Preview New Bard's Tale revealed

Then again, like i said, i was addressing what was seen in screenshots, and on the comments Fargo made about the game. And from what we can see, other than it will have a Bard, 50% more humour and those simplified dialogue trees, it still remains, visible from the pictures, like Dark Alliance. I mentioned that, from what i see, the engine isn't suffering an overhaul. I speculated that the engine, graphically, is not suffering an overhaul, and also poitned out that the game is being made to accomodate the engine, not the reverse - and the reason i pointed this out is that the gameplay is, for now, the same, as far as we know, like DA.

 

Re: wait and see

wait, i didnt know we were talking about FO:BoS now?

no, but the kids book might be a great book on its own. thats been my point all along.

ok imagine the new BT is a huge success, and now fargo is rolling in it. now fargo thinks "woohoo, now i can make a real BT4, too!". we all know, after all, that fargo is definitely an old-schooler in many many ways, and wants to make an old-school wasteland 2, and had no small part in creating the game that almost single-handedly brought back the old-school RPG genre from the grave (fallout of course). its not far-fetched to think that he would like to make a proper BT4 PC RPG.
i didnt say it would be LIKELY to happen, i only said the success of a new BT would make that more possible than now.

yeah, but again, theres no reason a medieval epic flick with fry as the main character couldnt be a great film on its own. it might sound like a stupid idea, but lots of things have sounded like stupid ideas, yet turned out successful. like, say, the xbox. or the theory of relativity.

can you explain why? ive played excellent RPGs in friggin ASCII graphics, like omega. i've played excellent RPGs with a one-button joystick, like phantasie 1-3.
if you took fallout and swapped the mouse control to a analog joystick, what would happen to the brilliance of the game? the wonderful combat, thrill of exploration, depth, humor, style, wonderful plot, stories, situations? would all that be ruined for you?

anyway, im starting to think this debate has run its course. we've all made our points and it doesnt look like anyone is convincing anyone else...

 

yes, all points i mostly agree with. my only point, all along, was that what we know so far isnt really much. a 3page interview, and some screenshots. you have to admit, it COULD still turn out to be the best game you ever played, or the next coaster for your beer. who knows.
if we could judge games on so little whats the point in game reviews or even game demos? just slap up a few screenshots and let the designer write a couple pages of marketing talk, and we're set.
man it would be so easy to shop for games, you could judge them just by the little images and blurb on the back of the cover. unfortuntely it just doesnt work that way. wouldnt it be great if it did...

 

Well there is a reason why you should make CRPG-style on a console. And it is that Bard's Tale will do better on consoles where it will stand out than on PCs where it'll get lost in oversaturated market. Of course plenty of things can go wrong and we might end up with an entirely different game that we were promised, but if you market it right inXile might just pull it off.

On Half-Life:
Overhyped for reasons still unknown to me. Whatever genuine (not scripted and reducable to pushing buttons and finding keys/scientists/engineers/whatever) features it had were borrowed (sometimes from games long forgotten).

 

Re: wait and see

Few posts back I used FOBoS as an example that you don't need to play a game to form an opinion about it based on the info available. I thought you replied to that part.

To continue the analogy and without implying anything about console players, why adults should be interested in a kids book?

Fargo is a businessman first, anything else second. Why do you think he's making a console game in the first place?

I heard that argument in regard to FOT. However, the only this that FOT was going to make more possible was FOT2, they started working on FO3 after they ran out of everything else: IWD2, BG3, FOBoS, LH, etc.

Precisely. On its own. Using BT's name is not "on its own".

It's hard to talk hypothetically. I said that I doubt that, not that I absolutely sure, but Fallout was a complex game unlike anything I've seen on consoles. Hence the doubt.

Amen to that. We exchanged our points, and it would be pointless to do anything else. Bottom line, I hope you are right, let's leave it at that :wink:

 

Re: wait and see

the little prince, alice in wonderland, and anything by hans christian andersen for example, are all childrens books yet loved by people of all ages. even studied in college literature classes. a more recent example would be harry potter. a great product can transcend its "usual" audience.

yeah i hope im right too. i do agree its time we stop beating a dead horse here
im only replying now cause i wanted to make that final point about children's books, as i think its relevant and clarifies my earlier point.

anyway, i do sincerely hope BT brings something new to the console RPG genre. usually those games (maybe better called action/adventures with RPG elements) are so dull and linear, i really think they desperately need some new ideas.
in fact i think the same goes for PC RPGs like baldurs gate and planescape. though i find them fine games, i do think this whole genre needs some fresh ideas.
its a bad sign that in the 80s i would probably finish at least 80% of the rpgs i played. these days i probably finish about 10%.

 

Say what you will, but this is probably going to be a mighty purdy-looking game.