Interview Oblivion Q&A at RPGamer

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Patrick Stewart erosion and mounted crossbows with schedules.

 

[Chefe]

You're both wrong, it's Unicorn erosion.

Oblivion: What could possibly go wrong? Despite the fact that its developer guarantees that we'll see Oblivion on shelves alongside the 360 hardware on day one, a few nasty bugs are still infecting its mammoth fantasy. "There is a unicorn in the game, and the other day when I was playing I found it dead," explains Howard. "The Minotaur killed it; he's supposed to protect it, but his A.I. is just too aggro." If the game's inhabitants can't get along, is there any hope for players? Massive patches, bug-fixes, and even recalls happen surprisingly frequently in the realm of PC games, but nobody wants to bring home a busted, buggy, and potentially crash-ridden console game on launch day.

Fuck yea! I love unicorns. When I played Barbie's Unicorn Adventure I though "Hey! These should be in every game!" Unicorns rock. They should put in some purple fairies also, for good measure.

I also love it when developers use words like "aggro". It makes me grateful that they're dealing with my favorite RPG series.

I knew they were dumbing it down for the consoles, and leaving out features to make the Xbox360 release, but this rushing for the console will introduce a whole slew of new bugs? All I've got to say is "Fuck Yes!"

I've got so much respect for Todd Howard right now I'm about to burst!

 

[Tintin]

Patrick Stewart erosion and mounted crossbows with schedules.

That's so clever. You should lead the world.

 

[MrSmileyFaceDude]

Minotaur fix -- 5 minutes. Next? And why can't we use "aggro." You know, most game developers got into the business because they're -- gasp -- gamers. I know, big shock. And what's wrong with having a unicorn in the game? It's a mythical creature -- should we also not have trolls, goblins, ogres, and minotaurs, because they "dumb down" the game for the console kiddies, too?

And no, the game is not being rushed for anything. It'll be released when it's ready.

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

That's so clever. You should lead the world.

I already sent an application to the proper authorities but they haven't responded yet. That's what I get for interacting with people who don't have Radiant AI.

 

[Chefe]

MSFD:

When I think of "aggro", I think of certain people in MMORPGs. I just thought it was funny he used that word instead of something like "agressive" or a similar real word.

I never said having a unicorn is dumbing down, I simply said it was only a really dumb creature.

Surely, you must see that there's a difference between this:

and this:

This game also has unicorns. It looks fun.

 

[voodoo1man]

I can't wait to find out about the story. Morrowind had a cluster-ahem for a story. As far as I know, Ken Rolston is still doing the story and I hope he gets a little in touch with reality this time. Nobody cared about being the Nevarine, nobody wanted to save the Dark Elves. I would have much rather have been the prophesied scourge of the Dark Elf race in Morrowind, than their saviour.

I too felt strongly the urge to pair up with Dagoth Ur and teach those assholes a lesson. There were even letters and telepathic suggestions to do this. But nooo, I couldn't do it!

In general, I find most suggestions made as ways to improve Morrowind would have only made the game worse. Most suggestions were about making it more "realistic". People don't always suggest things that would make a game more fun.

Examples:
- Poison should kill you.
- You must eat and sleep.
- You can get crippled limbs and lose limbs in combat.

Fun? NO!

Those are typical suggestions in you lala-land world. I think most people would agree with me that primarily there were 3 big, simple things wrong in Morrowind:

1. It runs like shit on any hardware (the pause times when going from zone to zone in the supposedly "continuous" world are extremely jerky and annoying).

2. The game world is devoid of features, life, and character. Aside from cliff racers. Oh yeah, this game had cliff racers. And hills. Lots and lots of hills. With nothing on them. But some spawning cliff racers. Once every 20 jerky loading zones maybe you would have a dungeon, if you were lucky. There was no good fast way to travel between towns (and the ways that were there took sooo long to load).

3. Crappy hypertext system for dialogue. Take the worst choose-your-own adventure book you've ever read, make it twice as boring, put all the pages onto one sheet, and stick it into an extremely annoying graphical interface (I really wonder - what sort of genius at Bethesda thought that a WIMP interface would be a good idea for a video game?).

 

[DarkUnderlord]

Doing mounted combat right would have involved a significant amount of dedicated time from more than one programmer and more than one artist and a good chunk of time spent in QA.

Yeah, look at the kind of shitty combat and graphics you get with just one artist and one programmer.

And no, the game is not being rushed for anything. It'll be released when it's ready.

Just without any crossbows.

I like this game.

Unicorns do rock though. I'm willing to bet you can't ride one though or fight mounted warriors. You know, centaurs would've been cool too but I guess that gets back to the whole mounted combat thing again.

 

[Elwro]

Unicorns do rock though. I'm willing to bet you can't ride one though or fight mounted warriors.

That's because all unicorns are natural born pacifists.

