October, 2008

Man, time flies when you're not updating your blog.

I'm actually busier now I've graduated, and I've hardly read up on what's going on. No read = no material. I've had to shelve my dreams of a fantasy happy fairyland that awaits university graduates, where I would caress my degree while rivers of honey flow from above. Instead it's a whole lot of forms and applications everywhere.

I'll be visiting my home country (Korea) for the first time in 8 years this coming friday, and stay there until the end of November. Doesn't mean the Alley will die though. I probably won't be able to keep as up to date, but I'm hoping to take the opportunity to take a first-hand look at gaming culture/opinion in Korea. It's not a business trip and I don't have that kind of network over there, so I probably can't get any juicy inside goodies or anything, but hopefully I'll pick up a thing or two. At least, I'll watch one of those Starcraft channels, huh?

So yeah, I'll try and post as much as I can. I mean, I can't miss that massive volcanic eruption of the intarwebs that is the FO3 release, right?

So, I've been busy. Or, rather, Briosafreak has been busy. The Portuguese is a well-known figure in Fallout fandom, engaging in a lot of amateur/fan journalism over the years. Recently he's been updating Fallout 3: A Post Nuclear Blog, and is among the staff of the newly launched PlanetFallout website.

The interview is chock full of stuff on Fallout fans, Briosafreak's own involvement / perspective and the industry in general. See page one and page two. An excerpt:

6. What kind of impact do/did Fallout fans have on the production of Fallout, whether with Interplay or now with Bethesda? Do you think they've been able to influence the way the franchise has gone/is going?

The way they followed the original is still available in the old newsgroups, but much of the FO2 data seems to have been lost forever.

The Interplay message boards during the Tactics days was a great loud party, with the AtheistsforChrisT (as in Chris Taylor) like Killzig or JC causing all sorts of trouble, Saint_Proverbius making some great posts, and the Baldurs Gate and Fallout fans always picking at each other.

The devs interacted with the fans there, and lobbying was made in the fansites. There was a bit of a lack of informal channels though, that caused many misunderstandings, a lesson I learned it should be avoided in the future.

Later, and after two cancellations of the development of Fallout 3,that were kept in secret, the fans were tired of waiting...

Thanks Briosafreak!

8. In the last couple of years, many people, including games journalists, have criticized the most vocal Fallout fans for being 'whiners' that can never be satisfied no matter what you give them. Is this valid? Why do you think these people think of Fallout fans in this way? (Or, alternatively, do you think this isn't the case at all?)

Are there Fallout fans that could never be satisfied? Sure there are. I know quite a few. Is in relative terms with the multitude of other communities a rare case of a cosmic conjunction of evilness in one group? That’s ridiculous.

First because of the sheer number of differences between individuals/groups inside the wider Fallout community. Second because I know many communities in the net, I’ve been around, and you can find negativity in every corner of the web, so trying to single out this one group is a bit absurd. And third because much of the negativity has deep roots in the events I’ve talked earlier, something that many don’t know or choose to pretend not to know.

Still the main reasons that type of speech gained popularity in the media is just that it provides three things:

• A narrative, a way of writing a story with defined roles and a coherent structure that can be easily understood (Fallout fans bad, the rest good), a tool for lazy journalism;
• A way of opinion leaders and industry pundits to fight the trend of organized communities to take all aspects of info gathering and word of mouth into their hands. in this sense it’s an attempt to marginalize a group no different from what we see in the media daily;
• A way of reinforcing agendas that go in different directions from what those communities expect; in this sense PR and communication companies are usually very good in doing it in the political and business arena, and gaming is also an industry, so it’s normal that those type of tools are employed.

9. What kind of relationship do/did Fallout fans have with Bethesda and Interplay? I wasn't around before ~2002, but I've seen a lot of healthy, supportive conversations during the Van Buren years – markedly different from, say, the Bethesda years. Why do we have such a range of relationships, and why are some of them so acrimonious?

A difference in cultures, I believe. A more American, Xbox360, mainstream and expansionist culture would always collide with a more geographically spread, PC based, “cultish” culture from the established Fallout community.

And the lack of informal channels, the second tier channels I’ve talked before, with any relevance. In the end everything about the relation between Bethsoft and the fansites and hardcore fans can be seen as a result of the clumsiness of both parts when trying to communicate, and a clash of cultures.

Still, and I’m sure no one at Bethsoft will believe this but it’s true, it could have been much worse. So much worse, but that’s a story to be told later.

10. So with the release of Fallout 3, it looks like that "more American, Xbox360, etc" demographic could well become the majority of the active Fallout fanbase. That seems to me like it could change the makeup of that 'world' quite a bit, and even, that this new 'generation' of Fallout fans could supersede the older?

