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[Lukas Kristjanson]

I know this is so far beyond your ability to answer, but any hint as to when your eyes won't need to be as shifty when talking about future information, like the new mystery IP Bioware is working on?

Nope. *even shiftier eyes*

Do you get bored replaying the game over and over to hunt for bugs or testing stuff? My patience wears thin when replaying a game for the 2nd or 3rd time.

There are very few games I replay for fun, and testing is nothing like playing. So picture this. BG1, three start-to-finish coop critical-path-stability speed-runs a day behind the monster of Quality Assurance that was Scott Horner. It was like being dragged behind Lococycle.

And how scary is it waiting for reviews? Do you all have a party if it does well? I saw Bioware had a Normandy cake.
What happens after a game is finished, after the dlc too. Do you go straight onto another project?

By the time you have it in-hand/downloaded, I'm already in design-doc hell or early prototyping for the next one. We'll adjust because of long term plans for a franchise, so that's indirectly about reviews, but there's no waiting around. If there was, that would mean a whole lot of people idle. Can't justify that.

The cake was likely from the release party. That's more about marking the end of one hell of a milestone. Remember, for as long as you've heard about Mass Effect, or any of our games, some of us have lived knee-deep in them for 8+ hours every workday for possibly years. It's a hell of a thing to finally see them launch.

Is the atmosphere relaxed? Do you have a kitchen and storeroom full of food? I remember watching a Bungie video or perhaps a Valve studio tour, they had a whole storeroom full of sugary goodness.

The atmosphere is typical office geek. Normal core hours so people know where you are, but there's leeway so long as you get the job done. Action figures and nerf are optional, but somewhat inevitable. We have a couple kitchen areas, but not the complex of some companies.

Do the voice actors ever want to change lines or change a characters intent or give input?

We don't do a lot of riffing in the studio, because improvising within a branching dialogue would get dangerous real fast, if the actor even understands the structure to begin with (and who can blame them if they don't). Mostly we just clarify motivations and whatever small corner of the setting the actor needs to understand. On Rick Wasserman, he owned the Arishok after barely a couple days with the script. That story seems to have grown. I was in the session because I wrote him. It was a misplaced comma that would reverse the meaning of the sentence and Wasserman called it correctly based on the context of the Qun that he'd gleaned from just his script. No Dave required.

Sometimes there will be a rewrite on-the-fly if a line is difficult for the actor to say, or if, hypothetically, John Cleese corrects your grammar. Gosh, wouldn't that be embarrassing?

[Allan Schumacher]

Sometimes there will be a rewrite on-the-fly if a line is difficult for the actor to say, or if, hypothetically, John Cleese corrects your grammar. Gosh, wouldn't that be embarrassing?

I would have loved to have been present during that recording session

[Lukas Kristjanson]

Zombie thread. Rise from your grave!

I remember at one point you were supposed to be able to import your Baldur's Gate character into Neverwinter Nights. How would this have worked story wise? would it have been brought up, or sort of a the player knows, but it never gets mentioned? Or was the story at one point just really diffrent?

Pretty sure we never intended BG characters would carry over to Neverwinter. There's a tease in the BG games about traveling to Neverwinter, and Imoen's epilogue has her starting a thieves' guild there, but transplanting the Bhaalspawn wouldn't be viable without making the story about them as a bhaalspawn. Plus completely different engine/mechanics/everything, and probably some legal bull about character use. We could have easily "imported" base stats and name and handwaved the rest, but really, players could do that just fine themselves if they really wanted to.

Also, I'd ask what it was like for Origins, to create the various intro stories and then tie them back together for the main narrative section of the story. Was it like a giant ball of yarn had gotten mobbed by drunk kittens keeping all of the plot threads and needed nods straight, or was it a little more structured?

I was on other projects while the Origins were being worked out, but it's my understanding that the origins were culled down to the ones that could support the theme, which would generally also mean reactivity. Others such as the Barbarian were reasonable ideas/content, but ended up not having much relevance. We did the same with Shepard's backgrounds, although you don't experience them firsthand.

