Ask Paradox (almost) Anything Thread

[SolSara]

Apart from Paradox Interactive games, which are obviously the best works of art ever produced by anyone ever in the whole of everything, what do the Dev team like to play in their spare time?

Do you guys play your own games very often?

I just bought L.A Noire on Steam so I hope that's a good game. The Assassin's Creed games are good, the first one was so-so but okay. I liked Brotherhood the best. I mostly play RPG, adventure or platform games but story is very important to me so I try to play as many story-driven games as I can. Didn't like Dragon Age but loved Morrowind and Oblivion, Skyrim is fine but it would have been more fun if I could have played it with a friend or two. Grim Fandango is one of my favourite games ever and I can't count the times I have played it. Will probably pick it up and play it again soon. Oh, and I have a lvl 60 Monk and a lvl 32 Barbarian in Diablo III and despite some areas being somewhat tedious to play over and over again (Heart of Sin and all those similar levels I hate, they are ugly and not fun at all), I will probably play all classes and try to get to at least lvl 30 with them.

I like CKII best and play it the most of our released games, mostly because I worked on it and love the RPG-elements in it.

[Teurlinx]

Do you think games with such atmosphere need a sequel / remake, or would they be best left alone?

[SolSara]

Do you think games with such atmosphere need a sequel / remake, or would they be best left alone?

Depends. Look at The Secret of Monkey Island remake, they kept the original game and only updated the graphics (if I recall that correctly) and that worked beautifully. I would love a sequel to Grim Fandango but the ending was so final, Manny and Meche would/could not return to Limbo but maybe Glottis could find some other friends? If they do a remake of Grim Fandango I hope they do as they did with The Secret of Monkey Island.

[podcat]

Ah, there is someone else sharing my crave for Planetside 2. Any luck getting in the beta?

No, but their twitter girl was handing them out yesterday. was going to bombard her with pictures of cute kittens, but I'v never really hopped on the twitter bandwaggon so didnt get around to it If anyone has a spare key at some point feel free to toss it my way

Grim Fandango was such a great game I sort of do and don't want a sequel. Its probably best if its done as a graphical remake like Sara says. (ps got an awesome fandango art print and put it up on my wall the other week: http://society6.com/product/Rubacava_Print)

[Svip]

Depends. Look at The Secret of Monkey Island remake, they kept the original game and only updated the graphics (if I recall that correctly) and that worked beautifully. I would love a sequel to Grim Fandango but the ending was so final, Manny and Meche would/could not return to Limbo but maybe Glottis could find some other friends? If they do a remake of Grim Fandango I hope they do as they did with The Secret of Monkey Island.

I am even inclined to suggest that the remake of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge was an even better re-creation. I would not call it a remake, it's actually a special edition (which they called it), remakes usually involves re-imagining stuff, which did this not do, it was merely new graphics, new controls, new sounds and of course voice acting. Obviously they added help and whatnot, but they are basically in the same vein as Myst: Masterpiece Edition. Doing justice to an old game, without 'modifying' it.

And I think we can all agree that Monkey Island 4 did not work (it's a hot button issue of which of the three first games were the best!), but I have not played Tales of Monkey Island (which one might label as 'Monkey Island 5'), but I have heard good stuff about them.

I wonder though, if Paradox would ever do a 'Special Edition' of its older games.

[Alexspeed]

No, but their twitter girl was handing them out yesterday. was going to bombard her with pictures of cute kittens, but I'v never really hopped on the twitter bandwaggon so didnt get around to it If anyone has a spare key at some point feel free to toss it my way
...

I am glad i am not the only one who didnt get a key :P

[Anthropoid]

What programming languages are your games based in?

I have decided to make a career move, and while I continue in my current job, my goal over the next year is to get sufficiently trained in one or more programming languages and get enough experience with coding (e.g., by developing some mods for some of my favorite games) that I can shift careers into game programming and design.

What I'm planning to do at this point is take some of the O'Reilly School of Technology courses. They cost a few hundred per course, but that is motivation to actually get it done and learn it, without having to take college courses. I already got a Ph.D. so it's not like I need more degrees, just training to get me going on a portfolio and provide bases for some modding projects that I can use to get a job.

