I find it weird one of the famous/tripleA companies are doing a kickstarter...
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The only way this gets made is if they get assistance with the development cost. They do something like kickstarter, or they'd have to find a publisher to work with. And if you know the history of Obsidian...you'll understand why they don't want to do that with this kind of project.
Obsidian isn't an extremely wealthy company.
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I think we will see more of these campaigns from the private AAA-developers. The publisher owned ones can't do these. But it's good to see that players can have their say in what gets developed. It's usually projects that they want to do, but aren't just viable today in traditional funding model.
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Obsidian isn't really an AAA developer though. And as mentioned above, they kinda got screwed over by Bethesda on New Vegas, which was very popular but hardly made them any money because they'd only get a cut of the profit if it scored above an 85/100 on Metacritic and they ended up with an 84/100 or something stupid like that.
They're not the kind of rich developer who can just start a project like that. They need a lot of financial support from a publisher (with all the problems and restrictions that brings with it), and Kickstarter is a way to circumvent such reliance.
Look at it this way: Normally some fat cat at EA or Activision decides which games get funded and which don't. With Kickstarter, the players do. At least, that's the theory.
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My reaction because I've I just promised myself to not spend other money for some time.
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"This afternoon, Obsidian is launching a Kickstarter for what they're calling Project: Eternity. It's an original fantasy role-playing game created by many of the company's top minds: Chris Avellone, creator of Planescape: Torment; Tim Cain, one of the brains behind the original Fallout; Josh Sawyer, a lead designer on Icewind Dale; and a number of other programmers, artists, and designers who have worked on all of those games.
Their goal: to make an RPG that blends the combat and exploration of Baldur's Gate, the dungeon spelunking of Icewind Dale, and the powerful narrative of Planescape: Torment."
Taken from http://kotaku.com/5942307/the-people-behind-fallout-and-planescape-are-making-my-dream-rpg
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Mmm... seeing it all written like that, well I just made a mess in my pants.
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Yeah, it's the same with the description of the project. They keep referring to Baldur's Gate but there are no concrete explanations regarding the game's features.
I honestly don't believe Obsidian is capable of pulling this off in this age of dumbed down games and mmo crap. This could easily end up as another bland clone like Dragon Age. I know a lot of people enjoyed it but in my opinion it's far, far inferior to BG.
I hope it turns out for the best though. In the meantime, for good recent old school RPGs with solid storytelling I recommend trying SpiderWeb's games (Avernum, Geneforge, etc.) and the likes.
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They're referring to Baldur's Gate (and other games, if you bother to read some articles about this), because that's the old-school style that is going to be used. What's unclear about that and what more do you need to know about the gameplay?
Even if it would end up a blatant copy of Baldur's Gate, fuck it, there's never enough of that to go around anyway.
My point is, that there are always people like you, emerging on the Internet to suddenly have something against it, having not even tried it.
"I honestly don't believe Obsidian is capable of pulling this off in this age of dumbed down games and mmo crap. " There's simply nothing, anywhere, to even make anyone think like that. What's wrong with you? If you're already thinking like this, then you've already given up on gaming, so might as well not ever bother to comment on this game again, as you've lost your right. Honestly, I'd like to say more about your post, but it's so "out of there" that I don't even know where to begin with. First you complain that there will be too many similarities to Baldur's Gate, then go on to recommend games that are similar (not gonna bring up the fact that your apparent dislike for Dragon Age doesn't even make sense). Make up your mind.
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My concern is they make no mention of what engine this game will run on. If they are building their own engine from scratch, no way I am giving them my money, either now, or within a year of release. If they are using an established engine they have worked with before, and the developer of that engine is continuing to improve it, fuck yeah!
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I didn't say there won't ever be any game as good as BG, I just don't believe OBSIDIAN can pull it off. I base my opinion on what I saw during the last decade. Maybe you're creaming your pants because you see Baldur's Gate and Fallout in the description but for me that's not enough to throw my money at them.
The description they provide for this new game is basically a vague description of Baldur's Gate. There are no specific indications about what actually matters (gameplay, setting, lore, etc.) For instance will it be based on D&D rules or some bullshit mmo cooldown abilities? My decision to buy (or in this case fund) the game is entirely based on this type of details.
As for "losing my right to whatever" because I disagree with you: LOL.
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"I just don't believe OBSIDIAN can pull it off. I base my opinion on what I saw during the last decade."
Yes, when they were under tight orders from their publishers, which everyone knows they almost always screw up the game developing. And it's also the reason they're doing the Kickstarter now, so they can do it on their own terms, a game that is meant to end up how they, and the fans want, not the publishers.
And as I said, you should wait for more details before already talking like you've decided this game's going to be bad. Because that's how it comes off from your posts so far. That was my only gripe. I'm not some drooling Baldur's Gate fanboy. And I have never played Fallout 1 and 2 (yeah, it sucks, but they're just not my thing), so I can't drool over that either. The gameplay you'll have to wait and see. The lore, well, they're doing something new, and that's very subjective, it doesn't mean it will be bad just because you won't like it.
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Aye but the point being is that we should start throwing money at screen for their quite vague description. Compared to other Kickstarter projects, this had very little information on it. No running alpha version, no videos, no screenshots and no description about any of the details. It was pretty much a generic marketing presentation with all good catchy lines thrown in without any actual content.
I personally hope that they are really running for this, but I would like to get more information.
