Obsidian General Discussion Thread

[Jaesun]

As long as this doesn't interfere with my Obsidian SCI-FI Kickstarter game....

(I know this will never happen, but a Man can dream... right?)

 

[Rake]

As long as this doesn't interfere with my Obsidian SCI-FI Kickstarter game....

(I know this will never happen, but a Man can dream... right?)

Why so pessimistic? I give good chances the new IP to be SCI-Fi, even if i would prefer it wasn't.

Now if you mean a TB Sci-Fi....

 

[Haba]

The first fruit of this partnership with Paizo Inc. will be a tablet version of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game for one to four players. A deck-building game with RPG elements, the tabletop version has found a permanent place in my game collection.

Oh wow.

 

[agris]

As long as this doesn't interfere with my Obsidian SCI-FI Kickstarter game....

I think you all are being short-sighted with what the PoE universe allows Obsidian to do. They can take the mechanics developed for PoE, and world history, and project into the future enough such that that the game's themes are science fiction. Sure, the mechanics developed now are for a magic / melee focused game, augmented by black-powder era weapons, but who says they can't be updated for more ranged-weapon type combat.

By developing the PoE IP, OE can pick slices in the universe timeline to develop games in while retaining a fanbase through consistent use of a world. I don't think this has been done before, but should be an advantage for a non-AAA studio developing its own IP. I think this makes a HELL of a lot more sense than using unique IP for each fiction genre of game (mideval realism vs. renaissance fantasy vs. sci-fi vs. waifu simulation). Imagine the PoE universe but in the Earth-equivalent of 2200. I don't think there are any downsides to that, and only the upsides of leveraging part of an existing fan base. Furthermore, it forces OE to develop the universe history which allows for the placement of protagonist in interesting historical events regardless of the genre of a specific game. Much like how PoE is setup now.

Yes, future events are constricted by prior, and I think that's an advantage in a lot of ways. It brings the audience along. There could be a series of games set in the PoE timeline, and another series of games set in the PoE universe/world, but +400 years with mechanics and rules tweaked for that time. I don't understand the advantage of bifurcating your audience by developing unique IPs for every genre, yet (all?) games do this.

 

[Drax]

As long as this doesn't interfere with my Obsidian SCI-FI Kickstarter game....

I think you all are being short-sighted with what the PoE universe allows Obsidian to do. They can take the mechanics developed for PoE, and world history, and project into the future enough such that that the game's themes are science fiction. Sure, the mechanics developed now are for a magic / melee focused game, augmented by black-powder era weapons, but who says they can't be updated for more ranged-weapon type combat.

By developing the PoE IP, OE can pick slices in the universe timeline to develop games in while retaining a fanbase through consistent use of a world. I don't think this has been done before, but should be an advantage for a non-AAA studio developing its own IP. I think this makes a HELL of a lot more sense than using unique IP for each fiction genre of game (mideval realism vs. renaissance fantasy vs. sci-fi vs. waifu simulation). Imagine the PoE universe but in the Earth-equivalent of 2200. I don't think there are any downsides to that, and only the upsides of leveraging part of an existing fan base. Furthermore, it forces OE to develop the universe history which allows for the placement of protagonist in interesting historical events regardless of the genre of a specific game. Much like how PoE is setup now.

Yes, future events are constricted by prior, and I think that's an advantage in a lot of ways. It brings the audience along. There could be a series of games set in the PoE timeline, and another series of games set in the PoE universe/world, but +400 years with mechanics and rules tweaked for that time. I don't understand the advantage of bifurcating your audience by developing unique IPs for every genre, yet (all?) games do this.

Good god, that sounds awesome. Now they HAVE to do that. I hope that's their idea too.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

By developing the PoE IP, OE can pick slices in the universe timeline to develop games in while retaining a fanbase through consistent use of a world. I don't think this has been done before, but should be an advantage for a non-AAA studio developing its own IP. I think this makes a HELL of a lot more sense than using unique IP for each fiction genre of game

It's a good idea, similar to what Larian has been doing I guess - setting their games in the same world over a wide range of history, with a different genre (Dragon Commander with its jetpacks etc) thrown in 1000s of years before the other games.

Hopefully Obsidian's world-building will prove more interesting though.

 

[Infinitron]

There is inherent value in diversifying your ownership of IPs so I don't think Obsidian will do that.

 

[agris]

For publishers, absolutely. For a 100 person studio that does almost exclusively contract work, I'm not so sure. There is an advantage to diversification, sure. But there is also a case for focusing on a single world and refining mechanics, without needing to literally rewrite history because dogma says one IP per game genre.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Eh, even if they do intend to develop the PoE universe further, when is the earliest we could reasonably expect to see a sci-fi/steampunk/other non-generic fantasy PoE title? If we assume 2015/16 for an expansion pack and 2017 for a PoE sequel (which I assume will also be fantasy), that means 2019/2020 for a PoE 3 or spin-off. Hard to be excited for such a distant possibility. Plus, who knows if Obsidian will even be still around in 2020

 

[Abu Antar]

Maybe they will become the new BioWare, owned by Activision

 

[Infinitron]

For publishers, absolutely. For a 100 person studio that does almost exclusively contract work, I'm not so sure. There is an advantage to diversification, sure. But there is also a case for focusing on a single world and refining mechanics, without needing to literally rewrite history because dogma says one IP per game genre.

You're acting like a "Sci-fi Pillars of Eternity 1000 years in the future!" wouldn't need to have its mechanics and everything else rewritten anyway. It's like Earthdawn and Shadowrun. It's just cheesy, and in the end, what's the point?

Any company wants to have as many powerful brands as possible. It has a multiplicative effect on your reputation and value ("Oh, Obsidian! They make so much good stuff!" vs "Oh, Obsidian, the Eternity guys. Aren't they tired of those?"). See also: Larian and Divinity.