When it comes to the impact of the origins, they're kind of like the classes. The game must be baseline playable by all of them, but have individual moments that are tailored for each. That's why you have a common title/power, "Warden," that the player could rely on, and why the origins were deliberately isolated before a bottleneck event (Ostagar) so everyone has a common "clean slate".

There are logical spots of reactivity and you plan for those, such as a dwarf returning to Orzammar, or the human noble (or really anyone) at the Landsmeet, or key characters returning. Some don't make the cut, some do. But that goes for everything, that's why it's development and not assembly. Anyway, you've got a set amount of resource-intensive reactivity you can do, and then you've got cheaper moments that happen much more often. Things that only become apparent when you're into production. Because sometimes it's not obvious what minor characters will like/hate elves until they're being written. We'll do passes to add race/class/skill "persuades" too, because sometimes the skills simply don't exist at the time of first-pass writing, or they change completely halfway through. Or, I don't know, maybe races don't exist and then, with great fanfare, they suddenly do.

A robust setting can adjust to those sorts of changes, allowing to you plan for big things and I suppose plan for things that won't be planned? I think I've mentioned leaving "hooks" before, that world building is about setting down the rules at the beginning, not every little detail. Some people try and compete with the minutia of established settings, not realizing that they are comparing against decades of gradual development. That's fine if you don't want to be done for 30 years, but maybe play a little looser and see how it goes in the meantime. The background/race is just one hook you can leave, knowing that it's in your toolbox if needed.

[Lukas Kristjanson]

For DA:I, what was it like having such a huge feature added in late® in the game, so to speak? Did someone just come in the Writer's Pit and say "okay guys, we're doing multiple races now - let's get to work" or was it a gradual discussion that the team was aware was being discussed and could see the change evolving?

Off topic for this thread, can't talk about DAI. Suffice to say, the negotiation around that kind of feature happens leagues above my pay grade, but I'm sure it was part of the greater discussion about the benefits/expectations of the extended schedule.

So, speaking in more general terms (because I've seen this many, many times) yes, there's a day when a lead comes back from a meeting and says "Yep, it's happening." More or less. Dave doesn't say "yep". Sometimes I've heard it percolating, and sometimes I'm blindsided. Sometimes it's a feature I want/dread, and sometimes it's a cut I want/dread.

When a major feature/change is approved/cut, everyone takes time to look at the content they own and write up a plan for how much effort the change will need. Is it a blow-up or is it targeted surgery? Also, changes may not be immediately obvious, because I may not be directly hit, but I may still need to react.

Using race as example, at its simplest, animation and cinematics then has to contend with a Player Character who can be different heights. That multiplies the effort to stage scenes. Now hypothetically add horns. Writing may need to change because it's simpler to alter that than it is to get the characters to interact without accidentally ramming a horn through someone's face. Or, as with happened in DAO, maybe horns can't be accommodated because certain systems would have to be unique to only one race. Doable, but maybe not within scope, so concepts are adjusted, and writing adds to the lore to support the change. Or maybe it's an enemy faction cut/added, or skills cut/added, or an entire geographical area cut/added, or a separate plot cut/edited. All of these can require downstream edits.

It happens with every game/movie/piece of media you have ever experienced and 99.9% of the time the audience is oblivious. And should be. Meta information has its place, and for me, that's the second playthrough/DVD extras. Or, I suppose, here.

How much native language programming do you do vs in engine scripting?

I'll defer to someone more knowledgeable. I work with conversation logic, so I only ever touch the barest Scripting for Dummies built for me by our tool wizards.

Modifié par Lukas Kristjanson, 26 novembre 2013 - 07:05 .

[Lukas Kristjanson]

Is 'Ship cake' the huge cake that is made when a game is finally finished and is ready to ship and every one can finally let out a sigh of relief that the project is complete?

Pretty much. It's a strange feeling at the end of a project. After all, many of the team will have worked on it for years. The initials in my sig aren't BioWare's releases, they're BioWare releases I've personally written for, and their cakes were each the best until the next one. As a metaphor, it could also be beer. Okay, it's often beer. But "Ship Beer" isn't as funny.

