{"id":344,"date":"2013-04-18T12:00:30","date_gmt":"2013-04-18T17:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reviewordie.wordpress.com\/?p=344"},"modified":"2024-02-09T18:16:48","modified_gmt":"2024-02-09T18:16:48","slug":"fallout-part3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cmykavenger.com\/index.php\/2013\/04\/18\/fallout-part3\/","title":{"rendered":"Op-Ed: Bethesda, Obsidian, and $6 Million for a New Fallout (Part 3)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Part 1<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part 2<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Obsidian Entertainment’s Staff<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love Obsidian Entertainment’s games for the simple reason that they have remained steadfast in their efforts to push the narrative for WRPGs. There is a concerted effort to never rest on their laurels, with every game working to take what they’ve learned in the past, do it better, and do new things on top of it. I don’t want an isometric Fallout game because I love isometric games, I want it because Obsidian has proven that making RPGs, and Fallout, is in their bones.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m not going to have a chance to talk every Obsidian employee, nor is it my intention to diminish their accomplishments by omitting them, but I will talk about a few key developers that I believe need to be involved in order to make the best Fallout game possible.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tim Cain (Fallout<\/em>, Fallout 2<\/em>, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura<\/em>, Temple of Elemental Evil<\/em>, Vampire: The Masquerade \u2013 Bloodlines<\/em>, Project Eternity<\/em>)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the co-creators of Fallout, Tim Cain crafted the SPECIAL system, served as the lead programmer (and later producer) of the first Fallout<\/em>, wrote the original treatment for Fallout 2<\/em>, came up with the secret of the Vaults<\/a>, and was the reason for the memorable style employed by Mark Morgan’s score.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While he is quick to say that he was lead programmer on the original game and not a purely creative voice, I suspect that his understanding of what makes a Fallout title work and talents as a designer run far deeper than code. Working on Fallout<\/em> on his own for the first six months of development, he crafted the engine in his spare time and stayed throughout its three and a half year development cycle.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we talk about directors, writers, musicians, and yes, game designers, it’s important to understand a specific word: Voice. It is the style, the feeling, the degree to which one’s personal vision is expressed within the creative content presented to the audience. It is for this reason I want Tim Cain to serve as one of the two project leads on Fallout: it isn’t because I believe that the original creator of a work is the only one who can fulfill its promise, but because of this quote.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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[T]here’s more of me in Fallout<\/em> and Arcanum<\/em> than in any other game…<\/a> – Tim Cain<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For a man to spend three and a half years on a game, it is only natural that his voice would shine through so prominently. While he is quick to credit the remarkable work of Jason Anderson, Chris Taylor, Leonard Boyarsky and others, Tim Cain was lead producer for the original title. His voice, so prominent within the setting, the engine, the game mechanics, were part of what made the original Fallout so successful. Tim Cain’s talk at the 2012 GDC<\/a> is a testament to how much he helped to guide that game.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Ulysses said, \u201cCan’t have been just a job. Was something more to you. Don’t feel for a place that hard unless it’s home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But all that needs to be said about his passion and personal ownership of Fallout comes from the man himself:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I left [Black Isle Studios] when I felt like I had lost control of Fallout<\/em>. \u2026 I was proud of the game and happy that people were so passionate about it, but I realized it wasn’t mine anymore and never would be.<\/a> – Tim Cain<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

After his departure from Black Isle, he founded Troika Games with Jason Anderson and Leonard Boyarsky, co-creators of the original Fallout<\/em>. While Troika’s work on Arcanum \u2013 of Steamworks and Magick Obscura<\/em>, Temple of Elemental Evil<\/em>, and the cult classic Vampire: The Masquerade \u2013 Bloodlines <\/em>are all well regarded, it was this unsold tech demo, the last attempt at a game Troika produced before its collapse, that shows where their hearts had been all along.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n