FPSGURU Interview with Wolfman

[basti]

http://www.fpsguru.com/game/284/Planetside-2/features/168/Interview-with-Marv-Wolfman-and-the-Lore-of-PlanetSide-2.html

Now, the interresting bit right here: Weekly? Awesome!

[Hamma]

Totally missed this, getting it posted now. Thanks as always for your mad news hounding skillzz0rz. :p

[basti]

Totally missed this, getting it posted now. Thanks as always for your mad news hounding skillzz0rz. :p

Im using TweetDeck these days, after i noticed higby using it (thanks man!), and it has a very awesome feature: it makes a sound every time an update happens. And as i only follow PS2 related stuff these days, i always go and check what got tweeted, even if i do other stuff like gaming, watching TV or jerking in my bed.

So no excuse for you to miss a tweet. Get tweetdeck already! :P

edit: fav news hound? i would consider myself more like a wolf, i smell as bad as one.

[Crator]

Yes, that is pretty nice. Perhaps those stories could be incorporated with the Community Work (http://www.planetside-universe.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37608) idea someone had here.

[Hamma]

Yea I see the tweets now, no time to sit here all day and look at them :p Also I hate Adobe Air :(

This was the most ammusing part to me.

I read the first episode of his back-story from Planetside2’s website prior to the interview and got the immediate impression that Marv must have played the original Planetside.

Really? :confused:

[basti]

Aye. Guessing the guy who wrote the interview never played planetside...

[Crator]

Not sure why he said that. Because, he could have simply been prepped by the SOE devs with the info needed, as he was.

[TheRagingGerbil]

So where is the interview? Or is this poorly written summary it?

[Crator]

FPS Guru my a**!

[basti]

It is. The guy doesnt like doing the question and answer thing. In my eyes, he should get his hands chopped off if he ever tries to write something like this again. Dude, if you read this: Nobody gives a rats ass about what the guy taking the interview thinks. People want facts, not opinions, from Interviews.

[Bags]

Yea I see the tweets now, no time to sit here all day and look at them :p Also I hate Adobe Air :(

This was the most ammusing part to me.



Really? :confused:


Well, he admitted he loves the guy, so he was probably just brown nosing.

[Vash02]

Marv Wolfman isn’t going to be making huge changes to the story of planet Auraxis

I thought changing the VS into religious fundies was a big change :|

Though to be fair he hasnt done much on the VS yet.

[LZachariah]

I definitely agree with you on that one, Vash, though I'm interested to see where he's going. I have been pleased so far at the very careful line Wolfman has been walking with the Vanu situation. When Sandy is speaking to his sister, there's nothing fanatical about him. He says,

"Not a god, an alien."

He's slightly exasperated at Genny's misinterpretation. Now, Sandy's superior says "Vanu has spoken to me..." and this is where it gets interesting and VERY finely crafted. If Vanu actually exists, and there is legitimate telepathic feedback from using Vanu technology, people in the Vanu Sovereignty could actually be receiving messages from a sentient being, without it actually having a religious component. I could see how that could go seriously astray (whether from outside viewers misinterpreting it or by some misguided, overzealous VS idiots deciding to worship whoever is sending the messages).

All in all, I think Wolfman struck the balance very, VERY well. So far, it is the best example of what we all hope for in Planetside: a legitimiately gray area with strongly arguable sides for either pro or con.

[Talek Krell]

I'm still waiting for him to do more on the VS before I make a final judgement on it. My current status is "wary", but he hasn't fallen off the tightrope yet.

That said, this man desperately needs to be interviewed by someone who isn't a simpering fanboy.

[Tapman]

Yea I see the tweets now, no time to sit here all day and look at them :p Also I hate Adobe Air :(

This was the most ammusing part to me.

I read the first episode of his back-story from Planetside2’s website prior to the interview and got the immediate impression that Marv must have played the original Planetside.

Really? :confused:

Agreed. I am glad we have a big name drawing attention to Planetside 2 and I know that we only have three short sections so far but I can't help feeling like his lack of experience in this world is glaringly obvious.

