Stolen Pixels #194: After Curfew, Episode 8

[Shamus Young]

Stolen Pixels #194: After Curfew, Episode 8

Dr. Breen returns to offer his take on Fallout: New Vegas and Bobby Kotick.

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[Quiet Stranger]

hilarious, I love this series (Stolen Pixels) and Dr. Breen, sad though that his voice actor is dead

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I'm torn about this one. Perhaps, I'm just missing Robert Culp still.

Yay! but...Metro's face...

 

[CloudKiller]

oh poor obsidian they try so hard... I'm hopping that Alpha Protocol will be a good game for them.

 

[AboveUp]

"The community with have the game running by in a playable state.."

Really, Shamus?

I quite enjoyed this After Curfew, although it felt a bit off. What with the voice actor of Breen having died and all.

 

[JEBWrench]

When he eventually resigns in disgrace I'll have to send him a personal thank-you for making my job as a satirist so much easier.

Yeah, the guy CEOing the company with ginormous profits (read: doing his job extremely well) is going to resign in disgrace anytime soon.

Sure, he's a dick. But he's a successful dick.

 

[H0ncho]

Troll m0ar Shamus Young.

Though I guess I can understand that any fan of fallout 3 would be worried that Obsidian will ruin their experience with additions such as as above grade school level dialogue (one of the modifications they do in the engine is that they allow for more than 60 character sentences lol), motivations beyond "lol were evil orcs", actual consequences for your actions (e. g. not being able to make up for killing 20 people by giving water to beggars) and - gasp - the ability to actually botch a character build.

 

[Shamus Young]

When he eventually resigns in disgrace I'll have to send him a personal thank-you for making my job as a satirist so much easier.

Yeah, the guy CEOing the company with ginormous profits (read: doing his job extremely well) is going to resign in disgrace anytime soon.

Sure, he's a dick. But he's a successful dick.

He lost the entire team behind the biggest game in history. He's a magnet for negative press and bad PR. I doubt his head will be on the chopping block anytime soon, but he has his share of screwups and I'm sure there are a lot of people that could do his job better. (Like, anyone capable of doing the same job but keeping their mouth shut.)

 

[John Funk]

Troll m0ar Shamus Young.

Though I guess I can understand that any fan of fallout 3 would be worried that Obsidian will ruin their experience with additions such as as above grade school level dialogue (one of the modifications they do in the engine is that they allow for more than 60 character sentences lol), motivations beyond "lol were evil orcs", actual consequences for your actions (e. g. not being able to make up for killing 20 people by giving water to beggars) and - gasp - the ability to actually botch a character build.

Gee, it's almost like you didn't read his points

I see where he's coming from. When your track record is KOTOR 2 and NWN 2, that doesn't bode well for a full experience from beginning to end.

 

[JEBWrench]

He lost the entire team behind the biggest game in history. He's a magnet for negative press and bad PR. I doubt his head will be on the chopping block anytime soon, but he has his share of screwups and I'm sure there are a lot of people that could do his job better. (Like, anyone capable of doing the same job but keeping their mouth shut.)

Probably. When your products are so monstrously successful, I think at this point an orangutan in a sport coat could do it just as well. But I highly doubt that Mr. Kotick actually sees any problem, and I'm sure the shareholders see "Hey, look, more giant piles of money! Swimming party in the Money Bin!"

 

[Cherry Cola]

Troll m0ar Shamus Young.

Though I guess I can understand that any fan of fallout 3 would be worried that Obsidian will ruin their experience with additions such as as above grade school level dialogue (one of the modifications they do in the engine is that they allow for more than 60 character sentences lol), motivations beyond "lol were evil orcs", actual consequences for your actions (e. g. not being able to make up for killing 20 people by giving water to beggars) and - gasp - the ability to actually botch a character build.

Gee, it's almost like you didn't read his points

I see where he's coming from. When your track record is KOTOR 2 and NWN 2, that doesn't bode well for a full experience from beginning to end.

At least the game will have a good start and middle-ground!

And hey, Fallout 3 wasn't exactly the pinnacle of great endings. If New Vegas falls apart in the end, everyone can just say "Well, at the very least it was faithful to the last game in the series" and move on with their business.

 

[JEBWrench]

And hey, Fallout 3 wasn't exactly the pinnacle of great endings. If New Vegas falls apart in the end, everyone can just say "Well, at the very least it was faithful to the last game in the series" and move on with their business.

With Fallout 3's ending in mind, Obsidian is probably best suited to creating it!

"Rather than kicking the player in the balls, let's just end it.... NOW!"

 

[Cherry Cola]

And hey, Fallout 3 wasn't exactly the pinnacle of great endings. If New Vegas falls apart in the end, everyone can just say "Well, at the very least it was faithful to the last game in the series" and move on with their business.

With Fallout 3's ending in mind, Obsidian is probably best suited to creating it!

"Rather than kicking the player in the balls, let's just end it.... NOW!"

It's actually a bit scary when you think about how much of a coincidence it is.

If a conspiracy theorist started talking about how Bethesda hired Obsidian only because they wanted to continue the trend of having DLC fix the broken ending, I would totally believe it.

 

[BlueInkAlchemist]

The Administrator! Can't wait to see Breen interview her.

Is SAXTON HALE going to be on After Curfew any time soon?

 

[The Great JT]

The Administrator! Can't wait to see Breen interview her.

Is SAXTON HALE going to be on After Curfew any time soon?

Are you crazy?! SAXTON HALE!! on After Curfew would break the space-awesome continuum!

 

[Irridium]

Exactly why I'm scared for New Vegas. If its as modifiable as Fallout 3 was, than I have no doubt that the modding community will fix the game up. But you really shouldn't have to rely on the community to fix your shortcomings. Especially when fixing those shortcomings is your damn job.

 

[GiantRedButton]

Great comic, and i say that as a obsidian/black ilse fan
stolen pixels is my favorite thing on the escapist, some aren't as good but the great ones are great indeed.

 

[Jared]

Nice to see Breen back after his absense!

Hehe, and great opening!

 

[Caliostro]

What a guy.

Between Kotick and Ubisoft, being a satirist is becoming one of the easiest professions on earth.

Comedian: Here's a joke for you.
Comedian: Ubisoft!
Crowd: *laughter*
Comedian: And you know what else...?
Comedian: Bobby Kotick WITH Ubisoft!
Crowd: *hysteric laughter*


...ya know.

On the actual topic, yes, I'm burying my enthusiasm under several planets worth of salt.

 

[Flying Dagger]

I feel these breen sketches seem to me to be more like reading a hundred word article by shamus rather then the usual humourous comic.
I'd rather see these woven into your column and have a decent comic, even if I am aware of the time restraints (and the fact that other people seem to like them).