Josh Sawyer Q&A Thread

[vonAchdorf]

"game" belongs to "data", not RPG.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[HoboForEternity]

Caesar's legion employs doublethink well. Plusgood doublethink.

 

[Trashos]

Well, I am glad that an intelligent guy like Eco shed light on both sides of the coin instead of spewing out polemics.

 

[Sizzle]

Sawyer explains his process:

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

I wonder how many times he got up for food/soda/candy and weighing how annoying that really shitty stealth system in POE's release was.

 

[vonAchdorf]

Sawyer's top 5 RPGs (part of the Gamestar Pillars II special) - unfortunately only with German dub.

Spoiler

1. Pool of Radiance ("real DnD")
2. Darklands ("I love the game because I love history")
3. Fallout ("revolutionary freedom")
4. Baldur's Gate 2 ("epitome of Infinity Engine")
5. Battle Brothers ("the tactical battles are among the best")

 

[Grunker]

Battle Brothers

 

[Roguey]

Josh has come a long way from "there wasn't a whole lot I did like about it" to "epitome of Infinity Engine"

 

[Sentinel]

gotta keep the charade up until PoE2 releases

 

[Frozen]

If PoE2 doesn't work out he can always write for vice news on gaming.

 

[Jenkem]

Josh said that if Kingdom Come: Deliverance did well he would quit Obsidian and form his own company to make his history RPG dream come true.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is doing well.
Josh is leaving Obsidian after the final patch of Deadfire.

 

[Cross]

Josh is leaving Obsidian after the final patch of Deadfire.

So what you're saying is that he won't leave Obsidian until 3+ years from now?

 

[vonAchdorf]

The comments are hilarious. People miss Witcher 3, Skyrim and JRPGs in the list. "D:OS 2 is much better than BG2"

"Gaming grandpa rambling about the god old days. No thank you grandpa, we do this much better today."

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Cross]

That Tumblr answer perfectly encapsulates why Sawyer is so bad at world building. He's obviously a big history buff, but he doesn't seem to have any good idea of how to incorporate his love of history into the games he makes. So he just inserts straight historical analogs into the setting he's working on in a very crude and heavy-handed way.

I also remember an interview where he said that while he likes to read a lot, he steers clear of fantasy and sci-fi books. Which, considering all the games he makes are in those genres, is a huge red flag, and certainly explains all the world building issues in the games he made.

 

[Luckmann]

Wow, if Sawyer believes that garbage, that explains so much.

 

[Sannom]

I also remember an interview where he said that while he likes to read a lot, he steers clear of fantasy and sci-fi books. Which, considering all the games he makes are in those genres, is a huge red flag, and certainly explains all the world building issues in the games he made.

I believe he's said multiple times that he doesn't read any fiction at all.

 

[Infinitron]

Cross is probably confusing him with Matt MacLean: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...-expansion-thread.111973/page-71#post-4920771

 

[undecaf]

Wow, if Sawyer believes that garbage, that explains so much.

Could it be possible that he chose that not because it conincides with his own beliefs, but because he felt it fits with his idea of Caesar?

 

[Sannom]

All we know is that he's a big fan of Umberto Eco.

 

[Roguey]

He's read/watched A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones. He prefers history and historical fiction.

 

[Infinitron]

GDC SF 2018: http://schedule.gdconf.com/session/...echniques-from-rather-clever-designers/851829

 

[Tom Selleck]

What would happen if they had a game designer at that talk who didn't use twitter? Or would they not have game designers at that talk who don't use twitter? Or would game designers never not have twitter?

 

[Prime Junta]

What would happen if they had a game designer at that talk who didn't use twitter? Or would they not have game designers at that talk who don't use twitter? Or would game designers never not have twitter?

It's more like, if you're not on Twitter, the conference organisers won't be aware of you, and you won't be invited.