People News Chris Avellone gives his blessing to inXile's Torment successor, probably won't join

[Jaesun]

Depending on how this new setting and story will be, MCA is not really needed (for the most part). Though his direct involvement would certainly be much more appealing.

I'm not really sure what to think, but I think in this case for a Kickstarter, I'm going to need a LOT more info on the game and setting besides trust us! It will be awesome!

I'll just sit in the corner here and fap very cautiously....

 

[Malpercio]

probably won't join

THEN WHAT'S THE FUCKING POINT

WHAT'S THE FUCKING POINT I SAY

 

[Brother None]

I'm not really sure what to think, but I think in this case for a Kickstarter, I'm going to need a LOT more info on the game and setting besides trust us! It will be awesome!

Agreed, and I keep communicating the same to Fargo and other inXile folk. I don't think this pitch will be anything like Eternity or Wasteland 2. It will have a longer lead-up, and much more information and things to show right from the start. I completely agree with you that the nature of this pitch makes that necessary, opens up more questions that need answering, and they're taking their time (as much time as they can) to solidify their ideas and prep a presentation. Hopefully a good one.

 

[Infinitron]

That's good to hear.

 

[Gondolin]

The Codex wants everyone on this project.

 

[Tigranes]

No Planescape setting & no MCA is a significant minus, there's no doubt about it, but where exactly that puts us on the Second Coming ---- BG:EE scale is unknown until we have more info. If as BN says there is a longer lead-up and more concrete info on a Kickstarter launch, then I think that's good enough to remain interested. It's a Torment pitch by one of the key contributors to Torment, it deserves a fair hearing at the very least.

Colin, I'm not going to judge your book after reading 5 pages because that's stupid and I haven't read fantasy novels in years anyway, but:

“Well. This complicates matters. We need to see an old friend of mine. I don’t think you’ll care for him. His name is Underhill.”
And so they came to the town of Lower Pippen, where the old man made inquiries in a certain tavern.

I guess this is a sort of necessary gesture in the genre? :D

 

[Azalin]

Has MCA forsaken us?

So, who shall be the scapegoat? Feargus? Josh Sawyer?

Has MCA forsaken us?

We need to prepare a virgin sacrifice. One for every night, 'till the god emperor of Codexia shines his light upon his humble servants once more!

BRING OUT THE CRISPY!

It seems that according to popular opinion Crispy is the first choice

 

[Mrowak]

I'm not really sure what to think, but I think in this case for a Kickstarter, I'm going to need a LOT more info on the game and setting besides trust us! It will be awesome!

Agreed, and I keep communicating the same to Fargo and other inXile folk. I don't think this pitch will be anything like Eternity or Wasteland 2. It will have a longer lead-up, and much more information and things to show right from the start. I completely agree with you that the nature of this pitch makes that necessary, opens up more questions that need answering, and they're taking their time (as much time as they can) to solidify their ideas and prep a presentation. Hopefully a good one.

I honestly hope this will be the case, After the first wave of enthusiasm I have become very sceptical about the notion of crowdfunding. To me PS:T2 will need something much more substantial than we have received so far. An actual presentation and a vision statement would be a good start.

 

[Yaar Podshipnik]

For those of you concerned about my writing ability, I'll point out that you can read the first book of Oathbreaker for free via Amazon or iTunes. I don't mean this to be a commercial, I should add (buy the second book) - I'd like you to see that I can actually deliver a story. If you download the first one, I don't get any money, and I don't receive any particular benefit except for the possibility that you like the story and want to continue reading the series. If you think it sucks, then you've got a fair basis for wailing, gnashing of teeth, and rending of clothes.

That is to say: You've got a right to be skeptical. I would be too.

Downloaded. Expect my impressions in our prestigious book thread.

 

[Oesophagus]

I don't think anything will be known for quite some time, what with W2 being Fargo's main focus now. And I don't think launching another kickstarter before they've even delivered on the first one is a good idea, it may raise some eyebrows

 

[Anac'raxus]

Nice to know that Mr. Avellone apparently intends to focus on Eternity, though I still bet that he'll contribute something story related before the end. (The stretch goal would be amusing.)

 

[FeelTheRads]

I assume it will come along with (or after) those big things Fargo promised to show about W2 in a couple of weeks.

THEN WHAT'S THE FUCKING POINT

WHAT'S THE FUCKING POINT I SAY

What's the fucking point of New Vegas?

 

[bonescraper]

What's the fucking point of New Vegas?

Post-rape rehabilitation?

 

[serch]

Avellone comes from a north mediterranean country, the weakling needs his 8h sleep/day

 

[Bitcher1]

So if MCA ain't likely to be on board... how about Guido Henkel?

 

[God is Dog backwards]

Colin seems like a nice guy with good intentions.

However, Torment = MCA in a lot of people's minds, including mine to a great extent. I kind of feel it may be better to avoid using that brand if MCA isn't (heavily) involved and start afresh, saying it is a spiritual successor inspired by PS:T, with some of the original team involved. I dunno.

 

[Haba]

Now, Mr. McComb... Imagine for a moment that this project does go through.

Let's even go as far to speculate that in the end it will be good. So good, that even us disillusioned grognards of RPGCodex enjoy it.

Are you sure that is what you want?

Look where it got Mr. Avellone: a broken down husk of a man, failing in all of his relationships, drowning his sorrows in alcohol and convention fangirls.