Was there any ideas to visit the other regions of the Empire like Phoenix Gate? Also why didn't you guys include armors?
Also regarding the cancel Jade Empire 2 was the spirit monk's story to be continue on the sequel and how would it affect if people chose to become a God?

Very early drafts of the design doc had other locations, but they didn't fit the need. Likewise, armors mean appearances, and that just wasn't in the achievable scope. Besides, in wuxia, the character's appearance is often representative of larger themes, so they don't change as often.
As for where we might have gone next, the spirit monk's story was over. We would have at least jumped forward far enough so the previous game was a murky legend. The nature of the setting would still have allowed any number of characters to show up. That's one benefit of the laws of science and nature not applying.

I will also say, though, that significant work was done on a more... radical treatment of the franchise. And holy crap was it cool. And then it became something else cool, then something else cool, and then it sadly had to go away. But the systems researched for it have been showing up ever since. Things like Interrupt, and the mobile conversation elements in DAI. Even adaptations of characters I did. So it lives on, in a way. But man, that concept folder.

Did you guys know the first Mass Effect would be a hit?

I know I can't predict a hit. I knew it felt good, and as it came together it started to feel really good. It's hard to visualize the sum of what you're making until later in the project, because so many systems have to work together. For example, there is always a boost in team morale the day music goes live. Every time. Because until things like that appear, it's just not a game yet. To see what I mean, load up your favorite game and go to the Options and shut off all music (or background/ambient effects if available). Maybe also turn down the detail so ambient creatures don't spawn, but music alone is probably enough. It instantly seems "empty." Development feels like that for months and years, if you can play at all. You know that "emptiness" is there, but you try to have the confidence that the sum of the parts will fill it. If you've ever played something that just seemed too busy, that made you tired because it was full of "noisy" design decisions, they were probably trying to fill a hole that didn't need to be filled. Good project leads keep the vision for the team during the dark days when people are too busy to look up and realize the small part they've been working on is a key component of something really cool.

Modifié par Lukas Kristjanson, 28 novembre 2013 - 12:46 .

[Lukas Kristjanson]

LOL This is insanely fascinating, if also insanely vague. Would you care to (or feel comfortable) elaborating any more?

How much I'd love to see that concept folder, haha.

It's a long road to being able to talk about stuff like that. Wish I could show it. Hell, I wish I could show the fully functioning proof of concept demo. But every company has "the one that got away." And they are all brilliant and perfect and would have sold jabillions, because they never have to go through the phase where you realize your genius ideas need to be hammered into the shape of a game that's actually fun. But this one would have been great, I swear.

I recently played Jade Empire for the first time (quite enjoyable) and I saw YOUR name, Luke, as one of the lead writers. However, I've seen your comments here talking about actually writing things in the game. I was under the impression that lead writers and such mostly directed. Is that not true?

You may be thinking more about Lead Design, who governs a lot of departments. Writing Lead at BioWare still writes a lot. In the days of BG1 it was pretty much sheer volume. On other games, it might be who owns the critical path, or who oversees it, even if they don't personally write it. They own the tone and "voice" of the game, and make sure everyone keeps on-theme. We do peer reviews with all the writers, but the Lead essentially has veto.
On Jade, Mike and I split Lead duties with Mike Lead/Writing and me Writing/lead, if that makes sense. I wrote the crit path, some side content, most of the followers, epilogues, etc. It was a fun setting, but we were still struggling with the relatively new tech needs of digital acting. I look back and feel like I could probably trim that sucker by about a third and not lose any content. Always kill your darlings.

[Lukas Kristjanson]

Obviously, KOTOR and NWN2 were created by outside developers. Since their original games were Bioware creations, was their involvement with Obsidian's writing teams during the creation? Did you all already have some body of work created that you handed off to the other company? If so, did you find the final product to be a much different beast? If you didn't give them anything, how did you feel they did?

