On Fallout 3: A Post Nuclear Blog you will find this interview with game designer Chris Avellone, transcribed from an issue of the Portuguese magazine BGamer. The man talks a little about getting into the industry, making games, and looking back on his achievements. Of course, Fallout 2 gets mentioned a number of times.<blockquote>If you could go back in time and change anything in one of your games, what would it be?
I’d probably drop a planet out of Knights of the Old Republic 2 to make the game shorter and more polished. In Fallout 2, I’d probably have dropped one of the crime families in New Reno for the same reason - the raider cave in Fallout 2 didn’t get as much love as New Reno did just because New Reno was so big.
What, for you, makes a good story?
Providing the player with interesting companions and characters who react to the player’s actions I think is more important than a linear storyline. In most cases, I feel the best way is to allow the player the pieces to build a story in their own mind as opposed to forcing a storyline on the player. If you give the player a great villain and some companions that serve as good sounding boards for the player’s actions, that can present a far more effective gaming story in the long run - players would prefer to explain to others how their character dealt with a certain situation or dealt with a certain NPC rather than have the exact same experience that was imposed on them as someone else who played the same title.
Also, one aspect to a good story (in games), is that the game needs to end and achieve some sort of resolution. Obviously, single-player RPGs hold the monopoly in this, but this is something I think MMOs have the potential to solve depending on how they structure their quest and story mechanics.
You have worked in some of the best RPG ever made. What, in your opinion, are the crucial elements for a good game of this genre?
Aside from the ability to advance your character, player choice (whether in character development or quest resolution) and world and character reactivity to these player’s choices is key.
Players want to build the character they envision, and then they want to push buttons in the world and see the world give them positive (or negative) feedback that is unique to their character - it makes them feel that they are having a direct impact on their environment based on their specific choices. In addition, the more specific you can make the reactivity to the player’s character creation choices (Fallout 1 and 2 did a fantastic job of this, in my opinion), the better. The more a stealth character is given consistent rewards and feedback on their chosen skills and using those skills to solve quests, for example, the more they feel their character choices and their character’s skills truly matter.</blockquote>There's more, so head over to read the whole thing.
Link: Fallout 3: A Post Nuclear Blog
I’d probably drop a planet out of Knights of the Old Republic 2 to make the game shorter and more polished. In Fallout 2, I’d probably have dropped one of the crime families in New Reno for the same reason - the raider cave in Fallout 2 didn’t get as much love as New Reno did just because New Reno was so big.
What, for you, makes a good story?
Providing the player with interesting companions and characters who react to the player’s actions I think is more important than a linear storyline. In most cases, I feel the best way is to allow the player the pieces to build a story in their own mind as opposed to forcing a storyline on the player. If you give the player a great villain and some companions that serve as good sounding boards for the player’s actions, that can present a far more effective gaming story in the long run - players would prefer to explain to others how their character dealt with a certain situation or dealt with a certain NPC rather than have the exact same experience that was imposed on them as someone else who played the same title.
Also, one aspect to a good story (in games), is that the game needs to end and achieve some sort of resolution. Obviously, single-player RPGs hold the monopoly in this, but this is something I think MMOs have the potential to solve depending on how they structure their quest and story mechanics.
You have worked in some of the best RPG ever made. What, in your opinion, are the crucial elements for a good game of this genre?
Aside from the ability to advance your character, player choice (whether in character development or quest resolution) and world and character reactivity to these player’s choices is key.
Players want to build the character they envision, and then they want to push buttons in the world and see the world give them positive (or negative) feedback that is unique to their character - it makes them feel that they are having a direct impact on their environment based on their specific choices. In addition, the more specific you can make the reactivity to the player’s character creation choices (Fallout 1 and 2 did a fantastic job of this, in my opinion), the better. The more a stealth character is given consistent rewards and feedback on their chosen skills and using those skills to solve quests, for example, the more they feel their character choices and their character’s skills truly matter.</blockquote>There's more, so head over to read the whole thing.
Link: Fallout 3: A Post Nuclear Blog
