[South Park: The Stick of Truth] Still coming!

The Dude With Herpes · January 2012

Is THQ in any danger of biting it? I thought they were doing decently due to some good releases last year. Maybe this year has been shit?

By this year I mean last, and by last I mean the year before. Ugh. 2012.

They need to stop dumping UFC/WWE turds and get to better games that people actually want.

Aaaaanyway, looking through those screenshots it's funny because the "Screenshots" look exactly like the show...which I'm sure is the point but it's both cool and weird at the same time. I'm not sure I expected the game to look any different and it's probably for the best they didn't try to go with a 3D game with weird textures to make it try to appear like the show...but its strange to try to think about how it's going to play given the type of game it is.

Krathoon · January 2012

A great way to end it would be for your character to sacrifice himself to save the town and then everyone promptly forgets what happened. Another neat idea would have been for you to play Kenny.

C2B · January 2012

The Dude With Herpes wrote:

Is THQ in any danger of biting it? I thought they were doing decently due to some good releases last year. Maybe this year has been shit?

Since Homefront released the stock has been on a rather downwardy spiral.

TychoCelchuuu · January 2012

As Obsidian's latest game this is now the Obsidian thread, so: Chris Avellone is giving some sort of talk on game design near me on Monday and I'm going to Splinter Cell my way in. How psyched should I be?

Axen · January 2012

TychoCelchuuu wrote:

As Obsidian's latest game this is now the Obsidian thread, so: Chris Avellone is giving some sort of talk on game design near me on Monday and I'm going to Splinter Cell my way in. How psyched should I be?

Get a lock of his hair! I, er that is to say, my friend needs it for something that totally does not involve a voodoo doll.

I have no idea why you would even think that.

Crazy. :rotate:

Demerdar · January 2012

Lot of Obsidian hate up in here.

I have faith :^:

TychoCelchuuu · January 2012

Demerdar wrote:

Lot of Obsidian hate up in here.

I have faith :^:

True genius always has as many detractors as it does supporters. That's probably not true but what I'm trying to say is that haters gonna hate.

DodgeBlan · January 2012

that 'jew' is one of the classes sells me on this game 100%.

C2B · January 2012

C2B wrote:

http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/sh...p;postcount=139

I have never laughed so hard as I did when I saw this pitch. It was literally the best demo I ever saw in my 10 years at THQ. Now I just hope THQ survives long enough to get this out because it's golden.

Oh, and the combat was spectacular.

Have no idea who or how credible that guy is.

Apparently he is the Studio General Manager at Big Huge Games and was Creative Director at THQ.
https://twitter.com/#!/TranjSPD

Tube · January 2012

Say "hey I have a question about Alpha Protocol" and then just spit on him

Axen · January 2012

Lewie P's Stepdad wrote:

Say "hey I have a question about Alpha Protocol" and then just spit on him

But that's not a question at all- Ooooooh.

C2B · January 2012

TychoCelchuuu wrote:

As Obsidian's latest game this is now the Obsidian thread, so: Chris Avellone is giving some sort of talk on game design near me on Monday and I'm going to Splinter Cell my way in. How psyched should I be?

Chris stuff is usually interesting, especially when you are interested in BI/Obs related stuff in the first place. Considering the topic is about what he learned from all his years of game design he'll probably also go into more detail about the thought process behind his games.

Apart from that meeting him personally is pretty cool and if you have questions afterwards you can contact him per E-Mail or Twitter, no prob.

On that note another Blog Entry by Chris

Some questions on game development from Viviane Plouzeau.

1/Leaving behind private schools or public studies (well I don't really know how studies work in the U.S), what are the best qualifications for a game designer? What is more likely to get their application considered by a potential employer, for exemple?

Mod work and actual design work is more important than your education. If you designed an exceptional interface mod for WoW, built a great dungeon for NWN1 or 2, designed a popular mod (level or game mechanic) for Fallout in the GECK, etc. that means more to us than a degree. As an example, we hired Jorge Salgado (Oscuro) based on his mod for Oblivion, and he had already demonstrated he was a perfect fit for populating open world spaces and making it fun for players (the 100,000+ downloads of his mod were proof of that). If you go to school for actual design, I'd suggest choosing a curriculum that allows you to work on teams with the goal of a finished product at the end (maybe not polished, but finished enough to play).

2/I understand game designers get to create the « feel » of the game, but...

a.How much do game designers interact with graphic designers?

b. ... And with sound designers?

