Obsidian General Discussion Thread

[Roguey]

when one editor told our studio to “fuck off,” he later explained it was because he cared so much and that was why his reaction was so strong.

I need to see the context for this one.

 

[Infinitron]

when one editor told our studio to “fuck off,” he later explained it was because he cared so much and that was why his reaction was so strong.

I need to see the context for this one.

I wonder if it was something three-letter-acronym related.

 

[Grimlorn]

It sounds like it was GG related. I think it's dangerous believing that just because someone has a strong reaction they have some sort of point or care so much. I think it's why we see people cave and give into these people because they are willing to manipulate and insult you to get their way.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Ismaul]

I would love to see Obsidian - Paizo - Paradox churn out a series of Turn-Based Pathfinder games

Fixed that for you. That would be awesome.

That would be a total disaster, and I'm not talking about TB vs RT.
Obsidian'd be stuck doing fantasy shit for all their RPGs, aside from their MMOs and maybe AAA slamdunks. Plus, PoE vs Pathfinder, that sounds like competing against yourself.

If they do that, they're dead (to me anyways - fuck typical BG-style fantasy stories). They really shot themselves in the foot going safe with PoE instead of Tormenting, while inXile and Harebrained Schemes established control over weird and techy settings and gameplay. They've cornered themselves into being a one-trick poney, and that trick's been done to death.

 

[J_C]

They really shot themselves in the foot going safe with PoE instead of Tormenting, while inXile and Harebrained Schemes established control over weird and techy settings and gameplay.

Meanwhile in the real world: PoE sells more than W2 and Shadowrun combined.

They've cornered themselves into being a one-trick poney, and that trick's been done to death.

Meanwhile in the real world: That one trick is loved by gamers still to this day.

Meanwhile at the Codex: herp derp, I don't like their game, so the game flops and everyone hates it.

 

[Jaesun]

But it is safer for Obsidian to stick to Fantasy settings (and Feargus will agree with me on this).

I would fucking LOVE it if they decided to to a sci-fi game.

(actually I want a VTM game but that whole White Wolf stuff is a complete mess).

 

[Athelas]

That would be a total disaster, and I'm not talking about TB vs RT.
Obsidian'd be stuck doing fantasy shit for all their RPGs, aside from their MMOs and maybe AAA slamdunks. Plus, PoE vs Pathfinder, that sounds like competing against yourself.

If they do that, they're dead (to me anyways - fuck typical BG-style fantasy stories). They really shot themselves in the foot going safe with PoE instead of Tormenting, while inXile and Harebrained Schemes established control over weird and techy settings and gameplay. They've cornered themselves into being a one-trick poney, and that trick's been done to death.

I don't think you understand what 'playing it safe' means. T:ToN got funded within a matter of hours because they were able to use the Torment trademark (something similar applies to SRR with the Shadowrun franchise). Would an Obsidian-kickstarted all new IP (without the backing of a succesful franchise/critically acllaimed game) do as well? I wouldn't be so sure.

 

[Aenra]

yeah it would, definitely!

even if you did not like the KOTORs combat, the setting, the mood, the story..very well done. You show these people a sci-fi Obsidian KS, yeah, they'd chip in.
And they really should go for it eventually. They have a knack for the little things, its the ones that stay with you in the long run. Well, for me anyway

silly example, R2D2 in kotor 2? I loooved how they had it 'behave', down to those cute little sounds it made when you made it happy

edit: i see a storyfag tag coming up, so just for the record i need to say that while combat is the core, it's the whole that is being presented to you. Redeeming factors and everything.

 

[Ismaul]

Meanwhile at the Codex: herp derp, I don't like their game, so the game flops and everyone hates it.

Right.

Seriously, sure I got something against fantasy settings because they're the most formulaic / safe.

But that's not my only point and why PoE + Pathfinder would be a problem. I don't think they have the manpower to sustain PoE, Pathfinder, AAAs, MMOs, and another RPG setting. Which means if they went that route, aside form AAA and MMOs, they would be limiting their audience to fantasy players. That wouldn't be a wise business decision, I think.

 

[Ismaul]

I don't think you understand what 'playing it safe' means. T:ToN got funded within a matter of hours because they were able to use the Torment trademark (something similar applies to SRR with the Shadowrun franchise). Would an Obsidian-kickstarted all new IP (without the backing of a succesful franchise/critically acllaimed game) do as well? I wouldn't be so sure.

