First, BGEE and Pathfinder writer Dave Gross had a little chat with me while I had a lengthy chat back, talking about various writing-related topics. The result can be found at his site, here: http://frabjousdave.com/creative-colleagues-andrew-foley/
"As a writer of prose fiction, screenplays, comics, and video games, what’s one thing that each of those media does better than the other? And can you think of a time you took a lesson from one medium and applied it to another?"
Hey hey hey, my question was answered after all! And the first one Dave Gross asked. What an interviewer
Very interesting answer too btw, and thanks for the link
An answer I really enjoyed: "For instance, when I write screenplays or comic scripts, characters’ dialogue is constantly getting cut off by other characters. That works fine in those media. When I started in video games, I wrote dialogue much the same way. But having someone read half a sentence, then read and choose from three options for what their character says that interrupts that sentence before it’s finished requires some mental gymnastics and more good will than I’m comfortable asking a player for."
I always thought cutting people off mid sentence was weird in games, especially when lines are both voice acted and written. I remember a time in Icewind Dale II this happened, in one of the early stages.
Though this can sometimes be poorly done in other formats too, and I remember hating how in Iron Man 2 Robert Downey JR and Gwenyth Paltrow had to talk over each other throughout the entire movie. Its one of those things I assume that writers do in order to mimic real conversations, but can be so overdone that it just appeared unrealistic.
I've been getting a few requests for that, actually, which is nice because I was really nervous about how the commentary thing would be received. I wasn't keeping track of twitch comments at the time and nobody made a record of them so far as I know; I'm told some people weren't fans but overall the reception was positive.
As for doing commentary on gameplay outside the company, I wonder if that would be a prize for a contest that might interest some folks somewhere down the line... I've also contemplated what would happen if Alveus Malcanter and I got together and did team commentary for a future demo or playthrough...
A note on how the commentary came about: I knew I was going to be doing *something* while Lorne played, but I got the impression it would be answer questions from people in the room watching the game. However, they mostly seemed satisfied just to watch, and I didn't want "dead air". I know now there wouldn't have been, but with the noise in the environment I couldn't hear the game sound, so for all I knew it was going out mute and I didn't want that. So I started talking and what came out, came out.
I think my years watching wrestling probably affected the style of the commentary more than the place I was initially trying to draw inspiration from, a very entertaining podcast by Superego's Matt Gourley and Mark McConville. In it, they provide commentary for The Pistol Shrimps, a women's community basketball team, while making it clear that 1) they're very rarely seated in a position where they can properly see the game, and 2) they don't know much about basketball. So it's just these two very gifted improvisers and occasional guests (Colin Hanks has been on a couple times, so has Paul F. Tompkins), riffing with each other while trying to make some kind of sense out of the game in sportscaster voices.
Here's a link to what I think is their first podcast, if you're interested:
I think my years watching wrestling probably affected the style of the commentary more than the place I was initially trying to draw inspiration from, a very entertaining podcast by Superego's Matt Gourley and Mark McConville. In it, they provide commentary for The Pistol Shrimps, a women's community basketball team, while making it clear that 1) they're very rarely seated in a position where they can properly see the game, and 2) they don't know much about basketball. So it's just these two very gifted improvisers and occasional guests (Colin Hanks has been on a couple times, so has Paul F. Tompkins), riffing with each other while trying to make some kind of sense out of the game in sportscaster voices.
Here's a link to what I think is their first podcast, if you're interested:
Well, I actually never liked radio programs nor anything (actually I started hearing this one out of curiosity), but man, that's good!
This one's for the shorties: the Dragon+ with the story I wrote featuring SIEGE OF DRAGONSPEAR NPC Glint Gardnersonson has gone live. Apparently apps don't have webpages, but this should get you somewhere within a click or two of accessing it, knock on wood: http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/news/dragonplus
@AndrewFoley ,thanks for the story. I know that sometimes author includes himself in the story. Are you behind the name Amulet Fellow ? My argument for this are initials and word play.
