>sawyer threads once more shine on vrpg
It is good to see the old ways were not forgotten

pentiment is one of the best games he's made. obsidian should have just given up on making proper game play systems years ago

>>3923507
Will Pillars 3 ever happen and does it have a chance of being good?

>>3923539
they just burned so much money in a row. no way man. nobody even likes the poe setting. its success was just that it was a crpg in a time when people really wanted that. i doubt anyone left at obsidian even likes IE crpgs anymore

>>3923542
I'm personally excited to learn what bomb Tim Cain is going to be leading this time. Will this be the first game in his career that manages to be complete when its released? Or will we see more whining about publishers for his clear mismanagement? Either way, nobody will buy it!

>>3923539
Obsidian recently posted a job listing on their website for a quest designer with a background in tabletop RPGs

>Named Sawyer
>makes video games and now saws
what a phony

>>3923538
Most RPGs have terrible systems. Only a few developers have managed to create systems that are actually fun. The smarter decision is to accept your limitations and make visual novels like Suzerain, Disco Elysium, and Pentiment instead of RPGs.

>>3923507
Sawyer is the living proof that you shouldn't trust people with tattooed necks and hands.

>>3923531
>old ways
lol
These make more sense when you realize it's RPGCodex newfags making threads about their favorite e-celebs (regular Sawyer/Avellone threads every couple of months).

>>3923507
He loves prostitutes, doesn't he? Cali hookers certainly don't come cheap.

>>3923543
everytime i see tim cain's face on youtube i feel like punching this fat fuck.

>>3924406
>their favorite e-celebs
It's called "people you love to hate"

>>3923507
Ey boss can i habe da romances plz?

>>3924771
>defending e-celebs and e-celeb worship
It has always been e-celeb worship, Codex newfag.

>>3924836
Codex is dead you nigger cunt.
It was obvious in 2020 when they welcomed back the SJW freak and refused to lynch Beyond a Steel Sky.

>>3924849
So where are these Sawyer and Avellone-worshipping newfags who periodically make these same generals coming from, nigger?

>>3923507
It's impossible for this guy to not look like a douche. He doesn't even brush his beard.

>>3924851
It's the oldfags. It's a decade since Pillars of Eternity and they still can't register in their barely working lard soaked brains that Sawyer, Avellone and the rest are washed out boomers with nothing to offer.

>>3923538
Came to say this. Pentiment > Planescape > Disco.

>>3924886
You just described RPG Codex users.

>>3923539
I think it will happen after the success of BG3. Why would they otherwise come back and patch PoE1?

>>3927586
>Why would they otherwise come back and patch PoE1?
Petty malice to break users’ mods

>>3924886
>It's the oldfags
>It's a decade since
So it isn't oldfaggotry. Stop making off-topic e-celeb worship threads with selfies on the board.

PoE 2's gotta be one of the worst main plots ever written in any given RPG, but his other games are alright, i enjoyed IWD a lot.

>>3923539
What >>3923542 said plus Avowed was the desperate attempt to make the Pillars setting still work in a more general audience appealing genre and format, and that bombed too. Pillars only got interesting with Deadfire and Sawyer clearly only learned half the lessons on why it cratered (among them, most importantly he doesn’t get that the reason sales cratered initially for Deadfire is that the first game sucked ass and only had any creative spark in the literal final hour).

>>3924764
>”here’s another video on why I, the designer who hasn’t made anything good since 2004, have the final say on game design. I made sure to include my home office’s 15 pride flags in the thumbnail as well :)”

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>>3923507
He's always been based in my books for BTFO romancefags who have ruined modern RPGs.

Sawyer works well when given clear limitations. Since he clearly avoided having anything to do with the latest flops Obsidian released, hopefully he will stick to the smaller stuff that can be of good quality until the studio inevitably goes under. From there, I see a career trajectory like Avellone of being brought on as a consultant to projects that don’t materialize until he just settles into a role as a cynical talking head for the future of game development.

Sawyer can only make something when somebody already designed functioning systems( dnd, fallout) and he must never be allowed to touch the writing.

After playing a bunch of so-called "CRPGs" i.e. the sort of shit Sawyer produces) I can safely say that the entire genre is dogshit.

>>3923538
That's nice, but Pentiment is not an rpg and it doesn't even work as a choice game. They literally don't let you make the choice you want even if it didn't have any consequences for them.

>>3924717
He lives in a shitty old house, drives shitty old cars and spend his money on shitty old bikes.

>>3931143
Based Sawyer

>>3931143
Based classics appreciator Sawyer

I don't like Sawyer. He insists upon himself.

>>3931147
>>3931152
>based based based based
How come Codex newfags can't keep your e-celeb threads on your own website?

