I never change weapons in RPGs, and I've made Josh Sawyer's life hell

I get specific images in my head of who I'm playing and how I'm playing them. It'll be a cold day in hell before you catch me using anything but a revolver and light armour in New Vegas, or dual flintlock pistols (and light armour) in Pillars of Eternity. These are the tools that seem coolest to use, so I stick with them, more or less in perpetuity.

That stubbornness is a real drag for Josh Sawyer, the New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity director and Obsidian design director, who has spent much of his career trying to design armour systems that compel players to make interesting decisions. In a recent video Sawyer discussed where Avowed succeeded and failed with its armour system and explained why player habits make that work difficult.

Sawyer cited Darklands as a touchstone, where armour follows a rock-paper-scissors model: certain weapons are good against certain armours and worthless against others, sometimes not damaging health at all.

josh sawyer, obsidian, avowed, new vegas, pillars, armour system, rock-paper-scissors, revolver, flintlock pistols, light armour