A. Quite a bit. Generally, every designer is paired with an artist or several artists, especially level designers. When possible, they're grouped in the same office or in the same pod, and they work together to lay out the levels with the designer providing the graybox layouts and fun factor and the artists doing the final passes to make it more beautiful.

B. With sound designers, there's more toward the end of the project, although that's getting corrected and getting them involved from square one (first, we had to get an internal audio department, which we succeeded at). One of my favorite games is System Shock 2, and the sound design there is interwoven with the gameplay, and that's ideally what you're looking for and what designers should always be thinking of. In Fallout: New Vegas: Dead Money, for example, we used audio as compass markers to draw the player to the three key locations in the opening area (police siren, Auto-Doc sawing noise, and radio music). It's simple for audio to do this, they only need more time with the level designers - and the benefits for level design and the player are obvious.

Obviously, with narrative designers, you deal with audio quite a bit, although that tends to be casting agencies and tracking the actual lines being spoken in the game world.

3/What are the main work constraints? Not only when creating a specific game, in general?

Resources and time. You have to budget yourself, recognize how long it takes not only to do a task, but test, iterate, and de-bug a task you've done. Often, the first pass is only halfway where you need to be, so you and production (the managers) should be aware of this when scoping weapon design, number of levels, real estate of levels, and so on. Also, while putting in a lot of extra hours is something designers love to do when working on game mechanics and levels (and I've certainly been guilty of this), they also need to be aware of how much that work can bleed into audio, testing, localization, and other departments - work with an awareness of not only your own scope, but how much time and resources others have at their disposal. If you work 80 hours a week, be aware that's putting a lot more on everyone else's plates as well.

4/If I'm right, Obsidian Entertainment is a «studio-for-hire». How does that type of structure work with game editors? Are there many studios out there that choose this way of working?

You're correct, we're often asked by publishers to develop titles, and are paid on a milestone-by-milestone basis. In the past, we would use other game editors (Knights of the Old Republic 2 used Knight 1's editor, for example, Alpha Protocol used Unreal), and we modify those editors as needed to make the product. Right now, we are using our own tools and engine, Onyx, we developed for Dungeon Siege 3 and using that in all our future projects (South Park and another undisclosed project).

In the best case scenario, having your own internal engine makes things easier for everyone - including getting contracts signed. Publishers often appreciate not having to do the hassle of licensing someone else's engine if the studio they're working with already has something tailored to the game and the internal studio pipelines (as an example, our current conversation editor incorporates everything our narrative designers wanted to have, and it makes writing dialogue much, much easier for everyone involved, from the designers, to audio, to localization).

5/Now this is mostly for my curiosity, but do you get to work with the localization teams when a game is translated?

Yes, we have to do a lot of advance planning and assistance with localization. Because RPGs are text-heavy/voice-heavy, the localization requirements are much higher than other games, and the iteration on it can get expensive, so you have to pre-plan as much as possible. Being able to track every single line across multiple languages and multiple sound files is something that requires a lot of detail-oriented eyes on - even a single line or character out of place can cause issues in tracking. Bethesda was well-aware of this, for example, and they had well-planned "text lock" phases where they would hammer away at every bit of text used in the game before it got to the studio and translators, and it worked out quite well. Once the text is done, designers often generally have to answer context questions for translators, which are sent to the designers in an Excel sheet with specific questions ("What does 'rat-bastard' mean in this instance?" Designer answer: "It's referring to a literal rat bastard who was born out of wedlock and then polymorphed into his current form.").

Lastly - shameless plug, I'll be at the University of San Diego on Monday, Jan 16 (2012) giving a "Scream of Consciousness" design talk that summarizes everything (well, almost) I've learned about game development over 20 years. It's at 6pm, Rm 1202 in the Computer Science and Engineering Building (EBU-3B).

Feel free to swing by if you want to ask me face-to-face questions!

override367 · January 2012

They like mod designers and hire based on downloads

Got it, I shall now feverishly construct a mod that lets you play as an anatomically correct my little pony, once I get 500,000 downloads Obsidian will have no choice but to hire me. I wonder if they hired that uterus eater guy for this game.

Jephery · January 2012

override367 wrote:

They like mod designers and hire based on downloads

Got it, I shall now feverishly construct a mod that lets you play as an anatomically correct my little pony, once I get 500,000 downloads Obsidian will have no choice but to hire me. I wonder if they hired that uterus eater guy for this game.

Bioware Austin's VP said pretty much the same thing at the talk I went to on campus: they hire programmers/designers/writers/artists with great portfolios. A well made and popular mod is a perfect thing to have in there.

