The Sunday discussion - Cavou - Author of the Texture Improvement Project for Dark Souls II

[Deleted3624098User]

:D:D:D

[Cavou]

In response to post #44847940.

momuse88 wrote: Just a tiny bit of criticism for the interview: The whole Nintendo tangent seemed a little heavy-handed, but I wasn't sure if it was the intent of the reviewer to go down that road or not. I like these Sunday Spots a lot because I like learning about the modders and what drives work in their little corner but I give zero shits for what they think is the correct way to run a F500 company who already make millions each year.

Speaking generally, I get that we're all fans of games and have something to say about them, but I don't think the focus of these interviews should be to get a hobbyist's two cents on current events in the industry unless they have something in their background that would give them a unique perspective on it.

Thank you for your input; I'm sorry you feel the way you do. To perhaps offer some more perspective on my choice to go into detail on that subject, it related to my choice to get into gaming from a young age to the point of being willing to mod and support games I love, and my love for action adventure games in particular being inspired by my love for Nintendo games of the 90s and early-mid 2000s, Zelda and Metroid in particular.

I wasn't meaning to try to tell Nintendo how to run their company since I understand that what I personally like isn't what will be the most profitable, but rather I just wanted to use Nintendo as a sort of framing device to give context to what I personally value in video games and how Dark Souls embodied a sort of continuation of what I loved so much in Nintendo games as a kid, and could inspire the kind of wonder, exploration and fear that stuck with me so much, and that it's one of the only games that has been released in the past 9 years or so that made me feel that way due to Nintendo's different focus.

My mod didn't take as much in the way of technical skill as it did commitment and determination. I could have mentioned how I have attended Digipen courses, but the skills I learnt there wasn't as relevant, and I had never created any mods before even if I have previously modded games such as Garry's Mod, Half-Life, Fallout and Skyrim. As such, I wanted to explain how I was inspired by my appreciation of what I see as a fading, or perhaps changing, genre evident in a game that blends many types of game together, such as hardcore classic RPGs, Metroidvania, and action-adventure games. As such, I think that stating my reason for not sticking with the company that made my childhood and instead heading over to Dark Souls in pursuit of a Nintendo-esque experience was relevant. Wanting to help make a niche game that represents something I value as good as I could make it by addressing flaws with it that I also saw as flaws and were able to fix with the tools available was most certainly motivated by what I talked about, though I could have worded it better in retrospect.

I know disagreeing with Nintendo may be an unpopular opinion, but I wanted to be honest and not be afraid to offer another angle on the Nintendo Switch hype train that is so prevalent, though I didn't intend to come across as overly negative or a nay-sayer. Regardless of anything I said that may have upset you, I do honestly hope that the Nintendo switch is successful with games that I can enjoy, and I hold no ill-will towards Nintendo.

Also, I do not mean to come across as overly defensive of myself, but rather I thought your point had relevance and I wanted to clarify something I felt I didn't adequately cover. Edited November 24, 2016 by Cavou

[momuse88]

In response to post #44847940. #44903545, #44908985 are all replies on the same post.

momuse88 wrote: Just a tiny bit of criticism for the interview: The whole Nintendo tangent seemed a little heavy-handed, but I wasn't sure if it was the intent of the reviewer to go down that road or not. I like these Sunday Spots a lot because I like learning about the modders and what drives work in their little corner but I give zero shits for what they think is the correct way to run a F500 company who already make millions each year.

Speaking generally, I get that we're all fans of games and have something to say about them, but I don't think the focus of these interviews should be to get a hobbyist's two cents on current events in the industry unless they have something in their background that would give them a unique perspective on it.

Cavou wrote: Thank you for your input; I'm sorry you feel the way you do. To perhaps offer some more perspective on my choice to go into detail on that subject, it related to my choice to get into gaming from a young age to the point of being willing to mod and support games I love, and my love for action adventure games in particular being inspired by my love for Nintendo games of the 90s and early-mid 2000s, Zelda and Metroid in particular.

I wasn't meaning to try to tell Nintendo how to run their company since I understand that what I personally like isn't what will be the most profitable, but rather I just wanted to use Nintendo as a sort of framing device to give context to what I personally value in video games and how Dark Souls embodied a sort of continuation of what I loved so much in Nintendo games as a kid, and could inspire the kind of wonder, exploration and fear that stuck with me so much, and that it's one of the only games that has been released in the past 9 years or so that made me feel that way due to Nintendo's different focus.

