leth
August 26th, 2009, 13:25
There seem to be some good influx of interviews lately about CRPGs. Bitmob has an interesting interview with Obsidian (http://bitmob.com/index.php/mobfeed/bitmob-debrief-obsidian-and-nevewinter-nights-2.html). They talked more candidly about the NWN2 series, and how AP is influenced by NWN2 development.
It is a long interview, but definitely worth the read.
Bitmob: What are some of Obsidian's regrets about NWN2? Were there any storylines or concepts left out that could find themselves into future expansions or other Obsidian products?
GZ: In MOTB, I wish we could have done more with the main town/hub, Mulsantir. I had written a design document for that module that was, like, 100 pages long, which is ridiculous, in retrospect, but...I really liked that town and the whole Elizabethan theater-troupe setting at the Veil.
We had originally planned to include a lot more quest content dealing with the conflict between the two competing theater troupes, Veil vs. Sloop. I think some info about this eventually made it onto the Web -- the main quest was going to be called Patron of the Arts, with the player in the central role as patron of one of the two theaters. Our idea for the culmination of that quest would have been pretty neat, and I think that it could find its way into a future project...so I'd better not say any more about it.
SE: ...
Looking back, we probably made Storm too different then our other games. People missed the companions and stronger story we had before. I think the overland map was cool, but it took a tremendous amount of extra time to implement. I've found over the years from working on many games that fans don't like radical departures from the normal game in their expansions.
If we had focused on a strong story and dialogue-heavy companions, the expansion might have been better received.
Bitmob: What lessons from NWN2's development has Obsidian been able to apply to its upcoming game, Alpha Protocol?
CA: The influence system has evolved from Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords, to the Neverwinter Nights series, and then to Alpha Protocol, where it's become more of a "reputation" system.
The evolution, however, is that while we had characters intended to always respond positively to at least one playstyle -- for example, being full-on aggressive would always earn favor with Mandalore but not so much other characters -- having a positive or negative reputation in Alpha Protocol is intended to have different benefits no matter how low or high you go. For example, earning the respect of a villain can have benefits, just as pissing them off repeatedly can -- and both have obvious effects in the game.
In addition, we tried to insure that how you play a level in Alpha Protocol could also affect the reputation with certain characters -- some respect a stealthy approach, while others delight in seeing you going in with guns blazing.
It is a long interview, but definitely worth the read.
Bitmob: What are some of Obsidian's regrets about NWN2? Were there any storylines or concepts left out that could find themselves into future expansions or other Obsidian products?
GZ: In MOTB, I wish we could have done more with the main town/hub, Mulsantir. I had written a design document for that module that was, like, 100 pages long, which is ridiculous, in retrospect, but...I really liked that town and the whole Elizabethan theater-troupe setting at the Veil.
We had originally planned to include a lot more quest content dealing with the conflict between the two competing theater troupes, Veil vs. Sloop. I think some info about this eventually made it onto the Web -- the main quest was going to be called Patron of the Arts, with the player in the central role as patron of one of the two theaters. Our idea for the culmination of that quest would have been pretty neat, and I think that it could find its way into a future project...so I'd better not say any more about it.
SE: ...
Looking back, we probably made Storm too different then our other games. People missed the companions and stronger story we had before. I think the overland map was cool, but it took a tremendous amount of extra time to implement. I've found over the years from working on many games that fans don't like radical departures from the normal game in their expansions.
If we had focused on a strong story and dialogue-heavy companions, the expansion might have been better received.
Bitmob: What lessons from NWN2's development has Obsidian been able to apply to its upcoming game, Alpha Protocol?
CA: The influence system has evolved from Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords, to the Neverwinter Nights series, and then to Alpha Protocol, where it's become more of a "reputation" system.
The evolution, however, is that while we had characters intended to always respond positively to at least one playstyle -- for example, being full-on aggressive would always earn favor with Mandalore but not so much other characters -- having a positive or negative reputation in Alpha Protocol is intended to have different benefits no matter how low or high you go. For example, earning the respect of a villain can have benefits, just as pissing them off repeatedly can -- and both have obvious effects in the game.
In addition, we tried to insure that how you play a level in Alpha Protocol could also affect the reputation with certain characters -- some respect a stealthy approach, while others delight in seeing you going in with guns blazing.