Weekend Confirmed 95 - Ken Rolston, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

I loved skyrim, I logged about 300 hours playing and didn't get anywhere near 100% through it, and it may easily be one of my favorite games of all time, but I have the same complaint about it as Garnet Lee.

Here's how I would articulate it, though. When most people praise Skyrim, they will say that it's like this whole wide world where things are happening, and you're just one small piece of it making your mark in various ways.

However, the illusion that things are just happening and you're just a part of it all can quickly be shattered and you realize that the whole game is like a lawnmower simulator with quests instead of tall blades of grass. Every city is a mess and EVERYONE is instantly dying to unload all their problems onto you the instant you first talk to them, and while you're taking care of their problems, a few more untidy blades of grass come up along the way.

I can give you a specific example. When I went to some city for the first time, I forget which, it may have been Winterhold but I think it happens in a few different towns. There was a little posse of people standing outside, ready to be 'coincidentally' spilling their guts about all their problems right when I walk past. So, I avoided it. I didn't want a new quest at that moment, so I went and played another 50 hours and when I returned, they were still there, standing around waiting for me to show up. It ruined the immersion. Why couldn't they, when THEY are good and ready, come to me and ask for help? Why do the quests have to be peppered everywhere like weeds, waiting for me to come by and pluck them?

So the Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning demo is out today. What did everyone think?

Some quick impressions:

-The art style and music both remind me a lot of World of Warcraft. Lots of color accompanied by sweeping, epic pieces.

-The dialogue wheel from Mass Effect is in the game, but the points on the wheel aren't characterized by a "tone." There are persuasion options dictated by a speech skill, which I imagine will become more important later in the game.

-It took me a minute to get acclimated to the controls, but once I did, the combat was very impressive. Everything works the way you would expect, even without a direct tutorial. It's smooth and flows nicely.

Overall, I'm both impressed and intrigued.

The discussion about “Gamer’s Guilt” has been fascinating; and I’d like to offer a different perspective. One listener implied that achievements in gaming have as much value as achievements in real life, arguing that neither will have an effect on the world 100 years from now. I would argue that decisions made in the real world can have an impact that goes far beyond 100 years. A tangible example: I often feel the temptation to sit down and “veg out” playing a video game while my 3 year-old daughter is asking me to sit on the floor and play with her. Sure, choosing the video game may result in some entertainment for me that may even have a positive impact (such as stretching my imagination), but at the end of the day I am still staring at a screen during that time and not engaging directly with another person. The same can be said for other mediums such as blogging, Facebooking or even texting. Choosing to sit on the floor with my daughter and play blocks, on the other hand, has value that is (in my opinion) immeasurable. While I am not saying “technology is the devil,” I am saying that spending intentional time with my kid without having a TV or computer on will impact her life now, and can also influence her as she grows into adulthood and has kids of her own. This cycle of influence can continue through generations. Sure, I could choose to let her play a video game with me, in the same way that I could choose to play an online game so that I have some “human interaction,” and that would be fine. However, each layer of technology between us and others has the potential to diminish the level of connection we have with one another. Despite the fact that we live in the most “connected” time in our history (in terms of technology and social media), I would argue that we continue to grow more disconnected from one another than ever. So, “game on” every one, but when the Gamer’s Guilt sets in, maybe take a moment to set technology aside and go spend some time (in real time, in real physical space) with someone you care about. There will be no Gamer’s Guilt in doing that.

What would you ask David Jaffe?

Here's your chance. David will be on this week's show with us.

No idea how many I'll be able to work in but fire away with your questions.

Tip for getting your question selected for the show: Double check that what your asking is clearly and concisely expressed and leaves the door open for an answer that goes beyond yes or no.

Hey Guys,

First off, great show. I loved hearing everyone's insights. So kudos.

I have to ask, though: Does anybody else thing Rolston sounds an awful lot like Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park. Not only in the tone of his voice, but also in the rhythm and delivery.

Chaos finds a way, and that way is called Amalur.

holy mole. I seriously question Garnett's guest choice on this one. so annoying.

I'd like to give my 2 cents about the whole 'gamer-guilt' thing.

I used to have a very busy career in the music industry. I worked for over 10 years performing in a band and we toured internationally. Some people would describe this as really successful and fulfilling but with the amount of time I had to spend away from my family (one year I spent a single month at home) and the shallow nature of the music industry I found myself completely burned out.

