The Outer Worlds - Gameplay Video and Impressions

3) Goofy, Dark Humor

If you have any question about The Outer Worlds' brand of humor, just know that you can play through the entire game as a dumb guy - literally, there is a dialogue option labeled [Dumb] that will let you role-play as a clueless brute. Halcyon is also filled with fat snakes that were bred for their leather, missions about diet toothpaste, and a rare weapon that works like a shrink ray to miniaturize your opponents.

"I think humor is really, really hard to do in a game, but games that go pure dark are hard to take in every night," says Cain. "I play games that skew dark, and after a while I just don't want to play them anymore. We like this kind of dark humor where we can put something in the game that also looks silly, but when you dig into it, you find out it's really horrific."

"You can actually get a lot darker and a lot deeper into things if it's fun and humorous," adds Boyarsky. "Getting deep into the human condition can be a little overwhelming, but if you are having a fun time and laughing and then we sneak in some of that depth and darkness, it actually resonates a little better."

[...]

Click to expand...

The Outer Worlds is being designed around freedom of choice, which often manifests during verbal exchanges. You have free agency to lie, play dumb, betray allies, or align with would-be enemies. These concepts aren't limited to Fallout games, but it's--again--hard to deny the similarities at play when even the amount of camera zoom during dialogue brings Fallout 3 to mind.

Whether The Outer Worlds is intentionally built to remind us of Fallout is a question we'll likely never get answered by Obsidian, but odds are it's not a coincidence. Obsidian's work on Fallout: New Vegas is cited by many fans to be the best thing to happen to the series in recent years. You could argue that any similarities between The Outer Worlds and Fallout are due to the fact that there are so many ex-Fallout devs working on the game, but there are elements that go beyond mere creative tendencies.

[...]

Click to expand...

The idea is this small corner of the galaxy and its two planet-like celestial bodies were discovered, purchased, and terraformed for colonization. But something went wrong. Tera 1, now known as Monarch, didn't take to the terraforming, and it's now become a moon full of monsters. The other planet, Tera 2, known as Halcyon, fared much better. It's Earth-like, with plants and trees and animals, but it's not really Earth. Those trees are Mostly-Oaks and Kinda-Pines, trademarked, most likely. That animal crawl-slithering in the grass-like field is a Leather Boa, a snake-like-thing that's broader and fatter than Earth snakes, because it's been genetically modified and bred to produce more leather. Profitable, most likely.

[...]

Click to expand...

One idea that Obsidian is taking to the lengths of delightful absurdity in The Outer Worlds is the concept of branding. Virtually everything in the game is branded. Every consumable item and every weapon has a corporate brand name attached to it, along with marketing buzzwords and slogans. Narratively, it shows that corporations are the ultimate master in Halcyon. Every single NPC in the game works for a company. It's a world that has progressed beyond racism and sexism, but it's a world that's entirely consumed by competition between companies. It's a story inspired by the robber barons of the late 19th century, but with the concept taken to its next level.

[...]

Click to expand...

BoboTheMighty said:

Eh? I'm not that sold on this. Bioshock it's not, when it comes to art. Somewhat similar style, but former has much more coherent/"clear" direction. Or that chicken velociraptor. This just looks..weird. Almost like procedurally generated "things" from No Man's Sky…red earth tree next to glowing blue popstickles next to concrete road that "somehow" grew into hill.
Combat and AI, well, tbh look like crap. Maybe a little bit better than Fallout New Vegas, sort of FPS Alpha Protocol version.
And setting is definite Borderlands almost rip off…I'm not sure "Whedonesque" tone is good idea, not unless you have really good writing team on board.
I think people are bit caught up in "OMG Cain and Boyarsky working together!" here.

Click to expand...

Obsidian Entertainment has garnered a reputation over the last decade and a half for a unique penchant for writing engaging and reactive narratives, usually with a heavy emphasis on weighing a high degree of consequence against the player's choices. The Outer Worlds seems to be poised to continue that trend.

We already saw a glimpse of the game's unique brand of humor in our preview of the title, but being able to see the long-term narrative permutations in a limited amount of time is a bit more difficult. The next best thing though would be to be able to talk about the design philosophies behind writing for an Obsidian RPG, so we did just that.

RPG Site was lucky enough to have the opportunity and sit down with Megan Starks, the Senior Narrative Designer on the studio's newest game. Megan has also worked as a narrative designer for Obsidian's fantasy RPGs Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire and Tyranny. Prior to her time at Obsidian, she's worked on the MMOs Wildstar and Fallen Earth in various design and writing roles.

We chatted with Megan about working as a lead narrative designer on The Outer Worlds, the design difference when writing for a single-play game compared to an MMO, and more.

Click to expand...

BoboTheMighty said:

Eh? I'm not that sold on this. Bioshock it's not, when it comes to art. Somewhat similar style, but former has much more coherent/"clear" direction. Or that chicken velociraptor. This just looks..weird. Almost like procedurally generated "things" from No Man's Sky…red earth tree next to glowing blue popstickles next to concrete road that "somehow" grew into hill.
Combat and AI, well, tbh look like crap. Maybe a little bit better than Fallout New Vegas, sort of FPS Alpha Protocol version.
And setting is definite Borderlands almost rip off…I'm not sure "Whedonesque" tone is good idea, not unless you have really good writing team on board.
I think people are bit caught up in "OMG Cain and Boyarsky working together!" here.

Click to expand...

Couchpotato said:

Found one interview for this game.

RPG Site interview with Obsidian's senior narrative designer Megan Starks.

Click to expand...

Zephyr said:

Yeah, I hope so, too. I'm a 3rd person guy. Personally, I find 1st person weapon use confusing. I'm always trying to line up the weapon sight on the target instead of the cross-hair. Why not make them aligned, not separate? You point the weapon at what you want to shoot in real life, not on a floating, centered cross-hair.

Click to expand...

JDR13 said:

Oh, and the Borderlands comparisons are…weird. I'm not seeing much similarity here at all.

Click to expand...

Or we just like or care about different things? I can agree it might not be fully coherent in the art direction, and the combat might be clunky. I care more about what feeling I get, if the writing and story is interesting, that the humour is there, and that the world looks interesting. Your points are perfectly valid, they are just not enough to make me less hyped.

Click to expand...