Obviously, the Star Wars and NWN settings aren't Bioware creations, but the events and characters involved certainly overlapped. I was just curious of the Bioware's writing team's influence during the creation of those two projects. And if you had any insight into why they were farmed out?

Pretty sure we did engine support, but I don't think there were any story suggestions or new art content. If we'd had the time to start doing that, we'd have done it. It would've been fun, as I really liked having a shot at the setting, but the timeline just wasn't there. Obsidian did a fine job in the face of some pretty hardcore challenges. I think I've mentioned before in this thread about the whys, but it just boils down to whether we wanted to keep working with external IPs or come up with our own. By that point we'd done so much lore expansion for other people, we knew we could do the same on our own.

Also Lukas, serious kudos for the solo dialogue in DA2 where Hawke begins muttering to him/herself about Sandal's cooking and how crazy everyone in Kirkwall is (link here in case I'm being too vague).

I just saw that today and LOST it. Well done.

I was very, very tired. As tired as I figured Hawke would be. And the lone character in a party-based game is something of a weirdo, so it seemed appropriate.

Who's idea was it to take away squad helmets for Mass Effect 2 and why did everyone go along with it? I'm sorry, but since my crew didn't wear helmets I decided not to where mine at times to prevent my character from looking like a weirdo.

Don't know, but it was probably because helmets are always a pain. Because if you don't know if they are on or off during certain scenes, you need additional systems to affect voice in real-time, and you can't assume any information will be conveyed facially, because that simply may be impossible to see. Plus, you know, other factors.

Lukas, what makes you guys tell such good stories and create such memorable characters?

Little life story: When I was a kid, my Dad got me KOTOR. Clueless as to what the game even was, he gave it to a 7 year old (me) who's only game experience until that point was cereal box games on PC.

Now, I don't know how, but the game just hooked me into playing the whole thing, again, and again, and again (now up to 15 or something...)

Small things like getting T3-M4 was a massive celebration. Big things like finding out that I, the true servant of the light, was in fact my own worst enemy, nearly sent me into a nervous shock. Everything about that game was just perfect. How do you guys do it?

Also, 2  questions, hope you can answer:

1. Who was the primary writer for Bastilla?
2. Any info on the next Mass Effect ?(can you please take a peak into Mac's files, pleasesmilie)

Wow, 7. That's young for some of the heavy stuff later on, but maybe not if you're running pure lightside I suppose.

I think the focus on character just sort of emerged from the BioWare design core ideals. We were all (and still are) tabletop gamers. D&D, Champions, Shadowrun, you name it. That was an explicit goal of BG: how do we make this feel like a group of friends around the table? And the personal thing for me about role-playing is that it's all about character. Sure, you get rules-lawyers and you need sweet dice (I have 30d6 because that was terminal velocity in Champions, and they got used), but my PCs were always high-concept, deep-lore, how-do-they-fit-in kinds of characters. Stats were only part of what made them effective. So when I'm writing, that's where I start. What is their place? What do they actually think about the plot and PC? Why are they there? From a gameplay standpoint that may start with "They're there because we need a warrior," but it's my job to build on that. Every department has a piece of making these people seem authentic, because that's kind of the goal when I'm around the kitchen table with my friends.
A big one for me, and I simply need this for any story to feel real, is that if something undeniably weird goes on, someone in the setting needs to have a genuine reaction to it. It's also a voice for players who may be having the same reaction. This is often where humor comes in, but also sometimes horror, sadness, joy, or whatever. When a high dragon strafes, the followers are ready, but the player needs to know that some of them are thinking "You've got to be freaking kidding me!"

Bastila was mainly split between Dave and Drew. Dave has a post on KotOR on his tumbler. I had some almost weepy comments on our own blog.
Can't say anything about Mass, except that it looks damn cool.

Modifié par Lukas Kristjanson, 16 décembre 2013 - 05:15 .

[Lukas Kristjanson]

Fast Jimmy wrote...

I'd like to ask another question - was it ever discussed internally how Minsc met Boo?

