Fallout: New Vegas RPG veteran Josh Sawyer says he "didn't recognize myself" during Pillars of Eternity 2 development: "I was this huge, awful a**hole"

GamesRPGPillars of EternityFallout: New Vegas RPG veteran Josh Sawyer says he “didn’t recognize myself” during Pillars of Eternity 2 development: “I was this huge, awful a**hole"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. GamesRPGPillars of EternityFallout: New Vegas RPG veteran Josh Sawyer says he “didn’t recognize myself” during Pillars of Eternity 2 development: “I was this huge, awful a**hole"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Obsidian) RPG veteran Josh Sawyer says that scheduling issues ahead of the “demoralising” launch of Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire meant that he ended up mistreating his staff until he could force studio execs to push the project back. In an interview withRock, Paper, Shotgun, Sawyer outlined the difficulties he faced in the run up to the CRPG sequel. “Even though some studios have very strict no-crunch policies, people are still being asked to do either impossible things.” For Sawyer, it was clear long before the launch of Pillars of Eternity 2 that “we were in a position where we knew that we did not have enough time, nine months before we hit that wall.” Sawyer says concerns were raised with management, with the team stating that “the options were either to invest more time in it, or to cut scope and staff.” Obsidian execs declined to do either of those things, and things got worse when Sawyer’s team was forced to keep a major feature in the game against their will, and then again once a commitment to voicing every character in the game was made. “It was that feeling of accelerating towards a brick wall,” Sawyer says, admitting that “I and a lot of other people on the team became really harsh, and were snapping at people. I didn’t really recognise myself at a certain point because I had very little tolerance for time being wasted and questions and things like that. I was pushing people in a way I had never done on a game before.” As a CRPG series, Pillars of Eternity seems to be on ice, butSawyer has says he’d make a third game if he could get a Baldur’s Gate 3-sized budget. For now, the series lives on asAvowed, while Sawyer worked on Pentiment, a project he recently described as one of the most relaxed of his career. In the past few weeks, he’s alsodescribed burnout as a bigger potential issue for the games industry than crunch, which seems particularly telling in the context of his time on Deadfire. For a moment, Fallout: New Vegas fans thought they’d found evidence of sequel plans, only to find Josh Sawyer’s burrito order instead. 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steals the show” 1 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2 Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3 Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the 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up for the misses” 2 Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 3 Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 4 Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” 5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to 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