Nope, each side will get their own places to hang out, and just have a few contacts here and there, because of modding stuff or, again, access to information. But overall each will find their nests, and stick with those that have more common ground to begin with.

11. What role can Fallout fans play in this whole business – the making of Fallout, the way people see and understand Fallout? What do you see as your own role in the world of Fallout?

My role? Nothing special, I was the facilitator, the “bridgekeeper”, one of many “carrying the torch”, and sometimes the strategist, when it was needed; now just want to help out with Planet Fallout and hang around with my friends in the community.

Now any community as resilient as the Fallout community can make a difference, can really get things moving, and provide an alternate space inside the world of gaming communities. They set the tone, make others react to what they say and do, so they can do a lot. As long as they remain rowdy, defiant and critical that is, and start producing more in terms of content, on the classic games or with the new one. That’s harder to do, we’ll see.

Bethsoft actually read thoroughly what the fans said, and adapted a lot of things to the synthesis they would make of the information. I know this for a fact. But fans couldn’t change the outcome of how Fallout 3 will be, again different cultures, with difficulties in communicating, so in that particular sense fans did what they could, and it’s time to move on and judge what Bethsoft did with the game instead.

::Game Industry::

12. As games become more mainstream and big-budget, many say that we are seeing a trend towards more 'cinematic' experiences that borrow directly from many film conventions of storytelling: a trend towards a graphical fetishism that yearns for better and better graphics: and easier, less challenging, less frustrating, 'gliding' experiences. So let's get some historical perspective from you (I'm treating you like
some relic here, aren't I). Do you agree that such trends are there? Are they new? Are they desirable?

When I hear that I always remember the Wing Commander days and the FMV games. That didn’t went far. I also remember how Shenmue, with all the “cinematic” looks, “free roaming” and 10 million budget helped to destroy the Dreamcast, an excellent console, that existed way before its time.

So the industry should be very careful, turning buzzwords into realities comes with a price, and this time the price is very very high, in the order of tens of millions of dollars and studios shutting down or being absorbed almost daily…

Still that could mean better writers and deeper characters in games, and that could be a good thing. But the industry really needs to measure their steps very carefully from now on.

Lookit all 'em mods.

13. As modding and independent game production are becoming more and more commonplace, there are some who say, "It's okay if the game has a few flaws, somebody will mod it": others suggest that indie games are the answer to those who want now abandoned or niche styles. Case in point, numerous major Fallout mods have been in the works for years, and some of them might actually see the light of day soon. Do you think they can fulfill that role of satisfying the fans if the official games cannot?

In the Fallout modding scene: Completely ? No, of course not, we’re talking devoted fans, but volunteers, that will always lack resources to produce something with the impact of the classical games.

But could they bring a lot of good times and joy to fans? Yes, particularly if they start working more together, and to learn more about the processes involved in game making. To create a game is an art, that requires skills and will, and that applies to modding too. It also requires an efficient use of scarce resources, and on that sharing knowledge and capabilities and even being able to combine efforts and merge teams would mean a lot. I love those guys (and few girls), and I wish them all the best.

About indies: yes, indie games are the answer to those who want now abandoned or niche styles, and if I might add the best way to join the industry and learn how things work first hand.

About fans fixing the games, I still find it a good and noble thing, but it doesn’t present a good picture of whoever released the game in the first hand. With the large budgets and need to recuperate such humungous investments in a short time that will happen more and more, if we’re talking about multiplatform releases.

14. Finally, I wanted to ask this for five years - where does your name come from?

From a MP Quake2 game, in 1998. Someone was using Eaglefreak or something like that, because of a football (soccer) team, and I started using Briosafreak to tease him, in honor of my own team. Somehow when I needed a unique nick to register in a few Fallout related places I remembered that, and there it is. Also the fact that the Anglo-Saxon world in general finds the nick so mysterious helped in my desire to keep it until now.

Thanks Briosafreak!

::Introductions::

1. 'Briosafreak' is a well known pseudonym in the world of Fallout fandom. In respect to Fallout, what are you involved in right now, and what have you been involved in the past?

I’m the Site Director of Planet Fallout, a new fansite from Gamespy/IGN, and developed and run alone the Fallout 3: A Post Nuclear Blog, a very tiresome but rewarding project that will be put on hold when the game is released; I also helped to run No Mutants Allowed in 2003, the Van Buren days, as we call it.

2. How were you introduced to Fallout? What is it about Fallout that has inspired you (and others) to years of dedicated following? Why is it special in comparison to other games?