Little busy with, you know, a game or something. I'll drop back in when I can. In the mean time, here's something dredged from ancient text files, an interview with Minsc I wrote up for GameSpy back in 2000 or so, when GameSpy was a thing that existed.

1) Hey Minsc, thanks for sitting down with us. First off, give us a bit of background on yourself. Where exactly is Rashemen and how did you begin adventuring?

It is not a problem.  Boo likes these quiet moments.  Ahh, Rashemen.  No matter how my mind wanders, my thoughts remain close to home... compared to how far I have walked, anyway.  Rashemen is as East and North as a man can go in this world... well, perhaps not, but it is as far as THIS man has gone and I would wish to go no further, as I am sure you would agree that it would be silly to travel all the way back only to pass by the very home I have long missed.  As nice as the Erech Forest or Icerim Mountains MIGHT be, they can hardly warrant such a trek.  As for why I began my great journey, it was my solemn duty to honor the pledge of service I made to my witch Dynaheir.  Only this could satisfy my dejemma and ensure membership in the Ice Dragon Berserker Lodge.  Of course, it did not go quite as I had hoped...

2) So what's with the berserker in you? Lots of bottled up aggression from when you were a kid? What kinds of things really tick you off and make you go berserk?

Ahh, my battle fury precedes me, and well it should.  It is an effective warning if the villainous can see it coming even before I arrive.  Imagine their sheer terror when confronted in person!  Like a long, slow fall off the peaks of wretchedness, knowing that it is only a matter of time before an abrupt meeting with the enormously wide-fisted ground of virtue! 

What can unleash my mighty wrath?  Well, you know, evil and such...

3) How did you get to be a bodyguard for Dynaheir? And how did you lose her to the gnolls in your original adventure?

Dynaheir was of the Wychalarn, and I was honor bound to serve my witch.  I do not know what her mission was... but I did not need to.  Anyway, we had walked far to reach the Sword Coast, and when we camped near the Wood of Sharp Teeth we woke to an ambush.  It was not the first, but I fear my head had not fully healed from a careless moment in Sembia, and a blow knocked the sense from my mind.  When I awoke, Dynaheir was gone.  It is one of my great shames that she was wrested from my protective sight, and I make no excuses for my weakness.  I tracked the gnolls to a lair west of Nashkel, joining virtuous allies as I went.  Ahh, but you might say that you traveled the Wood of Sharp Teeth and there was not a gnoll to be seen.  Well, of course not NOW.  I righted my wrong, and several others along the way.  Her rescue was quite heroical.

4) What is the Ice Dragon berserker lodge, and why is it so important for you to be a member?

Attaining a place in the Ice Dragon Berserker Lodge is the greatest honor that a warrior of Rashemen can achieve, no matter if you are devoted solely to the sword or to nature as well.  If you swing a weapon then there is no other place you wish to be.  You think Minsc can rage?  I am tea-and-cookies compared to the greatest of the Lodge.  On the darkest nights I see their white-hot fury guiding me in an endless sky full of furiously white-hot stars.  A legacy of warrior-pride is in every swing of my sword-arm, so I swing it a lot!  Why must I do this?  Because I am Minsc, and Minsc must.

5) OK, I want the real scoop: How did you find Boo? What sort of counsel does he provide when he "speaks" to you?

You ask how he speaks with your tongue in your cheek, but I say to you that he talks like the best of any of us, with words that ring true for those that wish to hear, and far clearer too, for the only thing in his cheek is the occasional nut.  His counsel is my focus when I find it... difficult... to think clearly, either from the guile of villainy or some long persisting headache.  Certainly there are rangers that prefer the company of perhaps a giant bear or some great cat or another, but I am large enough on my own and need not compensate. 
As for how Boo and I met, I owe that to a nameless traveling merchant.  Dynaheir and I had been drawn to rout a nest of villainy while traveling through Sembia, and though we were victorious, I suffered what I agreed was "an astounding blow to the head."  For weeks I was a shadow of my former self.  A large shadow perhaps, but still not nearly as effective.  When we met the merchant he directed my stumbling gaze to a small cage, and explained the special nature of what was inside.  It would be grand to say that Boo came to me from his home amongst the stars, but, in truth, I purchased him for a goodly sum and we have been together since.