A good example is Lusted at TWcenter.net who got hired by Creative Assembly based on his mod work for M2:TW.

TychoCelchuuu · January 2012

So I forgot to check this thread before going to Chris Avellone's thing. The only info I had about it was a time and a place but C2B somehow figured out it was broadly about "what he learned from all his years of game design" (seriously C2B when you know more about the events that I'm going to than I do, the extensive Obsidian knowledge starts to get creepy) and yeah, that's mostly what it was (plus a Q&A). Fun facts I learned:

Chris Avellone gained like, 40 or 50 pounds working on Planescape: Torment and had to wean himself off of a Mountain Dew addiction afterwards.
Chris Avellone played about an hour of Two Worlds before deciding he didn't like it.
Chris Avellone thinks System Shock 2 is a super fantastic game to play if you want to be a game designer.
Chris Avellone probably wouldn't marry me if I asked but I didn't ask so we can't be sure.
Chris Avellone has a rowing machine that he works out on while he watches movies so that he can stay fit(ish).
Chris Avellone has dreamy eyes (this is subjective and did not come up in the Q&A).
Chris Avellone is sad that adventure games are dead, which presumably means he hasn't played/heard of the many recent awesome adventure games because the genre's totally not dead man.
Chris Avellone has also never heard of Age of Decadence, or if he has, he has forgotten about it.
Chris Avellone thinks that games/RPGs really need to find some way to get past the whole "you stare at the other person and choose from a list of answers" thing for dialog, but he's not sure what can replace it.
Chris Avellone is my hero.

Some guy in the front row had his iPhone recording everything so maybe the talk will show up on YouTube at some point if you're as desirous of marrying Chris Avellone as me.

C2B · January 2012

TychoCelchuuu wrote:

So I forgot to check this thread before going to Chris Avellone's thing. The only info I had about it was a time and a place but C2B somehow figured out it was broadly about "what he learned from all his years of game design" (seriously C2B when you know more about the events that I'm going to than I do, the extensive Obsidian knowledge starts to get creepy) and yeah, that's mostly what it was (plus a Q&A). Fun facts I learned:
Some guy in the front row had his iPhone recording everything so maybe the talk will show up on YouTube at some point if you're as desirous of marrying Chris Avellone as me.

In Avellones case this is really not hard. You could probably ask the guy about his childhood memories if it has somehow to do with game design. He facebook friends like EVERYONE. (Also he has a girlfriend. I' so sorry)

Also the guy with the Iphone probably was Ripten's Dave Oshry. http://kotaku.com/5876075/meet-kotakus-special-weekend-guest-star-dave-oshry

Ok, that may be creepy..... kinda.....

Spoit · January 2012

Darn it @tychocelchuuu. This is what I get for not watching the (new) Obsidian gossip thread

C2B · January 2012

Another Interview with Chris Avellone

http://celebritysc.com/2012/01/24/qa-with-chris-avellone-of-obsidian-entertainment/

Please give us an idea of what your typical workday is like, when you get to work, what you do and when, and so on. How does this change during/around crunch time?

9:30 Get into work.

10-12 Meetings, organize email, prep for the afternoon.

12-1 Lunch

12-7 Meetings, review documents, review the builds, publisher calls.

7+ Do creative quiet tasks if needed.

We actively work on preventing crunch time at the studio when possible, and unless a publisher forces us to (which they can), we don’t ever request people work on weekends, either.

As a writer, how do you overcome creative blocks?

Creative blocks can be killed by:

- Caffeine.

- Switching mental gears (going for a walk and getting away from the screen, or looking or reading a magazine you would not normally read).

- Reviewing your old brainstorming file for old ideas.

- Playing the game you’re working on.

- Going into the editor and fixing bugs or reviewing work you’ve done.

Usually, I found these can help prevent creative congestion.

Erich Zahn · January 2012

Obscuro works at Obsidian

Please, dear god tell me that the usual laws regarding nepotism aren't in effect here.

Spoiler:

C2B · January 2012

Erich Zahn wrote:

Obscuro works at Obsidian

Please, dear god tell me that the usual laws regarding nepotism aren't in effect here.

Spoiler:

In all honesty, THEY would be perfect for this project.
\
Just, keep them away from everything else that Obsidian works on.

This may sound supid but who and what are you referring to?

Edit: Also Obscuro's not working on SP from what I know.

C2B · January 2012

OT: Two things:

1. Chris Avellone will be at WonderCon 2012 in Anaheim (Maybe Bioware's David Gaider too)

Also, just got accepted to speak on RPGs, Fallout, and creating the New Vegas DLCs at Wonder-Con in Anaheim, CA, March 17th (3:30PM in Room 208AB).

