Obsidian Games, the team behind the upcoming Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, know a thing or two about creating a stunning RPG experience. With fans of the first Pillars waiting anxiously for the upcoming release of the sequel, many can’t wait to see all of the changes in full effect from previous fan feedback.

One of the many aspects that makes the Pillars franchise so successful is that it is heartily rooted in its RPG genre, often compared to other greats in this niche such as Baldur’s Gate. This team knows what it means to balance creating a fully evolving experience for players while still offering something that “feels like home” with its familiarity. With the upcoming sequel releasing soon, Obsidian’s Josh Sawyer, Pillars II director, had a few words to say towards his fellow devs: don’t be afraid.

Speaking during the Reboot Development expo this past week, Sawyer decided to open up about the RPG experience, why he thinks more professionals should be more “radical,” and even citing Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls franchise as an epitome of success. He mentioned that “fans tend to skew towards the more hardcore cases and they tend to be fairly resistant to change. I don’t want to paint too broad of a stroke there but RPGs can be a lot more than we have done with them so far. There’s much more than we can do and it’s much more radical.”

It’s important to realise that he’s not claiming their latest project is a “never before done” game, even acknowledging that both Pillars of Eternity 1 & II follow traditional role-playing game guidelines. His underlying point resides in developers being comfortable in the microcosm they create, knowing it intimately, and not being afraid to take risks. He even cited Bethesda’s success within their Elder Scrolls franchise, “The traditionalists probably get angry about this stuff, but Bethesda’s RPGs are very different from isometric RPGs.”

He continued to discuss the current state of creating a well-done immersive experience while stating briefly touching on this genre’s evolution, “They’re much more action orientated, much more focused on the immersive experience. That shows there’s more room for RPGs to grow than just to be what they were 20 years ago. It’s really a matter of finding an audience that matches up with that.”

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Personally, RPGs are probably my favorite genre in gaming and in time in gaming where several developers have already come out stating that they are resting on “what’s hot” to justify shortcuts, Sawyer’s message couldn’t come at a better time. What do you think about what the director had to say? Are you lo0king forward to Pillars of Eternity II coming out in two weeks? Sound off with your thoughts in the comment section below, and don’t forget to check out DFTG on Twitter for gaming and entertainment news live 24/7!