RPGCodex "does" J.E. Sawyer

[VDweller]

Of course, by including the unanswered comments in the finished interview, you also demonstrate that you think they have value in themselves, not just as requests for clarification that never came. And that's debatable.

Chris turned the interview into a conversation by adding comments from some emails we've exchanged. When I received the interview I commented on his answers, sent the file back to him, asking if he wants to add anything. He said yes, didn't seem offended at all, but changed his mind a month later.


I posted the interview with those unanswered comments because that was the conversation we've had, and had I removed anything, even the unanswered parts, it would have changed the original discussion. I presented it as is, simple as that.

Yes, he said "just text". I wonder why that might have been?

Nice selective reading skills. He also said "instead". Missed that one?

What MCA is saying here is basically, "Oh, I'd do talking heads", and you triumphantly come back with, "Aha! Then you can't write well enough!"

Are you in a mind reading business, by any chance? Once again: MCA: I'd also like a lot of dialogue options be represented visually, instead of described.. Think about it.

You don't think the Quake comment could be interpreted as a malicious dig?

You don't think that "role-playing is acting a role" comment could be interpreted as "I have no clue what I'm talking about"? Just curious.

Basically, a developer said something stupid (*gasp*). A better person would have pretended that it's not stupid, continuing worshipping the ground the developer walks on. Because I'm not a real journalist (*gasp*), I told him what I think. Frankly, I'm pretty sure that he can handle some criticism, and that every now and then someone should challenge any developer's beliefs, but maybe it's just me.

Do you think he'd say an RPG "allows you to act out that role", then go on to seriously say that this does not necessarily mean having "the means to do so"? In what way would that make sense?

I have no fucking idea, but unlike you, I don't have any mind reading skillz, so I took the comment as is. He said what he said, and as we all know, Chris doesn't have any problems with them words, does he?

I suppose that depends on what you think about him in the first place.

Hard to say. I was impressed with his work on PST, was disappointed with that crap called KOTOR 2, and wasn't too impressed with some of his answers.

 

[Per]

I posted the interview with those unanswered comments because that was the conversation we've had, and had I removed anything, even the unanswered parts, it would have changed the original discussion.

From what you say, it wasn't exactly a complete, pristine, linear transcript, so there was no "original discussion" to be preserved at all cost.

Nice selective reading skills. He also said "instead". Missed that one?

You're seriously suggesting that if he says "facial expressions instead of just text", he probably means "just facial expressions instead of text"? Because a more reasonable, non-mind reading interpretation would be that his placement of the "just" precisely implies he wants text and more.

You don't think that "role-playing is acting a role" comment could be interpreted as "I have no clue what I'm talking about"?

It certainly can, if you've decided that any loose interpretation you can reach for, however inconsistent with a person's past merits and utterances, can be ascribed to him on the fly. If you think putting your replies in the form of "hey, did you really mean what I think?" would be sucking up and putting them in the form of "are you stupid?" is upright and challenging, fine. It casts your lines about mind reading in an ironic light, is all.

Basically, a developer said something stupid (*gasp*). A better person would have pretended that it's not stupid, continuing worshipping the ground the developer walks on. Because I'm not a real journalist (*gasp*), I told him what I think. Frankly, I'm pretty sure that he can handle some criticism, and that every now and then someone should challenge any developer's beliefs, but maybe it's just me.

All right. In the event that MCA holds these implied "beliefs" with a vengeance, you're a hero and I'm a dupe.

 

[VDweller]

From what you say, it wasn't exactly a complete, pristine, linear transcript, so there was no "original discussion" to be preserved at all cost.

It pretty much was. Anyway, if I added something behind Chris' back, then I'd agree with you. Since he has seen the comments, reacted very positively, etc, they are a part of the discussion.

You're seriously suggesting that if he says "facial expressions instead of just text", he probably means "just facial expressions instead of text"? Because a more reasonable, non-mind reading interpretation would be that his placement of the "just" precisely implies he wants text and more.

Once again, you missed the second sentence. Should I quote it again?

It certainly can, if you've decided that any loose interpretation you can reach for, however inconsistent with a person's past merits and utterances...

The problem is, it is consistent. See KOTOR 2 for more details. MCA won't be the first developer who "evolved": Warren Spector with his "tyranny of choices" and craptastic Deus Ex 2, DW Bradley with "I wish I could make Wizardry real time back then" and god-fucking-awful Dungeon Lords, etc.

 

[Roshambo]

The problem is, it is consistent. See KOTOR 2 for more details. MCA won't be the first developer who "evolved": Warren Spector with his "tyranny of choices" and craptastic Deus Ex 2, DW Bradley with "I wish I could make Wizardry real time back then" and god-fucking-awful Dungeon Lords, etc.

DimWit Bradley has long passed his usefulness to this genre, and at this point, should be proverbially taken out into the industry street and double-tapped to the back of the skull mafia style.

It would be a mercy killing, though thankfully it was more like suicide with DW's comments and Dungeon Tards. Really, nothing that spectacular EVER came from him except for ego and some parts of the Wizardry series that leads me to believe that those who did "researching" for him in V probably came up with most of the background. Now that someone isn't watching over his shoulder, and there isn't the threat of the millions of Wizardry fans kicking his ass (though he's been trying to "appeal" to them with his crap - and failing spectacularly) he's gone for completely moronic.

It's like Uwe Boll and his movies. Tell people how bad they are, and they go to see how bad they are or buy the DVD because it's cheap. At least when you tell people how shitty a DW Bradley game is, even console trash can agree with you and stay away from that crap.

 

[Per]

Once again, you missed the second sentence. Should I quote it again?

I frankly don't know what he meant by that. He could have meant...

... that he'd be rid of the umpteen "A concerned frown creases his already wrinkled brow" or "He leaves and returns five minutes later with your Quest Item™" that plagued parts of Torment, exchanging them for less intrusive graphic representations.

... that he'd want lines such as "As far as medical assistance goes, I'm not unsympathetic to the plight of the ghouls" to be represented by a stunningly rendered 3D model performing an elaborate pantomime.

... that descriptions and visuals both have their uses and there's not necessarily one perfect balance for all games that's already been pinpointed.

... that he wants to pioneer the extensive use of non-verbal dialogue options like "Smack the tiefling bitch already".

... that it sometimes looks odd when you go through a 142-line dialogue where you fool around with some angsty party member but the whole world's frozen onscreen the entire while, and when it's over there's no indication it ever took place.

... that he wants dialogue to take the form of clicking a sequence of icons representing generic topics until the NPC shows a smiley face to indicate success, while colourful balls swirl in the background.

Yeah, he fumbled with the ball, a clarification was called for, but until there actually is one I'm not going to assume he meant that graphics always beats text. Also note that the question was specifically what could have been tweaked in Torment, not how he'd do any new game today.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Damn it you guys, this thread knocked the fuck out MCA and other devs, etc, but i sometimes get the feeling that you are doing it ON PURPOSE----> that's why I joined

My 2 eurocents on PS:T is that when MCA was still reading Pages of Pain or something, it hit him: Nobody will know I did this, who reads this crap (TSR) ? and so he pushed the amnesiac into the gaming fray and started the whole fucking saga.
While the game is one of the best RPG I've ever dance with, BioWare's Infinity engine could have been way better, so I am struck with the choice I usually have to make in real life :

-the ugly girl with the nice story and very funny jokes

-the beautiful one who asks questions like in morrowind: sex?talk?what?help?hmm?

 

[Role-Player]

DW's comments and Dungeon Tards.

When a developer says he wants to remove realtime clickfests from action RPGs by introducing realtime clickfests into an action RPG, you know it's not going to end well.