Matt Chat 89: Bard's Tale and Wizardry with Brian Fargo

In the first part of my interview with the founder of Interplay, Brian and I discuss his early days, the story of Bard's Tale, life at Interplay, Wizardry, and the humor of Battlechess.

Donate to Matt Chat: http://www.armchairarcade.com/neo/node/3793

Special thanks to Jay Barnson for suggesting questions. You can read his great blog at http://rampantgames.com/blog/

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• videogames
• games
• brian fargo
• wizardry
• battlechess
• bard's tale
• mindshadow
• interplay
• interview
• development
• electronic arts

[Merth667]

Wow. I never knew all the people that made these legendary games are still active. I was unfortunate enough to not be old enough to really be there at these game's prime but thanks for trying to educate on this. As I'm a newer subscribe I think I'll do a "Matt Chat marathon".

Anyway, thanks for doing this please don't ever get discouraged, you're doing an excellent job :). Thanks!

[blacklily8]

@Merth667 Have fun!

[psynque]

Fantastic interview once again. Have you ever tried contacting the industry mavericks like Jaron Lanier or Jeff Minter for an interview?

[blacklily8]

@psynque I tried Minter, but didn't get any response.

[HardWarUK]

I think I have every Brian Fargo game I believe! At least up until 2000!

[blacklily8]

@HardWarUK Even Demon's Forge? I bet that's a serious collector's item.

[zkylon]

Rejoice! Matt Chat's back! I'm very happy to get you back. I love the style in which you conduct interviews and the respect you show for these geniouses and the amount of interesting information you get out of them. Your channel is definetly one of the most valuable, and is at the same level of the great ones like Extra Credits, etc...

[8bitrandomencounter]

The Bard's Tale (2004) was my favorite in the series, honestly

[DoubleDungeon]

I didn't realize The Bard's Tale (2004) had bad reviews.. I loved that game.

[Evadman9876]

These interviews are really interesting for an old-schooler gamer like me... thanks for posting them! Any chance you'll ever talk to the guys who made "Alternate Reality: The City" and "Alternate Reality: The Dungeon"? It sounds like there were some really interesting plans for that series.

[viperswhip]

As to the rats thing. In the Human Noble origin in Dragon Age I think they really give a nod to that trope heh. I don't know whether they meant it that way, I just like to give Bioware the benefit of the doubt.

[Daehawk]

The good..no GREAT..old days. I miss them and Interplay. Lots of companies make good and very good games. Only 3 made great games...Interplay, Origin, and Looking Glass. The greats are gone...long live the greats of gaming!

[tuktuktok]

Fallout 2 = Best game ever.

[Retrosofer]

great interview dude.

[Chyropraise]

I'm glad a channel like this exists. Very interesting back story and I am now subscribed.

Keep up the good work!

[madameneruda]

@AxeBlack84

I do, it's awesome!

[ElGeecho]

I have to say, I find it somewhat difficult to reconcile the different stories related to Bard's Tale. They tell very different tales, and they both seem to be absolutely clear in their respective views.

Becky's account is more detailed and seems somewhat more believable for that reason. On the other hand, she came across as a bit of a self-promoter and obviously has some personal issues with Cranford -- e.g., she wanted to blame him for disapproving of her transition even though he hadn't.