Through the Fallout demo, on a PCFormat coverdisc, years ago. I liked the visual style of the thing, but it worked awfully in my poor old computer of the time, and only later, in 99, I got back to the series through Fallout 2 first, then Fallout. My first kid was sick at the time, Fallout 2 helped me to go through many sleepless nights.

I started following the development of Fallout: Tactics on the Interplay message boards and NMA, and the more I played the games the more I got hooked with the incredible replayability and the way choices and consequences were dealt. The retro futuristic visuals and the writing also helped, a lot!

Also I grew attached to the community, although I sometimes had to spend a few months outside that world, for work or family reasons, but I would always came back. V13 and the crazyness among clans, DAC as a small message board or a big PlanetFallout (the original) venture, and NMA and all that knowledge and roughness, I saw it all and felt strangely comfortable. I remember when NMA was without news for a few days because NATO was bombing parts of Belgrade next to Miroslav’s house, or when the V13 boss convinced all major fansites to create a large portal for Fallout:Tactics mods, that never went up.

When you spend 9/11 at NMA making sure people are alright, or you follow the revolution that led to the end of the Milosevic regime watching the owner of NMA in the middle of the confusion and shots, then you understand that you have a special bond to that community.

The Fallout community at large is many times rowdy, but it’s like in many families, there’s a lot of noise but we still feel at home.

3. As an adult gamer very actively involved in the field, what is the attitude of your 'real-life' acquaintances towards your interest in Fallout? Do you think there is a good level of understanding, or people still see it as something of a 'kid/nerd' thing, in your
experience?

Gaming is a private side that I don’t share with my acquaintances, in general. Most of the guys that would play games with me in 80’s and 90’s don’t have the time to do so now, or just play casual MMORPGs, or maybe the Sims… My older kid is a devoted gamer, so it’s something that helped in creating some healthy father/son bonding. He’s very interested in the Fallout games, but his mother says he’s too young to play them, so…

There're also some very nice FO fan art around. This one's from defonten.

::Fallout Fans::

4. As someone who's 'been around the block' in terms of Fallout fandom, how would you describe Fallout fans as a whole? (Yes, I know that we can't think of them as one group, but I'm sure you have your own categories in mind.)

Oh so many categories. You have the devoted and incredibly tech savy Russian fans, the gigantic number of Polish fans that cover all spectrums of gaming in Poland, the modders from other countries that don’t get all the attention they deserve, the old school roleplayers, either with a P&P background or that come from early CRPGs, the new waves of fans that show up with the almost yearly budget releases of the classic games, the people in small isolated groups and those that go to everywhere and want to know everything about the game, old BIS followers, old Troika followers, new Bethsoft fans, the GameFaq kids, the casual fans that show up for a brief time or once every year… there are just so many categories and crossed links between those groups that would be impossible to name them all.

So diversity is an important word, as resilience. That’s the most important feature of Fallout fans as a whole, they are incredibly resilient to time and adversities.

5. The Fallout fan community is naturally very old, and there’s a lot of history, a lot of culture. Can this be intimidating or alienating for newcomers? Can this strong sense of community have a negative side-effect in that sense?

It can, it’s hard to stay in the first weeks in places like NMA without having problems here and there. But with budget versions being released every year, and piracy still rampant, new “generations” are coming on a yearly basis, so the community really “never gets old”.

6. What kind of impact do/did Fallout fans have on the production of Fallout, whether with Interplay or now with Bethesda? Do you think they've been able to influence the way the franchise has gone/is going?

The way they followed the original is still available in the old newsgroups, but much of the FO2 data seems to have been lost forever.

The Interplay message boards during the Tactics days was a great loud party, with the AtheistsforChrisT (as in Chris Taylor) like Killzig or JC causing all sorts of trouble, Saint_Proverbius making some great posts, and the Baldurs Gate and Fallout fans always picking at each other.

The devs interacted with the fans there, and lobbying was made in the fansites. There was a bit of a lack of informal channels though, that caused many misunderstandings, a lesson I learned it should be avoided in the future.

Later, and after two cancellations of the development of Fallout 3,that were kept in secret, the fans were tired of waiting.

A community rose on the BIS forum, with many elements hostile to Fallout fans, since they couldn’t understand that they were getting all the medieval fantasy games they wanted while Fallout fans were exasperating.

When the Interplay Forum replaced the BIS forum there was enough hostility between Interplay and some Icewind Dale and BG fans on one side, and Fallout fans in general on the other, for things to explode at the slightest problem. I remember threatening a BIS dev that I would go through the ocean and hit him repeatedly with a hammer… now we’re still good friends though, he’s an excellent man and great Fallout fan.