I know that sometimes author includes himself in the story. Are you behind the name Amulet Fellow ? My argument for this are initials and word play.
It's a good argument and I honestly wish I'd thought of it, but the truth is the character started off as Necklace Man, became Pendant Guy and had a few other variations at various stages. Amulet Fellow was nailed down fairly late in the game and was unrelated to me, at least so far as I'm consciously aware. Now I kind want to do an enhanced edition of the story where he's an overweight, stressed-out artsy type obsessed with his thinning hair...
While I'm not really Amulet Fellow, there's an argument to be made that I am in the story. @Amber_Scott's told me I have Glint-like qualities, to the point that during the months before we found Jacob Burgess to play the character, she "heard" Glint's dialogue in my voice.
I found that equal parts flattering and baffling. I love Glint, but his view of the world and the way he interacts with it is (sadly) almost the polar opposite of my own behaviour. My go-to line for the new SoD NPCs is Glint's who I'd like to be but M'Khiin's who I am. (I could add that Corwin's who I probably should be and Voghiln's who I was in art college, but that kind of clutters things up.)
So @AndrewFoley forumites would like to know more about your new co-worker @David_Gaider and seeing how you can be our inside man to get the information, can you ask him:
I personally think @David_Gaider should create his own "Don't ask me anything" thread So that he could answer several questions from us. A few. Maybe more. Much more indeed. A lot of question, actually. A myriad of them.
Could it be the project Beamdog is working on or something juicier like an internal rift that is just spawning demons that he couldn't handle anymore?
Or was it more of a going back to ones roots and remembering what made creating video games so special and endearing?
Beamdog is *always* working on something juicy, so I've got to imagine that didn't hurt us.
But to answer the question of why David made the decisions he did, I *would* have to imagine. He's only been here a couple days, we haven't talked about much outside of the Post-Siege Project and how people in the office figure out where they're going to lunch.
As someone who's signed NDAs in the past, I wouldn't want to put him in an awkward situation asking him about his time prior to Beamdog, just as a professional courtesy. And if he did share anything with me, I really can't see me discussing it in a public forum. Too many mines in that field for too many people to risk it.
Sorry I don't have anything more to tell you on that front.
Monday to Thursday is salad at the desk for me, but that doesn't mean there aren't discussions.
As a U.S. citizen whose knowledge of Canada comes mostly from SCTV and old Rush records, I have a hard time believing there is salad in Canada. Is it made of beer and bacon???
As a U.S. citizen whose knowledge of Canada comes mostly from SCTV and old Rush records, I have a hard time believing there is salad in Canada. Is it made of beer and bacon???
As a U.S. citizen whose knowledge of Canada comes mostly from SCTV and old Rush records, I have a hard time believing there is salad in Canada. Is it made of beer and bacon???
One of Gromnir's minions is a thief named Eler Had. That raises the nagging question: what exactly did Eler have?
Eler's full original name was Eler Has Alastname. He was a child of the Alastname family of assassins, a very famous bloodline in secret murderer circles. As a child it seemed Eler was going to go places, but at the age of twelve there was an unfortunate incident involving two bottles of firewine, a potentially rigged game of dominos, and a djinn. The end result saw the family cast Eler out, stripping him of their name. During the existential crisis that followed, Eler changed his middle name as a bitter reminder of what had been lost. Sinking into depression and despair, Eler was left ripe for recruitment by a powerful figure like Gromnir.
You find yourself trapped on a tropical island. A genie appears before you and offers you any 3 of the following items (but no more than 3) Which do you choose?
A raincoat An axe A lighter A volleyball Duct tape A machete A two way radio (batteries included) A copy of the Edmonton Sun from Dec 21, 1998 A pillow A sleeping bag A tent A raft
Comments
Rules 1+2 apply then.
Who wouldn't want to tune in to watch that?