Playing it safe ultimately wasn't so safe for them, since they have now the option do double up on fantasy with PoE and Pathfinder, which is not as good as 2 distinct franchises/settings. Maybe playing it less safe would have given them more options, and been more safe in the long term (bigger audience, change of pace for designers/artists). I was surprised they went for BG/PoE instead of Torment for the kickstarter, and playing to their strengths.

 

[Athelas]

I don't think you understand what 'playing it safe' means. T:ToN got funded within a matter of hours because they were able to use the Torment trademark (something similar applies to SRR with the Shadowrun franchise). Would an Obsidian-kickstarted all new IP (without the backing of a succesful franchise/critically acllaimed game) do as well? I wouldn't be so sure.

Playing it safe ultimately wasn't so safe for them, since they have now the option do double up on fantasy with PoE and Pathfinder, which is not as good as 2 distinct franchises/settings. Maybe playing it less safe would have given them more options, and been more safe in the long term (bigger audience, change of pace for designers/artists). I was surprised they went for BG/PoE instead of Torment for the kickstarter, and playing to their strengths.

InXile owns the Torment trademark. Which was my point - you gave Harebrained and InXile as examples of how 'not playing it safe' can be lucrative, when relying on existing franchises/trademarks is very much playing it safe.

 

[Infinitron]

Why don't we wait and see what Obsidian's next Kickstarted game is before making accusations eh

 

[Ismaul]

InXile owns the Torment trademark. Which was my point - you gave Harebrained and InXile as examples of how 'not playing it safe' can be lucrative, when relying on existing franchises/trademarks is very much playing it safe.

Well, I/we don't know if InXile did own the trademark when PoE's kickstarter lauched. Anybody knows?

Also, I think we're talking about 2-3 senses of "playing ot safe": there's established brands, and popular settings; and then there's the media form in which they're popular. Generic fantasy can still be more safe overall than an established niche brand. I don't think Shadowrun was that safe, since, while an established brand of a somewhat popular setting, it had little recognition as a video game rpg.

Why don't we wait and see what Obsidian's next Kickstarted game is before making accusations eh

just rpgcodexing on rpgcodex

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Well Obsidian can provide the definitive fantasy RPG with Pillars of Eternity. We haven't had one yet, have we?

 

[Zed]

there's new Obsidian personnel on twitterino https://twitter.com/bree3
no idea who it is, what she does, or what she's working on

 

[Aenra]

mm, and a humble one too apparently:

"Game Dev @Obsidian, adventure seeker and tea drinker. And a fabulous lady!"

 

[Athelas]

there's new Obsidian personnel on twitterino https://twitter.com/bree3
no idea who it is, what she does, or what she's working on

Let's proceed to speculate about what side of Gamergate she's on anyway!

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

Why don't we wait and see what Obsidian's next Kickstarted game is before making accusations eh

And where is fun in that?

 

[mindx2]

there's new Obsidian personnel on twitterino https://twitter.com/bree3
no idea who it is, what she does, or what she's working on

Let's proceed to speculate about what side of Gamergate she's on anyway!

She has pink hair so...

 

[Jaesun]

mm, and a humble one too apparently:

"Game Dev @Obsidian, adventure seeker and tea drinker. And a fabulous lady!"

Fabulous? I like her already!

 

[Aenra]

haha

 

[Endemic]

She has pink hair so...

Likes her wine too: https://twitter.com/bree3/status/579541757215408128

 

[nikolokolus]

Good girl.

 

[Stinger]

I need to see the context for this one.

I suspect this is the Escapist article by Russell Pitts. It's called "An Open Letter to Obsidian" and is basically a pathetic and pretty ignorant rant about Honest Hearts having bugs and he's super mad at Obsidian for always being buggy.

I won't give Escapist money for this shit so here's the article quoted:

Spoiler

An Open Letter to Obsidian Entertainment:

It's not you, it's me.

I wasn't sure what I wanted when we met. I know that's not fair, but it's the truth. I hope you can forgive me.