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I had to look into who the fuck this sawyer guy was as per the topic of this thread and I've learned that he's a twerp

>>3931392
I know him because he's a goon from back in the day. Apparently a lot of RPG codex posters are obsessed with him, and brought that to /vrpg/.

>>3925713
Smoothbrain

>>3929325
The basic plot of PoE 2 is good and memorable.
The problem is how it spread out throughout the game and the pacing. Also the fact so much of it is delivered in wall of text static presentation with minimal player input.

>>3933468
Is it memorable? I already forgot it

>>3933468
>The basic plot of PoE 2 is good and memorable.
I can’t remember any of it. It was shit.

>>3933468
PoE 2 main story is one of the best in the genre unironically
however it doesn't follow the traditional structure
>here is the main story which you progress by doing main quests
>here is a bunch of unrelated shit like picking berries for a midwife side quests
the more you explore the world and do sidequests the more you unravel the main story
which is both a boon if you are invested in exploring and a bane if you are just going to go for the critical path (i.e. quests required to finish the game) and left wondering what the fuck was that about

and that also means you missed a major part of it if you didn't do the DLCs
quite a risky strategy because most people never did

>>3933500
>the more you explore the world and do sidequests the more you unravel the main story
>which is both a boon if you are invested in exploring and a bane if you are just going to go for the critical path (i.e. quests required to finish the game) and left wondering what the fuck was that about
I’m a completionist who always does all side content first and saves the main quest for last. I have almost zero recall of the main story because it was so boring and pointless. You chase muh Eothas for the whole game and take a ship to muh mythological city and talk to him and the game ends.
>and that also means you missed a major part of it if you didn't do the DLCs
quite a risky strategy because most people never did
Sounds like a retarded idea to put a major part of the main story in some DLC that will, presumably, be played only by people who were invested in and completed the main story sans DLC. I finished the game and was bored by it and thought the world and characters sucked, why would I then pay for more of it? Come to think of it, the pillars 1 DLC sucked too. Now I’m not even sure why I bought or played Deadfire at all.

>>3933501
>I nhave almost zero recall of the main story
>remembers the key parts of the main story perfectly
What did he mean by this?

>>3933504
There was once a time in games when we cared about those ass it was, and why it was farting.

This dude is not noteworthy in any way whatsoever. It's insane that you consistently make these threads. It's the most homoerotic display of obsession I've ever seen. Unless it's the man himself coming here to samefag about himself. You never know. Either way, give it a rest. This is a bad look for everyone single person involved.

>>3933501
Maybe "story" wasn't the right word to use here because you immediately confused it for "plot synopsis", and admittedly there are grounds for such a confusion
Maybe using "themes" would have been better.
Like for example, discovering the way huana watershapers oppress the water dragon to gain their power, or the nature of the huana caste system, is a nice nuance on the theme of colonial oppression huana themselves as a whole are experiencing.
And basically each theme has nice side perspective an invested player might discover through optional content.
What death means, what the reincarnation cycle means, why worship and faith is how it is here and how it can be different, what power means etc.

That's what makes it great, that side content ties in with the main story. There are almost no "save my doggy" or some other completely irrelevant shit.

I don't think making these not only optional but requiring some sort of effort on the players part is retarded.
It's risky. Some players might miss it. But the payoff for the curious player feels much more rewarding.

>>3933761
I stopped being at all interested in leftoid subversion and “deconstructions” over a decade ago. At this point, “the human fighter, dwarf cleric, and elf mage go on the hero’s journey to defeat the dragon and save the village” has an infinitely greater amount of truth and wisdom.

>>3931143
based. but how do you know? also, is he an alcoholic? he sips on some liquid in his podcasts

>>3933764
>nuance = leftoid subversion
implying

>>3933764
>another illiterate repeating buzzwords learned on /v/ in order to feel smart
shiggy

I don’t care what you think of Sawyer, Pentiment was a masterpiece. Obsidian should give him total control.

>>3933776
A masterpiece in doodoo feces

>>3933782
Not my fault you have the IQ of a can of tuna

>>3933782
With wit like that, shouldn't you be busy working on the next Elder Scrolls game?

>>3933771
>>another illiterate repeating buzzwords learned on /v/ in order to feel smart
>shiggy

>>3933812
Please lurk for 250 years before posting.

>>3933764
Pillars isn't a subversion or a deconstruction and Sawyer said as much in an old post way back when. That's Dragon Age, which is something he hates.

