Eternity Avowed - Obsidian's first person action-RPG in the Pillars of Eternity setting

[Modron]

That's what you get for living in the upside down.

 

[Raghar]

Never hire aspiring novelists to write your video game. You're literally better off having Ben the level designer write dialogues over his lunch. Even Bethesda games don't have writing this shockingly bad.

I miss the functional writing from the 90s and 2000s games.

Writing for computer games is drastically different that writing for books or movies. Player can see the same dialogue multiple times, and it needs to be unobtrusive.
Movies and books can have gradation. But, what happens when player knows the story already and just plays it for different ending, or to play it again? Gradation is no longer relevant because player knows the ending, and it can be harmful. Players are typically skipping walls of text by rapid clicking, but they need to read the text of the choices.

Self-educated with talent was quite common writer in 90s, and they had advantage of they were making game because they wanted to play it. (+ theirs inspiration was Rambo, Predator, Star Wars, and great fantasy writers who were full of racism and who were able to describe different worlds as a different worlds. Dune is still awesome book.)

 

[Takamori]

It was always just Chris Avellone. Nobody else there was that good.

George Ziets, Travis Stout, Eric Fenstermaker, John Gonzalez, Matt MacLean, Tony Evans, and Josh Sawyer were respectable writers.

Aren't they all gone from Obsidian now except Josh? and Josh did not work on Asoyed.

He did end up working on it a bit: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...ng-february-18th.134122/page-235#post-9225652

Hmm interesting one the reviews posted they mention the game start with yoinky sploinky wholesomechungus reddit writing but as the game progresses towards the end it becomes more serious and actually try to present difficult choices.
So if I were to pin point, thats balance man. I don't think he is the retard writing "Smile dangerously" "Unsheates Katana" and so on

 

[Takamori]

And he was completely fine with the esthetics despite the fact that PoE1 and 2 look so much better through and through visually speaking? Asoyed looks like unicorn dung.

As much as I find PoE boring, I at least recognize that the visuals stood out.

Well depending at what stage of the project you joined you can't simply say Hey this game art is dogshit, better restart also I don't see Sawyer the type of guy wanting to burn bridges with an entire team.

 

[Artyoan]

While I'd have much preferred the style of the original trailer, I think the Living Lands was always supposed to be very diverse plants and wildlife. So I can somewhat understand the tone clash with the other PoE games. Though PoE1 and 2 also clashed. The series has consistency issues.

 

[Ryzer]

And he was completely fine with the esthetics despite the fact that PoE1 and 2 look so much better through and through visually speaking? Asoyed looks like unicorn dung.

As much as I find PoE boring, I at least recognize that the visuals stood out.

Well depending at what stage of the project you joined you can't simply say Hey this game art is dogshit, better restart also I don't see Sawyer the type of guy wanting to burn bridges with an entire team.

Sometimes truth is better than cold-blooded lies.

It was always just Chris Avellone. Nobody else there was that good.

Josh Sawyer were respectable writers.

 

[La vie sexuelle]

And he was completely fine with the esthetics despite the fact that PoE1 and 2 look so much better through and through visually speaking? Asoyed looks like unicorn dung.

As much as I find PoE boring, I at least recognize that the visuals stood out.

Well depending at what stage of the project you joined you can't simply say Hey this game art is dogshit, better restart also I don't see Sawyer the type of guy wanting to burn bridges with an entire team.

Sometimes truth is better than cold-blooded lies.

It was always just Chris Avellone. Nobody else there was that good.

Josh Sawyer were respectable writers.

 

[ADL]

$89.99 for Premium which is just early access and skins is obscene. Whenever I heard Avowed Premium Edition I assumed it at least had a DLC or two confirmed. Turns out it's still just a "maybe we'll do something extra".

Forza Horizon 5 had a Premium Edition for $99 but it gave you two full expansion packs and the car pass and a bunch of in-game perks.

 

[Infinitron]

I don't think Josh Sawyer is a particularly skillful writer. He's a thoughtful guy with some interesting themes he likes to visit and a sincere approach. Good ideas, workmanlike execution. Play Pentiment and you'll get plenty of it.

 

[frajaq]

Saw a streamer climb up a church all the way to the bell to try to make it ring after striking it with a maul, it didn't... not a good look Obsidian, players like little things like that

 

[Takamori]

$89.99 for Premium which is just early access and skins is obscene. Whenever I heard Avowed Premium Edition I assumed it at least had a DLC or two confirmed. Turns out it's still just a "maybe we'll do something extra".