My mod didn't take as much in the way of technical skill as it did commitment and determination. I could have mentioned how I have attended Digipen courses, but the skills I learnt there wasn't as relevant, and I had never created any mods before even if I have previously modded games such as Garry's Mod, Half-Life, Fallout and Skyrim. As such, I wanted to explain how I was inspired by my appreciation of what I see as a fading, or perhaps changing, genre evident in a game that blends many types of game together, such as hardcore classic RPGs, Metroidvania, and action-adventure games. As such, I think that stating my reason for not sticking with the company that made my childhood and instead heading over to Dark Souls in pursuit of a Nintendo-esque experience was relevant. Wanting to help make a niche game that represents something I value as good as I could make it by addressing flaws with it that I also saw as flaws and were able to fix with the tools available was most certainly motivated by what I talked about, though I could have worded it better in retrospect.

I know disagreeing with Nintendo may be an unpopular opinion, but I wanted to be honest and not be afraid to offer another angle on the Nintendo Switch hype train that is so prevalent, though I didn't intend to come across as overly negative or a nay-sayer. Regardless of anything I said that may have upset you, I do honestly hope that the Nintendo switch is successful with games that I can enjoy, and I hold no ill-will towards Nintendo.

Also, I do not mean to come across as overly defensive of myself, but rather I thought your point had relevance and I wanted to clarify something I felt I didn't adequately cover.

Cavou wrote: Fair enough, and thanks for replying to my response. Cheers to you too!

It's all good, home slice. I didn't have any negative perception of you and I don't care if people criticize Nintendo (I haven't played their games since the N64). It was more a light journalist criticism for the interviewer. The ideal situation (and I stress IMO) is to ask questions that the interviewee would be able to provide a unique perspective on because of their hobby/occupation, i.e. grabbing Tom Hanks and then asking him what he thinks about Star Wars is NOT a good question nor a good use of anyone's time.

Feedback is just feedback and I'll continue to read these Sunday Spots either way. Cheers! :) Edited November 24, 2016 by momuse88

[Cavou]

In response to post #44847940. #44903545, #44906365 are all replies on the same post.

momuse88 wrote: Just a tiny bit of criticism for the interview: The whole Nintendo tangent seemed a little heavy-handed, but I wasn't sure if it was the intent of the reviewer to go down that road or not. I like these Sunday Spots a lot because I like learning about the modders and what drives work in their little corner but I give zero shits for what they think is the correct way to run a F500 company who already make millions each year.

Speaking generally, I get that we're all fans of games and have something to say about them, but I don't think the focus of these interviews should be to get a hobbyist's two cents on current events in the industry unless they have something in their background that would give them a unique perspective on it.

Cavou wrote: Thank you for your input; I'm sorry you feel the way you do. To perhaps offer some more perspective on my choice to go into detail on that subject, it related to my choice to get into gaming from a young age to the point of being willing to mod and support games I love, and my love for action adventure games in particular being inspired by my love for Nintendo games of the 90s and early-mid 2000s, Zelda and Metroid in particular.

I wasn't meaning to try to tell Nintendo how to run their company since I understand that what I personally like isn't what will be the most profitable, but rather I just wanted to use Nintendo as a sort of framing device to give context to what I personally value in video games and how Dark Souls embodied a sort of continuation of what I loved so much in Nintendo games as a kid, and could inspire the kind of wonder, exploration and fear that stuck with me so much, and that it's one of the only games that has been released in the past 9 years or so that made me feel that way due to Nintendo's different focus.

My mod didn't take as much in the way of technical skill as it did commitment and determination. I could have mentioned how I have attended Digipen courses, but the skills I learnt there wasn't as relevant, and I had never created any mods before even if I have previously modded games such as Garry's Mod, Half-Life, Fallout and Skyrim. As such, I wanted to explain how I was inspired by my appreciation of what I see as a fading, or perhaps changing, genre evident in a game that blends many types of game together, such as hardcore classic RPGs, Metroidvania, and action-adventure games. As such, I think that stating my reason for not sticking with the company that made my childhood and instead heading over to Dark Souls in pursuit of a Nintendo-esque experience was relevant. Wanting to help make a niche game that represents something I value as good as I could make it by addressing flaws with it that I also saw as flaws and were able to fix with the tools available was most certainly motivated by what I talked about, though I could have worded it better in retrospect.

I know disagreeing with Nintendo may be an unpopular opinion, but I wanted to be honest and not be afraid to offer another angle on the Nintendo Switch hype train that is so prevalent, though I didn't intend to come across as overly negative or a nay-sayer. Regardless of anything I said that may have upset you, I do honestly hope that the Nintendo switch is successful with games that I can enjoy, and I hold no ill-will towards Nintendo.