To nitpick, if you are ambushed by a group of TR who are hiding in an enclosed space nearby, you do not fire phoenix missiles at them. You fire your Thumpers to smoke them out and pick the remains off with a bolt driver or Gauss. If anything, those missile launchers should be pointed towards the sky, looking for any patrolling skeeters. The only time I hit infantry with a Phoenix is when I can't find an armored target so that it doesn't go to waste. However, if the Phoenix is getting a massive buff against infantry in Planetside 2 then by all means, carry on.

[CrystalViolet]

Really? :confused:

yeah, I almost spit sugar free Amp all over my monitor when I read that. First thing I noticed when I read the first article was how copy/paste the technical details were.

Really wish SOE had hired someone like Joe Haldeman or OSC to write the stories.

[Graywolves]

He did the new teen titans? Is that the one where Starfire becomes an amnesiac sex object? No one's really happy with that change....


Where is the "everyone loved it" coming from? I didn't feel like he even knew what planetside was before he got the job. I don't see any grey area. TR are obvious bad guys (atleast on Auraxis. The people may not be but the organization is.) The NC are obvious good guys. And the VS are just scientists who are being accused of worshipping an alien who they are just contacting somehow.

It seems more like a very obvious plot for a fanfic where the NC are fighting righteously against the horrible TR while the VS get oppressed until they get some help from Vanu and then the VS and NC save the galaxy.



Lastly.....I don't know much about professional writing or anything but, total creative freedom makes me feel like they just said "write something, we don't give a fawk." And it feels that way too.

[Talek Krell]

Where is the "everyone loved it" coming from?Yeah, I was wondering about that too. I'm assuming that in this case "everyone" is the guy that he gave the article to and the other guy nearby that really like his work in the comics industry.

[Raymac]

Yeah, I was wondering about that too. I'm assuming that in this case "everyone" is the guy that he gave the article to and the other guy nearby that really like his work in the comics industry.

Reading comprehension? They were talking about when he delivered the stories to SOE.

And really, if you take out the Ben/Ken and a few that/than/the typos, they are setting the stage for a good short story. Personally I don't think you can throw away a whole story just because the first page wasn't good enough for you. It takes time to establish mood and emotion. I don't know of any writer that can make an enthralling story in only a few paragraphs, but you can certainly get one started.

[Captain B]

I agree. The quality isn't pay-worthy by any stretch, which I think is what's bugging most of us, since half of the issues could be caught with a quick glance-over by whoever had to post it online. However, it's only the beginning, and I would assume that the depth will increase over time, including the twists and varying levels of gray involved.

After all, he's probably still trying to find his footing.

[Voltar]

I thought changing the VS into religious fundies was a big change :|

that was the feeling they gave me playing ps but i must've read that into them.

[Talek Krell]

Reading comprehension? They were talking about when he delivered the stories to SOE.Right, so it would make sense if "everyone" was the group at SoE that he submitted the articles to. Given the errors when they were posted I think it's safe to assume that the group was not especially large and that they didn't examine the stories in detail.

that was the feeling they gave me playing ps but i must've read that into them.The story for each in PS was sort of set up so that people would draw their own conclusions, thus allowing each faction to be viewed as right or wrong by different people. "Religious crackjobs" was one of the conclusions that you could reach for VS, but it could also go in entirely different directions.

[Trolltaxi]

I don't see any grey area. TR are obvious bad guys (atleast on Auraxis. The people may not be but the organization is.) The NC are obvious good guys. And the VS are just scientists who are being accused of worshipping an alien who they are just contacting somehow.


I envy you for your world is all black and white, good and bad... Serving an organization that seems "evil" or at least "corrupted" means great drama (and a great plot) for an everyday, average character with human values and feelings. And this organization is doing the good thing with the bad tools.

Working or fighting for the NC against the Republic means either a war crime or a glorious revolution - depends on who wins the fight. People in it are undermining the unity of the human race - still, they are just the same everyday guys and gals that we see on TR side. They are doing the wrong thing with the right tools.

VS is trying to make the most out of the situation - contacting an alien species in hope for advanced technology (that may even help reopening the wormhole) is a valid option. People on the vanu side are probably considered nuts, weirdos or even complete psychotic cases. How they manage to resolve this is also a great drama. They are just the 3rd way both in long term goals and the tools they are using it.