So when the first posts about Van Buren appeared, Odin, who was running NMA at the time and me talked and decided to follow two lines of action: we would give an impartial coverage of the game on one side, and tried to come up ways to build bridges between BIS and the Interplay forum people and the hardcore Fallout fans.

Van Buren, about five years ago.

Trying to do the coverage met some resistance in a few quarters of the fandom, weary of everything Interplay by then, because of the way it was decided to make and push FO:BOS, but creating those bridges was even harder. In the end I think we had a high degree of success, several members of the forum are now in high positions at DAC and NMA, and we remain in touch with many former BIS devs.

Besides using the Tactics approach of using the forum to talk to the devs directly, informal second tier channels were setup, making the misunderstandings much easier to resolve.

We also divided roles: RPGCodex would be the place to be completely negative, since Saint_Proverbius knew since July 2003 people at Interplay management were trying to boycott the game anyway, and he didn’t like a few BIS guys personally; with the same knowledge Killzig from DAC left the community run its course, with mostly negative positions, since he didn’t want people to be disappointed if things got a sour end, but at the same time remained in touch with BIS devs and was rooting for something good to come out of it; and we at NMA worked the most we could to give visibility to the project, in order to make it harder for Interplay to cancel it.

Well the game was indeed cancelled, and BIS was shut down (thanks for nothing Jim Molitor and Herve Caen), the devs came to the topic we started at NMA, a thing that still fills me with pride, and we mourned and made plans to the future.

I left after that, Fallout fans helped to kill FO:BOS commercially, with bad word of mouth, and NMA continued with what amounts almost to investigative reporting about Interplay and the future of the Fallout franchise.

Fallout fans did participate a lot in all of these situations, but without much success. That makes a person more bitter than usual, which brings me to the next question. Editor's Note: Question 8, in fact.

7. Your explanation about communities 'dividing up roles' for Van Buren is very interesting and surprising for me. It seems that there was a deliberate effort to construct a balanced environment for the discussion on Van Buren, instead of communities simply going wherever the flow takes them. What made you and others go down such a route?

Many discussions, mainly on #fallout, or ICQ. After a while we just divided roles naturally, no one was forced to do so. There was a need for moving things, in one way or another, and after a lot of discussions we just knew what to do and how to do it. There are a lot of bright guys in the community too, that love a good discussion and to fight to make a stand, so again it was a natural process. We would disagree among ourselves a lot, but kept the information flowing, we needed each other for that. One night Killzig would be on messenger with someone at BIS, Saint_Proverbius would be on a private chat with someone from middle management at Interplay or a Troika dev, and I would be with some anonymous or not so anonymous source at BIS and some media guy. We worked for our own agenda, individually, but kept the info flowing, so everyone would win by adding layers of knowledge to allow all of us to get the best picture, and therefore staying on top of things, regardless of our differences.

Information is the key asset in any community.

This post is a response to Dan 'Shoe' Hsu's recent series of posts on the Sore Thumbs blog, detailing some of the less savoury affairs 'behind the scenes' in gaming journalism. Link to latest one, which in turn has links to previous entries. In this series, Shoe has candidly described numerous ways in which game journalists and their editors interact with game developers and publishers. There're stories of expensive 'gifts', making deals behind the scenes, censure and, basically, corruption that ranges from mild to worrisome. It's all things most people suspect at one time or another, but having it float around in the public consciousness like some urban myth is one thing, and receiving (more or less) confirmation is another.

The man(lady?) on the left looks like a traffic officer. A corrupt traffic officer.

I'm back from the dead (again), after that rather distasteful little sick-note. There, below this one. See? Just terrible. I was going to throw in an interview to plug the gaping hole in the update wagon, but then he said he was busy. Pfah. All he does is work insane hours and manage websites and whatever people who have wife and children do instead of answering my questions. I stomp my feet in your general direction, interview-man.

Anyway, I said I was coming back to the topic of Fallout 3 after the two posts on selling the 'new' to the masses and the 'silent majority'. I'm not entirely sure if I picked the best game to use as example for these stories: some of the responses I've read online (in Soviet Russia, the blogger stalks YOU) fell into the same old cycle of "OH GOD STOP WHINING ABOUT FALLOUT 3" or "THIS IS STUPID, ITS JUST A GAME". What with the current climate, of course I'm not surprised. (It's not necessarily stupid, either.) That does make me avoid the stock debates about the game like a plague, though. I love the games so I have an interest and an opinion on FO3's quality or what constitutes a good sequel, yeah... but I like to think I can keep that sort of apart from these discussions, to which that central debate is really a tangent.

Today I wanted to look at the actual press treatment of the games. Or probably, start looking, then finish later, because I'm a long-winded nut.

I wanted to find a picture of a long, winded nut... but that was probably too much.