Will there be some gameplay footage demonstration before Christmas or before New year ?
I'm sure Beamdog will have already realized they would be off during this time, and organized some sort of pre-vacation release of ... well ... something. They've had all year to recognize that holidays come at the end of the year, so ... there's no excuse.
Although Caelar Argent probably isn't a celestial the idea combined with the suggestion that she is quite heroic and has a noble purpose puts me in mind of Kaelyn the Dove, the half-celestial in NWN 2 Mask of the Betrayer who dedicates her existence to ending the Wall of the Forgotten in s hopeless crusade that ultimately leads to unhappy end in the epilogues that I remember.
And I wonder if there is any truth to the celestial idea if she'll be something along these lines (with different but perhaps just as hopeless objectives), even with her as an assimar.
Some original Glint art done in-house (by our awesome artist, Thea) will accompany the story.
Am I the only one who thinks so, or are these portraits don't "match" the same person? Is there a possibility that the current Glint's portrait was just some sort of trial version? ..and it clearly can't be said that these were "taken" at different times, because in the short story by @AndrewFoley (which is CLEARLY awesome ) there is a sentence that rather confirms, it is happening closely to upcoming SoD events.
Some original Glint art done in-house (by our awesome artist, Thea) will accompany the story.
Am I the only one who thinks so, or are these portraits don't "match" the same person? Is there a possibility that the current Glint's portrait was just some sort of trial version?
The first portrait at least looks like a gnome, minus the blue hair. The second one looks more like a halfling, or at least a gnome that underwent a drastic nose job. What's a gnome without a big schnoz?
The original portraits for Tiax and Quayle are not very gnome-like either, something which Bioware apparently corrected with Jan's portrait in BGII.
As you can see, gnomes' noses were overhauled from 3rd edition D&D onwards (the 3rd edition gnomes look like "alien greys" to me). I say bring back the schnoz! ^.^
Eh, we already got two pink heads in Baldur's Gate. One additional hair dyeing person makes not much of a difference. At least the blue haired Glinn has a beard. This alone makes him already superior to "blacky".
Are they the same guy ? Person on the right looks more like woman.
Agreed, I thought the same as soon as the right-hand portrait was first issued. (I was surprised a few minutes later, when it became clear that Glint is male.)
What if this guy with the pendant is the one from the story who was searching the amulet (amulet fellow) ? The quest could somewhat be intertwined with him.
But @Brus, @AndrewFoley's story explicitly states that Glint has blue hair (quite unlike the portrait used for Glint in the pre-release videos, so presumaby they've changed that). It'd be a remarkable (yet strangely unremarked) coincidence if Amulet Fellow also has blue hair. So no, it's not Amulet Fellow.
Will most of the bugs be fixed with the release of the upcoming updates for BG:EE & BG2:EE? Or there will be "just" some engine improvements? ( I mean, the bug list is quite long...) Sorry if already asked...
Will most of the bugs be fixed with the release of the upcoming updates for BG:EE & BG2:EE? Or these updates will affect just the UI? ( I mean, the bug list is quite long...) Sorry if already asked...
"What’s it like being a story-hired gun after working at Obsidian and other major companies for so long? We know you’re working on Divinity: Original Sin II – was there something that drew you to Larian and its upcoming game? Are there other upcoming games that you’ll be attached to? It's liberating. I've learned more in three months across a variety of genres (both in game genres – FPS, RTS, other RPGs – and also the surrounding ambiance of the genre – sci-fi, post-apoc, fantasy, and more), alternate development pipelines, and management practices, task tracking, and some eye-opening procedures to speed up production I never would have exposed to otherwise. And also, it's given me a perspective on my own past work. For example, Beamdog's Siege of Dragonspear reminded me what the touchstones of fun companions should be and what it takes to create a great adversary, not just a villain. Divinity: Original Sin II I wasn't even sure was a possibility, but then the internet community (RPG Codex) pushed Larian founder Swen Vincke and I to get in touch, so we met for dinner at PAX Prime, traded design philosophy, and it was a great fit, so it all worked out. It's the first time I've ever had the internet push for me to get a game writing gig and then make it happen, so kudos to them. And now I get to Divinely Sin. Originally. Twice."
"In many ways, you’ve been involved in “core” PC RPGs since their inception. What are some of the differences crafting one of these experiences today as opposed to the Icewind Dales of yesteryear? I wouldn't use Icewind Dale as a baseline. It's a good series. I've mentioned this in other interviews, but I thought IWD was largely a step backward for the Infinity Engine games except in terms of art locales, and the idea of forming a party of your own, which I loved. Beyond that, it felt like a stripped down car with some new cosmetic engine parts. It was a fun ride, but it's hard to set it on equal footing with the other Infinity Engine titles. Granted, it was a purposeful attempt to make more of a Diablo-like dungeon crawl experience, but I don't know if that's what all the fans were hoping for, especially after the love for Baldur's Gate. But if we were to go back to Baldur's Gate as a comparison between the writing of RPGs today and yesteryear... the amount of writing hasn't changed, the interface largely hasn't changed (unfortunately), but the amount of surrounding work that goes into dialogues (voice acting and cinematics) has forced more precision in the writing, if only because you know that edits will be incredibly difficult to make after the recording and be re-translated into other languages. Furthermore, the more voiced a game is, the more you need to approach dialogue nodes like a screenplay instead of a prose description. Planescape: Torment was big on describing the animations an NPC would be doing since we didn't have the budget or interface to show it, but now those animations would be key in larger AAA games. Also, overall, the writing process itself has become more polished, including technically. I've had to write numerous style guides for RPGs over the years. And this guide is extensive, it boils down formatting of journal entries, pronunciation guides, how to spell specific inventory items and laying out stats, when to use first person, second person, and third person in text, how to include voice actor direction hidden in the lines, and more. It's a lot more work than just the prose on the screen, but laying out the specs is worth it – and needed, especially for large writing teams."