If you’re there and want to swing by and ask RPG or Fallout questions, I’d welcome them. Posted Image More info as it develops.

2. The Obsidian forums were overhauled

http://forums.obsidian.net/

C2B · February 2012

First off THQ gave somewhat a date for South Park

October - December 2012: South Park, WWE

OT: If you're a narrative designer/writer and looking for a industry job Chris typed up some advice

http://forums.obsidian.net/blog/1/entry-157-some-additional-narrative-designer-advice/

C2B · February 2012

So, something happened

Avellone tweeted

Okay, NOW I'm working full time on the South Park game. Let the irreverence begin. Er, continue.

His role on the Linkedn profile

South Park (Narrative/Cut Scene Production Support)

C2B · March 2012

In sadder news Obsidian is reporting layoffs with people that we know worked on South Park.

http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/57290-layoff-hits-obsidian/page__pid__1165945__st__60#entry1165945

Something happened?

C2B · March 2012

There aren't

's enough.

South Park seems safe, at least.

farbekrieg · March 2012

Ouch, well that definitely brings back the memories of why i switched professions

Gigazombie Cybermage · March 2012

Did South Park RPG actually get canceled? I was looking forward to it...

Gaslight · March 2012

The cancelled Obsidian project was a new IP we knew basically nothing about. SP is not officially canceled that we know of.

EVOL · March 2012

Man, I wasn't interested in this game but I'm going to have to buy it just to stop Obsidian going the way of Troika.

C2B · March 2012

Youtube Links of the gameinformer videos

C2B · April 2012

Interview with Danny Bilson, Executive VP Core Games at THQ

http://www.ripten.com/2012/04/10/thq-talks-layoffs-says-they-cant-afford-to-ship-darksiders-ii-and-south-park-until-theyre-perfect/

MF: We received confirmation that an Obsidian project was canceled in the same week that it was announced the studio had missed their Metacritic bonus by one point. They had to lay off people, as well. It appears, based on what we were able to find, that some of the staff affected worked on the South Park RPG. Obviously, that game is still moving forward, so you weren’t the publisher that canceled the project. It seems like your relationship with Obsidian, and the project they are working on with you, might have been affected by this. How do you deal with that when two other publishers making decisions affect a project you are working on?

DB: It had no effect. Just like any studio, when you downsize, you keep your best people. Think about it. If South Park becomes the lead sku in the studio, it’s just going to have all the most experienced people on it. It didn’t affect us in any way. Obsidian isn’t our studio. If people were removed from that team, they were replaced by more senior people. There was no negative, except for the negative of any studio having to lay off employees. It’s incredibly painful. It wasn’t a game of ours that was canceled there, and I do like Obsidian. I want to see them succeed, and I don’t want to see them stressed by not having enough games, but Feargus seems to feel that he has a pipeline of stuff coming in. So, the answer is, really, that it had no effect.

MF: When it was announced, it was slated for a 2012 release. Is that still going to happen?

DB: Potentially, but it’s going to be very close. It’s all about… because that game is being written by Matt [Stone] and Trey [Parker]… some of the production process ebbs and flows with their schedule. They are in the middle of a season right now, and as soon as they are done, they get back to the game, and their season takes them out for a couple of months at a time. Again, it’s like I said about Darksiders. We can’t afford to ship it until it’s perfect.

Matt and Trey won’t ship until it’s their vision of this ultimate role playing game, where you’re the new kid in town and it’s like being in a South Park episode. Once all the pieces are together, we’ll announce a date and we’ll ship it. I can tell you from progress and process. I’ve got sections of the game that they’ve completed; they are phenomenal. If you like South Park, and I love South Park, it’s South Park! It’s incredible and it’ll absolutely be the funniest game ever made. There’s no two ways about it.

And in random, creepy information. He is Rachel Bilson's father.

All thanks to funcroc on the Obsidian boards.

UnbreakableVow · April 2012

How do I get in touch with Rachel Bilson

Also, I have been randomly watching a bunch of South Park recently. Surprised at how much I'm enjoying it, actually, once I got past the first seasons

King Riptor · April 2012

Yeah basically season four is where the show really picks up.

C2B · April 2012

Answer during the currently running reddit AMA with Chris Avellone about Matt and Trey.

They are hilarious, and when they get excited about a quest line, they start acting out the characters in the actual voices, and I would simply sit back and watch (and laugh) in amazement.