Also, I do not mean to come across as overly defensive of myself, but rather I thought your point had relevance and I wanted to clarify something I felt I didn't adequately cover.

momuse88 wrote: It's all good, home slice. I didn't have any negative perception of you and I don't care if people criticize Nintendo (I haven't played their games since the N64). It was more a light journalist criticism for the reviewer. The ideal situation (and I stress IMO) is to ask questions that the interviewee would be able to provide a unique perspective on because of their hobby/occupation, i.e. grabbing Tom Hanks and then asking him what he thinks about Star Wars is NOT a good question nor a good use of anyone's time.

Feedback is just feedback and I'll continue to read these Sunday Spots either way. Cheers! :)

Fair enough, and thanks for replying to my response. Cheers to you too!

[Psychophobe]

Good interview.

Although, I wanted to know what's Cavou's favourite food?

 

There seem to be a relatively high number of high[er] profile modders and game designers from British Columbia, I think that area is a generator of computer game creativity. Which is awesome :)

 

 

[rau3]

In response to post #44847940. #44903545, #44906365, #44908985 are all replies on the same post.

momuse88 wrote: Just a tiny bit of criticism for the interview: The whole Nintendo tangent seemed a little heavy-handed, but I wasn't sure if it was the intent of the reviewer to go down that road or not. I like these Sunday Spots a lot because I like learning about the modders and what drives work in their little corner but I give zero shits for what they think is the correct way to run a F500 company who already make millions each year.

Speaking generally, I get that we're all fans of games and have something to say about them, but I don't think the focus of these interviews should be to get a hobbyist's two cents on current events in the industry unless they have something in their background that would give them a unique perspective on it.

Cavou wrote: Thank you for your input; I'm sorry you feel the way you do. To perhaps offer some more perspective on my choice to go into detail on that subject, it related to my choice to get into gaming from a young age to the point of being willing to mod and support games I love, and my love for action adventure games in particular being inspired by my love for Nintendo games of the 90s and early-mid 2000s, Zelda and Metroid in particular.

I wasn't meaning to try to tell Nintendo how to run their company since I understand that what I personally like isn't what will be the most profitable, but rather I just wanted to use Nintendo as a sort of framing device to give context to what I personally value in video games and how Dark Souls embodied a sort of continuation of what I loved so much in Nintendo games as a kid, and could inspire the kind of wonder, exploration and fear that stuck with me so much, and that it's one of the only games that has been released in the past 9 years or so that made me feel that way due to Nintendo's different focus.

My mod didn't take as much in the way of technical skill as it did commitment and determination. I could have mentioned how I have attended Digipen courses, but the skills I learnt there wasn't as relevant, and I had never created any mods before even if I have previously modded games such as Garry's Mod, Half-Life, Fallout and Skyrim. As such, I wanted to explain how I was inspired by my appreciation of what I see as a fading, or perhaps changing, genre evident in a game that blends many types of game together, such as hardcore classic RPGs, Metroidvania, and action-adventure games. As such, I think that stating my reason for not sticking with the company that made my childhood and instead heading over to Dark Souls in pursuit of a Nintendo-esque experience was relevant. Wanting to help make a niche game that represents something I value as good as I could make it by addressing flaws with it that I also saw as flaws and were able to fix with the tools available was most certainly motivated by what I talked about, though I could have worded it better in retrospect.

I know disagreeing with Nintendo may be an unpopular opinion, but I wanted to be honest and not be afraid to offer another angle on the Nintendo Switch hype train that is so prevalent, though I didn't intend to come across as overly negative or a nay-sayer. Regardless of anything I said that may have upset you, I do honestly hope that the Nintendo switch is successful with games that I can enjoy, and I hold no ill-will towards Nintendo.

Also, I do not mean to come across as overly defensive of myself, but rather I thought your point had relevance and I wanted to clarify something I felt I didn't adequately cover.

momuse88 wrote: It's all good, home slice. I didn't have any negative perception of you and I don't care if people criticize Nintendo (I haven't played their games since the N64). It was more a light journalist criticism for the interviewer. The ideal situation (and I stress IMO) is to ask questions that the interviewee would be able to provide a unique perspective on because of their hobby/occupation, i.e. grabbing Tom Hanks and then asking him what he thinks about Star Wars is NOT a good question nor a good use of anyone's time.

Feedback is just feedback and I'll continue to read these Sunday Spots either way. Cheers! :)

Cavou wrote: Fair enough, and thanks for replying to my response. Cheers to you too!

heheh