You were passionate, creative and smart. Full of ideas. So many ideas. You seemed like the perfect partner. Whatever I was into, you were into as well. For every fantasy I could imagine, you were ready to take it further. And when we played out some of my favorite stories together, I couldn't help but fall madly in love with you.

There was a hole in my life then. I'd been burned too many times and had decided to give it all up. When a friend introduced me to you, I wasn't interested at first, but something about you seemed familiar. Like we'd shared some of the same experiences and dreamed some of the same dreams.

I admit it was perfect for a time. You would spin your tales (so detailed!) and I would wallow in them. It took me a long time to realize though, that I wasn't really in love with your ideas, I was in love with the idea of your ideas. The difference is subtle, I know.

I've been with you since the beginning. Since before the beginning, actually. Since you called yourself Black Isle. Maybe that's why I hung on so long. Maybe I was still in love today with who you were yesterday. I know that's not fair, but you're partly to blame. You changed more than you let on and it took me a long time to realize that.

I know that I changed, too. I used to sit at my computer for days on end, happy to download patches and fixes and hunt for drivers that would make our days together complete. Today: not so much. Today I'm couch-bound, and I'd rather spend my time with you and your ideas than spend time dealing with your issues.

The issues are always there, though, aren't they? You can't seem to let them go, and that's what's really sad. It seems like now the issues are all we have. Maybe they always were. Maybe it was just easier to overlook them before. Or maybe the struggle was part of the appeal. Maybe I felt I didn't deserve something perfect, so I settled. Maybe you were always flawed and I was happy to enable you.

I know this all comes as a shock. I wish I could put it more gently, but the fact is you've hurt me. I forgave you for the flaws in Knights of the Old Republic II. For the half-ending and the way it didn't quite capture the spirit of the original. I forgave you for Neverwinter Nights 2. It wasn't perfect, but it was - to be fair - as good as the original, or better. You had a lot of room to mess things up there, and that you took all of it and more wasn't your fault. Not really.

I also forgave you for Alpha Protocol. The fact is, you and I both knew that was beyond you. It would have been a nice surprise if it had ended well for you, but it didn't and we both know why: You weren't ready. You overreached. I hope you can see that.

You know I forgave you for Fallout: New Vegas, too. Sure, it was you up to your old tricks, tripping once for every two steps, but I thought that maybe if you could spend some time in your old neighborhood you would realize how much things have changed - and how much you haven't. I had hoped that seeing what your friends had done with the place might inspire you to be better. Instead, it seems like it only made you bitter. Made you focus on trying it your own way again, one more time, just to prove you were right when all along, the road to success was right at your feet just waiting for you to take the first step.

The one thing I can't forgive is this ridiculous bullshit with the New Vegas patches DLC. I was looking forward to "Honest Hearts," I really was. The Burned Man was one of your greatest inventions. I had hoped to hear his story, to revel in your brilliance one more time. But then you had to ruin it like you always do. A patch that broke the game it was supposed to be patching? And then, after you tried to fix what was broken, you broke something again. I fell for this already, with ED-E. How interesting he was. What a story! Except I never got to hear the ending because it was riddled with all of your usual bullshit. Now I can't even begin the new tale because of the problems with the old.

This was the final straw for me, Obsidian. Later on, when you're awake late at night and wondering why your friends have abandoned you, I hope you remember how badly you fucked this up. Patches are supposed to fix things. That you can't even get that right suggests you've stopped caring. That you've given up on us. That everything we had together doesn't matter enough to you to even try to fix what's broken. To me, that's unforgivable.

I wish I could make sense of how something that used to feel so perfect and so right could turn so totally rotten, but that's where we are. I think it's best for both of us if I just say goodbye.

What I want now -what I need now - is someone who will be there for me. You are brilliant and I hope that someday you realize that and stop messing round with ideas that are too big for you. I hope that someday you manage to focus on your strengths. You have a lot going for you and if you could only learn how to finish what you start I think you will be as great as you always wanted to be. As we always knew you would be. You are your worst enemy, and I hope you realize that.

Whether or not you understand what I'm talking about, or are able to find your way through the problems you are dealing with, I know there is someone out there for you. I know you will have no trouble replacing me. I see the way others look at you; blind to your faults, like I was. You won't be alone for long. I'm okay with that. But you and I are through.

And seriously, fuck you.