It also adds redundancy: if one brand somehow fails, you can fall back on the other one.

The only reason to stick to one brand/IP like Larian is if you're really insecure in your ability to successfully launch another IP. (Well, that and the fact that certain RPG nerds find it cool to have a setting that's developed enough to encompass multiple time periods and genres.)

 

[Rake]

Not to mention that they maybe have other creative ideas they wan't to try, and they don't want to be locked to souls, souls in space, souls in steampunk etc.

 

[Haba]

There is inherent value in diversifying your ownership of IPs

Welcome to RPGCodex 2014

 

[agris]

You're acting like a "Sci-fi Pillars of Eternity 1000 years in the future!" wouldn't need to have its mechanics and everything else rewritten anyway. It's like Earthdawn and Shadowrun. It's just cheesy, and in the end, what's the point?

Any company wants to have as many powerful brands as possible. It has a multiplicative effect on your reputation and value ("Oh, Obsidian! They make so much good stuff!" vs "Oh, Obsidian, the Eternity guys. Aren't they tired of those?"). See also: Larian and Divinity.

You're arguing against a position I'm not taking. Yes, mechanics would need to be changed, but the bones of the existing system could be reworked for scifi elements. One failed attempt (Earthdawn?) at doing this doesn't make a point, it's anecdotal. OE doesn't have unlimited resources, so by focusing on developing the timeline of Eora, they are investing in the world and creating fictional historic milieus for future games to take place in.

The reasons for multiple IP make sense, but a studio that isn't independently wealthy needs to be very efficient with their resources. And please, PoE + 1000? I'm trying to have a discussion. Save the quotes for when I actually say something.

It also adds redundancy: if one brand somehow fails, you can fall back on the other one.

The only reason to stick to one brand/IP like Larian is if you're really insecure in your ability to successfully launch another IP. (Well, that and the fact that certain RPG nerds find it cool to have a setting that's developed enough to encompass multiple time periods and genres.)

That's very dogmatic, and ignores the entire flipside of the scenario: wasting resources developing IP that never takes off and creating a lot of shallow brand experiences, rather than reinforcing existing. Sticking to one brand/IP could be for risk aversion, but it could also be to leverage existing mechanics and world lore so that you aren't reinventing the wheel every time you want to make a cRPG with a different tech level.

I'm not saying any number of IPs is right of wrong, but there doesn't seem to be any examples in cRPGs of a single world carved up into different times and unique sets of games released around those temporal carvings. Usually it's the engine tech that is applied to multiple genres / games.

 

[Infinitron]

Yes, mechanics would need to be changed, but the bones of the existing system could be reworked for scifi elements.

If by "bones" you mean game mechanics and systems, then they've already hinted that they may do that. However, those can be reused in an entirely new setting, just as D&D was used in a variety of settings.

 

[Roguey]

JES really hated that btw.

http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/35419-does-anyone-else-share-my-dislike-of-d20/page-6#entry389694

I'm pretty sure that at one point or another, a few TSR/WotC people admitted that Athas is supposed to be Toril in the far future. All of the source material relating to Anauroch and the phaerimm seems to support that.

More to the point, I also dislike d20. I'm not a big fan of the rules-obsessive GURPS (even GURPS Lite is overkill) rules, but d20 is just strangely structured. For a while, I accepted the WotC line that d20 D&D was weird because they had to preserve certain D&D "sacred cows". The problem is that a lot of those goofy conventions are still found in d20 Modern.

One of the nice things about d20 is that it clarified a lot of really hazy stuff from 2nd Ed. Stacking rules are a good idea in theory, badly executed in d20. AoOs sound like a good idea, but really wind up becoming an un-fun, un-intuitive pain in the ass. I won't even go into the old sacred cows like Armor Class. Jesus.

Good thing his rules will be unquestionably better.

 

[agris]

JES really hated that btw.

No, he hates how the d20 ruleset was shoe-horned into other milieus. Not that a single world was developed into different eras.

If by "bones" you mean game mechanics and systems, then they've already hinted that they may do that. However, those can be reused in an entirely new setting, just as D&D was used in a variety of settings.

That's cool, I just wish a publisher would try taking a world and explore different technological eras within it. I don't think it's a one true path or something, but since no commercial cRPG series I know of has ever done it, it remains a tantalizing proposition.

If the scifi themes and story fit with an advanced world of Eora, I just don't see the problem with it. I'm not advocating forcing a scifi game to rely on the souls concept, or anything else, but rather an 'if the shoe fits' approach.

 

[Duraframe300]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...0196376821370.305953.718351369&type=1&theater

 

[xardas]

MCA is a stretchgoal again https://twitter.com/RagnarTornquist/status/502132830734782464

 

[tuluse]

MCA is a stretchgoal again https://twitter.com/RagnarTornquist/status/502132830734782464

Lol mlp avatar whining about some one not just handing him a job.

 

[Gozma]

What exactly did he do in FTL? I played it and nothing was noticeably Avellone-y

I figure he wrote some stuff for the Lanius race/sector they added in the free DLC AE stuff but only because that's the only significant writing that was added AFAIK.

 

[Drax]

A bunch of random encounters iirc.

 

[Bubbles]

MCA is a stretchgoal again https://twitter.com/RagnarTornquist/status/502132830734782464

"the senior designer for KoToR 2 and Neverwinter Nights 2" - brrrrr

 

[Infinitron]

Duraframe300 http://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=e3d778d4cfa1427b

Time travel?

 

[Duraframe300]

Duraframe300 http://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=e3d778d4cfa1427b

Time travel?

Yeah, saw that. But imo not enough info.