Tim Cain speaks again, at Troika Chronicles

Discussion in 'News Comments' started by mathboy, Oct 23, 2007.

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  1. mathboy

    mathboy New Member

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    Troika Chronicles, that other Troika fan-site that for some reason keeps the link to <a href=http://www.cykus.de/tb/>Tarantiner Bote</a> above the link to our page even though half of their links actually lead to sites hosted by us, has managed to speak to Tim Cain, thus ending his long silence.
    <br>
    <br>The interview is pretty boring, because the master has decided to start working on MMORPG's and is only talking about them, when he's not letting some Jeremy guy answer the questions or remembers his glorious past as a part of Troika and Interplay. This is actually pretty much all he says:
    <br><blockquote><b>6 - For some time now almost everyone is talking about “casual games”, “casual players” and that modern games are much too bloated and complicated. On the other hand especially MMORPGs tend to be pretty complex especially when PvP play or high level content is considered. What are your thoughts on that subject?</b>
    <br>
    <br><i>Tim:</i> I think MMORPGs are actually pretty casual, especially at the lower levels. Their high degree of social interaction actually encourages new and casual players to join, and as long as many of their complex systems are optional, most of those casual players can enjoy these games as much as the hard core players.</blockquote>
    <br><a href=http://troikachronicles.wordpress.com/2007/10/23/carbine-studios-interview/#more-39>Head over there and read it!</a>
    <br>
    <br><b>Thanks to Michael Wolf.</b>
     
  2. Michael_Wolf

    Michael_Wolf New Member

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    Sorry guys, I can't sort the links. It's an restriction of the blog engine I am using. And thanks for posting that news. It helps getting some traffic to the site. :)
     
  3. dstanzler

    dstanzler New Member

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    Based on this interview and some googled articles on Troika/Interplay, it seems to me like no one has asked Tim (all that directly) about his past projects or his thoughts on a future Arcanum.

    I one article he says there might be a future for Arcanum/Troika... but that is kind of a vague answer and the interviewer/editors decided to chop out any emotional remarks on the subject.

    Perhaps it would be impolite to ask Tim Cain about his other jobs or Arcanum (esp, if he is taking the time to answer interview questions).

    However, I will say this-- Tim Cain lectures at UCI... I go to UCSC. If he ever lectures here I'll be sure to be as polite as possible in asking him about Mystary! Arcanum 2, and everything else...
     
  4. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    If it's a good idea at all, I guess I could try and forward a set of interview questions exclusive for this site, so we'd have our very own Troika interview to feel cocky about.

    But then we need a number of thought-out questions. :D

    A few things I guess we could ask:

    *Regardless of what Sierra may have thought about the sales figures for Arcanum, was there ever any plans for a sequel?

    Follow-ups: if yes, ask about setting (the Age of Legends comes to mind), if set in the future of Arcanum ask how they intended to work around the different possible endings in vanilla Arcanum, was it going to be an isometric RPG or an realtime FPS etc etc.

    *Looking back on Arcanum today, is there anything you would have wanted to do differently?

    - could be targeted at features like the option to alternate between realtime and turnbased, could combat have been implemented better in any way etc etc.
     
  5. Spiffy

    Spiffy Member

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    According to Wikipedia, there were.
     
  6. mathboy

    mathboy New Member

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    You didn't read the talk about Journey to the Centre of Arcanum?
     
  7. GrimmHatter

    GrimmHatter Active Member

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    Is he working on Fallout Online mmorpg?
    For the love of all that's pure in gaming I hope so. I'm feeling very emo over the farse of a Fallout title Bethesda is cranking out.
     
  8. dstanzler

    dstanzler New Member

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    I think I read journey to the center of Arcanum, but a long time ago.

    One question I have, regardless of weather Arcanum ever had a sequel or not, and maybe this could be asked:

    "in Arcanum we are presented with some juicy quests/storylines all of which imply a degree of lore to Arcanum that never really gets completely fleshed out. There are some very interesting clues about to how/why depressing places like Cumbria are... and of course, these things are resolved at the end of the game. But did you ever feel that there were more storylines that you wanted to explore and more lore to develop? Did you ever think of publishing an extensive history of lore? One thing that always intrigued me: the whale submarine off of the Isle of Despair. But also the maze, the altars, these other places of intrigue and how they came to be. So much has been left unsaid about Arcanum even though at the end of the game the world is restored to a place of 'wonder.' Do you feel like there was anything more that could be said? or do you like Arcanum the way it is and the way that it concludes?"
     
  9. mathboy

    mathboy New Member

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    I'm sure they're completely done with Arcanum. It's not like they were thinking about making a game named Journey to the Centre of Arcanum or anything using the source engine before they decided to make Bloodlines.
     
  10. dstanzler

    dstanzler New Member

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    Good point. For me, I can never get enough Arcanum lore. :) Do any of you guys work on/contribute to the Troikapedia?
     
  11. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    Ah, I'd forgotten about that.

    I'd like to know more about it. What was it intended to be like? It was definitely supposed to be influenced by the works of Jules Verne, which is great from a steampunk perspective, but... story? Where in Arcanum's timeline? What about the possibility that the world ended with the conclusion of vanilla Arcanum? Are there any screenshots from development (unlikely, but still)?
     
  12. dstanzler

    dstanzler New Member

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    DE, can you clarify again what vanilla arcanum is please?
     
  13. Frigo

    Frigo Active Member

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  14. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    Vanilla Arcanum = Arcanum 1 = the prequel to Arcanum 2. :)
     
  15. dstanzler

    dstanzler New Member

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    did you guys ever think that the stillwater giant was a result of some kinds of mutations? fallout was definately on my mind when i heard about that rumor over in tarant
     
  16. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    The two-headed cow and the water crystal quest were definitely Fallout, however since it states in the manual that giants were created from supernatural selection...
     
  17. dstanzler

    dstanzler New Member

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    oh those are obvious ;). forgot about the water crystal quest!

    you know DE, i never read the arcanum manual when i first played the game. i should probably go back and do that :D
     
  18. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    The manual is a good read really. Goes perfectly together with the Victorian steampunk style. Far too few games come with elaborate manuals these days.
     
  19. Quaid

    Quaid Member

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    So very true. The manual is usually one of my favorite parts of a game. I liked it better when game makers could package their games in larger packages and include bigger and better stuff!

    Classic manuals:
    FO 1&2
    Arcanum
    BG 1&2
     
  20. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    You mean before torrents began hurting profit margins?

    The Sierra point-and-click games were awesome in this (and many other) respects. Playing KQVI was an awesome experience, in no small part due to the extensive lore found in the manual.

    It's amazing how seemingly trivial things can enhance the enjoyment value of a game really.
     
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