Path of Exile 2 Interview with Christopher "Octavian" Laferriere at the Tokyo Games Show
297Hey everyone! It's a surprise interview and the first of its kind coming from this channel. I decided to stop by the Tokyo Games Show this weekend since GGG was there. I managed to get a PoE2 demo in as well as an exclusive interview with Christopher Laferriere (a.k.a. Octavian), who was one of the heads of the Path of Exile booth. He's been a longtime member of the community and was even a content creator prior to working for the company.
Topics included the Tokyo Games Show event, Octavian's personal journey and outlook on PoE, and the challenges of making a PoE predecessor game for an already diverging player-base. Apologies for some video/audio quality issues. I was working in unknown territory and on borrowed equipment. My only regret is not getting a streamer client demo machine.
If there are any questions you wish had been asked, please let us know in the comments for potential future interviews. I hope you enjoy the video. Thanks for watching!
0:00 - Streamer privilege isn't real
0:24 - Intro
2:19 - The outside inside experience
3:26 - Tokyo Games Show
4:55 - Octavian's Story
7:11 - Acknowledging PoE's barrier to entry
8:31 - Favorite league
9:40 - Least favorite league
10:21 - Disagreeing with game design
12:10 - Balancing & testing a complex game
13:36 - The relationship between game developers and their community
15:27 - Handling a divergent player-base
17:40 - Player agency is key
20:30 - Aspiration rewarding content with randomness too
21:47 - So many game modes
23:10 - Reversing the decision to merge PoE1 into PoE2
24:54 - Two games means more choices
26:42 - Anymore delays coming?
27:14 - The emphasis on showcasing earlygame vs endgame
29:04 - Comparing the combat flow between both games
30:25 - Methodical combat vs blasting
32:52 - Righteous Fire as an unanticipated zero button build
33:50 - Is PoE2 brutally difficult?
34:48 - Ruthless mode and player reception
35:45 - How much loot drops in PoE2?
36:36 - Connections between PoE1 & PoE2 lore
37:12 - PoE's flexibility to change major systems on a dime
38:15 - The struggle of demoing an ARPG like PoE2
38:58 - Rediscovering the game and all the unknowns
39:41 - Additional comments
40:43 - Outro
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