>>3933761
>Like for example, discovering the way huana watershapers oppress the water dragon to gain their power, or the nature of the huana caste system, is a nice nuance on the theme of colonial oppression huana themselves as a whole are experiencing.
This stuff was excellent. The game should have had more of this and less apocalyptic musing of an autistic god.
It would have also benefit the pacing a lot more.
>wtf a huge titan crushed my house and killed me
>oh no the end of the world is coming we need to hurry
>time for 20 sideqeusts involving deep political and economic schemes

>>3933875
>oh no the end of the world is coming we need to hurry
I don't think it's in the game
the reality of the main questline is that Eothas fucks off underwater into the ocean with no means of locating him, so we just wait until he shows up again, then maybe we can understand where he is going
so yeah, time for 20 sidequests in the meanwhile makes perfect sense

>>3933899
You find out about Ukaizo about 33% in, after dealing with the snake guys invasion. Eothas literally tells you to meet him at Magran's Teeth asap.

>>3933904
>about 33% in
A quick google search marks that as 5th major main quest out of 8
>Eothas literally tells you to meet him at Magran's Teeth asap
so does he literally tell you to meet him at MT asap?

>>3933904
Eothas is going to Ukaizo...

>>3933922
>A quick google search marks that as 5th major main quest out of 8
>1. Prologue
Literally prologue and character creation
>2. Stranded
>3. To Hunt a God (1st part)
Those two end on the first island, so right off the bat
>4. The Veins of Eora
Ends when you talk with the Queen on Neketaka, so almost certainly your fourth or fifth island unless you REALLY take your time.
>5. A Distant Light
You're pressed to do it by a bunch of NPCs including your main companions and it's right around the corner. So at 33% point at the very latest.

Not to mention two of the DLCs are locked until you finish quest #6, and those add a considerable amount of fucking around right at the end stage of the game.

>>3933831
>Pillars isn't a subversion or a deconstruction and Sawyer said as much in an old post
Oh, he said he didn’t do the thing he did? Well then.

>>3933927
>Prologue
I can accept that
but everything else reads like you don't want to admit you are wrong
also you are dodging
>so does he literally tell you to meet him at MT asap?
I specifically remember him saying something about needing to rest
maybe he is saying something that can be interpreted as urgency but that is definitely up for interpretation

>>3933939
The first three quests literally end before you embark, so right at the very beginning. Then a couple of early quests gets you about 33% in.

>>so does he literally tell you to meet him at MT asap?
>I specifically remember him saying something about needing to rest
>maybe he is saying something that can be interpreted as urgency but that is definitely up for interpretation
I don't have the text in front of me but yeah it seems urgent. Once you get there you find that he already took the place apart.

>>3933575
Codexfags really have some issues. You look at the /vrpg/ catalog and these routine Sawyer/Avellone threads are the only consistent generals to begin with a selfie of the e-celeb being idolized.

>>3934103
Sawyer-thread was for a while one of the most consistent way of baiting
it still is somewhere in the top and the threads will continue until they stop generating reactions
that's just how this site (and actually most of the internet) operates

https://youtu.be/0pLft_FQPFo?t=4442
>Arcade is not my self-insert
Yeah, sure Josh.

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>>3934275
>selfinserts as a siscon black guy
What did Josh mean by that?

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>>3933935
You just didn't understand what it is he was actually doing.

>>3934353
>Some people have suggested that I hate high fantasy or want to subvert high fantasy. Neither of these are really true.
Not REALLY true. Just partly true.
>[several paragraphs discussing how intriguing and interesting it is to take an evil faction and make them sympathetic, relatable, and infiltrate through guile. This is incredibly nuanced! Wow]
>The Black Hound wasn't really *~ sUbVeRsIvE ~* "this ain't your dady's RPG!" fantasy. [...] I, and I think we all, just tried to approach the world with open eyes, asking, "Okay, so let's suppose all of this stuff about the Realms is true. What does that REALLY mean for how the people in it live their lives?" It madethe world more dark and grim, and sometimes that consideration wound up buckling convention, but we didn't set out to invert fantasy conventions just for the sake of doing it."
We didn't INTEND to be subversive. It just kind of happened by accident, and I think that's really cool and great and interesting!

Gradually, I began to hate them.

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>>3934373
He had thoughtful intentions. Contrast with David Gaider who outright says his goal was to subvert fantasy and turn all the tropes he disliked on their head.

>>3934427
>Contrast with David Gaider
Damning with faint praise, anon.

>>3934373
>We didn't INTEND to be subversive. It just kind of happened by accident, and I think that's really cool and great and interesting!
Wow, an overly reductive faggot who can just dismiss everything that disagrees with him out of hand, how original!
With an attitude like that, why aren't you working for Bioware? Or Bethesda? I'm sure they'd love to have you.

Can we ask the relevant question now? Ready? Alright, here it goes. Why was everybody in PoE 2 black or brown? Couldn't they just have been, you know...white and maybe not Polynesian because nobody cares about Polynesians and esp. not in an RPG where merrie auld Englande stuff is expected?

>>3934455
RPG devs love diversity and inclusion, so Sawyer decided that the seafaring Vailians would be black Italians. They're rare in Aedyr, Readceras, and the Dyrwood, pretty widespread almost everywhere else.

