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[Arulan]

RPG Codex managed to get an interview with Leonard Boyarsky. There are events which have transpired which make this particularly interesting.

Last year, Paradox acquired White Wolf, which includes properties such as World of Darkness and Vampire: The Masquerade. Paradox also has an excellent partnership with Obsidian. Earlier this year, Leonard Boyarsky, who was the project leader for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, left Blizzard to join Obsidian on a new project. This is purely speculation, but many, including myself don't believe these events are a coincidence.

RPG Codex Interview: Leonard Boyarsky on joining Obsidian, Fallout & Bloodlines cut content and more

Why did you leave Blizzard?

I really, really, really, really, really wanted to return to making single player RPGs.​

What's your dream game that you'd like to make? And when are we getting Bloodlines 2 or Arcanum 2? What Troika game would you like to make a sequel to the most?

I'm happy to say that I'm currently working on my dream game. As far as sequels, it's Arcanum 2, hands down. I'd much rather work on IPs of my own creation. That doesn't mean I wouldn't work on Bloodlines 2 if given the opportunity, but if I had a choice between them it's an easy call to make.​

(On Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines Cut Content)

Was the Cabbie intended to be Caine before White Wolf changed it in the Gehenna book?

Well, we had our version internally, but it's WW's IP, so they get to decide what is canon. I'd like to think that everyone is free to make their own decision about whether it was Caine or not. I personally believe it was Tim Cain, but that's just me.​

(On Fallout Cut Content and Early Concepts)

What's your opinion on how the Vaults were changed from safe havens for humanity in Fallout to sites for wacky experiments in Fallout 2?

We (Jason, Tim and I) were the ones who came up with that idea when we were designing the story for FO2, and we liked how they added another layer to the dichotomy between the reality the government was selling the people through propaganda and reality itself. So we obviously approved of it as an idea. The ones we designed all had a dark edge to them, as if they could conceivably be twisted psychological experiments. The wacky ones came after we had left...​

(Other)

A year ago, a design pitch for Journey to the Centre of Arcanum was discovered. What was your vision for the game? Tim said there were many concepts for it at the time.

The only idea we were committed to was a First Person RPG set in the World of Arcanum, based around a Jules Verne type adventure, with a bit of mocking the Victorian colonial attitudes, etc. thrown in for fun. Everything else was just initial brainstorming and trying to come up with the right buzzwords and phrases to get a publisher to fund it.

I thought the magic/tech metal could have been an interesting evolution to the world of Arcanum, as long as it was rare and became something that could, in the right hands, give one faction or the other immense power. As long as it was more of a macguffin, and didn’t upend the whole world, I think it could have worked well. One version of that idea that prompted Tim's extreme dislike had an ending with a whole bunch of the metal being found (or taken) by the player at the end of the game, giving them the power to decide who ruled Arcanum (which totally contradicts everything I just said about it being a macguffin, of course). So I would have had to convince Tim it was a good idea in whatever form it took, or we would have gone with something else, or evolved the idea somehow. That's generally how these things go, you start throwing out basic, general ideas and revise, edit, discard as necessary until you get something you're happy with.​

 

[Kayhan]

Bloodlines 2 and Arcanum 2 is all I want from this man.

For now....

 

[Arulan]

He certainly has first-person RPGs with historical settings on his mind, doesn't he?

Where does he mention historical settings?

I know Josh Sawyer has repeatedly stated wanting to work on an RPG with a historical focus, a la Darklands.

 

[decoyplatypus]

The anticipation is really building up for this mystery Obsidian project.

Is this question about balance subtweeting Josh Sawyer?

Do you think there's too much focus on balancing everything to perfection in modern games?

I have no idea what you possibly could be referring to.

If so, it's, uh, pretty tactless.

EDIT: I guess it's more likely about Blizzard, but I don't play Blizzard's games and so don't follow much of the conversation around their balancing.

 

[Maxios]

I'm gonna put money down on a first-person Arcanum spiritual successor.

My god, yes. A game with the setting of Arcanum but the gameplay style of New Vegas would be perfect.

 

[Filben]

EDIT: I guess it's more likely about Blizzard, but I don't play Blizzard's games and so don't follow much of the conversation around their balancing.

Blizzard is well known for their big balance efforts. IIRC they used over a whole year just on balancing before release of Diablo 3. And every patch ever since buffed and nerfed some aspects even to this day in order to "perfect the balance".

So this is probably to be seen as a funny remark about all the balancing priority in Blizzard's games.

 

[Bluth54]

My god, yes. A game with the setting of Arcanum but the gameplay style of New Vegas would be perfect.

I've just started playing Arcanum for the first time and I hope that's what it is, I would love to see another game with a similar setting.

 

[EatChildren]

As far as sequels, it's Arcanum 2, hands down.

fuck