Worshipped by a cult of closeted homosexuals who idolize his image with religious fervor. Fanboys Mr. McComb.

You sure you're ready for that?

...

Now, if you'd excuse me - I have to say my daily prayers in front of the altar.

MCA is just setting himself up as a stretch goal

 

[evdk]

So if MCA ain't likely to be on board... how about Guido Henkel?

Guido is busy with his own Torment already.

 

[Mastermind]

Personally I'm pretty excited about this no matter whether MCA is going to involved or not. I'm sure looking forward to another well-written, and hopefully well-designed, CRPG, and the team is shaping up to be great.

What I'm worried about, rather, is how this Kickstarter is going to be perceived without Chris on board.

Hopefully something not full of edgy herpaderpa rebellious teen grimdark angst.

 

[Mastermind]

BG: IWD: PST. If it's good at everything, it's good at nothing.

I agree. In fact developers should introduce shitty combat, or shitty writing, or shitty graphics on purpose to make sure their game stands out.

 

[Anac'raxus]

So if MCA ain't likely to be on board... how about Guido Henkel?

Sounds like another great stretch goal.

1,000,001 -> Mr. Henkel poses for the box art!

I'm down for that!

 

[jewboy]

From MCA's recent Gamasutra interview:

What about in terms of the differences between narrative in film or books, versus narrative in games? It seems like there's some key differences that a lot of games don't really seem to pick up on.
CA: I think that people [in the industry] are appreciating scriptwriting talents more, especially as games become more voice-acted and cinematic. I [think that for] anyone pursuing narrative design, scriptwriting is the best way to hone your craft, because it's a lot of what you're going to be doing. It teaches you all the brevity; using the environment to communicate a situation, as opposed to just the flat-line vomit of text, like Torment had. Which we had to do at the time, but that's more of a novelistic approach to writing, which isn't necessarily the best fit for games.

Are you sure that's the guy you want writing a Torment sequel? Although I enjoyed the story in New Vegas I don't consider it the pinnacle of game narrative design. it was good, far better than most games and some of the dialogue was extremely well written, but I wouldn't want to see a Torment sequel with so little dialogue. Torment showed what merging a novel with a computer game could do and I think that model is just as valid and powerful as it has ever been. Not every game has to have that sort of structure, but I think a Torment sequel-in-spirit certainly should. My understanding is that Colin and David (Maldonado) wrote a lot of Torment dialogue and Colin is Mr. Planescape. So I don't think Colin heading up the project is too much of a stretch. Still, it seems like MCA should have at least some involvement in the story. Maybe not writing it, but at least going over it and offering suggestions or criticisms. Well as long as those criticisms aren't about having too much dialogue.

 

[Infinitron]

jewboy I would hope that Chris knows that different games warrant different approaches.

 

[bonescraper]

BG: IWD: PST. If it's good at everything, it's good at nothing.

I agree. In fact developers should introduce shitty combat, or shitty writing, or shitty graphics on purpose to make sure their game stands out.

Then tell me why a game that has amazing combat, beautiful graphics and wonderful writing hasn't been made yet? Oh, right. Because Obsidian didn't ask for your money before. Now shit's definitely going to change.

PE is all hype and promises while they're trying to set the bar higher than ever before. And this is still Obsidian we're talking about. Their best game is still a deeply flawed gem.

 

[Rake]

From MCA's recent Gamasutra interview:

What about in terms of the differences between narrative in film or books, versus narrative in games? It seems like there's some key differences that a lot of games don't really seem to pick up on.
CA: I think that people [in the industry] are appreciating scriptwriting talents more, especially as games become more voice-acted and cinematic. I [think that for] anyone pursuing narrative design, scriptwriting is the best way to hone your craft, because it's a lot of what you're going to be doing. It teaches you all the brevity; using the environment to communicate a situation, as opposed to just the flat-line vomit of text, like Torment had. Which we had to do at the time, but that's more of a novelistic approach to writing, which isn't necessarily the best fit for games.

Are you sure that's the guy you want writing a Torment sequel? Although I enjoyed the story in New Vegas I don't consider it the pinnacle of game narrative design. it was good, far better than most games and some of the dialogue was extremely well written, but I wouldn't want to see a Torment sequel with so little dialogue. Torment showed what merging a novel with a computer game could do and I think that model is just as valid and powerful as it has ever been. Not every game has to have that sort of structure, but I think a Torment sequel-in-spirit certainly should. My understanding is that Colin and David (Maldonado) wrote a lot of Torment dialogue and Colin is Mr. Planescape. So I don't think Colin heading up the project is too much of a stretch. Still, it seems like MCA should have at least some involvement in the story. Maybe not writing it, but at least going over it and offering suggestions or criticisms. Well as long as those criticisms aren't about having too much dialogue.

To be fair, he was giving advice about the current state of the industry. The sad truth is that indeed games become more voice-acted and cinematic, so what he said is correct. Also i highlighted the word necessarily he said. As i replied in another thread, i'll wait for P:E to come out. They promised torment level writing.If it delivers, i"m all for an Obsidians PS:T spiritual succesor. If not, inXile is the next best shot we have.
Also, about the whole "games souldn't be novels" thing, games souldn't be movies either but thats where the whole industry is headed.And from the two approaches i know i prefer the novel one