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JE Sawyer Interview at RPG Codex

Discussion in 'Game/SP News & Comments' started by chevalier, Mar 17, 2006.

  1. chevalier

    chevalier Knight of Everfull Chalice ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

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    Our friends at Codex have interviewed JE Sawyer, currently from Obsidian, who was the Icewind Dale 2 lead designer and one of the people behind the first Icewind Dale 2, as well. They have talked about RPGs in general, the development of Icewind Dale 2, as well as the possibility of Icewind Dale 3, or his designing style, or the works on Fallout 3 at BIS. Here's a snip:

    2. You were one of the Icewind Dale designers and the lead designer of Icewind Dale 2. The second game had very different feel and style, and, I guess, you are responsible for the changes. Can you comment on your design decisions, and compare the two games and the evolution of the series.

    The development of Icewind Dale II was like putting thirty people in a Mack truck that had just been pushed down a mountainside. We all just tried to stop it before it reached the bottom and destroyed everyone inside.

    I was the only core designer from the first game who worked on the second, so I think that contributed more to the difference in feel than anything I intentionally set out to do. There was a lot of inconsistency between areas which was really my fault and a side-effect of the very short development cycle. We understood the Infinity Engine well enough to develop things quickly, but iteration and significant area revision/coordination was difficult. Heavy combat areas were slammed up against really complicated puzzle areas and even areas of similar types often felt really dissimilar.

    That said, I think the transition to 3E did make character creation and advancement feel much different than other IE games. I also really pushed to get people to make frequent use of the PCs' dialogue skills, race, class, and so on. Some people noticed it, some didn't.

    Read the rest at Codex.

    [ March 18, 2006, 01:19: Message edited by: chevalier ]
     
    chevalier, Mar 17, 2006
    #1
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