Neither side is good or bad. It's all grey. And all charachters may have their own drama within his/her own faction.

[Vash02]

that was the feeling they gave me playing ps but i must've read that into them.

Hell no, we just want to use the new technology those regressive TR and NC are too scared to embrace. They both want to stop us exploring the galaxy and our world? The hell either of them are going to win!

[Tigersmith]

Agreed. I am glad we have a big name drawing attention to Planetside 2 and I know that we only have three short sections so far but I can't help feeling like his lack of experience in this world is glaringly obvious.

To nitpick, if you are ambushed by a group of TR who are hiding in an enclosed space nearby, you do not fire phoenix missiles at them. You fire your Thumpers to smoke them out and pick the remains off with a bolt driver or Gauss. If anything, those missile launchers should be pointed towards the sky, looking for any patrolling skeeters. The only time I hit infantry with a Phoenix is when I can't find an armored target so that it doesn't go to waste. However, if the Phoenix is getting a massive buff against infantry in Planetside 2 then by all means, carry on.

Big Name? Im sorry but I never heard of him. lol

[Graywolves]

So far all we've seen is completley biased characters. This doesn't provide a good shade of grey for people being introduced into the world.

The character that supposedly gave you an idea of what the TR were fighting for (which she really didn't.... because her character was naive, had a brother that was VS. She seriously gave you no insight on the TR, just how TR looks at NC and VS) well she dies.

The Terran Republic itself is pretty good. On Earth a good thing was going on. Then you get to Auraxis and it's suddenly fascist. I really don't mind being part of a totalitarian or fascist group, but the way it's presented just makes it seem like somebody took advantage of the situation on Auraxis for their own personal gain or just a power trip.

This could change with more to come, might be something TR higher ups aren't sharing but the TR have still been painted in an obvious color.

I don't see the world in black and white but I don't push black and white close enough that I think I see shades of gray that aren't there. And that's really hard to do because I'm Graywolves, my fucking fur is grey and winter is coming so my winter fur is all like everywhere and rawrarwarwr!

[Raymac]

So far all we've seen is completley biased characters. This doesn't provide a good shade of grey for people being introduced into the world.


"Many of the truthes we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view" -Obi-Wan Kenobi

The stories have obviously been told from certain points of view, but you may want to re-read the first one again. Genny explains why she chose the TR.

The NC are greedy traitors that don't care for the greater good, only themselves. The VS are crazy cultists. Meanwhile the TR are making a brand new world on Auraxis where everyone works together for the greater good.

I kinda get the feeling that you are just suffering from a little "liberal guilt" about your own empire. ;)

[Graywolves]

I re-read and it looked nicer but still doesn't provide much. Each part provides little incentive into what each side's actual motive is. It's always about how they feel the other side's are.


Like I said, I don't mind if the TR are totalitarian/fascists/w.e. They can be complete bad guys I don't mind. My outfit was the main villain in Guru's 2nd fanfiction Home. I absolutley ate that up!!

But if we are the bad guys I don't want to be bad guys who might as well not be concidered TR because the actual TR on Earth behave very differently.

So far, all the TR have going for them is that they're the establishment =[


And that's a good quote from Master Kenobi :)

[Vash02]

I re-read and it looked nicer but still doesn't provide much. Each part provides little incentive into what each side's actual motive is. It's always about how they feel the other side's are.


Like I said, I don't mind if the TR are totalitarian/fascists/w.e. They can be complete bad guys I don't mind. My outfit was the main villain in Guru's 2nd fanfiction Home. I absolutley ate that up!!

But if we are the bad guys I don't want to be bad guys who might as well not be concidered TR because the actual TR on Earth behave very differently.

So far, all the TR have going for them is that they're the establishment =[


And that's a good quote from Master Kenobi :) I dont think your getting SOEs method. they are going to be releasing stories weekly and slowly building up an image of each faction. Its not like they are going to jump right to the end of the story in the first week, months away from the games release.

[Graywolves]

I understand the method fine and while it's good for making a story it doesn't give the player a good idea of what's going on in the world.