Josh Sawyer talks game design

[King of Creation]

<strong>[ Community -> Interview ]</strong> - More info on <a href="http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Josh Sawyer">Person: Josh Sawyer</a>

<p><em><strong>Fallout: New Vegas</strong></em> project lead <strong>Josh Sawyer</strong> has answered a few more questions on his <a href="http://www.formspring.me/JESawyer">Formspring</a> page. Here are the interesting/relevant ones:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Q. Main plot, sidequests, character development, music, graphics, NPC dialogs. Chose only three for a game you would enjoy.

A. An interesting omission from this list is "game play", which I would take over any of the above.

Q. Can a game tell a complex story mostly through environment and inference on the part of the player, or are exposition dumps inevitable?

A. Certainly. I actually prefer this kind of storytelling, but it can be tricky to pull off. If a developer were to establish hard and fast rules for presentation in a game, I'm sure they could have a rich, complex story with minimal exposition.

I think games like Ico show that developers are capable of presenting narrative in a lot of untraditional ways. I'd like to work on a game with no dialogue -- or dialogue that's all spoken in nonsense/indecipherable language, with intonation and facial expressions being the player's only hints at what's being discussed.

Q. What kind of balance do you try to strike between player-driven events and plot-driven events?

A. Within the context of "Obsidian-style" RPGs, we tend to give the player a lot of options, but they are still designer-created events. These options can reward a player's investment or character choices, but ultimately it's just picking from a pre-defined menu.

Personally, I try to push our game play in directions that allow players to create their own stories. I want people to enjoy the stories and characters Obsidian creates, but I also want our game play to be compelling and dynamic enough that player stories overshadow our meager choose-your-own-adventure plots.

Reading through someone else's story can be entertaining and satisfying, but if you get the opportunity to create your own, that adds another layer of enjoyment.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>You can go ask Josh a question by <a href="http://www.formspring.me/JESawyer">clicking here</a>.</p>

[S4ur0n27]

I'd like to work on a game with no dialogue -- or dialogue that's all spoken in nonsense/indecipherable language, with intonation and facial expressions being the player's only hints at what's being discussed

Oh yeah, that would be so exciting

[Kickstand27]

i think it could be quite the challenge and add to the mood if done right..

i reckon i would liken it to an old episode of the batman cartoon where he (batman) is in a dream but doesnt yet know it.. all of the papers, books and billboards are nonsensical.. it added to the mystery.

[Yonmanc]

How dare you compare a great cartoon to Sawyers shitty idea.

sawyer is basically suffering what I call "artistic retardation", where people with jobs in a creative environment forget that their artistic persuits are there to make money by delivering quality entertainment to a market, and instead beleive that they can interest the audience in their own affection for outlandish/perverse design aesthetics.

Remember when Will Wright stopped making simulation games to focus on Spore? Remember how well that went?

[Kickstand27]

How dare you compare a great cartoon to Sawyers shitty idea.

sawyer is basically suffering what I call "artistic retardation", where people with jobs in a creative environment forget that their artistic persuits are there to make money by delivering quality entertainment to a market, and instead beleive that they can interest the audience in their own affection for outlandish/perverse design aesthetics.

Remember when Will Wright stopped making simulation games to focus on Spore? Remember how well that went?

werent you just spouting off about people not having to think when they play games?
i should think that not having a clear dialoge going on in the game would make one think about whats going on.

oh i mean, down with the man

[Yonmanc]

werent you just spouting off about people not having to think when they play games?
i should think that not having a clear dialoge going on in the game would make one think about whats going on.

oh i mean, down with the man

Well plenty of games don't have dialogue and make you think. But making a whole game based around the idea that you can't tell what anyone is saying? You think that's a good idea for a game? You don't think maybe Josh Sawyer just MIGHT have let slip a bad idea?

Listen to the guy, he's gushing over oppurtunities he'll never have, to make some art house crap nobody will like. The only explanation as to WHY he's heading down that road? Again, look at Will Wright, or George Lucas, John Lennon or any multitude of creative folk.

They start off normal, make what each of them respectively makes. It reaches commerical success. Then they go one of two ways:

1) Start believing they really are geniouses and think every idea the have is great without consideration, and before you know it there's a Sim City themed Rampage game on Nintendo DS whilst people are more interested in making chairs and Hilary Clinton than they are monsters and the franchise dies before it grows.

2) Start believing they really are geniouses and marry odd Japanese women and start meddeling with drugs and psychadelia.

All of the outcomes of course, result from them forgetting what made them successful in the first place, which, when reading what Josh Sawyer had to say, sounded a bit like to me. So of course, I posted my thoughts on the matter, without thinking I'd be accused of having double standards (despite being two COMPLETELY seperate things) by a digital motorbike enthusiast.


Is there anything else you'd like me to elaborate for you, or do you think that MAYBE, you can start taking what I say at face value, and give up thinking you can catch me out just because I didn't like your silly little car idea.

[Retlaw83]

give up thinking

He can't give up something he's never done.