Feargus Urquhart Interviewed by Gamasutra

[programmer.craig]

Anybody recognize this from 2001?

http://www.volny.cz/lord_vader/vault/en/devchat150601.txt

<Dan_Wood> Anyway, Let's start off with the big questions: Is There A Fallout 3 CURRENTLY being developed or on the docket to be developed?
<BIS_Darren> At the moment no, Fallout 3 is not in development, but we have been tossing up the idea among other ideas for the Icewind team to move onto.
<BIS_Feargus> Confirm Fallout 3. Ya know I can't do that before we've "offically" announced it. What I can say that we have a whole bunch of people working on TORN, so if Fallout 3 were being worked on - there couldn't be very many people working on it.
<XLA> but, after TORN is finished, is Fallout 3 one of the dominant options?
<BIS_Feargus> If there were a list of products we would do after TORN finals - Fallout 3 would be on the short list.


And what is TORN, that was so important that it took precedence over the successful Fallout franchise?

http://www.gameplanet.co.nz/news/121998.20010323.Interplay-Announce-TORN/

"With TORN, we've taken the best elements from Fallout, a completely
original fantasy world, and combined it with real-time combat," stated Feargus
Urquhart, Black Isle Studios Division Director. "It's pretty much everything
our fans have been asking for since we produced the original Fallout series."



See that there? Way back in 2001 "fans" weer asking Interplay to make the same game that Bethesda made in Fallout 3. Feargus said so, so it must have been true. Why would anyone be surprised when he praises Bethesda for doing exactly what he intended to do, almost 10 years ago?

Hey Feargus, who are these "fans" who were asking for that? I was on usenet back then, all the time. I never saw anyone asking for that. Nobody was asking for 3D realtime Fallout. Except maybe your money-grubbing bosses who weren't satisfied with Fallout's success and thought they could make even more money by making interactive idiotware for the mass market. If that's the case, then why blame the fans?

(this comment is aimed at anyone who thinks Interplay/BIS are blameless for the demise of "original" Fallout)

 

[Brother None]

Actually TORN looked pretty kick-ass, on its own.

But even Feargus isn't saying Fallout is better real-time. He probably thinks so, tho'.

 

[Public]

But even Feargus isn't saying Fallout is better real-time. He probably thinks so, tho'.

Thinking but not saying...hmmm.

 

[Iozeph]

I personally found it very hard to read past that. How old is this interviewer? 12? I've been playing CRPGs since the 1980s and I can authoritatively state that there has NEVER been a low-point lower than this. Not even during the RPG drought of the mid-1990s that Fallout helped end. The genre is for all intents and purposes, defunct. All that's left is pseudo-RPGs like the ones Bioware makes, and other-genre-with-RPG-elements like everyone else makes. I doubt today's fan base even knows what an actual RPG is. Which may be this character's problem, actually. Stats? OMFG, its an RPG! Interactive NPC dialog!? Cool! An RPG!

Actually, Drakensang was pretty damned good, IMHO.

 

[Crni Vuk]

But yeah Diablo or Oblivion is to RPG is what Dragonforce is to metal, Hollywood compared to Fellini or Tarkovskiy, KyoAni's anime to Kon or Oshii, etc etc etc

I would never ever go so far to throw Diablo in the same can as "Oblivion". Diablo is still a game with a lot of qualities on its own. Definetly not as a RPG but in other ways. I at least had much more fun with playing Dialbo then I ever had with Oblivion and not only cause Diablo had at least a good setting and story for a fantasy game while those of Oblivion, well anyone can judge for itself how "great" those Oblivion gates are or how "rich" the characters. Anyway Diablo never was a game that tried to attract the same kind of audience as Fallout. Both games had their charme.

As shocking as it might be for some but actualy compared to Oblivion at least Diablo was always a game that had quality.

 

[Eternal]

No, he's saying that even though they're a fairly big company, they focus entirely on one major game at a time. Instead of saying "here's our fall lineup" they say "This is the game we're trying to sell you this year" which is commendable in a way.

Atlus publishes dozens of games a year, many of them are terrible but mixed in is some AMAZING gems. I would rather they do it that way than publish 1 game a year and push it hard even if it was bad.

 

[jero cvmi]

that was a pretty good read.

And so, I think a lot of thing is that -- and not that you can say Gears of War, Call of Duty, or any of those things are generic. They're great games and a great experience, but they've been funneled down a line of "How do we sell as many units as possible?", you know what I mean?

