Pillars of Eternity - Interview with Josh Sawyer @ HardBloxx

[HiddenX]

Thomas of HardBloxx made an interesting PoE interview with Josh Sawyer - some snippets:

Thomas: I really must praise your work on the new companions. Do you think, that characters like Eder, Aloth, Kana or Durance have a chance to become iconic characters like Minsc (and Boo), the Nameless One or Xan in the future? In this respect, what happened to Cadegund, Forton, etc.?

Josh: We certainly hope some of these characters are popular enough to endure the test of time (and make appearances in future games). A fantasy setting is about its characters as much as it’s about the history and lore. Even if we move to new locations, recurring characters can give players a sense of continuity to the world and their story in it.
The initial lineup of companions was something that I put together early on during the Kickstarter process. Once we got into development, the writers wanted to prioritize different characters, so Cadegund and Forton were dropped. None of the characters were well-defined that early in development, so it’s not like a bunch of material had already been created for them. It’s possible they could appear in the future.

Thomas: Could you spare a few details about the expansion to our readers? Will the expansion be integrated into the game like “Durlag’s Tower“ during the original “Baldur’s Gate”? Will players visit new, maybe exotic, locations? Are we going to see Fleetbreaker Castle? How far is the development of the expansion?

Josh: You’ll certainly be visiting new locations. Part of the appeal in an expansion like this is to travel somewhere outside of the base game. We’ll also be raising the level cap and adding new items, abilities, and talents. The development is going well. The environments, in particular, are really beautiful.

More information.

 

[HiddenX]

Thank you, Thomas.

 

[Emerwyn]

I was really hyped about PoE pre-launch, but somehow lost interest as the game progressed and stopped playing at Twin Elms after slaying the Sky Dragon. I don't know, maybe it was the feeling that nothing would challenge me anymore (I was playing Path of the Damned difficulty, and I had already taken down the Adra Dragon as well), or maybe it's just that the story didn't quite grasp me like it should.

I certainly hope the expansion is good, and somehow pushes me into finishing both that and the original game itself.

 

[Sacred_Path]

Strange to see devs still spouting the same old line about changing publishers' perceptions. So far, that hasn't happened. It could only work if kickstarter were to prove that there's an untapped market of enormous proportions, but that simply doesn't seem to be the case.

 

[azarhal]

I was really hyped about PoE pre-launch, but somehow lost interest as the game progressed and stopped playing at Twin Elms after slaying the Sky Dragon. I don't know, maybe it was the feeling that nothing would challenge me anymore (I was playing Path of the Damned difficulty, and I had already taken down the Adra Dragon as well), or maybe it's just that the story didn't quite grasp me like it should.

I certainly hope the expansion is good, and somehow pushes me into finishing both that and the original game itself.

You were almost done with the game...

 

[Hexprone]

The Endless Paths are considerably longer than the stretch of game you had remaining that far into Act 3.

A lot of people agree that the game's pace is a little off. For me it was the second half of Act 2 that dragged a bit — but I thought the gods' quests in Act 3 picked up again, and from then through the ending I had a lot of fun — it was just shorter than I wanted.

 

[bjon045]

Strange to see devs still spouting the same old line about changing publishers' perceptions. So far, that hasn't happened.

But it would be the case for PoE? Getting picked up by one of the largest independent publishers in the world.

 

[Sacred_Path]

But it would be the case for PoE? Getting picked up by one of the largest independent publishers in the world.

which wasn't involved in funding the game's development at all AFAIK. Now if they funded the expansion... that would be something else.

 

[Moriendor]

Could you guys (especially Emerwyn and people quoting him) please use spoiler tags before spoiling major plot events?
I'm luckily old enough to probably forget what I read once I finally get around to playing PoE in a few years but still.... not everyone is as senile as me . Thanks (hopefully)!

 

[Emerwyn]

Could you guys (especially Emerwyn and people quoting him) please use spoiler tags before spoiling major plot events?
I'm luckily old enough to probably forget what I read once I finally get around to playing PoE in a few years but still…. not everyone is as senile as me . Thanks (hopefully)!

Yeah sorry for that, I assumed anyone checking this would have finished the game by now, or wouldn't be interested on playing it any more.

 

[xep624]

Yeah sorry for that, I assumed anyone checking this would have finished the game by now, or wouldn't be interested on playing it any more.

Oh I haven't even started it! And it was first KS campaign that I was checking daily and I upped my pledge couple time and got some add-ons… I just don't have much time and recently I started to do some other things (like reading books and trying to be more active). I will play this awesome game once the expansion comes and it will be polished and patched… In the meantime there are plenty of good games that are on my to do list as well….

 

[Giovanni1983]

Pillars is a really really good game. It's definitely one of my favorites of this year.

It does still have some bugs that should been fixed (nothing game breaking though) but the story, lore and combat are pretty great. Some people do not like the combat cause of the engagement system but it does truly feel like an infinity engine game in most other aspects.

The real problem it has is that while trying to complete everything in the game, you will hit max level at about 80-85% completion (just an estimation after 2 playthroughs).

 

[joxer]

Still didn't start the game.
My suggestion for Josh Sawyer is to start KS for some food. He looks like he didn't eat anything for a few years!

 

[sakichop]

Oh I haven't even started it! And it was first KS campaign that I was checking daily and I upped my pledge couple time and got some add-ons… I just don't have much time and recently I started to do some other things (like reading books and trying to be more active). I will play this awesome game once the expansion comes and it will be polished and patched… In the meantime there are plenty of good games that are on my to do list as well….

I haven't started playing either, glad I started reading the thread from the end first. I will now skip the beginning.

 

[luj1]

JES as a lead makes mediocre games, as was the case with PoE and ID. The guy just isn't up to the task and I don't blame him.

 

[rjshae]

JES as a lead makes mediocre games, as was the case with PoE and ID. The guy just isn't up to the task and I don't blame him.

Hopefully we'll be seeing much more of that kind of mediocrity...

 

[rune_74]

Hopefully we'll be seeing much more of that kind of mediocrity…

That's two lines by that guy that I don't agree with....took the bait on the first one...not this time.