OST is also accredited

http://www.oreillyschool.com/certificates/

Earn a Certificate for Professional Development from the University of Illinois Office of Continuing Education upon completion of each online certificate program.

It also sounds like their mechanics for learning are pretty flexible and effective. They have an online learning 'sandbox' in which course content, problem sets, and projects all live together. You pay a small monthly fee ($5 or $10) to keep an account and you can keep it active beyond the duration of any partiular course you take. No time limits on finishing courses either.

I have decided with certainty that I am going to do this, and hope that within the next few months I'll have enough basic proficiency to start modding some of my favorite games (candidates there being Mount & Bladd Warband; ArmA2 OA; Rome Total War series; maybe even one of my old favs like Civilization 4 or a Paradox title like Victoria2, etc.). The one that I have clear ideas in my head to develope mods for is M&B Warband, so that would be the logical one to start on.

Really my only question at this point are few in number:

1. What language should I start with? I foresee eventually mastering a few complimentary languages up to and including C++. But C++ does not sound like a particularly 'forgiving' or 'inviting' language for a complete I.T. beginner to start with.

I'm leaning right now toward starting more or less simultaneously with both Python (easy, good general purpose learning, useful to mod M&B) and Java (some seem to argue the best 'introduction' to object oriented languages and a good start to then move on to C# and or C++).

2. Would any of you guys suggest against OST or have an alternative that you suggest?

One additional point that is really just a tangent to my questions: I've posted about this in four or five different game forums over the last 24 hours (EVE Online; Creative Assembly; Bohemia Interactive; Taleworlds) and I've got a lot of constructive, informative and helpful feedback. It has made me realize that, I really love gaming and the global online gamer community. I know that game design is not a utopian line of work, but I am increasingly wondering why it took me so long to realize that working in/for/with a community that I love so much was the best path for me.

[Malurous]

I just bought L.A Noire on Steam so I hope that's a good game.

It is an interesting game and really nice technologically IMO. If you like GTAs et al. the basic mechanics are going to be familiar and great fun. Crime scene investigation works well enough but is a bit too much on the easy side, while the (creatively made) interrogations vary from case to case: some require careful thought and awareness and can be satisfying, while others are either completely obvious or completely illogical.

There are also some design choices in the cases that are just straight from the 80s - I don't remember running into stuff like "there's three places where you can go, and unless you guess right and go to the one that actually appears to be the least urgent first, you're pretty much screwed as far as perfectly solving the case goes" in mainstream video games in a while. Couple that with console style saving and you can expect some moments of frustration... But if you can stand that it's going to be enjoyable as a whole and there are a few cases that are truly memorable combinations of story and action.

[lordreaven448]

Ah, there is someone else sharing my crave for Planetside 2. Any luck getting in the beta?

I was one of the first to sign up for beta when that option went live. I hope I get in.

[nimrod123]

I was one of the first to sign up for beta when that option went live. I hope I get in.

they just sent out the specs form, and said that having a planetside 1 account helps

[podcat]

I already got a Ph.D. so it's not like I need more degrees, just training to get me going on a portfolio and provide bases for some modding projects that I can use to get a job.

This is a good point of view. most development studios wont care about degrees as long as you can show that you have the skills required.

It also sounds like their mechanics for learning are pretty flexible and effective. They have an online learning 'sandbox' in which course content, problem sets, and projects all live together. You pay a small monthly fee ($5 or $10) to keep an account and you can keep it active beyond the duration of any partiular course you take. No time limits on finishing courses either.

I have decided with certainty that I am going to do this, and hope that within the next few months I'll have enough basic proficiency to start modding some of my favorite games (candidates there being Mount & Bladd Warband; ArmA2 OA; Rome Total War series; maybe even one of my old favs like Civilization 4 or a Paradox title like Victoria2, etc.). The one that I have clear ideas in my head to develope mods for is M&B Warband, so that would be the logical one to start on.

Really my only question at this point are few in number:

1. What language should I start with? I foresee eventually mastering a few complimentary languages up to and including C++. But C++ does not sound like a particularly 'forgiving' or 'inviting' language for a complete I.T. beginner to start with.

I'm leaning right now toward starting more or less simultaneously with both Python (easy, good general purpose learning, useful to mod M&B) and Java (some seem to argue the best 'introduction' to object oriented languages and a good start to then move on to C# and or C++).