And which is the right line? I mean, this is a business. If you're going to spend 30, 40 million dollars on a game, well then you gotta get that many people to buy it. It just makes sense. There's no reason to make a movie, a very niche-y indie movie, and spend a hundred million dollars on it. You can still make money.

And you don't have to appeal to everyone, you can still make money with a low budget.

Now the question is: which applies to New Vegas? is it going to be the 100 million blockbuster, or the low budget niche?

 

[Brother None]

Actually, Drakensang was pretty damned good, IMHO.

It's testament to the state of the RPG industry that one can call Drakensang pretty damned good with a straight face.

Comparatively Drakensang is pretty damn good. If it were released in a more healthy time for RPGs it'd be instantly forgettable.

 

[Sir GlowaLot]

Well, Fallout 3 is a great game and there is nothing wrong with 3D Realtime and using the Oblivion Engine, but I will stop since some of the very old-school Fallout Gamers will stomp with their feet and cry.

In the mid 90s the RPG Genre reached its lowest point because 3D Engines and First Person Shooters came into play. RTS and FPS were the dominant Genres in the 90s with Doom, Quake, Duke Nukem, Command and Conquer and Warcraft.

I still consider Ultima 8 as the lowest point of the Ultima Series and the RPG in General. But things got better a few years later with Fallout.

But the credit for revitalising the CRPG Genre does not go to Interplay and Fallout, but to Bioware with Baldurs Gate and Baldurs Gate 2. Both Games combined Real Time-Strategy with a Story Focused RPG. It was less necessary to know every of the Games rules, Also the Turn-based background of D&D was still there it was just calculated in Real Time.

You don't have to agree to my opinion, but just dismissing it, because it does not bash FO 3 is wrong. In 97/98 it would have been wrong to bash Fallout because it does not use the Wasteland/Bards Tale-System of turn based combat, so why is the screaming there how shallow Fallout 3 is?

In the end the members of NMA will have to decide. Either prohibit any mentioning of Fallout 3 and say "We don't do fracking 3D! Leave us alone!" Or get over it and move into the 21th Century.

 

[Ixyroth]

Actually, Drakensang was pretty damned good, IMHO.

It's testament to the state of the RPG industry that one can call Drakensang pretty damned good with a straight face.

Comparatively Drakensang is pretty damn good. If it were released in a more healthy time for RPGs it'd be instantly forgettable.

Drankensang was a really bland NWN 2 clone, with virtually zero party interaction, except for Dranor's and Rhulana's sidequests. The premise of the story was interesting, shapeshifting reptilians in disguise as humans, etc., but it wasn't executed very well.

 

[Public]

but I will stop since some of the very old-school Fallout Gamers will stomp with their feet and cry.

You don't have to agree to my opinion

So in your "opinion" in 90's RPG genre reached its lowerst point because 3D engines and FPS came in?


That's fine, it's only your opinion.

 

[Brother None]

In the end the members of NMA will have to decide. Either prohibit any mentioning of Fallout 3 and say "We don't do fracking 3D! Leave us alone!" Or get over it and move into the 21th Century.

Thanks for telling us how to run our site. We'll give your suggestion all the attention due to it.

(that's none, in case you can't figure it out)

 

[Per]

But I have already renounced this modern world!

C-can I take it back?

 

[AskWazzup]

Well, Fallout 3 is a great game and there is nothing wrong with 3D Realtime and using the Oblivion Engine

Actually there is, well with the way bethesda handles it anyway. Since they decided to make a FPS with rpg aspects, it was critical for them to execute the FPS side of the game at least decently. Animations, ballistics, physics, npc models, shooting mechanics were all done terribly bad in F3, this left the game with a bunch of medicore features, at most, thrown together with the only somewhat redeeming quality being exploration.

It's amazing how they sold so many copies of F3. I'm still uncertain who's to blame for this - bethesda's amazing marketing skills, or the rapid degradation of standarts amongst gamers...

 

[Continuum]

Well, Fallout 3 is a great game and there is nothing wrong with 3D Realtime and using the Oblivion Engine, but I will stop since some of the very old-school Fallout Gamers will stomp with their feet and cry.

Blah blah blah blah, the same bullshit over and over again. Let's make a little test: go into Bethsoft forums and ask Toddler's hardcore fanboyz what do they think about TES V with boooooring TB combat, 3d top down view without fucking FPP mode. I wonder what the answer will be...

 

[Sir GlowaLot]

I am not telling you how to run your site. I only think that the bashing of Fallout got the point it where it contradicts the good coverage of the News. Basically it boils down, I really hate Fallout 3 and everything who thinks it is fine is either a stupid Kiddie or paid by Bethesda for Viral-Marketing. Oh, here are some new Screenshots of the Point Lookout DLC.

