Mr. Vince D. Weller of indie developer Iron Tower Studio (http://www.irontowerstudio.com/) was kind enough to answer my pleas for an audience which resulted in this obscenely over-sized interview about their current work in progress Age of Decadence and game design in general. The whole thing is around three thousand words long. So this is part one of three. Parts two and three will be released on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

So, obviously, major kudos goes to Mr. Weller for this.

Enjoy! (http://www.starwarsknights.com/fullstory.php?id=470)

Pretty cool man. Mr. Weller brings up some really good points about RPG's in which have "choices and consequences". When I originally played the first "KotOR", I completely enjoyed the choice concept. As Mr. Weller had pointed out, the choices did not have actual consequences. I think "KotOR I" was the first of its kind, and it was only the first step into evolving the RPG genra. Fast forward about a year, "KotOR II" was designed with an influence system. Yes, there were consequences for the choices you make, but they fell into this limited box. "You have to do this." - "Why?" - "Because we have no other choice but to go to Telos." I would rather have a choice to ignore Telos, and then suffer from the consequences of such choice. Another example: You only get Mira if you are good, or you only get Hanharr is your bad. Handmaiden cannot be convinced to join you as male. Even though the later is based upon gender, I think that it still presents a limitation of choice. If "KotOR II" was a consequence based RPG, maybe the NPCs could have been convinced to join you. Consequences could have been used as a tool, which altered their perception of what they believe you should do -or - who you have recruited to join you.

That is what I meant by “mostly pointless.”
Lol... Hmmm... Subjective statements Pavlos. Lol...

Regardless, I am looking forward to the other pages. Thanks to both for the read and insight. :)

For those of you familiar with rpgcodex.com forums, Vince D. Weller = Vault Dweller. Took me longer than expected to realize that. :o

Who is this ''Vince D. Weller''?

Who is this ''Vince D. Weller''?

:disaprove I disapprove of your inability to read the first sentence in this thread.

Lol... Hmmm... Subjective statements Pavlos. Lol...
All statements when dealing with art are subjective. To explain my reasoning: To define something like a genre is to suggest that there is a paradigm, a True or Perfect RPG. I don't believe that to be possible.

I chose not to drive the point further because I don't think the interview needed derailing any further.

Part two is up, anyway. (http://www.starwarsknights.com/fullstory.php?id=471)

I've read the first line, but what is so special about him?

He's the lead designer of Age of Decadence, at Iron Tower Studio. He's making a game set in a "post-apocalyptic fantasy world" and cites Fallout as a major influence. He's also been a major news/reviews contributor at RPGCodex. Indie companies are always exciting to follow and usually keep the lines of communication open with fans. These are the people who don't sit around complaining that good games aren't getting made -- they make them themselves.

All statements when dealing with art are subjective. To explain my reasoning: To define something like a genre is to suggest that there is a paradigm, a True or Perfect RPG. I don't believe that to be possible.

I chose not to drive the point further because I don't think the interview needed derailing any further.

Part two is up, anyway. (http://www.starwarsknights.com/fullstory.php?id=471)
You appear to be teetering on the edge of the Platonic Two Worlds. :p

Who is this ''Vince D. Weller''?
He is the lead singer for "Guns and Moses". :)

The final part in our trilogy of blockbuster interviews - the site had a record seven readers - with Mr. Vince D. Weller, of indie developer Iron Tower Studio (http://www.irontowerstudio.com/), has arrived.

If you haven't already then grab part one here (http://www.starwarsknights.com/fullstory.php?id=470) and part two here (http://www.starwarsknights.com/fullstory.php?id=471).

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did making it.

Yes, part three is much longer than all of the other parts. No, I can't split things up properly.

I like his attitude. "If they don't like it, touch luck man." Lol...

Truly a man after my heart. I love this guy.

Nice interview. I've noticed that Mr. Weller can be a bit...un-user-friendly at times, but always entertaining (the Rock, Paper, Shotgun interview comes to mind). His thesis on Non-Combat Gameplay (http://www.irontowerstudio.com/forum/index.php?topic=231.0) is also a good read.

I personally have some high hopes for his game when it finally comes out.