Josh Sawyer, Game Director for the recently released narrative mystery game, Pentiment, confirmed that the title would likely have never even been made if not for the existence of Xbox's Game Pass service.
Josh Sawyer is a name that has been familiar to RPG fans for decades. He's worked on Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights 2, Alpha Protocol, Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, and most recently Pentiment. How did he get into game development, how has his design philosophy changed over the years, and why did he decide to do Pentiment a little differently?
Those are some great games. Icewind Dale I & II are underrated.
If Larian made Icewind Dale III, I'd lose my mind.
What a fantastic, thorough interview.
VGChartz's Lee Mehr: "When it’s all said and done, Pentiment is one of the most impressive narrative adventures in recent years. From the words scrawled across the page to impressive background details, there's a distinct appreciation for history coming out of every pore; moreover, it doesn't merely succeed at doing its homework, but also in fashioning unique visual storytelling that harmonizes with its rich narrative & themes. There are some specific design and narrative critiques, but none of them outright smother the abundant successes. For a title so reverent of history, it feels like divine justice that Obsidian's special adventure earns such a high spot in the annals of its own."
Pentiment demonstrates Obsidian Entertainment's ability to develop excellent games in genres that are currently little explored and Xbox Game Studios' ability to offer these games for new platforms.
I enjoyed this game. Found it rather relaxing. I hope PS fans find it enjoyable too.
Marketing and PR talk.
It's thanks to Game Pass why Xbox has the most diverse line up in the industry.
Sims (flight sim), FPS (Halo), TPS (Gears), 3rd person adventure (Hellblade), WRPGs (Bethesda), 3D platformers (Psychonauts), 2D platformers (Ori), arcade racers (Horizon), sim racers (Motorsports), interactive stories (Pentiment), survival (Grounded), immersive sims (Arkane), RTS (AoE).
No one else comes close.
So in other words MS is holding back it's developers, and they would never think to make something less risky and less expensive if not for a subscription service. That's sad
Doesn't seem like a game I'm interested in at all.
If it wasn't for gamepass then you couldn't release it? Man that must be a bad game,