As an avid gamer since childhood I found gaming to be one of the constants in my life and as my apathy for music turned into bitterness and cynicism I found gaming to be a very grounding aspect. One thing a lot of people don't realize about a touring lifestyle is that you have so few friends. As you constantly move around you never get the chance to build up a home base and network of close friends and although you're constantly surrounded by people those interactions are tied to and sustained by your career.

So, I found that the relationships I developed with my friends on XBOX Live were more meaningful and bonding than a majority of people offline. They were people I could always spend time with despite location or timezone. And I found that the accomplishments of 'real life' to be hollow and numbing. People in the music industry just want to have a lot of drugs and party and there was little comfort in creating music since that process was extremely commercialized and governed by all sorts of external pressures; it's hard to maintain artistic creativity when you have a deadline to write 40 hooks/songs in a certain time frame.

So you might imagine that accomplishing something in a video game carried as much weight, if not more, as anything that was happening in 'real life'. I enjoyed a lot more meaningful friendships on XBOX Live than in 'real life'. I remember one point I was ready to go on stage and I found myself thinking "man, I really wish I was playing Halo 3 with my friends instead of being here" and that was a shocking thought to have because it wasn't laced with any sense irony. I really and honestly would rather have been playing XBOX.

To wrap things up, I left the industry, moved back to Australia with my family. I ended up moving to a city close to a number of my XBL friends and a bunch of them met me at the airport and I spend a lot of time with them these days. And I'm now out of contact with almost all of my associates from the music game. I'm not trying to say that the music industry is a terrible place because my experiences were my own but I think the thing that is really telling about this sense of gamer-shame is that while I don't have a single piece of memorabilia displayed in my house from my band days, I have print on my wall that is a screen-cap from Halo 3 myself and 3 friends all piloting Ghosts, commemorating the proud day that 4 of us achieved a particularly difficult achievement.

I really believe that video game accomplishments can carry just as much weight as anything else in life. I also believe that video games can provide us with social interactions as strong as any others in life and they can certainly paint memories as vivid as anything else in life.

Hey, hopefully no one will mind me posting this.

Is there any chance of bringing back the Cannta-Ford feature for a small run?

I've recently seen some brilliant offers for gamers on both sides of the Atlantic, my coming from the UK.

Stateside offers.

Assassins Creed 1 & 2 (PC) - $9.99 (£6.53) - http://www.amazon.com/Assassins-Creed-2-JC-Pc/dp/B005G4CXPK/ref=sr_1_128?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1326671993&sr=1-128

Fallout 3 (Xbox360) - $14.99 (£9.79) - http://www.amazon.com/Fallout-3-Xbox-360/dp/B000UU3SVI/ref=pd_rhf_se_shvl40

Bioshock 2 (Xbox 360) - $9.99 (£6.53) - http://www.amazon.com/Bioshock-2-Xbox-360/dp/B0016BVYA2/ref=sr_1_7?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1326671823&sr=1-7

UK Offers

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (PS3) - £9.99 ($15.28) - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Assassins-Creed-Brotherhood-Platinum-PS3/dp/B00524UZWC/ref=sr_1_2?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1326673122&sr=1-2

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PS3) - £9.99 ($15.28) - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Deus-Ex-Human-Revolution-Sony/dp/B003O85LVS/ref=sr_1_3?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1326673122&sr=1-3

Bulletstorm (Xbox 360) - £7.99 (£12.22) - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Electronic-Arts-Bulletstorm-Xbox-360/dp/B003NSBM9Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1326673302&sr=1-1

Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360) - £9.99 ($15.28) - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Call-Duty-Modern-Warfare-Xbox/dp/B0021AETNQ/ref=sr_1_2?m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1326672167&sr=1-2

Saints Row 2 (Xbox 360) - £5.99 (£9.16) - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Saints-Row-Classic-Xbox-360/dp/B002EVPH5Q/ref=sr_1_3?m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1326672167&sr=1-3


Sorry for the long post, I thought some readers here may be interested in a good cheap deal.

(www.xe.com was the site to convert the currency)

good god.. we get it... stop being so fukin Pretentious "Internationally celebrated designer"
whether it's inside joke or not... it's just pretentious

The idea of playing as the terrified helpless character who is basically murdered by everything is so odd to me, but still extremly interesting. Does anyone else play the way Ken described?

