Interview PC Xbox 360 PS3

Bethesda keeps sending interview of the team members hehind Fallout New Vegas. Today, Josh Sawyer, the game's project director, tells us more about his career and experience.


What’s your job at Obsidian?

I’m the project director and lead designer on Fallout: New Vegas. I am responsible for the overall vision of the game, high-level content design, and all of the system design. I help coordinate the production and lead team and generally just help people stay on track with the project as a whole.

What games have you worked on?

I started off in the industry working on the Icewind Dale series. I also worked on Neverwinter Nights 2 and contributed a bit to the upcoming Alpha Protocol.

What is the best part about your job? The worst part?

I really enjoy seeing people create great things. Few things make me happier than going around and showing people a cool new feature, critter, animation, icon, loading screen, or effect in the game. The worst part is definitely dealing with project cancellations.

Any fun facts you’d like to share about Obsidian?

In December, 2008, we moved from Santa Ana to Irvine. The owners put a huge amount of time and effort into coordinating the development of a new studio, and it’s fantastic. It’s a very open office environment and it looks great.

How did you get into the industry? Do you have any tips for breaking in?

In college, I taught myself HTML and Flash. I did a bit of contract web development work but never thought it would get me into the game industry. A friend of mine told me that Black Isle Studios was hiring a web developer for an unannounced project. I applied and wrote a rambling cover letter that, in retrospect, I’m surprised made it past the first round. Luckily I was one of three out of 59 applicants who knew Flash. The project turned out to be Planescape: Torment and I got the job. I eventually became the webmaster for all Black Isle sites. After pestering Feargus for a while, he let me come on as a junior designer on the original Icewind Dale.

As far as breaking in, I always tell people to do two things: make mods and apply for QA (Quality Assurance). Making mods helps you understand how games work under the hood and it shows that you are willing to put in the time to get something done. You don’t have to make a big mod. Almost any mod will do if it’s an interesting concept and well-executed. QA makes you an integral part of the development process, refines your critical thinking skills, and puts you in contact with the developers.

Thus far, what’s been the highlight of your career?

Growing up, Brian Fargo was one of my heroes. Working for Black Isle was amazing for me because Interplay made Bard’s Tale, the first CRPG I ever played. After Icewind Dale shipped, Brian sent an e-mail to Feargus telling him he played through the whole game and really enjoyed it. So even though the highlight came only a year into my development career, I think it will be hard to top that.

What would you say is your personal favorite game of all time?

I have three all-time favorites: the original Pool of Radiance, Darklands, and the original Fallout. All have their own flaws and idiosyncrasies, but those are the three that have drawn me in more than any others. They’re also the ones that I can go back to without feeling like they’ve aged badly.

What games are you looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to Alpha Protocol finally being released and I really want to play Splinter Cell: Conviction. I’m also looking forward to Brink because I’ve been a huge fan of Splash Damage ever since Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, my favorite team-based multiplayer FPS. I probably won’t be able to play them for a while because I’ve got a backlog of about twelve games from 2009 and early 2010 I still need to get through.

What makes you get out of bed in the morning?

It changes over time, but ever since I got into the game industry, I’ve wanted to work on a Fallout game. It’s only taken eleven years, but better late than never.

Worst job you’ve ever had?

In college I worked a temp job for a single night at an onion ring factory. It was terrible. I sweated onion juice for a month after that single night of work.

As a Wisconsin native, how do you feel about Brett Favre?

I’m a Packers fan even though I don’t watch football and will instinctively swear at people who defame the Pack (such as Frank Kowalkowski, F:NV’s lead programmer). That said, other than my general shock that Favre would go to the Vikings, I don’t have a strong opinion. But hey, at least he didn’t go to the Bears.

Any other hobbies and interests? What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I enjoy learning about things, but don’t spend a lot of time on any given hobby. I like restoring older (60s and 70s) motorcycles, going on motorcycle trips, and generally just leaving the city whenever I get a few days off.

Slabs
Slabs
Commented on 2010-05-06 13:48:36
oh hey its rope kid and he is actually gonna ship a Fallout game
In reply to
DeadHat
DeadHat
Commented on 2010-05-06 20:54:23
Interesting interview. Thanks =)
In reply to
About the game
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