Meet the Devs #4 : V - Skyrim

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:54 am

Do you have any people with a psychology degree in your office? And if so, what's his/her job?

Yeah, you didn't see that one coming.

I have a degree in cognitive psychology. I actually know a lot of designers across the industry who studied psych. It's incredibly relevant.

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 9:36 pm

Do you enjoy playing your own games? I mean, you're the ones who put everything where it is, and know what everything looks like, so no exploring value, and no surprises. So, your first playthrough of a Bethesda game is like our tenth playthrough, right?

Or do you still enjoy playing your own games anyway?

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:14 pm

These questions are specific to the writing staff, if they're included on this Meet the Devs Post

I am actually am a writer, twice published for non-fiction research/policy type work. I am, however, looking at the possibility of making a few bucks doing creative writing. I would consider applying at a game company if my resume was a bit stronger and it might be something for me to consider in the future.

I have 1 question.

1

What is it like writing branching storylines? That is to say, how does player choice impact the creative process?

Cheers,

Branching storylines are fun and crazy. Considering all my writing training is in linear (as is most writers') there's a lot to learn going to non-linear. Luckily I'd played games my whole life so it wasn't a huge knowledge gap.

One of my friends is a TV writer (a very good one) and I started explaining to her "now imagine your main character gets bored and wanders off to do something else" and her face just froze in shock before realizing the difficulty of what we do.

It's hard, but you end up thinking about story more as a series of potentials and possibilities, and really shrinking it down to atomic moments that you then string together. Some animator friends tell me about the difference between animating for games and movies (lack of context, no knowledge of camera angle, small repeatable moments) and I think the transition is anologous.

One thing to know though, is that the role of pure writer doesn't really exist in the industry, at least not as a full-time job. We all have to implement our quests as well as write them, so having a technical background is always a big plus. (There are contract writers who *only* write, like Susan O'Connor, but not many of them.)

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:13 am

Do you like http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_A-VjwSDfxGQ/TEWCPhZir6I/AAAAAAAAEbA/KPaHCdPai3k/s1600/Kebabs.jpg?

» Sun Oct 18, 2009 12:36 am

A tie between The Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs" and The National's "High Violet."

That's awesome. High Violet was definitely my album of the year. All of The National's albums are just as good too. Unfortunately missed them live on their last tour, but I hear they put on an incredible live show.

Best live show you've been to this year? Baltimore has a great electronic music scene, I could imagine BGS isn't far from some cool gigs.

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 12:46 pm

I have a degree in cognitive psychology. I actually know a lot of designers across the industry who studied psych. It's incredibly relevant.

Wow thats actually quite awesome.

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 1:48 pm

Branching storylines are fun and crazy. Considering all my writing training is in linear (as is most writers') there's a lot to learn going to non-linear. Luckily I'd played games my whole life so it wasn't a huge knowledge gap.

One of my friends is a TV writer (a very good one) and I started explaining to her "now imagine your main character gets bored and wanders off to do something else" and her face just froze in shock before realizing the difficulty of what we do.

It's hard, but you end up thinking about story more as a series of potentials and possibilities, and really shrinking it down to atomic moments that you then string together. Some animator friends tell me about the difference between animating for games and movies (lack of context, no knowledge of camera angle, small repeatable moments) and I think the transition is anologous.

One thing to know though, is that the role of pure writer doesn't really exist in the industry, at least not as a full-time job. We all have to implement our quests as well as write them, so having a technical background is always a big plus. (There are contract writers who *only* write, like Susan O'Connor, but not many of them.)

i actually find that really interesting, considering when im writing a story, its already got multiple ways it could go in my head, and as i write the story im only choosing one of the many outcomes that i already have in my head

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 8:24 am

A question for the writers/ quest designers:

I just recently decided to start working on my first novel to gain experience and to simply enjoy creating (currently published online in its first draft and exremely raw form). I was wondering if you found it more satisfying to see a visual representation of your work in a virtual space as opposed to a more traditional medium such as a hundred thousand word novel. I ask as I was looking to start creating mods to experience what it would be like in contrast. I suspect both are equally gratifying.

Thanks!

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 6:59 pm

Does everyone know everybody on a first name basis around the office?

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 9:37 am

Branching storylines are fun and crazy. Considering all my writing training is in linear (as is most writers') there's a lot to learn going to non-linear. Luckily I'd played games my whole life so it wasn't a huge knowledge gap.