Ok, I might get trounsed for this but....

BEST...... PODCAST...... EVER!!!

Here's why I loved it so much:

Perspective.

I think Garnett, Jeff, and the rest of the WC team do a fantastic job with the Podcast. It's my favorite show on the internet. But, I do sometimes feel like the discussions are coming from a perspective that I simply can't relate to. This is nobody's fault.... it's the simple nature of having a group of journalists talking together; even when they disagree, they are all still coming at the discussion from a similar vantage point. That vantage point is often so far removed from my own vantage point that I simply can't relate to the discussion. No problem... I listen and enjoy anyway.

But this week, we had 2 guests who were coming from a completely different perspective, with a completely different form of insight into the discussion. They were able to turn the conversation on its head in a way that rarely happens in past episodes.

Yes, there were moments when I had absolutely no clue what the fuck Ken was talking about. That's fine. He was also able to counter many of Garnett's questions or arguments in a deeply fascinating way, and vise versa. The entire discussion about building a fantasy world, then Garnett's point about how it all just becomes fantasy "gobbeldygook", then Ken's point about how knowing the names is less important than knowing something exsists and has a name..... this was truly fantastic radio, with great points coming from both sides.

Finally, to everyone complaining that the guests were simply making a stop on a PR tour, I think you need to take a step back here. These weren't 2 marketing suits from the PR team.... these were 2 guys creatively invested in their new game, who have dedicated their lives to the art and science of making games. How can you not want to hear people like that talk about videogames?

So when it comes to side quests and main quests the problem is this: How do you write a story involving a character with an exciting overarching objective, but who can also take time off to do other things without it detracting from the main objective?

JRPGs are kinda the worst - encouraging you to wait until the final dude is hovering over the world to start doing side quests. I personally think the best games are the ones that let you continue to do side quests after you've beaten the main quest.

If Garnett hasn't started playing it yet, The Witcher 2 is an example of very careful writing in this regard. Yes it's very linear compared to most WRPGs, but there are still quite a few side quests that all sound like activities within reason for Geralt's character - many of them dealing with his main profession - hunting monsters.

Perhaps someone should indeed make an RPG with no main quest at all. I already started a character in Skyrim with no intention of doing the main quest (at least not until very, very late). In fact, I figured out that if you don't even talk to the Jarl of Whiterun, dragons don't appear in the game at all after Helgen.

When you guys first were talking about a Fallout MMO, my first thought was not a chance. It would ruin the feel of the game. After taking a second to think about it, if they took a chapter from Guild Wars, ideally they could keep the same feel even in an MMO.

If you never played Guild Wars, the only time you would see other people were on town hubs, otherwise you were alone in the rest of the game world. Of course if you formed a party then you would have other people with you. Also you didn't select a server to join, when you went into a town it would place you in one of 10 servers depending on how full each server was. And once in the town you could change which server you were located in. So you could move to the most populated server or the least populated server.

I think this world work perfectly for a Fallout MMO, it might even work for an Elder Scrolls MMO as well.

So the main character is The Unnammed One from Planescape: Torment?

I hope the story goes a different direction but I expect it will with the staff behind it.

I just hope they get both the combat and story right. RPGs usually get one or the other.

*sigh*

Another promotional KoA podcast ... a few days ago on GB and now this. These guys are on tour!

Seriously, please don't become marketing tools.

I'm confused.

As someone who adored RPGs. As someone who values story more than anything else in games. As someone who loves R.A. Salvatore. As someone who found Ken Rolston's initial conversation in the show really engaging. I found Ken's description of the set-up for Kingdoms of Amalur snore inducing. I couldn't muster any sense of intrigue or be compelled in the slightest.

I'll try the game out for sure. I'm pretty keen for it.

But that whole deal with immortals, fate weaving, and so on. That just didn't grab me.

What's that tower defense game that Garnett mentioned? Something to do with Mars and satellites that redirect mob paths, Steam and Frozenbyte.

Good show. A nice change of pace from the regular cast.

Wow.

I'm shocked.

This is possibly the best episode of Weekend Confirmed since its inception.

Absolutely excellent discussion on all topics touched.

My goodness!

Very cool episode, guys! I could listen to Ken Rolston talk all day. Definitely excited to play Reckoning.