Comments
Sadly, they'll make them.
Bah Humbug to us all.
Like being able to quick-key it instead of moving the mouse around to click a little red diamond button.
And I wonder if there is any truth to the celestial idea if she'll be something along these lines (with different but perhaps just as hopeless objectives), even with her as an assimar.
Am I the only one who thinks so, or are these portraits don't "match" the same person?
Is there a possibility that the current Glint's portrait was just some sort of trial version?
..and it clearly can't be said that these were "taken" at different times, because in the short story by @AndrewFoley (which is CLEARLY awesome
http://kreo.wikia.com/wiki/Kre-O_Dungeons_&_Dragons
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/27748/baldurs-gate-lego/
The original portraits for Tiax and Quayle are not very gnome-like either, something which Bioware apparently corrected with Jan's portrait in BGII.
As you can see, gnomes' noses were overhauled from 3rd edition D&D onwards (the 3rd edition gnomes look like "alien greys" to me). I say bring back the schnoz! ^.^
1e:
At least the blue haired Glinn has a beard. This alone makes him already superior to "blacky".
Btw, will Jaheira and Khalid be available in SoD ? I'm making some tribute to them.
Argument: you can see the amulet on his robe.
"What’s it like being a story-hired gun after working at Obsidian and other major companies for so long? We know you’re working on Divinity: Original Sin II – was there something that drew you to Larian and its upcoming game? Are there other upcoming games that you’ll be attached to?
It's liberating. I've learned more in three months across a variety of genres (both in game genres – FPS, RTS, other RPGs – and also the surrounding ambiance of the genre – sci-fi, post-apoc, fantasy, and more), alternate development pipelines, and management practices, task tracking, and some eye-opening procedures to speed up production I never would have exposed to otherwise. And also, it's given me a perspective on my own past work. For example, Beamdog's Siege of Dragonspear reminded me what the touchstones of fun companions should be and what it takes to create a great adversary, not just a villain. Divinity: Original Sin II I wasn't even sure was a possibility, but then the internet community (RPG Codex) pushed Larian founder Swen Vincke and I to get in touch, so we met for dinner at PAX Prime, traded design philosophy, and it was a great fit, so it all worked out. It's the first time I've ever had the internet push for me to get a game writing gig and then make it happen, so kudos to them. And now I get to Divinely Sin. Originally. Twice."
"In many ways, you’ve been involved in “core” PC RPGs since their inception. What are some of the differences crafting one of these experiences today as opposed to the Icewind Dales of yesteryear?
I wouldn't use Icewind Dale as a baseline. It's a good series. I've mentioned this in other interviews, but I thought IWD was largely a step backward for the Infinity Engine games except in terms of art locales, and the idea of forming a party of your own, which I loved. Beyond that, it felt like a stripped down car with some new cosmetic engine parts. It was a fun ride, but it's hard to set it on equal footing with the other Infinity Engine titles. Granted, it was a purposeful attempt to make more of a Diablo-like dungeon crawl experience, but I don't know if that's what all the fans were hoping for, especially after the love for Baldur's Gate.
But if we were to go back to Baldur's Gate as a comparison between the writing of RPGs today and yesteryear... the amount of writing hasn't changed, the interface largely hasn't changed (unfortunately), but the amount of surrounding work that goes into dialogues (voice acting and cinematics) has forced more precision in the writing, if only because you know that edits will be incredibly difficult to make after the recording and be re-translated into other languages. Furthermore, the more voiced a game is, the more you need to approach dialogue nodes like a screenplay instead of a prose description. Planescape: Torment was big on describing the animations an NPC would be doing since we didn't have the budget or interface to show it, but now those animations would be key in larger AAA games.
Also, overall, the writing process itself has become more polished, including technically. I've had to write numerous style guides for RPGs over the years. And this guide is extensive, it boils down formatting of journal entries, pronunciation guides, how to spell specific inventory items and laying out stats, when to use first person, second person, and third person in text, how to include voice actor direction hidden in the lines, and more. It's a lot more work than just the prose on the screen, but laying out the specs is worth it – and needed, especially for large writing teams."
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2016/01/02/chris-avellone-talks-games-obsidian-and-christmas-sweater-etiquette.aspx
Any interesting news?