C++ is the industry standard language for game development. This wont change for many years. Java basically has no place. C# has some following. Python is a very good beginners language, and a few games are moddable in it. I'd start with python.

A tip: dont start with some grand idea. Take a couple of existing games, like Pong for example and do it yourself from scratch. It will teach you 80% of the mechanics needed in bigger games and you will get experience in actually finishing a project (this is important). Then work your way up and start doing your own ideas etc.

[Dewirix]

And I think we can all agree that Monkey Island 4 did not work (it's a hot button issue of which of the three first games were the best!), but I have not played Tales of Monkey Island (which one might label as 'Monkey Island 5'), but I have heard good stuff about them.

I never played Escape from Monkey Island, but Tales was good and in my view did justice to the originals (and had Murray in it, which is a definite bonus in my book).

As to Grim Fandango, I'm torn because I'd love to see more of the gameworld - and of Manny - but I'm also of the opinion that you couldn't do a sequel. A prequel could work, but it would be tricky and certainly couldn't have the same supporting characters.

[James Beil]

How did you guys get into the business of game development?

What came first - did you go to university and study history and then think 'Oh, I'd like to work in a games company developing in this period', or was it 'I'd like to develop games', followed by finding your way to Paradox?

[Taiisatai64]

How did you guys get into the business of game development?

What came first - did you go to university and study history and then think 'Oh, I'd like to work in a games company developing in this period', or was it 'I'd like to develop games', followed by finding your way to Paradox?

I'd say a combination of -interest in games- and -enthusiasm in history-. Do you really consider it necessary to study history at the university level to want to develop games about it?

[SolSara]

How did you guys get into the business of game development?

What came first - did you go to university and study history and then think 'Oh, I'd like to work in a games company developing in this period', or was it 'I'd like to develop games', followed by finding your way to Paradox?

I have played games since I was four, but it wasn't until I was fifteen - sixteen years old that I realised you could actually work with making games. The first thing I did when I realised that was to find out how I could get into the games biz and decided on going to the University of Skövde to get a B.A. in Media. Three years of making, playing and dreaming games with people who all loved games as well and who I could talk to forever about games I had played, games I wanted to play and games I wanted to make.

Then came 2009 with studios firing people and filing for bankruptcy (GRIN for example). I did not believe I could get a job in the industry when I graduated from the university, I studied design and we were somewhere between 40 and 50 young, ambitious students who wanted to become "designers". Fat chance, are there even fifty pure designers in the games biz now?

Anyway, I realised early in my studies that I needed to focus on something other than just designing games, and as I have always loved reading, narratives of all sorts and writing, I decided to try my hands at game writing, which lead me to Paradox Interactive. With a combination of some (small) programming skills, a huge interest in history and narratives and a lot of luck, I got the job. A job where I get to be creative and write stories for games! Had someone told me when I first realised you could develop games for a living that I would be working at Paradox in 2012, I wouldn't have believed that person.

[Captain Gars]

How did you guys get into the business of game development?

What came first - did you go to university and study history and then think 'Oh, I'd like to work in a games company developing in this period', or was it 'I'd like to develop games', followed by finding your way to Paradox?

I had no plans on working in the games industry - in fact I hadn't really played any games in about ten years - but then I was doing my thesis on the use of History in Strategy Games (though my degree was in Screenwriting, but that's another story) and researching a few games I came across EUIII. Writing the thesis then took a backseat to playing the game... Then after a short stint trying to break in as a screenwriter I ran out of money, needed a dayjob, and figured that working at Paradox could let me combine my interest in writing, history and strategy games.

[BjornB]

Don't forget that there are more jobs besides coding/designing in the games industry. Just sayin

[lordreaven448]

they just sent out the specs form, and said that having a planetside 1 account helps

Yeah, but the specs page is borked for me.

[Sir Tornado]

Would you consider releasing older PI games like Airfix Dogfighter (well, atleast I am interested only in Airfix Dogfighter!) on gamersgate/steam for digital download?

I remember playing that game circa 10 years ago, when I was visiting a cousin (amazing game!), and it came back to me ever since I joined this forum and saw people with icons for that game, but I haven't been able to find it since for a reasonable price.

[P-51]

It looks reasonable enough.
The screenshots remind of the the Army Men games.