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>>3934353
>split your factions with internal conflict and sub-factions
I remember when I first figured it out when prepping a tabletop scenario.
My reaction was basically picrel. Just how easy it is to create an interesting background for the players to engage in.
I wonder if all that tabletop experience is what lead Josh to this as well.

>>3934373
mah nigga you are retarded
splitting a faction to include subfactions with their own goals and means to achieve them is not a subversion, you literally have Tolkien do it with orcs on several occasions!
It simply makes the setting more believable.
... AND also makes for a classic weighting-scale situation which allows the party (being as tiny as they are) to be the final grain that tips the balance of equally strong forces and set all sorts of things in motion.

>>3934373
So you think fantasy should just be random chaos, nonsense and meaninglessness? Nothing matters, nothing's real, the players are the only thing that exists and everything else is just painted paper that pops in and out of existence, and nothing of substance or significance ever happens? Just roll to hit and move on?
No wonder your opinions suck. You labor beneath such a poverty of thought, I'm just fucking amazed you are still alive! Do you have an alarm set on your phone to remind you to breathe?

>>3934793
So you think [some fan fiction from inside my head, including the choice phrase "beneath such a poverty of thought"]
What the FUCK is with Pillars/Sawyer fans that make them some insufferable retarded pseuds?

>>3934813
are you same the dimwitted anon who has been seen in all obsidian/sawyer related threads lately malding over Pillars-fans-pseuds?

>>3934813
>What the FUCK is with Pillars/Sawyer fans that make them some insufferable retarded pseuds?
But you're describing >>3934373
Not the guy you're responding to.

>>3934816
>are you same the dimwitted anon who has been seen in all obsidian/sawyer related threads lately malding over Pillars-fans-pseuds?
No. I prefer stay out of these threads because they're lazy bait and do not produce interesting or insightful discussions. I also dislike the term 'pseud' and do not generally use it. But sometimes, one must call a spade a spade. >>3933514 was right.

>>3934825
>no I'm not the same anon
>I don't even participate in these threads
>let me also reference a post from the middle of another thread and point out how that anon who is totally not me was right
lol ok

>>3934856
Yes. I frequently read posts in threads as I scroll by and ponder them, without necessarily participating in them.

>>3923539
They burnt through all their lore in the last 1/3rd of the first game. By then you are intimate with the plot twist of the entire setting and with the gods, the highest echelons of power in that world. By 2 there feels like there is nothing mysterious or new to discover, the entire Pillars' setting is comprised of known quantities, it's all solved and everything feels petty or mundane. The fact that Pillars 2 is the definitive ending of the setting too means they can only really make prequels with plots nobody can possibly care about because they will be lower stakes and we know ultimately what will happen.

>>3934878
To reiterate slightly, experiencing Pillars 2 story is a drag because there are no real mysteries or the feeling you could come across some great, ancient power because you already have seen what the very top of the universe's power looks like and operates. Sure, maybe you find out little plots here and there but it's the equivalent of discovering someone's grocery list in the grand scheme of things when you already have experienced Pillars 1 and know what you know. You discovered a secret cult for a god? It doesn't feel mysterious or forboding when you already spoke personally with that god and know they're just some petty twat. It makes Pillars feel like a very small world/universe and not in a comfy way but a boring one.

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>>3934878
>>3934885
I don't really understand your problem. Most fantasy roleplaying settings have no real mystery because you can buy a book that explains how the gods, the metaphysics and all the secret plots and lore works. Pillars actually has one major advantage over a lot of them because events actually change the setting during the game because it's a video game first. Instead of everything being swept under the rug, the toys put away back on the shelf and the return of the staus quo that happens in 90% of other crpgs since they are based on IP.

>>3934893
The problem is that everything you can really know of real consequence about Pillar is known too early. Everything is downstream of basically a handful of these gods you already interact with largely like they are just other people, it goes beyond just knowing the list of gods and what their domains are. Other IPs at least have the benefit of having so many factions/entities of equivalent or near-equivalent power to the gods that there is room for surprises. Pillars doesn't have this.

> "Pillars actually has one major advantage over a lot of them because events actually change the setting during the game"
Overly generous statement. It's also immaterial to how the whole thing was written because, like you said, it's a video game.

>>3934893
>Most fantasy roleplaying settings have no real mystery
Have you not read more than 2 books in your life or you're just retarded?

>>3934982
Have you never read an rpg setting guidebook before?

>>3935113
This is not an RPG guidebook imbecile, this is a normal ass RPG. Of course the players don't know everything from the beginning.

>>3935137
RPGs based on tabletop settings have no mystery. A lot of original RPGs also aren't oriented around solving or revealing the mysteries of their settings.