6) What makes you think he is a miniature giant space hamster? Does he have any special abilities associated with his extraterrestrial nature?

What makes you think he is NOT a Miniature Giant Space Hamster?  Who would have more insight into the attributes of my animal companion than I, Minsc!  Besides, the merchant had an honest face.  He was very insistent too, waving his pipe as he named the stars that Boo might have seen.  There were many more words amidst his "thee"s and "thou"s that I did not even recognize, but everything became clear to me as he spelled it out.  His price seemed more reasonable as well, even as he raised it once or twice.  But enough about Boo, he is blushing because of the attention.  He is pink under his fur regardless, but I can tell when he is nervous.

7) Any advice for burgeoning rangers who want to walk the path of righteousness?

Evil is a maze of deceit, and the cheese it hides is never worth the running.  Oh, and never trust an ice weasel when your hamster is on the line.

8) You are a pretty good-natured fellow. What is it that sets you off .. any pet peeves? What bugs you most about evil?

What bugs Minsc and Boo most about evil is that it is THERE.  We need not dwell on tiny details trying to decide if someone is "a little evil" or "very evil".  Ask a villain if Minsc is "a little large" or "very large" when I am in their face and they will not have an answer.  Why?  Because all that matters is that I am there and they are there, and that I will learn their nefarious heads a thing or six about justice before they become so utterly villainous that we must comprehend their deeds in bite-sized chunks of bad, instead of all together as a depraved whole that must be filled! 

I have no peeves, only a hamster.

9) What the hell's the deal with that purple tattoo on your head?

Many warriors of Rashemen bear such trophies, mostly as scars from battle, but not everything important happens at the end of a sword.  Yes, that surprised me too.  On the journey with Dynaheir I met many people, and one was a valiant warrior from a land with traditions like my Rashemen, if a bit more reserved.  She was well impressed with Boo and I on the battlefield, but was concerned that my fury might some day overwhelm Boo’s calming influence.  She had proven herself to me, so when she offered an exchange, I accepted.  I am told the marking stands for balance and is well respected in her home.  I wear it proudly, just as she wears the symbol of the Ice Dragon Berserker Lodge, though not placed quite so prominently... ahh, but Boo’s stare has reminded me of an oath long promised, and I will speak no more of it.

10) If you had to choose between kicking evil in the head or the behind, which would you choose, and why?

I’m not sure I understand the question.  I have two feet, do I not?  You do not take a small plate when the feast of evil welcomes seconds.

11) What is your favorite sword and why? Bow or crossbow?

Now this topic I know well, though I care less for the weapon than the target.  A fine sword will serve for years, but if evil will not wait for the forging then a chair leg will do in a pinch.  Yes, I have held many blades, though I am not fond of those found near Beregost.  They seemed to break faster than the heads I hit with them.  I have heard of something called "Crom Faeyr", but now I hold "Lilarcor", and it is well suited to my battle fury.  All swords are meant for combat, but I never had one actually tell me so!  I tell you, I thought I was hearing things, but Boo assured me I was not. 
It is a good weapon, but my favorite... and you will be disappointed... my favorite was not magical at all.  A simple two-handed blade, now at the bottom of Lake Ashane with the man that gave it, and again I will speak no more.

Bow.

12) Final question: You've traveled much of Faerun. Any favorite vacation spots?

So often Boo and I are at odds with the places and people we meet.  You know, opposing a strange cabal here, deposing some villainous overlord there; it is hard to truly enjoy the sights when they are burning or under siege.  Still, I hold high hopes for the future.  Boo would like to see the jungles of Chult, but that is just the giant rodent in him speaking and he may find it too stressful once we arrive.  I hear good things of Neverwinter, though I prefer my North good and cold.  I have important business here in Amn you know, hero-ing and all, but I might cross the Trackless Sea someday.  I think an old companion went that way.

And, of course, one day we will go home, right Boo?
(squeak)