Neng Nana
In the intricate world of Role-Playing Game (RPG) design, few systems are as fundamental—yet notoriously difficult to balance—as armor. It is the invisible math that dictates the ebb and flow of combat, the tangible progression of a character, and the stakes of every encounter. Recently, Obsidian Entertainment design director Josh Sawyer, a titan of the genre with over 25 years of experience, offered a candid critique of his own studio’s latest output, Avowed, while revealing the philosophical struggle he has faced for over two decades: the search for an armor system that lives up to the historical simulation of the 1992 cult classic, Darklands.
The Core Critique: When Mechanics Meet Frustration
For the uninitiated, Josh Sawyer is a name synonymous with deep, systemic RPG design, having helmed projects like Fallout: New Vegas and Pentiment. In a recent video on his YouTube channel, titled "Armor Chat," Sawyer broke down the mechanics of defense, using his studio’s recent release, Avowed, as a case study for how good intentions in design can sometimes miss the mark.
Sawyer, who served in an advisory capacity on Avowed and contributed to its writing, was blunt regarding the game’s armor mechanics. He clarified that the implementation in Avowed did not align with his personal vision for a "tier system," which he had theorized in previous design discussions.
"I would say the Avowed armor system is not really what I had in mind by tiered armor when I made that video," Sawyer admitted. "It was designed as a progression gate, and to a certain extent, it kind of worked, except that nobody liked it."
A Chronology of Design Intent
The history of armor design in RPGs is a balancing act between accessibility and simulation. In Avowed, the system was intended to act as a mechanical tether, forcing players to cycle through gear as they leveled up and encountered increasingly dangerous threats. The goal was to maintain a steady difficulty curve by incentivizing the acquisition of better equipment.
However, the reality of the game’s launch revealed significant friction. Sawyer noted that many of the most glaring issues with the system were addressed in patches shortly after release, but the fundamental structure remained a point of contention. The primary flaw, according to Sawyer, lay in how the game handled damage reduction.
The Scaling Conundrum
In Avowed, the armor system utilized a secondary damage threshold—a flat reduction applied after an initial percentage-based calculation. The technical oversight, Sawyer explained, was that this threshold failed to scale proportionally with incoming damage.
"The issue was that it didn’t scale with damage," Sawyer explained. "And it would be pretty hard for it to scale with damage because damage values increased like 20 times their base value."
This creates a "math gap" that is common in RPGs where level scaling is aggressive. If player damage and enemy health pools balloon to massive numbers to create a sense of power progression, static armor values become either trivial or mandatory, losing their tactical utility. This is in stark contrast to games where damage progression is more modest, allowing armor to remain relevant throughout the entirety of a playthrough.
The Darklands Standard: Simulation vs. Abstraction
If Avowed represents the modern, often-contentious approach to RPG itemization, the 1992 RPG Darklands serves as Sawyer’s "North Star." Darklands—a game he has cited as a primary influence for his historical mystery Pentiment—utilized a system that prioritized simulation over traditional "stat-bloat."
Sawyer’s ideal system, modeled after Darklands, relies on clear, logical interactions:
- Material Logic: Weapons are categorized by their ability to penetrate specific materials (e.g., mail, leather, chain, plate).
- Tactical Identification: Players can visually assess an enemy’s armor and intuitively know which weapon is required to bypass it.
- High-Stakes Consequences: If a player uses a weapon ill-suited for the armor, the damage dealt is minimal, forcing the player to adapt their strategy rather than simply relying on higher-tier gear.
This system is inherently "simulative." It rewards the player for understanding the world’s internal logic rather than just chasing higher gear score numbers. By contrast, modern systems often abstract armor into a simple percentage reduction, which Sawyer argues strips the gear of its identity and tactical depth.
Official Perspectives and Studio Dynamics
It is important to contextualize these comments within the broader development cycle of Avowed. While Sawyer’s influence on Obsidian is foundational, the directorial responsibilities for Avowed rested with Carrie Patel, the former narrative lead for The Outer Worlds. Patel, who departed Obsidian in 2025, led the team through the challenges of bringing a first-person RPG to life within the Pillars of Eternity universe.
Sawyer’s critique is not a condemnation of his colleagues, but rather an expression of the perennial difficulty of translating deep, tabletop-inspired systems into modern, action-oriented video games. The transition from the isometric, turn-based roots of the genre to the fluid, real-time combat expected by contemporary audiences often requires sacrifices in mechanical complexity.
Implications for the Future of RPG Design
The "Armor Chat" video serves as a rare, transparent window into the internal monologue of a veteran developer. It highlights a recurring theme in the industry: the struggle between creating a game that feels "fun" by modern standards and one that feels "meaningful" by design standards.
1. The Death of "Number Chasing"
Sawyer’s preference for a Darklands-style system suggests a move away from the "gear treadmill"—a staple of modern looter-RPGs where players are constantly replacing gear solely for higher base stats. A more simulative approach invites a return to horizontal progression, where equipment is chosen for its specific properties rather than its place in an arbitrary tier list.
2. The Visibility of Mechanics
Modern UI/UX design in games often obfuscates the math behind combat. Sawyer’s emphasis on visual readability—knowing by sight that a plate-clad enemy requires a warhammer—is a call for more intuitive game design. It reduces the need for players to stare at character sheets and allows them to interact with the world through observation.
3. The Self-Criticism of the Auteur
Perhaps the most significant implication is the culture of self-critique that Sawyer fosters. By admitting that even his own past systems have failed to fully solve the problems of armor design, he invites the community to view game development as an iterative, imperfect process. He openly states, "My own systems haven’t done a great job of addressing issues that I see with existing systems, but I’m gonna keep on trying."
Conclusion
The dialogue surrounding Avowed and its armor mechanics is more than just a post-mortem of a single game; it is a vital conversation about the identity of the RPG genre. As games become more graphically advanced and action-focused, the risk of losing the "simulationist soul" of the genre is ever-present.
Josh Sawyer’s obsession with Darklands is not mere nostalgia; it is an acknowledgment that the most compelling RPG systems are those that treat the player as a strategist rather than a consumer of stats. While Avowed may not have reached that specific design zenith, the discourse generated by its director ensures that the next generation of RPGs will continue to grapple with the age-old question: how do we make armor feel like more than just a spreadsheet modification? For developers like Sawyer, the answer lies in a return to logic, history, and the tactile reality of the steel and leather that define the genre.
Pevita Pearce
Evan Lee Salim
