This one is probably the longest one I have (I think -- I may be wrong). It takes a while to get good, but it gets there. It's more wonderment at the creatures incredible lack of short term memory. I'm eventually practically living out a scene from Zoolander... only 10 times over --
It : "So why is it that you're doing all this stuff to make the weapons different?"
Me : "Well, so that every weapon plays differently but there's some balance across the weapons and there would be some reason to change weapons based on the purpose or the style of the player."
It : "But before, you were saying that we wouldn't allow changing between the weapons."
Me : "What? When did I say that?"
It : "Before."
Me : "Before what? when?"
It : "Before today, I think."
Me : "Well that narrows it down."
It : "Well, last week, then. Whatever."
Me : "Last week, there was only one weapon, so of course we didn't change between anything. We just switched engines, so it's not a big surprise that there was only one weapon until recently or that we're shooting soup cans as placeholder models."
It : "What's the point of making them different if they all shoot stuff?"
Me : "Well, if things are balanced, there won't be any dominance of one weapon over another."
It : "But if they're all the same, it's balanced as well."
Me : "Then there's no point to having multiple weapons in the first place."
It : "They'll still look different."
Me : "They won't play any different."
It : "What does that mean?"
Me : "I mean if the characteristics are the same for every weapon, the gameplay becomes one-dimensional."
It : "Come on man, the game is 3d."
Me : "I mean one-dimensional as in single-faceted. There's no uniqueness between weapons and no weapon would carry a circumstantial advantage."
It : "See, but if you fire a gun, it shoots things."
Me : "Okay..."
It : "Okay, what?"
Me : "Go on."
It : "That's all."
Me : "Just saying it shoots things doesn't say anything about what it shoots, how often it shoots, how much ammo it holds, what the muzzle velocity is..."
It : "But that's like saying that Monday and Wednesday are different because they're not the same day of the week."
Me : "Huh?"
It : "Well, you think about the Nazis..."
Me : "Oh, great. Here we go."
It : "When they killed the Jews, they didn't care whether it was by gas or guns or hanging."
Me : "I think they did, considering that gas is probably cheaper for mass execution than guns or hanging."
It : "Well, cost is separate since we're talking about a game and not real life."
Me : "Yeah, the point is that certain weapons might be more useful in some cases, but that will only hold true if the weapons behave differently."
It : "Yeah, well, suppose I was Hitler."
Me : "I bet you'd be REAL happy with that."
It : "Oh, you bet your sweet patooties I would be
"
Me : "I wish you wouldn't wink... especially not when speaking of how sweet my 'patooties' are."
It : "Huh?"
Me : "Just... go on... [muttering to self]I know I'll regret saying that.[/muttering]"
It : "Okay, I'm Hitler. I want to kill 1000 Jews, and money is no object."
Me : "*sigh~~~* Okay."
It : "So why would it matter what I use to kill them as long as they're dead?"
Me : "Would the various choices have any advantages over one another?"
It : "Well, sure."
Me : "Then wouldn't you want to weigh your options to decide on the one you like best?"
It : "But that could take days! That's fine for Hitler, but in a game..."
Me : "Most people will go with whichever one suits their style as much as possible."
It : "But all the weapons are the same."
Me : "That's what we've been talking about! About me making the weapons behave differently from each other!"
It : "Oh... Wait a minute. Why would you want to do that?"
Me : "RRGGHH! I just explained that!"
It : "But that was about Hitler, and everybody is so against putting Hitler in our game."
Me : "The same reasons still apply."
It : "Really? So we'll be killing Jews in our game anyway?"
Me : "NO!!! I'm talking about choosing weapons based on the circumstances! In the general sense!"
It : "So the problem is the same whether its Jews or anybody else."
Me : "That's not quite how I would have put it, but yes."
It : "So how many weapons will there be in the end?"
Me : "I think [Art Director] said 12. Not including vehicle weapons."
It : "So there have to be 12 differences?"
Me : "Maybe more than that."
It : "But they'll still look different, right?"
Me : "I think that's a given."
It : "That's the more important thing, because however badly or goodly you play the game, you still have to look at it."
Me : ".... okay."
It : "So why don't they behave differently right now?"
Me : "Because I'm sitting here pointlessly discussing it rather than working on it."
It : "How many people actually have 12 weapons?"
Me : "What?"
It : "I mean, if there are 12 weapons in the game, why 12?"
Me : "I guess because we've dreamt up 12 weapons so far."
It : "Well we did more, but 12 of them stuck, right?"
Me : "Yeah."
It : "I guess that's a good number for the characters."
Me : "Yeah, when we get around to vehicles and stuff, there will be more."
It : "So how many will that be?"
Me : "Don't really know yet, but probably not that many -- we are planning that whole interchangeability thing. The primary value of vehicles is speed over going it on foot."
It : "So how many weapons are we going to have for characters?"
Me : "....... 12... we already talked about that."
It : "Oh. Riiiight."
Me : "Anyway, I'll get back to work."
It : "Just one thing. All these weapons. When they're done, they'll all act kind of in unique ways and stuff, y'know? You see what I'm saying?"
Me : -_____- "Yes... yes, they will do that."
It : "Can you work on that right away?"
Me : "Sure thing!"