But Garnett, I couldn't disagree with you more on a few things you've talked about in the last two episodes. I simply don't have the issues you seem to with lack of direction in open-world RPG's. The less direction the better. Make it more wide open and ambiguous I say.

Also, having my beloved Fallout get tangled up with an MMO is my worst nightmare.

There was a lot of pretentious rambling in this podcast......

Regarding cannibalization in the portable gaming space.

Maybe this is what you were trying to get at, but I think it's pretty obvious that cannibalization is happening, there are people for whom a phone fills the need that used to be filled by a dedicated device. That's not really up for debate, the evidence is all around us. I think the frustration being expressed is over the idea that dedicated handheld gaming devices are either doomed or at least irrelevant in the face of smart phones. I just don't think that's the case.

I think I might have used this comparison before, but to illustrate, my mother recently ditched her old computer in favour of an inexpensive android tablet. For what need she had of a computer, the tablet does and more. She can do her banking, send and receive email, watch youtube videos, get the news and weather forecast, read ebooks, listen to MP3s, and play Angry Birds and/or Words With Friends. Ever since getting the tablet, she no longer sees the point in owning a PC.

I'm convinced she's not alone in making this switch, and that there are lots of people right now for whom the simple tasks for which they needed a household computer can now be done quite handily by a tablet. That's cannibalization, it's happening right now.

Thing is, you'd all call me insane if I were to suggest that this cannibalization were evidence that PCs are either doomed or irrelevant in the face of iOS.

This is the frustration felt by handheld gaming enthusiasts like myself. It's not about the quality or perceived "realness" of iOS games so much as the fact that they just don't meet our needs as handheld gamers.

I think something as big as the DS is probably never going to happen again, but I believe there's still enough people out there for whom portable gaming is more than just killing time on the bus to keep dedicated handheld gaming platforms from going away completely.

Really enjoyed the guests this week. Rolston has a great, dry sense of humor about himself and the gaming industry.

Quadra seems to have a great understanding of what makes combat fun, and why guys like me can't enjoy the likes of Skyrim or even Diablo as much as we probably should, thanks the tactile limitations of their combat.

I was already looking forward to Reckoning cause I've been a huge Mcfarlane fanboy since I first saw a Spider-Man cover with Venom on it as a pre-pre-teen. Now I'm even more intrigued.

As far as time usage goes, half the people who say I have too many video games or spend too much time playing them are people who spend their free time watching stuff like Jersey Shore or Real Housewives of suchandsuch.

I judge how people who are lecturing me spend their time, just as much as people lecture me about mine.

And for the record, while I'm in school, I maybe get ten hours a week of gaming in, at best.

Love RPGs. Have their game on pre-order. Fan of Big Huge Games. (Catan on XBLA for like 800 matches, anyone? Best 800 space bucks or whatever I have spent.) yet this episode was SOOO boring. I disliked the guests so much, I now am 1000x LESS excited for their game than I was before Iistened. I hated it. BUT - I'm not really complaining. I think mixing it up is a great idea, and while I found these guys' personalities completely mind-numbing, the NEXT guests might be more to my liking. So I'm all for the experiment.

Ok, I gotta let my extreme nerd-nature off the hook re Drizzt.

Garnett, it's not Driz-it. It's Drit-st.

I'd love skyrim if i could play online with 1-2 other friends, create a small party like final fantasy, every bring their followers and horses and dogs, fellowship of the ring ain't got shit.

my main issue with skyrim is the difference between reality and expectation. it's so close to being everything i want, especially because there are modders out there to add another level.

I was playing tetris with some friends the other day, I owned them completeley every time. It appears I still had the skill for tetris in me. I started wondering what other games I was as good in, so good that I would win almost every round. I couldnt figure any more out but i thought it could be interesting to hear what games Garnett, Jeff, Xav, Billy and the other people of the show are really skilled in. Well you listeners as well :)

Keep up the good work, feels as though shacknews has found a good formula for a show!

I thought the show was great and really enjoyed a different format from all the other things. Yes, there's obviously selling going on from the designers, but the changed gears and started talking about game design which was very enlightening.

I've listened to every show (first time commenter) and just want to thank everyone who makes this podcast possible. Definitely the best out there. Keep up the good work guys and don't be afraid to switch things up from time to time.

No Jeff?? <Flips table over...>

Ken Rolston reminds me of Ken Levine a bit. I appreciate designers that can step away from pitching their game and talk about concepts.