One of my friends is a TV writer (a very good one) and I started explaining to her "now imagine your main character gets bored and wanders off to do something else" and her face just froze in shock before realizing the difficulty of what we do.

It's hard, but you end up thinking about story more as a series of potentials and possibilities, and really shrinking it down to atomic moments that you then string together. Some animator friends tell me about the difference between animating for games and movies (lack of context, no knowledge of camera angle, small repeatable moments) and I think the transition is anologous.

One thing to know though, is that the role of pure writer doesn't really exist in the industry, at least not as a full-time job. We all have to implement our quests as well as write them, so having a technical background is always a big plus. (There are contract writers who *only* write, like Susan O'Connor, but not many of them.)

This is an awesome answer. I've pretty much played games my whole life. I never considered it "experience" but I'll keep that in mind. It's also good to know that having virtually no technical background could hold me back.

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 7:22 pm

I have a degree in cognitive psychology. I actually know a lot of designers across the industry who studied psych. It's incredibly relevant.

Wow, that's pretty interesting. I'm a psychology student and not sure yet where I want to end up. Thanks for some insight! :smile:

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 12:17 pm

If you guys could work with another game developer who would it be, and what kind of project would you want it to be?

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:45 am

Have you created any fjords in Skyrim yet? If so, on a scale of 1 - 10, how stunningly gorgeous do they look? :touched:

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 12:12 pm

Would you rather stay in bed on a monday morning or go work on Skyrim?

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:19 pm

We all know that Skyrim will be a (the) best candidate for the 2011 goty awards.

How do you feel always working on goty games ?
Do you have additional motivation ? or stress ?

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 9:53 pm

Hope that it wasn't asked yet.
What is your Top 5 cRPGs, except for TES series.

What do you prefer more - console gaming or PC gaming?

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 4:35 pm

Do you guys give an Office Tours at the offices in Rockville?

Do you guys have chair races with your boss?

How long does it take you to complete 3d model with textures and animation already done?

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 8:30 pm

I have a question for you devs...

Would you put me in the game as an npc?

Here's my vision(inspired by the online vid Old Gregg): I want to be a crazy Nord or Dunmer male named Old Fife who either stands next to a small pond all day or sits in a boat in a small pond all day. His greeting would be, "What'cha doin in my waters..." And then his reply to every other topic would be, "You ever drunk mead from a shoe?" The only clothing he would have on would be some common shoes, a fur helmet, and a unique un-enchanted necklace that does absolutely nothing called [censored] of the Infinite, plus the default loincloth thingy that hides his privates. He would carry a unique rusty iron sword called Sword of the Funk that does 10 damage to the users health and stamina per strike and In his inventory there would be 1741(year Benedict Arnold was born) gold pieces, three bottles of Skooma, and note that says "Remember the boat times..."

Make it happen Bethesda...

EDIT: Scratch the Skooma. He should carry three bottles of a unique drink called Old Fife's Shoe Mead...

Note: Wow... Censored? You can't say the word that starts with Ph and ends with allus on these forums?

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:41 pm

1. What is your name?!

2. What is your quest?!

3. What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?!

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 8:34 pm

1. What is your name?!

2. What is your quest?!

3. What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?!

4. What is your favorite color?

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 7:49 pm

Why does PGE 1st edition have info about bosmers changing into animals, and we don't see any wood elfs using that skill in the game?

Did you play Planescape: Torment? Did you like it?

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 5:52 pm

How do you reconcile your vision for new Elder Scrolls titles with the extensive lore that has been written for the series? I only ask because it seems like the lore - whether written by past development teams or by average fans - potentially impacts geography and culture of the games in unexpected ways. Does the lore limit your vision, or does it provide a guiding framework that you can easily adapt throughout the development process?

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 8:27 pm

What's it like to meet Todd Howard? He's my hero. And no, not in a gay way. I admire his love and passion for making games.

» Sun Oct 18, 2009 12:57 am

What do you think of opinions that state "this mod fixes this annoyance" in your game? You've done your best, and still something went wrong (for the said gamer). Are you happy "somebody actually made my game even better", or sad "how come I didn't think of that?"

» Sat Oct 17, 2009 8:27 pm

A tie between The Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs" and The National's "High Violet."

Throw in The Black Keys and you have my top three.