There are so few developers as open about their games as developer Obsidian Entertainment is with their upcoming project, The Outer Worlds. Despite seemingly new updates rolling out about the game every week, the developers always appear to have some new tidbit of information about the Fallout like RPG. This week, Co-Directors Leonard Boyarsky and Tim Cain go on a bender, answering any and all questions that fans of the game may have.
The responses come from an hour and fifteen-minute remote video interview with publication Game Informer, where Obsidian Entertainment’s Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky take on back-to-back questions about The Outer Worlds. This is a video packed with content, so if you are interested in hearing over an hour of information, go ahead and check it out below:
But if we are pulling out some highlights, some of the most poignant responses from both Cain and Boyarsky circle around transparency. the Game Informer team starts off by praising Obsidian for being more forthcoming about the game than what is normally permitted in the gaming landscape, something that Cain states is “kinda sad.”
This is then demonstrated in the video — apart from just answering (most) every question that comes across the deck, Cain and c seem to offer information with no spin. When asked why the game isn’t aiming for long playthroughs, they respond that they simply don’t have the money and resources to support that. On the other hand, they do feel it is a benefit — there is a market for small-scale RPGs given how deep everyone’s backlogs have become.
At some point, the conversations shifts to level caps and whether they will be in the game. Short, sweet, and to the point, Cain responds “Yes” and that the cap will be set at 30. This will be accompanied with level-based progression, where your skills will upgrade as you level up (as compared to when you use the skill).
Additionally, the topic broaches the popular trend of procedural generation. When asked if some of the settings will be created using an algorithm like No Man’s Sky, both Cain and Boyarsky confirm the game is entirely hand-drawn: “We talked about procedural generation super briefly in the beginning and set it aside. Not for this game.”
They talk further about this point, specifically that if they are using the tool is used as a crutch to create a bigger and broader map, they will still need to fill this with unique content. The Obsidian team draws a comparison to VR, where many developers originally dove into the emerging game developing concept before figuring out if it would be a good fit for their specific game.
Also, they (understandably) want to be able to test all their content.
Like we said, this is not the only big news we’ve heard about The Outer Worlds lately. Only a short while ago we saw that the release date may have leaked on Steam, though that is still unconfirmed. However, in a more official capacity, the team has outlined the companion-focused leadership role and how your decisions will change aspects of the game, including the artwork.
The Outer Worlds will be available digitally for PC via Steam and physically for PS4 and Xbox One, with the rumored release date being August 6, 2019. If you are interested, go ahead and check out the full interview above.
The post The Outer Worlds Developers Talk Level Cap, Procedural Generation and Transparency in Game Development by Lou Contaldi appeared first on DualShockers.