About the mid 90s, the problem of the RPG Genre was, that Experiments like Ultima 8 or the first attempts to blend RPG Elements with 3D Engines failed horribly. If I recall the era right, most of the Developers considered RPG as very much dead. The early Elderscrolls Games experimented with 3D and open Sandbox environment, but their Games had horrible Bugs, a bad press and I think they were not even available in my Country (Germany) during that time.

Fallout marked the return of the CRPG as the success of Interplay and Bioware Games showed. I consider Planescape Torment closely followed by Baldurs Gate 2 as the best of this time, but Bethesda and others did not give up on 3D and CRPG and finally got it right with Morrowind, which is more of a Sandbox Game that allows a Player to explore on their own.

Oblivion was okay, but not great because I felt that things that were made right in Morrowind got too much dumbed down in Oblivion. Also the Imperial Providence of Cynrodiil was much less believeable or interesting then the Dark Elf-Volcano Isle of Morrowind.

Now to Fallout 3. I recognise many good things about the Game. The pseudo-50s background is perhaps overdone but fits into the background. I am not all that happy with the Storyline, for example the poor explanation why Supermutants appear in DC. But I still consider there many good elements, which are perhaps closer to the good Morrowind then the mediocre Oblivion.

The end of line. Fallout 3 is no FPS, but it has FPS-elements, I do not have any problems with this. The same is with Mass Effect and perhaps the upcoming Dragon Age. Both have 3D first Person/third person elements and borrowed much from the FPS Genre, but they are not FPS. In their core they are still very much CRPG. Like the old Black Isle Games were also CRPG even with their elements borrowed from Real Time Strategy.

The strong moments of Fallout 3 are, when the game begins to write its own Story. For example while exploring the Ruins of DC and suddenly getting into the middle of a firefight between a group of Raiders and Mutants and you are with the option to try to fight your way out or make a Run for the nearby Tunnels and look for an alternative route.

Sorry for the long post, but I felt the need to explain why I came to may opinion. Still there is nothing wrong with disliking Morrowind/Oblivion/Fallout 3, but please do not think that anyone who disagrees is stupid.

 

[lugaru]

The three reasons they post news about Fallout 3 is:

1) Brings eyeballs to the site.
2) Lots of closet fallout 3 fans here, only half of them lurk and the other half will only admit it in a PM.
3) Gives them a chance to post the same jokes again every few weeks.

 

[Dionysus]

And you don't have to appeal to everyone, you can still make money with a low budget.

Now the question is: which applies to New Vegas? is it going to be the 100 million blockbuster, or the low budget niche?

New Vegas will be a rehash of its predecessor, like KotOR 2, Vice City, or even Fallout 2 for that matter. The budget will probably be lower because they are starting with an established framework, but the target will obviously be FO3's multiplatform audience.

It might be a niche game compared to Wii sports, but it won't be a niche game by this community's standards.

 

[Public]

Fallout 3 is no FPS

Let's see

The gameplay is in First Person Perspective

And most of the game you have to Shoot stuff like in a proper Shooter.

You have some lame dialogues, stats (which don't do much) and an inventory. These are RPG elements.

Looks to me like some FPS with RPG elements. Just much worse than Deus Ex or VtM:Bloodlines (in Bloodlines you could actually do some proper Role Playing).

Of course you can change the camera to Third Person Perspective. Then you'll have...TPSwRPGe!

 

[Brother None]

Basically it boils down, I really hate Fallout 3 and everything who thinks it is fine is either a stupid Kiddie or paid by Bethesda for Viral-Marketing.

Really? That's the official site stance? We don't have any regulars who think Fallout 3 is ok (like me or Grizzly) or who even think Fallout 3 is pretty damned good? Wow. Thanks for the update. I must've been thinking of some other site all this time.

The strong moments of Fallout 3 are, when the game begins to write its own Story. For example while exploring the Ruins of DC and suddenly getting into the middle of a firefight between a group of Raiders and Mutants and you are with the option to try to fight your way out or make a Run for the nearby Tunnels and look for an alternative route.

Oh wow, that really sounds like a great RPG experience.

Oh wait.

The three reasons they post news about Fallout 3 is:

1) Brings eyeballs to the site.
2) Lots of closet fallout 3 fans here, only half of them lurk and the other half will only admit it in a PM.
3) Gives them a chance to post the same jokes again every few weeks.

And here I thought we posted Fallout news because this is a Fallout fansite.

Man, you guys sure do know this site a lot better than I do.