Gaming’s Balancing Act Between Art & Product

Given the article includes some quotes from Obsidian’s chief creative officer and co-founder Chris Avellone, and that cut features, publisher interference and muddied vision are a pretty frequent complaint for modern RPGs, I thought some of our readers might want to read this USGamer piece on the balance between art and product in videogames. Here’s a snippet:

Avellone offered the longest answer, noting various cuts and changes to games from Obsidian, Black Isle Studios, and Interplay. Examples included changes to Fallout back when it was intended to be based on the GURPS pen-and-paper game or the near-omission of global dialog for the companions in Planescape: Torment. For the latter example, Avellone explained that it looked like the team didn’t have the infrastructure to support the idea; he credits former Black Isle Studios division director and current Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart and the localization team for making the vision ultimately work. He also mentioned a character idea shot down by the Dungeons & Dragons franchise holders during the development of Neverwinter Nights 2.

“There was an attempt in Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer to create a bisexual character, although that was not accepted by the franchise holders,” says Avellone. “We made attempts to persuade them that we would handle it properly, but that was not a direction they wished to go. With the arrival of the next editions of D&D and Pathfinder, however, as well as the progress with romances from BioWare, I think this would be a moot discussion today, and for that, I’m grateful. Discriminating based on sexual preference seems backward now, a move that even the franchise holder has stepped back on.”

According to Avellone, outside forces haven’t dictated too much of the content of Obsidian’s games, despite the fact that the studio has worked on franchises like Star Wars, Fallout, and South Park. Most cuts were due to publishers explicitly veto-ing certain additions, like power armor prototypes and Forced Evolutionary Virus variations in Fallout: New Vegas’ DLC, Old World Blues.

“LucasArts were comfortable with the story in Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords (they had six comments on it), and when it came to Fallout: New Vegas, there was little we weren’t allowed to do, but I credit the smooth discussions there because the publishers understood empowerment, and our development teams had shown evidence that we understood the franchise we were designing for,” he adds.