the other side. Fortunately the internet is a free media and everybody should act in a way he likes. Nobody at SSE takes written attacks serious or personal, we're professionals and it's our job to handle criticism. I also wrote PMs to people involved in flames telling them that a good flame is just some fun and that my comments have nothing to do with disrespect. It's entertaining for the writers, it's entertaining for the readers. Nothing more, nothing less.

OK, I hope that some of my comments help to understand our position. As always I'll be around to answer your questions.
_________________
Silver Style Entertainment

Carsten Strehse
Lead Designer

www.silver-style.com
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I think there are much worse alternatives than SS. Someone here said Troika should do something new because it was Fallout they created when they last did something original. That's why I think SS would be a good choice. Although they are real fans of Fallout they will surely bring something new to the FO universe. Admittedly this can also be bad.

Feargus says he doesn't have the money to buy Fallout, Tim Cain also wasn't succesful (maybe because of personal stuff with the IPLY management, who knows).
What possibilities are left:

1) IPLY takes the half-finished game and lets the rest of BIS (seank) finish it.

2) Some big company like Vivendi or EA takes the license and does something which is even worse than FOT.

3) SS, a dedicated developer, is doing Fallout 3. With SOA they have an above-average game in their portfolio and know FO from the inside-out.

None of these possibilities have to lead to a truly great FO3 but I think SS is the best choice. Everytime I hear them talk about Fallout (like in the latest post by Carsten) I come to the conclusion that they like Fallout as much as I do. I think that's a good start. He also said he wanted to consult former FO developers.

What is there to lose? Can't be worse than no FO3 at all. If it turns out to be bad (and I honestly don't think that) just turn your back on it. But until then we might try to be happy that FO fans are doing FO3 and give them our support - or at least try not to bash them to hard.
 
Revolver said:
That said, SSE does not have the ability to pull off a good F3 by themselves. The best case for them is to handle the technical aspect, and let people like Puuk, and whoever they can scrape together from the old VB team handle the creative aspects. Even then, it might not be good, but at least it has a chance to be. And I'm sure if we put on the fullcourt press day in and day out to get it to be TB only, they'd eventually cave.
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I'm not really sure why you'd think Puuk would be a good designer for Fallout 3 at all. The only two games he's ever had actual design credits on were Lionheart and IWD2. Up until then, he was a betatester for Interplay. And whomever they scrape together would most likely be those who don't have enough of a pedigree to get a job elsewhere.

I wouldn't mind if Obsidian got it, and MCA was put in charge of the project. I know he gets knocked a lot for his story ideas, and inconsistency with the original FO, but I liked his writing and dialogue, judging from New Reno and Vault City.
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When MCA can prove he can design a game that isn't linear as hell, then I'd be more inclined to agree.
 
Troika should get the license, but I'm afraid that will never happen.
Actually, I'm afraid there will never ever be a Fallout 3. :puppy-dog:
 
Saint_Proverbius said:
I'm not really sure why you'd think Puuk would be a good designer for Fallout 3 at all. The only two games he's ever had actual design credits on were Lionheart and IWD2. Up until then, he was a betatester for Interplay. And whomever they scrape together would most likely be those who don't have enough of a pedigree to get a job elsewhere.
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I mentioned Puuk just b/c he works there, not b/c I know anything about his abilities. I just don't think any foreign writer has a chance of capturing the FO style, humor, and 50s US culture. And judging from the english translations in SoA (which I liked) SSE by itself doesn't either.
 
Good grief. Now I'm just sure he's good at flowery words. If he's interested in the title to seek approval from Interplay, then by what he's said, he's implying that SS is fully capable to do this. But then he doesn't.

Why c)? Believe it ot not, the FO series wasn't a huge success from the financial side. I know that the core fans don't want to hear such stuff. However, it's the truths. The topic and style of the game is very focused on the US market. If someone develops a FO3 and the US FO community isn't supporting him, he's lost. If the community don't like the game and won't buy it, there are not that much gamers as customers left on the worldwide market. That doesn't mean that FO has no fans in Europe or Asia. But they're not enough to compensate a flop on the US market.
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What uneducated sphincter did Carsten pull this out of? It sounds like he's buying into the Caen mentality. There's a difference between presentation and publisher support, something I would suggest that he learns before he gets raped like a champ chump by Interplay. It sounds like he's prime material.

To make a long sentence short: SSE would only develop a FO3 if we are absolutly sure that we can do it the right way. If we have the feeling that we can't handle it, we would move on to other more profitable projects (yes, we need to make money, even if some gamers think that developers should live from air and love ).
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So Carsten is looking into getting the rights to develop...but isn't making any claims of development skill. Pragmatism speaks, and it honestly says that it's nothing more than glory hounding. "Oh, we are looking into the Fallout license...but we aren't going to develop if we're not capable of it." It's one of those times that begs the statement of "Make up your fucking mind or shut the fuck up."

At this point and from a publisher's eyes, I would really doubt Carsten's ability because it puts serious doubts to his capability to perform seriously in a developer-publisher relationship.

In the more vulgar terminology observed by some software developers, what Carsten is doing is called "glory hole development". Stick your wang gleefully into a hole and hope a publisher grabs onto it, but unfortunately I really can't imagine (or my mind refuses to allow it) the transition from that to where Carsten is turned into Fifi, the French prostitute on the streets of Prague. He certainly is good at the bullshit-speek.
 
Another Of Life's Horns Of Dilemma

Another Of Life's Horns Of Dilemma

Rohan:
... You seem to prefer the fame, not the game. ...
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The fame versus the game.

Fame versus game.

Fertile field for all us natural philosophers to explore with butterfly net and specimen jar, or whatever rifle/shotgun combo your state "gaming" laws
authorize. Maybe some would prefer to road hunt with a modified semi-auto "auto" and a spot light.

Or for the zen schooled, "fame versus game", another glass to hold one's liquid thoughts for demarcation, focus, and reflection, dissection.

The FO legend may be as elusive as what inspired the gleam in your father's eyes.
As slippery an aesthetic slope as saying, ""I don't know nothin' about "art" but I know what I like."" The zeal of the charasmatic evangelical speeding for the bridge abutement of ponderous pontification. Eyes of the naive nubiles of nuiance locked by the looming headlights of veterans of the "flame wars", seconds away from didactic hamburger status.

Fame versus the game could win iconic status like the other purveyors of "horns of dilemma", like 2D versus 3D.

Maybe it's more on par with the old american beer "lite" TV-commercial/indoctrination parameters: "tastes good versus less filling".
Still, it's another grazing range for sacred cows or oxes, ... waiting to be gored.

4too
 
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