Digital Trends Wasteland 2 Interview

[WorstUsernameEver]

Mostly covers things our readers should be familiar with, but Digital Trends has an article-style interview with Brian Fargo on Wasteland 2. Snip:<blockquote>Halfway through the Kickstarter campaign, InXile promised that if $2.1 million was raised, Alpha Protocol developer Obsidian would be brought on to assist in Wasteland 2’s creation. That goal was shattered, so Obsidian is on board. “Obsidian’s involvement is the help of Chris Avellone helping in the design of the Wasteland world and the levels themselves,” explains Fargo, “He spends 2-3 days a week over here brainstorming everything from storylines to combat systems. It’s been a joy to work with him again. Additionally Obsidian has a host of tools that may help us to get story and dialogue assets organized and integrated more easily. The coding is happening at InXile.”

Things could have been so different. While the Kickstarter game development boom of spring 2012 has been accompanied by plenty of rhetoric on the problems with traditional publishing models, few creators have been as vocally bilious towards the industry old guard as Brian Fargo. Would Wasteland 2 have been made if a publisher backed it in 2012? Would it be the same game? Maybe, but the game’s connection with its audience would definitely be lost. “I highly doubt we would have the same relationship with the public that we do. In the past I had to fight for features that I knew the fans would want and now we have none of that. A publisher may well have given us more money but it is normally with doled out slowly with heavy conditions on each check,” says Fargo, “The best development happens in a more fluid manner with priorities and ideas shifting around the core tenets. Publisher led deals are typically more contract driven in that you must crystal ball the details and do them in that order no matter what the impact on the overall game or the shift in ideas.”
</blockquote>

 

[Crni Vuk]

While I am very happy about to see wasteland 2 made by kickstarter I think one should not forget that some of the best games started with usual investments and publishers. I am not saying this is what Fargo said. But I believe its not always as black and white as how it seems. Particularly when I think about other projects that wanted to have a close connection with the community but in the end ended nowhere. At some point you need someone that is leading the development in a clear direction. Again. I am not saying this is the case with Wasteland 2.

Nice read anyway.

 

[WorstUsernameEver]

Fargo is running quite a clear PR line, but obviously the situation is not quite that clearcut, and I don't have any doubts that him, of all people, having been the honcho of a pretty big publisher for a time, would know that.

That said, there are definitely some huge issues with the model at the moment, and I'm not talking about artistic merit (I don't expect publishers to give a shit about that), but issues of financial feasibility. Even Hollywood is a more mature industry compared to videogame publishing.

 

[Crni Vuk]

yes but in the case of Hollywood we are looking at an industry with pretty much 100 years of history. It is more then then just "mature" when it comes to that.

Think about how far games and the industry around it have changed in the past 30 years.

At least with movies you have still a hell lot of creative freedom despite the fact that most of the projects are a clear money making industry. The indie projects just as example. Granted, its a bit easier since the direction can push the things to a certain level by him self. If he is really good in what he does then it will show in the project. And the movie industry has some of the most famous names after all (speaking about directors here).

Who knows how things will be in 50 years for games when more and more generations grow up with it. In some cases people see some developers already like "stars" (even though I think its a bit ridiculous but oh well).

I think even if the kick starter thing will become smaller in a few years when it is "saturated" I still believe that it will help to give gaming as whole more depth because currently we see many comercial products with huge teams behind them so they are somewhat forced to go only for the win leaving not much room for creativity and experiments. Kick starter is a good start to give it all more diversity. So people are more willing to experiment, making games with smaller but creative and highly motivated teams. Think about it, Sim City, C&C, Dune and many more known games started with very small but highly motivated teams. Not to mention some very popular games (like Portal) have been made by students. Or like Counter Strike by modders. So I hope we will see more of such projects in the future.

 

[Sub-Human]

At least with movies you have still a hell lot of creative freedom despite the fact that most of the projects are a clear money making industry. The indie projects just as example.

Well, for the better (or the worse, but I'd disagree), the only good movies are the ones which are funded by the biggest producers out there. And unlike the gaming industry, if you have experience (and made a great title), you are extremely unlikely to end up in the shadows.

Tim Cain, created an RPG which revolutionized the industry. Where is he now? Why isn't he working with EA with 20 million dollar funding creating a game which is the next step in the GURPS-vision RPGs? Heck, people've never heard of him or his games.

I seriously hope that in the next few years this industry will change dramatically. I'm tired of boring, repetitive titles. Luckily, even the 12 year olds are starting to diss this bullshit.