Development Info Pillars of Eternity II Feature at Shacknews: Documentary, Panel Discussion, Book

[Infinitron]

Tags: Adam Brennecke; Carrie Patel; Chris Parker; Dan Spitzley; Feargus Urquhart; Josh Sawyer; Justin Britch; Kazunori Aruga; Obsidian Entertainment; Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire; Scott Everts

This must be documentary week for RPGs. The website Shacknews (which is apparently still a thing) has inaugurated two new features - 24 'Til Launch, a series of documentaries focused on video games' last day of development, and Long Table, a series of in-depth panel discussions with game developers. It turns out that none other than Pillars of Eternity II is the subject of both series' first installments. Shacknews editor David Craddock was at Obsidian back in May, recording the documentary on the day before the game's release and the panel discussion shortly after its release. For people who closely followed Deadfire's development, there probably won't be much new in the documentary. However, the panel discussion might be worth watching if you have the time. It's interesting to hear the opinions of the less frequently seen Obsidian veterans, such as co-owner Chris Parker, designer Scott Everts and programmer Dan Spitzley. There are also a few extras, including a video of an early prototype build of Pillars of Eternity.

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So why did it take five months to release these videos, you ask? Maybe it's because David Craddock needed time to finish his free 480 page book about Pillars of Eternity and the history of the Infinity Engine RPGs, entitled Beneath a Starless Sky, so it could be released alongside them. Nice! I haven't read the book yet, but it seems to be full of interesting tidbits, though perhaps not at the level of the Pillars of Eternity chapter in Jason Schreier's Blood, Sweat, and Pixels. One thing worth noting is that Craddock was unable to elicit any information about Chris Avellone's departure from Obsidian. Apparently he was told that the two parties have entered litigation, but Chris tells us that's not the case. Oookay.

 

[Mortmal]

Enough ! Owlcat news now, tired to see this face!

 

[Mortmal]

Do it yourself Infinitron interview them, break the endless cycle of news reposting, break your shackles!

 

[Diggfinger]

gonna check it out, thanks

Edit: nothing really new or interesting

 

[toro]

This is "Please hire us! We are begging you!" type of interview.

 

[Volrath]

Pity post.

 

[Van-d-all]

Yet another awful push to make PoE hȇrpa dȇrp "happen"...

 

[markec]

Nobody cares, we have Pathfinder now.

 

[Cross]

So why did it take five months to release these videos, you ask? Maybe it's because David Craddock needed time to finish his free 480 page book about Pillars of Eternity and the history of the Infinity Engine RPGs, entitled Beneath a Starless Sky, so it could be released alongside them.

Shacknews editor David Craddock was at Obsidian back in May, recording the documentary on the day before the game's release

Before writing a book and filming a documentary celebrating the revival of Infinity Engine RPGs, maybe he should have waited to make sure Deadfire wasn't the massive commercial flop it ended up being.

 

[mindx2]

Was it a flop? Actually curious to the estimated sales.

 

[Sailor Woedica]

Thanks infinitron, looks really cool!

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

haa, his balance autism was a failure. How about that Josh, the degenerate gameplay that you hate is actually preferred by players.

 

[Mortmal]

Was it a flop? Actually curious to the estimated sales.

They are lucky to have no competition, if we had several games in the same caliber of kingmaker no one would even bother with poe anymore let alone buy it.

 

[saeci]

why is this news?

 

[Sailor Woedica]

Hey rpg queens, I'm flipping through the book and did anyone else pick up some vaguebooking from these quotes by Feargus about non-compete clauses in contracts from the Beneath a Starless Sky, chapter 24 – Pause Screen: Fighting Randomness - Feargus Urquhart on Fig and Obsidian's Future

Quote:

Urquhart: A lot of people bring up that this place is like a family, but I will admit that we started this company as a company and not as a family intentionally because we knew we would be larger, and would need to have things like employee handbooks and employee agreements. On the flip side, I want people to be here because they want to be here. As an example, the first thing we edited out of our employment agreement when we started our company was the non-compete and non-solicitation agreement. That's the word I was trying to remember. Most employment agreements have non-competes and non-solicitation [clauses] in them. Ours don't. We want people to work here, but we don't want you to feel like you're trapped. When people leave, we shake their hands and thank them for working here. I think most people have appreciated that.

ok end quote, do you think this was shade or just Ferg highlighting how friendly Obsidian can be to work for?

 

[Roguey]

do you think this was shade or just Ferg highlighting how friendly Obsidian can be to work for?

Sounds like May Rage damage control.

 

[Fairfax]

Hey rpg queens, I'm flipping through the book and did anyone else pick up some vaguebooking from these quotes by Feargus about non-compete clauses in contracts from the Beneath a Starless Sky, chapter 24 – Pause Screen: Fighting Randomness - Feargus Urquhart on Fig and Obsidian's Future

Quote:

Urquhart: A lot of people bring up that this place is like a family, but I will admit that we started this company as a company and not as a family intentionally because we knew we would be larger, and would need to have things like employee handbooks and employee agreements. On the flip side, I want people to be here because they want to be here. As an example, the first thing we edited out of our employment agreement when we started our company was the non-compete and non-solicitation agreement. That's the word I was trying to remember. Most employment agreements have non-competes and non-solicitation [clauses] in them. Ours don't. We want people to work here, but we don't want you to feel like you're trapped. When people leave, we shake their hands and thank them for working here. I think most people have appreciated that.

ok end quote, do you think this was shade or just Ferg highlighting how friendly Obsidian can be to work for?

Nothing new, Feargus bragging about things that are out of his control.

Non-compete agreements are automatically void as a matter of law in California, except for a small set of specific situations expressly authorized by statute.[11] They were outlawed by the original California Civil Code in 1872 (Civ. Code, former § 1673).

Because of their potential for abuse, the courts and/or legislatures of most states impose limits on restrictive covenants. The most common approach is that restrictive covenants won’t be enforced unless they’re reasonable in terms of how long they last and what activities they prohibit. California law, however, goes much further. This is because Section 16600 of California’s Business and Professions Code consists of the following single stark sentence:

“Except as provided in this chapter, every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind is to that extent void.”

Any ambiguity about how strictly this passage should be interpreted was removed in 2008 when the California Supreme Court ruled in Edwards v. Arthur Andersen LLP that 16600 does not allow even the sorts of reasonable or narrow restrictive covenants permitted in other jurisdictions. Non-compete and non-solicitation clauses really are presumptively invalid in California.

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

Infinitron
Whats with your creative rating? Implying in a passive aggressive way that my post is false. Josh was on a crusade to clamp degenerate gameplay and Dumpster fire was a commercial failure. And PoE was a massive disappointment as well, your review shenanigans didn't change it.

never forget Infinitron:

Oh, Infinitron, the joke is simple: That you report the news, as your unfortunate profile tag claims, which always make me wince when I see your claim. C'mon, don't be ridiculous. You are so biased, we can't even see you through the glare, but embrace it: It's part of your charm.

 

[Sailor Woedica]

Hi chatouc heretic! Next time don't date Aloth his romance path is pretty boring and probably effected your impression (I recommend Xoti or Tekehu for Deadfire )