chevalier
Thu, 3rd Aug '06, 12:25am
Here are today's Neverwinter Nights 2 forum highlights, collected by NWVault (http://nwvault.ign.com). Please take into account that these are only single parts of various threads and should not be taken out of context. Bear in mind also that the posts presented here are copied as-is, and that any bad spelling and grammar does not get corrected on our end.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Patrick K Mills, NWN2 Production Tester</font>
NWN2 and the Uncanny Valley (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=490825&post=4238523&forum=95&highlight=)
I've never really bought the Uncanny Valley experiement, nor seen any research beyond the initial experiment that supports it. I know Roger Ebert loves to bring it up, but I really don't feel it has a lot of credibility. If anyone out there is an expert on human psychology feel free to correct me.
More: <hr />Pff. Roger Ebert is the most overrated hack that has ever lived. He's a freakin' critic and his oppinions of movies are all horrible, and not even worth acknowledging in my oppinion.
No real proof or anything, the guy and his oppinions just annoy the s%$^ out of me for some reason...
I Do think that, to some extent, the theory is true. Only because I know that the image of a human-looking robotic head with "dead" eyes making freaky unrealistic gestures scares the hell out of me.
Ok.. so "scares the hell out of me" was pretty exagerated. But it's still creepy.<hr />I think you are misinformed on both counts, then.
On one, Ebert is a brilliant essayist and his reviews should prove insightful even if you disagree with him. His Great Movies series is a great source for the movie buff, and I understand that his lectures are really good as well.
As for Uncanny Valley, again, I'm not an expert, but I've read the study (OK, just the abstract) and it sounds like a bunch of sociological pseudoscience. The fact that it's oft quoted and repeated as though it were fact, just because some people don't like clowns or whatever, only heightens my suspicions. Usually when a single study achieves near mythological pop status, it's *often* but not always, crap.
More: FYI, that dude is a gnome, the halflings have more angular faces and slightly different body proportions.
Aasimars & Tieflings (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=490982&post=4239548&forum=95&highlight=)
I do not think we provide these free feats, but we also don't consider Aasimar and Teifling to be true outsiders. Technically they are "native" outsiders.
We had a funny bug from a while ago where a high level cleric with the Good domain was able to kill tieflings in his own party when he turned undead. That's really not supposed to happen, and even if it is in the rulez it makes for a pretty crappy gameplay experience when you banish all your buddies on a MP server by accident.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">George Ziets, NWN2 Designer</font>
A change of Heart.. (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=490620&post=4237984&forum=95&highlight=)
Yup... had a 2nd Ed. flashback. There are no longer any ability score restrictions for becoming a paladin. You do need Wisdom reqs to cast spells, however.
Thanks for catching that!
George Ziet's Story (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=490810&post=4239017&forum=95&highlight=)
Ah, dev diaries. They never go away. http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif
I can’t talk much about LOTRO (especially since it’s not out yet!), but I will say that from my perspective, one preexisting world isn’t terribly different from another. A good story can be told in any setting. I look for the elements that I find especially interesting or exciting... and try to twist them together in a unique way. My creative process is usually about combining elements in weird and unusual ways, and that can be done in almost any setting.
I do like the fact that the Realms has such an enormous volume of interesting components... tons of cultures, gods, organizations, villains, monsters, and years of ongoing fiction. Plenty of fodder for storytelling.
Probably the biggest contrast, though, is the fact that LOTRO is an MMO, and NWN is a single-player game. That makes a far greater impact than the setting, from a storytelling perspective...
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Patrick K Mills, NWN2 Production Tester</font>
NWN2 and the Uncanny Valley (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=490825&post=4238523&forum=95&highlight=)
I've never really bought the Uncanny Valley experiement, nor seen any research beyond the initial experiment that supports it. I know Roger Ebert loves to bring it up, but I really don't feel it has a lot of credibility. If anyone out there is an expert on human psychology feel free to correct me.
More: <hr />Pff. Roger Ebert is the most overrated hack that has ever lived. He's a freakin' critic and his oppinions of movies are all horrible, and not even worth acknowledging in my oppinion.
No real proof or anything, the guy and his oppinions just annoy the s%$^ out of me for some reason...
I Do think that, to some extent, the theory is true. Only because I know that the image of a human-looking robotic head with "dead" eyes making freaky unrealistic gestures scares the hell out of me.
Ok.. so "scares the hell out of me" was pretty exagerated. But it's still creepy.<hr />I think you are misinformed on both counts, then.
On one, Ebert is a brilliant essayist and his reviews should prove insightful even if you disagree with him. His Great Movies series is a great source for the movie buff, and I understand that his lectures are really good as well.
As for Uncanny Valley, again, I'm not an expert, but I've read the study (OK, just the abstract) and it sounds like a bunch of sociological pseudoscience. The fact that it's oft quoted and repeated as though it were fact, just because some people don't like clowns or whatever, only heightens my suspicions. Usually when a single study achieves near mythological pop status, it's *often* but not always, crap.
More: FYI, that dude is a gnome, the halflings have more angular faces and slightly different body proportions.
Aasimars & Tieflings (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=490982&post=4239548&forum=95&highlight=)
I do not think we provide these free feats, but we also don't consider Aasimar and Teifling to be true outsiders. Technically they are "native" outsiders.
We had a funny bug from a while ago where a high level cleric with the Good domain was able to kill tieflings in his own party when he turned undead. That's really not supposed to happen, and even if it is in the rulez it makes for a pretty crappy gameplay experience when you banish all your buddies on a MP server by accident.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">George Ziets, NWN2 Designer</font>
A change of Heart.. (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=490620&post=4237984&forum=95&highlight=)
Yup... had a 2nd Ed. flashback. There are no longer any ability score restrictions for becoming a paladin. You do need Wisdom reqs to cast spells, however.
Thanks for catching that!
George Ziet's Story (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=490810&post=4239017&forum=95&highlight=)
Ah, dev diaries. They never go away. http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif
I can’t talk much about LOTRO (especially since it’s not out yet!), but I will say that from my perspective, one preexisting world isn’t terribly different from another. A good story can be told in any setting. I look for the elements that I find especially interesting or exciting... and try to twist them together in a unique way. My creative process is usually about combining elements in weird and unusual ways, and that can be done in almost any setting.
I do like the fact that the Realms has such an enormous volume of interesting components... tons of cultures, gods, organizations, villains, monsters, and years of ongoing fiction. Plenty of fodder for storytelling.
Probably the biggest contrast, though, is the fact that LOTRO is an MMO, and NWN is a single-player game. That makes a far greater impact than the setting, from a storytelling perspective...