Obsidian's doing a Kickstarter, what are your thoughts?

[SajuukKhar]

Woot another Obsidian game that's gonna be buggy, unfinished, have terrible companions characters that shove one personality in your face at all hours of the day, and everything that is bad about 90's RPG mechanics, and that is going to get praise simply because its retro.

I look forward to getting it.

 

[templar1138a]

They lost me as soon as they said they were aspiring to a top-down format.

Here are the Obsidian games that I've played and enjoyed: KoTOR 2, Alpha Protocol, Fallout: New Vegas. Note how none of those are top-down.

The only top-down games I play are those with Pokémon in the title. It's an outdated format when it comes to action-oriented games and is not immersive in the slightest.

 

[BeeGeenie]

Pretty much what everyone else said. The great and powerful Obsidian, working without the constraints of an evil corporate publisher. The possibilities are endless.

 

[Something Amyss]

Please inform yourself next time before saying something, saves dignity .

Or it would, if that were somehow relevant.

Yes, I know that. No, it really doesn't change anything. Think about that next time before saying something, saves dignity.

 

[TeletubbiesGolfGun]

Woot another Obsidian game that's gonna be buggy, unfinished, have terrible companions characters that shove one personality in your face at all hours of the day, and everything that is bad about 90's RPG mechanics, and that is going to get praise simply because its retro.

I look forward to getting it.

you constantly nag and ***** about obsidian any chance you get, even ones that are apparently on kickstarter, yet you seem to play and buy their games..

Spoiler

 

[Jason Rayes]

Definitely getting it. Yes Obsidian have a rep for buggy games, buggy games that have good stories and are good fun to play. They also provide good post release support that irons out the bugs. I solved a patched New Vegas without a single glitch.

I notice a few people complaining about the lack of screenshots etc. Ok, a Kickstarter is something that is done so a company can START a game. There are no screenshots because there are no screens to take shots of. At best with most Kickstarters you get a splash screen or some concept art.

 

[Callate]

I have mixed feelings. I can certainly understand from Obsidian's point of view the appeal of moving away from the traditional model, especially after that debacle with getting withheld bonuses because of Metacritic ratings ([link]http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/116343-Obsidian-Lost-Bonus-for-Fallout-New-Vegas-by-One-Metacritic-Point[/link])

But on the other hand, while long-absent series and fondly remembered game designers "returning to the scene" via Kickstarter is one thing, a major player like Obsidian doing so is something else, and makes the hairs on my neck stand on end. We may be about to see a new level of revolution in the way games are made and financed... or we might be about to see the first big-time Kickstarter project implosion. God love Obsidian, they've got a reach/grasp problem, and if they think 10,000 backers are going to be more forgiving than one big company, they may have a nasty surprise awaiting them.

I hope the game rocks the world and the system. I don't feel the kind of absolute confidence in that outcome that I'm ready to pop champagne.

 

[kingthrall]

I buy their game when it is on the shelf. I never support kickstarter projects for the simple fact that there is no guarantee it will work and that you are going to like the end result.

Heres a funny example.

I was really drunk in the city going home and passed a poor person who asked me for some money to go back home. He needed 100 dollars for a plane ticket apparently. I gave him $50 being happy drunk.

The next day I saw him with a new jacket asking for more money, hiding when he noticed I saw him on the other side of the road.

Morale of the story- dont trust anyone with your money unless you willing to lose it.

 

[TrevHead]

I'm usually quite sceptical about KS but if reputable game studios can use it to bypass publishers like EA then yeah good times.

 

[Norrdicus]

But on the other hand, while long-absent series and fondly remembered game designers "returning to the scene" via Kickstarter is one thing, a major player like Obsidian doing so is something else, and makes the hairs on my neck stand on end. We may be about to see a new level of revolution in the way games are made and financed... or we might be about to see the first big-time Kickstarter project implosion.

I have to ask, where were you when Tim Schafer was asking for money? Not to be rude or anything, it's merely that a lot of people seem to have forgotten who caused the Kickstarter game boom to begin with.

 

[Jason Rayes]

I have to ask, where were you when Tim Schafer was asking for money? Not to be rude or anything, it's merely that a lot of people seem to have forgotten who caused the Kickstarter game boom to begin with.

Bingo, I was thinking this myself. As someone has already pointed out if this enables creative companies to bypass the restrictions of working for a big publisher, I'm all for it. Both the game Double Fine are trying to make and the game Obsidian are trying to make would NEVER have gotten funding from a big publisher. Graphic Adventures and Old School RPG's are considered dead non profitable genres. The Publishers aren't in it for the finished art, they are in it for the profit. If a developer, any developer, big or small, has to turn to Kickstarter to get their funding, that's fine. At the end of the day if the fans think the project is worth it, they will fund it. That's the whole point of Kickstarters.

 

[Yali]

Tim Cain: "... is the opportunity to make an M-rated game. I think many publishers steer clear of that these days."

*Lips involuntarily form the words "Thank you"*

 

[CoS_Dorian]

The fact that they raised 1.1 million in 24 hours on Kickstarter makes my jaw drop. Personally not a huge fan of Obsidian but I feel happy for them. I think they totally deserve what people believe in them.

 

[Kimozabi]

KOTOR 2 - they had roughly a year to make that game.
NWN2 - they were again pressed for time to make that game.
Fallout NV - they made the game on Bethesdas engine, how could any company not make a buggy game?

Their buggy history is far from their own fault.

 

[GiantRaven]

The update on Kickstarter has me even more interested. Has there been a fantasy RPG with a significant focus on differing ethnicity and nationality before? Rather than the overused 'herp a derp Elves and Dwarves don't like each other lol!'

I definitely haven't seen any.

 

[Callate]

I have to ask, where were you when Tim Schafer was asking for money? Not to be rude or anything, it's merely that a lot of people seem to have forgotten who caused the Kickstarter game boom to begin with.

Fair point. I tend to think of Schafer more as one of those "fondly remembered designers", even though it's not strictly accurate- Double Fine has made, and continues to make, games quite recently. I guess I still don't tend to think of Schafer or DF as on quite the same "scale" as Obsidian- since Brutal Legend, Schafer's offerings have been kind of small-scale indie offerings like Stacking and Happy Action Theater, while Obsidian has continued to swing for the fences with AAA offerings like Alpha Protocol and Fallout: New Vegas.

I'll grant it may be a somewhat nebulous distinction.

 

[MetalMagpie]

Ahhhh, no.

Obsidian needs to iron out its management issues before it sees a dime from me. They can't keep to a schedule and their bug testing sucks balls.

Every time someone says that, a child dies. Every single one of the common complaints levelled against the company are from draconian publishers fucking them up the ass.

Lucasarts: Ludicrously Strict Deadlines

Atari: Ludicrously Strict Deadlines

Bethesda: Promised to PA test on New Vegas, didn't

Sega: Rushed AP out before it was finished

Dungeon Siege 3 suffered none of this bull, and was released stable and finished.

See, there's one common element in all of this: Obsidian.

Other development studios who work under Lucas Arts, Atari, Bethesda and Sega can all keep to a schedule and release a finished product in time. Okay, maybe not so much Bethesda but still.

In the case of AP, if you didn't already know, it wasn't doomed because of deadlines. It was because of incompetent management with screwed up priorities.

Going from publisher to publisher and using the exact same excuse, I think they wore out their trust.

Ok, if you want to dismiss them based on that, that's fine. It's silly and kind of a shame, but that's not a problem.

It's not that silly to decide not to spend money on a future game with very few concrete details because the company's past record isn't as good it could be.

Asking for money with a vague description like "it'll be something like these other games" is only really a convincer for fans.