Pillars of Eternity - Interview @ MMORPG

[HiddenX]

MMORPG interviewed Josh Sawyer:

The RPG Files: Interview - Josh Sawyer on Wrapping Up Pillars of Eternity

Obsidian Entertainment has staked a claim on the CRPG genre in the last year. With Pillars of Eternity, the studio returned to their roots, abandoning the sprawling 3D open worlds of Fallout: New Vegas and the pop culture satire of South Park: The Stick of Truth for isometric cameras, dice rolls, and one of the best interactive stories this side of the open world. Now that the last expansion, The White March Part Two, has hit digital shelves, we sat down with Director and Design Lead, Josh Sawyer to look back on the game.

MMORPG: Hi Josh! Thank you for chatting with me today. What’s the atmosphere like in the studio with The White March Part Two has finally released?

Josh: It's hard to believe it's been almost three and a half years since we launched the Kickstarter for Project Eternity, but it's been a fantastic experience. All games have their development challenges, but with Pillars of Eternity, we really felt like it was up to us to prove ourselves to the fans and backers. We're very happy with how the core game and expansions turned out, but of course we have a lot of ideas for improvements in the future.

MMORPG: How is the game doing, saleswise, now that it is out in the wild?

Josh: I don't think we have exact figures for the second part of the expansion, but the release of The White March, Part II the midweek Steam sale bumped Pillars back into the Steam best sellers list again. We can't complain about that.

[...]

Thanks Eye!

More information.

 

[rjshae]

By "a ways off", that sounds like it's going to be several years before we see a sequel.

 

[azarhal]

If they start now that the White March part 2 is done, we are talking 2.5-3 years. That's the average it takes to make a game.

 

[Drithius]

Unless you're working for Bethesda as a publisher; then you get 18 months, little to no QA testing, and all the resulting fallout from the ignorant denizens of the internet that ensues.

It will be interesting to see what their new game is come tomorrow. Although the only dev I care about at the company these days is Tim Cain, I would still hate to see them flounder.

 

[Avantenor]

By "a ways off", that sounds like it's going to be several years before we see a sequel.

Today/tomorrow there should be an announcement by Paradox and Obsidian. And they seemed to have made clear that it's not about World of Darkness. Could be PoE2.

http://humanresources.paradoxplaza.com/

If they start now that the White March part 2 is done, we are talking 2.5-3 years. That's the average it takes to make a game.

But only if you're building your tech from the ground. With existing tech they should be able to do it in less than 2 years if needed. Of course it's also a question of manpower you put into the project. Baldur's Gate 2 released two years after BG1, and Throne of Bhaal was only a year in development. Icewind Dale 2 or Dragon Age 2 also released two years after it's predecessors. Said that, I wouldn't be surprised if the pre-production hasn't already begun during the making of The White March.

 

[lackblogger]

This article/game will be of great interest to MMO fans... I'd rather MMOists didn't try to influence single-player games, but heh-ho.

 

[BoboTheMighty]

Unless you're working for Bethesda as a publisher; then you get 18 months, little to no QA testing, and all the resulting fallout from the ignorant denizens of the internet that ensues.

Eh Drithius, your negativity towards Bethesda is almost provoking defensive reaction from me.
Almost.

 

[BoboTheMighty]

Cool interview...great to see Obs back on their feet.

 

[GabrielMP_19]

Dragon Age 2 also released two years after it's predecessors. Said that, I wouldn't be surprised if the pre-production hasn't already begun during the making of The White March.

Dragon Age 2 was a bunch of crap because of short development, though. I hope Obsidian doesn't make their game in less than 2 years if that's the quality we'll see.

 

[Avantenor]

I knew this was coming…

That DA2 wasn't no longer like Origins might be offending, but it's also artistic freedom. If you put aside the emotional part and personal preferences, it was at least a good game for a 2 year development, especially if you keep in mind that they did some significant changes to the ruleset. Baldur's Gate 2 on the other hand kept most of its predecessor's ruleset and only refined it. I don't think OEI will change the ruleset dramatically, so they should be able to keep that programming to a minimum.

 

[spiraling69]

Today/tomorrow there should be an announcement by Paradox and Obsidian. And they seemed to have made clear that it's not about World of Darkness. Could be PoE2.

http://humanresources.paradoxplaza.com/


But only if you're building your tech from the ground. With existing tech they should be able to do it in less than 2 years if needed. Of course it's also a question of manpower you put into the project. Baldur's Gate 2 released two years after BG1, and Throne of Bhaal was only a year in development. Icewind Dale 2 or Dragon Age 2 also released two years after it's predecessors. Said that, I wouldn't be surprised if the pre-production hasn't already begun during the making of The White March.

I agree. In one of the PoE updates it was mentioned about the extra time needed to design the tech and dialing it in. The real time sucker is the map making though. PoE at one time was too have swaying trees, bushes, etc., but all were left out to speed up the process.

The next game can focus on story and map making and make a truly epic. I love PoE, but the story didn't wow me like how the Baldur's Gate games did.

 

[rjshae]

The next game can focus on story and map making and make a truly epic. I love PoE, but the story didn't wow me like how the Baldur's Gate games did.

Yet there are many players who do not want a "truly epic" RPG. The anointed hero who saves the world has been done to death already, and I really don't think that is necessary for a role-playing game to be an enjoyable experience.

 

[azarhal]

Yet there are many players who do not want a "truly epic" RPG. The anointed hero who saves the world has been done to death already, and I really don't think that is necessary for a role-playing game to be an enjoyable experience.

hmm. Neither BG and PoE were about saving the world. You can also play a bad guy in PoE.

Spoiler: PoE spoilers

Some quest choices results in the Dyrwood being destroyed. You can really screw the place over to various degree as well. Getting a righteous goody-two-shoes ending is the hardest to get actually

 

[rjshae]

hmm. Neither BG and PoE were about saving the world. You can also play a bad guy in PoE.

It was a metaphor of sorts. I'm just saying that the plot shouldn't need to be truly epic to work well.