Joe Fielder, the senior narrative designer for The Outer Worlds 2, has navigated a diverse landscape in the gaming industry over his two-decade career. His journey has seen him don various roles, from level designer to producer, and even director. “Sometimes, in the games industry, you take on the job that’s offered to you,” he reflects, a sentiment that led him to Irrational Games as a producer on the critically acclaimed BioShock Infinite.
“I was an art producer and narrative producer for a while on BioShock Infinite,” Fielder recalls. His multifaceted experience included recording and directing, but it was a blind writing test that opened the door to a new opportunity. “They were looking to expand their writing team, and I contributed,” he explains. After completing the test, he found himself in a fortunate position. “Apparently, they read over everyone’s samples and decided to bring me in. They looked up who it was, and they were like, ‘Well, that’ll be easy, it’s Joe, he’s in the next room.’”
In this new capacity, Fielder focused on combat dialogue and worldbuilding elements, areas where Irrational Games excelled. He fondly remembers his first piece of writing for BioShock Infinite, which involved crafting the initial walk into Columbia. “If you played BioShock Infinite, the initial walk into Columbia, where everyone’s talking about their perfect day—that was my first time writing for the game,” he shares. “Those little conversations were fun to create.”
Fielder appreciated the opportunity to engage in non-expositional writing, a refreshing departure from the typical game narrative style. “A lot of games just give you a briefing, presenting all the facts about the society,” he notes. “In this case, you wandered around and soaked it in. You heard people talking about their day as if they assumed that everybody already knew the context of everything.” This approach allowed players to glean insights into the game’s world organically.
He ensured that even the off-the-beaten-path conversations contributed to the lore, providing hints and deeper elements that enriched the player’s experience. “If you were kind of the game archaeologist and wanted to explore, you could wander off the path, and those people would be talking about things that would give you hints at things you might hear later,” he explains. “Or just deeper elements of the lore, or humour. Hopefully humour.”
Humour has been a significant focus for Fielder, particularly in his latest project. “I’ve been trying to sneak humour into games for years,” he admits. “The Outer Worlds 2 is the first game where I’m actually being paid for it.” While both The Outer Worlds 2 and BioShock Infinite explore various political and economic ideologies, Fielder’s penchant for comedy shines through in his work. Long before he joined Obsidian, he was embedding comedic slogans into BioShock’s in-fiction brands.
One memorable example was a slogan for a fictional cigarette brand: “The only brand of cigarettes designed especially for kids.” This playful touch aligns with the satirical nature of The Outer Worlds 2, where the capitalist caricature of Auntie’s Choice would undoubtedly approve of such clever humour.
