RPG veteran Josh Sawyer says designers 'go overboard in removing friction'

Obsidian Entertainment's Josh Sawyer, the director behind Fallout: New Vegas and Pentiment, says developers sometimes smooth games so much they end up “removing friction.” He recalled trying to find that balance while working on Neverwinter Nights 2. The comment came during a YouTube Q&A about the Spirit Eater mechanic in Mask of the Betrayer, a dark presence that infected your character and weakened them if not fed properly.

“I remember it was challenging,” Sawyer said, noting that some mechanical ideas have “ludonarrative consonants” and reinforce a story’s themes, but can frustrate players when they require maintenance. He added that the system was meaningful and “didn't make the experience overall a bad one,” while stressing that friction isn’t always wrong.

“It's not that it shouldn't create friction - again, I've talked about friction before. I think that sometimes game designers go overboard in removing friction.

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