 

[Claw]

And why can't we use "aggro." You know, most game developers got into the business because they're -- gasp -- gamers.

That's not a sign of being a gamer, it's a sign of being an imbecile. And I don't care about the arguments why I supposedly can't expect someone to talk properly which are so en vogue.
Sure, some gamers are also imbeciles. But not all imbeciles are gamers, and aggro isn't gamer lingo, it's idiot talk.

 

[Vault Dweller]

And why can't we use "aggro." You know, most game developers got into the business because they're -- gasp -- gamers.

That's not a sign of being a gamer, it's a sign of being an imbecile.

Exactly.

I already sent an application to the proper authorities but they haven't responded yet. That's what I get for interacting with people who don't have Radiant AI.

 

[Chefe]

Sure, some gamers are also imbeciles. But not all imbeciles are gamers, and aggro isn't gamer lingo, it's idiot talk.

Bingo, amigo.

A little history of aggro: it was first used by surfers to describe other surfers who were overly aggressive in the water. When surfing became "cool" the word was adopted by suburban middle schoolers. Ultimately, the word found its way into MMO's where it is still used by idiots today. Sometimes, aggro is classified as "leet speak". The word is generally only used by non-idiots when they're making fun of the idiots who use it.

The more you know.

 

[Section8]

Fuck yeah, more unicorns. I'd honestly rather have some "faggy shit" in the game to balance out the rest of the "hardk0r" demon stuff, and daedric gear.
"OMGF! MY SORD IS BLACK! !! WITH SKULLS AND SHIT!1!!" feels dirty to me. I'd rather be self-aware with "I know I'm poncing about in a high-fantasy world, so I'm going to look the part, in pink fucking tights and a feathered cap."

 

[Twinfalls]

I wanna prance around like Tom Cruise in 'Legend'.

 

[Chefe]

I wanna prance around like Tom Cruise in 'Born on the Fourth of July'.

 

[Pr()ZaC]

I wanna catch both of you on camera!

 

[Redcoat-Mic]

Doing mounted combat right would have involved a significant amount of dedicated time from more than one programmer and more than one artist and a good chunk of time spent in QA.

Yeah, look at the kind of shitty combat and graphics you get with just one artist and one programmer.

Shitty combat and graphics? The combat is one of the best i've seen in a game! Graphics arn't that important as anyone who's played one of those horrible EA movie tie-in games, sure it's nice but not too important, plus their getting updated all the time after all the game is only at 0.632 beta stage. Games are about fun not how many people made it and what how a building you'll see once in a game is shaded. Mount and Blade also dosn't rob you £40 when you buy it.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Sarcasm

Main Entry: sar·casm
Pronunciation: 'sär-"ka-z&m
Function: noun

1 : a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain <tired of continual sarcasms>
2 a : a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, and often ironic language that is usually directed against an individual b : the use or language of sarcasm <this is no time to indulge in sarcasm>

 

[Pr()ZaC]

Even Barbie mounts, she doesn't blade, but mounts...and I'm not talking about KEN!

 

[Chefe]

Shitty combat and graphics? The combat is one of the best i've seen in a game! Graphics arn't that important as anyone who's played one of those horrible EA movie tie-in games, sure it's nice but not too important, plus their getting updated all the time after all the game is only at 0.632 beta stage. Games are about fun not how many people made it and what how a building you'll see once in a game is shaded. Mount and Blade also dosn't rob you £40 when you buy it.

VIVA LA REVOLUSHUN!!

 

[Balor]

Indeed
I think there shoudl be a checkbox for new users, like "I can understand sarcasm", that is mandatory to check, otherwise you cannot register. :D

 

[ichpokhudezh]

I never said having a unicorn is dumbing down, I simply said it was only a really dumb creature.

Surely, you must see that there's a difference between this:

After thorough consideration I can definitely state that there are 2 creatures on the second illustration provided. I have failed to find an obvious to me conclusion that would follow and support your point though. Are you suggesting that unicorns are dumber than Minotaur since there's a 50/50 chance they don't know how to straighten their hind legs? (as follows from the aforementioned pictorial proof) I'd like to know since I feel totally preoccupied with this brilliant argument and this seriously hinders my work performance.

This game also has unicorns. It looks fun.

I welcome and congratulate you with coming out of the closet and sharing your emotion. I look forward to get even deeper insight into your inner self, please do not stop - you can reach out much more now.

 

[Chefe]

You're silly beyond all sillyness.

 

[GhanBuriGhan]

I think Unicorns per se are cool creatures, it's just that "the last unicorn" and other such slush-stories have totally ruined their image. Let's hope Bethesda did not put those in as a bow towards fans of such perverted "my little sisters fantasy book", but does something interesting with it. Having it eaten by a minotaur is not a bad start :twisted:

 

[Pr()ZaC]

Unicorns in Wizardry 8 were pretty powerful creatures.