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What I mean is, these guys are asking for 1 million dollars of funding, and they're not providing anything other than big names and they basically hijack Baldur's Gate description for their own project. On top of that, even if each of these guys took part in the development of a different "classic" game, we have yet to see what they can do together with this specific type of game.
All I'm saying is I'm gonna need a lot more concrete explanations of what they intend to do if they expect me to give them my money upfront. I'm just surprised everyone is so quick to fund this with next to no idea about what they're buying. All we know so far is "it's a top down perspective RPG in a fantasy setting", so far I'm not impressed...
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Devs aren't the part who we have to blame for the current state of affairs. The publishers are, they look at the numbers and think that lowest common determinant rules. Devs can still make great games if they aren't pressured by publishers to make crap. And there might be some more pressure to deliver good project on their own behalf.
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Of course they are also to blame. They're not helpless victims locked up in a sweat shop doing what publishers tell them under threat of death.
If they don't like the publisher they can leave and join another studio or do their own thing. That's what happened with the team from Torchlight for instance.
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They can, but where does they even then get money?
Problem is that investment in not so trendy projects is limited. And million like these projects need isn't small sum...
It's true that one can do small projects and do something bigger if it's successful, or slave away making those games which some publisher want like stuff for facebook. And use profits to invest in own project. Still money isn't easy to come by.
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Yeah. It's all sunshine and rainbows, right? You have any idea the harsh world we live in? It's not easy to just up and leave for a different publishers. And ALL publishers think in numbers and end up screwing a game. And yes, they actually are under threat of being fired and other similar things, when developing. They can and will make your job a living hell. And he's a working man, a developer, just like anyone else, that needs money. So when the publisher says "Do this, or I find someone else to do it instead", you freaking do it.
The team from Torchlight had a shitload of money that they invested on their own, and they also had amazing reputation before that. They risked it, but just because they managed to succeed doesn't mean it can happen to every other developer.
Seriously, though, I came off kind of rude before, so I apologize for that. But you're seriously not thinking it's that easy, are you?
(Also, since I'm relatively new here, sheesh, the forum format is a bit... inefficient. Post, page loads back up, find your post again, scroll again, etc.)
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Oh boohoo life is hard, gimme a fucking break.
I quoted the team from Torchlight only as an example, you don't necessarily need a fortune to create a good game. There are others, for instance the guys from Titan Quest, developping their new game on their own time while they have a job on the side. If you look at SpiderWeb (old school indie RPGs) the company is basically one guy developping the games by himself!
But again these are just examples, every situation is different. And sure, everyone has a million good excuses for not doing anything and not taking any chances. I'm not saying it's easy, I'm saying if there's a will there's a way. I guess it comes down to personality and the way you see things in the end.
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I know it sounded cliche when I said it, but it's true, no matter how you go about it.
In any case, they did the Kickstarter to see if people want the game first. The donations are a show of faith from gamers and that's why I think they'll do their best to deliver in the end. That's what Kickstarter is all about. At least that's how I see it.
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Even Dragon Age is incredible compared to it's sequel. Sadly everyone is in a race to turn RPG's into action games with a stronger narrative focus.
If you want any sort of an old school RPG you have to go indie, publishers won't even touch it.
Still, I have more faith in Obsidian being able to pull it off then anyone else. Chris Avellone has long lamented the death of such RPG's in the mainstream, and he's involved with Wasteland 2. There is some real talent behind this.
Or maybe I'm just desperate for any sort of a good classic RPG.
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Yeah, I've played it before when it was Exile, and again with the original Avernum.
Jeff Vogel's games are always terrific.
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Who they have on staff and who design the gameplay, the story etc etc are two very different things. As much as I am in the "Lets all form a circle and suck Chris Avellone's manparts" group I really does not want him to be the project director.
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Actually, they do - in the video. I believe, Josh Sawyer is running this one.
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Can't wait for the game to come out. Not only that but the first wave of KS stuff is gonna be interesting: the console thingy, the shadowrun game, few other games i cant remember off the top of my head. I do hope that someone will try to make something like the Might and Magic series (6-8) since i know Ubisoft looks like they never will.
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Ok, this is BS. WHy do they need a kick-starter? They just want some free money? This is like FOX doing a kick-starter for a new movie.
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You have no clue what you're talking about.
You're comparing a massive corporation like Fox to an actual independent developer like Obsidian. They're not doing this game with funding from a major publisher, and then stashing this money in the bank. The Kickstarter is funding the development.
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Read the posts above yours. Your accusations have been answered numerous times by others.
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Obsidian is just a team of developers, and developers need funding to work on new projects. This is where publishers come in. In the case of F:NV they had funding from Bethesda. For Alpha Protocol it was SEGA. This time they're opting to not have a publisher providing financial support, so they're asking for the users to help fund the project directly.
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If Obsidian can't do this - no one today can.
Back this immediately if you have moneys.
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Wasteland 2, Carmageddon and now this!!! I love Kickstarter
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http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obsidian/project-eternity
**Project Eternity is an isometric, party-based RPG set in a new fantasy world developed by Obsidian Entertainment.
This is the first time anything on Kickstarter has gotten this reaction from me.
The goal of 1.1M has been reached in only around 27 hours. Stretch goals have been added.
An interesting article from August where Chris Avellone talks about what the new RPG might look like. (Thanks gamezMk for the link)
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