Forza Horizon 5 had a Premium Edition for $99 but it gave you two full expansion packs and the car pass and a bunch of in-game perks.

That one I blame MS for sure, since the Outer Worlds, Obsidian game prices went full retard.

 

[luj1]

I don't think Josh Sawyer is a particularly skillful writer.

He's even worse as a system lead

 

[Camel]

is Josh Sawyer good writer?

ChatGPT said:

Yes, Josh Sawyer is considered a talented writer and designer, especially known for his work in the video game industry. He's best known for his contributions to Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, and Tyranny, where his focus on rich storytelling, character development, and deep, morally complex narratives stands out.

Sawyer has a knack for creating engaging worlds and thought-provoking scenarios, often exploring themes of power, choice, and consequences. His work is celebrated for its mature, well-crafted dialogues and the way it invites players to consider the nuances of their decisions in the game world.

In the realm of RPGs, his ability to write meaningful, player-driven stories has earned him a solid reputation. If you're into narrative-driven games, his work is definitely worth checking out!

 

[luj1]

It was always just Chris Avellone. Nobody else there was that good.

George Ziets, Travis Stout, Eric Fenstermaker, John Gonzalez, Matt MacLean, Tony Evans, and Josh Sawyer were respectable writers.

 

[His Dudeness]

Imagine funding pieces of shit like this or the last Dragon Age. What are people thinking? Why did no one raise their voice and say, "This looks like fucking shit"? Has the world gone mad?

300 million dollars was the budget.

 

[Raghar]

is Josh Sawyer good writer?

ChatGPT said:

Yes, Josh Sawyer is considered a talented writer and designer, especially known for his work in the video game industry. He's best known for his contributions to Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, and Tyranny, where his focus on rich storytelling, character development, and deep, morally complex narratives stands out.

Sawyer has a knack for creating engaging worlds and thought-provoking scenarios, often exploring themes of power, choice, and consequences. His work is celebrated for its mature, well-crafted dialogues and the way it invites players to consider the nuances of their decisions in the game world.

In the realm of RPGs, his ability to write meaningful, player-driven stories has earned him a solid reputation. If you're into narrative-driven games, his work is definitely worth checking out!

The problem is ChatGPT isn't thinking. No fun allowed writer is glorified by ChatGPT.

 

[Brickfrog]

The game already have ugly characters , no need use character creation as gotcha to make characters that are ugly on purpose.

Anyone who spends more than 30 seconds in the character creator of a first person game shouldnt be allowed to vote.

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

One of the IGN reviewers criticisms was that he couldn't have sex with the companions btw.

 

[ZoddGuts]

Use Deepseek.

 

[Roguey]

I don't think Josh Sawyer is a particularly skillful writer. He's a thoughtful guy with some interesting themes he likes to visit and a sincere approach. Good ideas, workmanlike execution. Play Pentiment and you'll get plenty of it.

He doesn't write like a woman which is most important.

 

[Shog-goth]

The series has consistency issues.

Yes, it falls apart.

 

[Fedora Master]

People back in the 90s/00s (you are not among those) didn't care about any options other than hardware settings

So your argument re: customizing UI (as a way to defend Avowed from rightful criticism) is moot and fake

In BG you could remove any element of the UI you didn't care for so you could see More Gameworld.

As usual, you're completely missing the point.

I'll be needlessly nice and try to explain it anyway.
It's not about whether or not the player CAN adjust the UI. It's about the default UI and how the designer behind it thought. The UI in Fallout, Baldur's Gate and most fucking games is useable as is. Adjustments can be made to taste. Combat Speed is not part of the UI at all.

The worst example of a barely useable UI is the default UI in Skyrim on PC.

Avoid isn't as bad but it is clearly bloated and designed with consoles in mind and there does NOT seem to be a way to change that without mods.

 

[DemonKing]

Costs AUD $120 for the "standard edition"...

That's why you play on Gamepass...

 

[Poseidon00]

MS ran an Avowed ad in Times Square, they definitely want it to be big.

I'm sure they have their own metrics of what they'd consider acceptable sales versus gamepass players.

If companies have so much riding on these franchises they really need to assert more quality control. The companions, one of the primary selling points of any RPG, are all just so fucking bland and ugly. None of them speak to anyone. Even if they want to be "diverse", this isn't the way to reach other demographics. Women playing BG3 love Astarion, not the ugly goblin you meet in the first Chapter.

 

[Fedora Master]

Writing for computer games is drastically different that writing for books or movies.

Judging by those screenshots the writing is fundamentally wrong-headed. It feels like replies you'd get on Reddit, not like an actual conversation, much less one from a different culture.