Game News Aliens RPG is dead.

[DarkUnderlord]

Tags: Obsidian Entertainment

Updating your online social networking page is so fraught with peril these days. In <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/7/951/358">David Kondor's profile over at linkedin there's this</a>:
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<blockquote>David Kondor
<br>
Designer - Obsidian Entertainment
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(Privately Held; Computer Games industry)
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<br>
April 2008 — February 2009 (11 months)
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<br>
<b>Designer for canceled third-person action Aliens RPG (Xbox 360, PS3, & PC)</b>
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<br>
-- Responsible for the planning, layout, setup, and tuning of multiple large areas including a Vertical Slice
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-- Worked directly with a team of Animators, Artists, Sound Designers, and Writers to ensure consistent area vision and to maintain fun gameplay, visual storytelling, and the atmosphere of the Aliens universe
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-- Worked with other Designers to contribute to and improve on the vision of game
<br>
-- Designed, Scripted and Balanced Major Combat Encounters and Boss Battles
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-- Designed, Implemented, and Iterated on Missions and Scripted Scenes
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-- Created and Iterated on initial Area layouts using XSI
<br>
-- Worked with programmers to develop & improve on a new In-House Game Engine & Tools</blockquote>
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So just how far along was the game before it got dumped? Any chances of a Van Buren style tech demo release?
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Spotted @ <a href="http://www.gamebanshee.com">GameBanshee</a>

 

[Ion Flux]

Ah crap.

 

[Forest Dweller]

This still may be jumping to conclusions a bit.

Or maybe not.

Since I don't know a lot about game design, I can't really tell how "important" this guy was to the game, based on that list.

Still, Obsidian could still be planning on hiring him back if the project gets under way again (presumably after Alpha Protocol ships).

 

[butsomuch]

http://forums.obsidian.net/index.php?sh ... ntry921667

Also, a project's status rarely hinges on the activities of a single intermediate designer on a team of 40+ people.

 

[Tigranes]

That comment was likely in reference to the question over whether it is wise to include cancelled projects on one's resume.

I suspect they will re-evaluate their priorities and also the relationship with / opinion of the publisher after AP ships.

Still, Obsidian could still be planning on hiring him back if the project gets under way again (presumably after Alpha Protocol ships).

You mean fire him then re-hire him in 6 months?

 

[Forest Dweller]

You mean fire him then re-hire him in 6 months?

An interview with Leonard Boyarsky on Troika's demise:

GameSpy: Facing the closing of your studio must have been tough. When did you start to see that as a real possibility?

Boyarsky: I continued to think something would come through until about the middle of January. That was also the time a lot of our former employees gave up waiting and started getting jobs, so it became pretty dismal around that time. Not much fun, to say the least.

Judging from that quote it seems to be pretty standard activity. In any case, there's a difference between being fired and being laid off.

 

[Andhaira]

Ah well.

Lets hope they do an original turnbased fantasy crpg. At the least a D&D 4e game.

 

[Trash]

That's depresseing, though not that unexpected. I hope the gearbox alien shooter won't be cancelled as well.

 

[bat_boro]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tim5nU3D ... =1&index=2

;(;(;(

 

[Volourn]

"In any case, there's a difference between being fired and being laid off."

Yeah, and it's lame. No job is no job. Either way you are shitcanned.

 

[Twinfalls]

Buggery. I think the whole Alien setting has lost value because of the tons of action games already made for it, such as all those megadrive and c64 titles (there was one pretty good but very hard PS1 title I recall). And Aliens Vs Predator may have made tons of money but fucked the serious appeal of the Alien universe with its pure idiocy.

Which is a shame because the original film and even the sequel had a good, original sci-fi backdrop and feel, so the RPG could have been something really cool.

 

[serch]

This game would have been awesome, very interesting setting for a cRPG. I wonder what will happen with that new engine they were developing for Aliens. If they can't use it for future projects, due to the contract with the publisher, this would be double shite. Mr Davis?

 

[Andhaira]

Well, TORNS engine was scrapped, as was van buren (afaik) and jefferson. So this will probably get canned s well.

I wonder who made the decision to cancel it. It can't be publishers, all they can do is withdraw funding.

 

[Volourn]

"I wonder who made the decision to cancel it. It can't be publishers, all they can do is withdraw funding."

u dum Sega owns the rights to the Aliens RPG because they likely paid bugs for the license, and they were(are) paying Obsidian to develop it; but Sega most definitely owns it (unless, shockingly, Sega decided to screw themselves over with the contract). It's why LA owns the KOTOR series, and not BIO. It's why Atari owns the Bg series now.

 

[racofer]

Aliens RPG is dead

But everything is fine, isn't it?

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

I'm absolutely certain that Obsidian will keep Onyx, regardless of the fate of the game. Sawyer sounds excited whenever he talks about it.

 

[bat_boro]

Wait, I thought Alpha Protocol and Aliens RPG were based on the Unreal 3.0 engine?

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

Aliens RPG uses an in-house engine, known as Onyx.

 

[MetalCraze]

I hope Onyx will go to dump as well. Obsidian sucks when it comes to handling even ready engines - I can't imagine how shitty their homebrew engine is (probably that was one of the reasons - consoles couldn't handle the requirements aka memory leaks of Onyx)

 

[Darth Roxor]

 

[Jaesun]

This was the ONE RPG I was actually looking forward too. Fuck.

 

[Krash]

This was the ONE RPG I was actually looking forward too. Fuck.

Aren't you looking forward to AOD?

 

[Anthony Davis]

I'm absolutely certain that Obsidian will keep Onyx, regardless of the fate of the game. Sawyer sounds excited whenever he talks about it.

This is true.

 

[Andhaira]

VD should comission Onyx!

 

[serch]

I hope Onyx will go to dump as well. Obsidian sucks when it comes to handling even ready engines - I can't imagine how shitty their homebrew engine is (probably that was one of the reasons - consoles couldn't handle the requirements aka memory leaks of Onyx)

I don't know.It may be a hell of a lot more difficult to work with a dated engine that it's not exactly designed for third party use, and trying to make it do things which weren't between its initial capabilities, than building your own, even if it takes more time.

Edit: Great!