Hey hey hey, my question was answered after all! And the first one Dave Gross asked. What an interviewer
Very interesting answer too btw, and thanks for the link
"For instance, when I write screenplays or comic scripts, characters’ dialogue is constantly getting cut off by other characters. That works fine in those media. When I started in video games, I wrote dialogue much the same way. But having someone read half a sentence, then read and choose from three options for what their character says that interrupts that sentence before it’s finished requires some mental gymnastics and more good will than I’m comfortable asking a player for."
I always thought cutting people off mid sentence was weird in games, especially when lines are both voice acted and written. I remember a time in Icewind Dale II this happened, in one of the early stages.
Though this can sometimes be poorly done in other formats too, and I remember hating how in Iron Man 2 Robert Downey JR and Gwenyth Paltrow had to talk over each other throughout the entire movie. Its one of those things I assume that writers do in order to mimic real conversations, but can be so overdone that it just appeared unrealistic.
As for doing commentary on gameplay outside the company, I wonder if that would be a prize for a contest that might interest some folks somewhere down the line... I've also contemplated what would happen if Alveus Malcanter and I got together and did team commentary for a future demo or playthrough...
A note on how the commentary came about: I knew I was going to be doing *something* while Lorne played, but I got the impression it would be answer questions from people in the room watching the game. However, they mostly seemed satisfied just to watch, and I didn't want "dead air". I know now there wouldn't have been, but with the noise in the environment I couldn't hear the game sound, so for all I knew it was going out mute and I didn't want that. So I started talking and what came out, came out.
I think my years watching wrestling probably affected the style of the commentary more than the place I was initially trying to draw inspiration from, a very entertaining podcast by Superego's Matt Gourley and Mark McConville. In it, they provide commentary for The Pistol Shrimps, a women's community basketball team, while making it clear that 1) they're very rarely seated in a position where they can properly see the game, and 2) they don't know much about basketball. So it's just these two very gifted improvisers and occasional guests (Colin Hanks has been on a couple times, so has Paul F. Tompkins), riffing with each other while trying to make some kind of sense out of the game in sportscaster voices.
Here's a link to what I think is their first podcast, if you're interested:
Thanks for the link, @brus
I know that sometimes author includes himself in the story. Are you behind the name Amulet Fellow ?
My argument for this are initials and word play.
While I'm not really Amulet Fellow, there's an argument to be made that I am in the story. @Amber_Scott's told me I have Glint-like qualities, to the point that during the months before we found Jacob Burgess to play the character, she "heard" Glint's dialogue in my voice.
I found that equal parts flattering and baffling. I love Glint, but his view of the world and the way he interacts with it is (sadly) almost the polar opposite of my own behaviour. My go-to line for the new SoD NPCs is Glint's who I'd like to be but M'Khiin's who I am. (I could add that Corwin's who I probably should be and Voghiln's who I was in art college, but that kind of clutters things up.)
Or was it more of a going back to ones roots and remembering what made creating video games so special and endearing?
But to answer the question of why David made the decisions he did, I *would* have to imagine. He's only been here a couple days, we haven't talked about much outside of the Post-Siege Project and how people in the office figure out where they're going to lunch.
As someone who's signed NDAs in the past, I wouldn't want to put him in an awkward situation asking him about his time prior to Beamdog, just as a professional courtesy. And if he did share anything with me, I really can't see me discussing it in a public forum. Too many mines in that field for too many people to risk it.
Sorry I don't have anything more to tell you on that front.
So where are you going for lunch then?
any citrus beer wold be suitable replacement for the Sam Adams though, or add a bit of lemon juice for zest if citrus beer is unavailable.
So go ahead and have this salad for lunch, it won't be cheating and your wish comes true.
A raincoat
An axe
A lighter
A volleyball
Duct tape
A machete
A two way radio (batteries included)
A copy of the Edmonton Sun from Dec 21, 1998
A pillow
A sleeping bag
A tent
A raft