Black Isle Eulogy at Gamers with Jobs

[Vault Dweller]

Tags: Black Isle Studios; Fallout 3 (Van Buren)

<a href=http://www.gamerswithjobs.com>Gamers with Jobs</a> posted this interesting and in-depth <a href=http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=811&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0>editorial</a> named "A Eulogy for Black Isle's Tragic End"
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<blockquote>With no shortage of blame to be turned o­n Interplay’s legendary mismanagement, the lamentations of BIS have been lavishly wept across the gaming spectrum and mostly deserved. But, and please forgive me for suggesting the blasphemous, it seems a bit naïve to assume this end was either sudden or even avoidable. Black Isle may have been scraping along for the past year or two, but it was no healthier than Atari during its dark Jaguar days, and barely a shadow of its o­nce dominant self. Which leads me to a statement that some might find a little shocking and others openly offensive, that being: <b>I’m relieved that Fallout 3 isn’t going to be finished?</b>
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Time has proved the departure a good move for BioWare, as time has proved many Interplay evacuations a smart decision. Despite some troubling delays, Neverwinter Nights went o­n to win numerous awards and sell millions of copies worldwide. Followed by the equally successful Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, BioWare has more than maintained its dominant position in the industry. Able to separate itself from Interplay, BioWare did what Black Isle could not. It managed its own destiny.
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It’s noteworthy that the story of Black Isle Studios is primarily told through the context of the resources that were taken away from it. The fall of Black Isle is a product of the constant forces that pulled talent, franchises, and creativity away from the company, a trend in which the loss of Neverwinter Nights is o­nly o­ne example. Let’s speak of Troika games for a moment, an unassuming development house that has quietly released two outstanding role playing games. Arcanum, its first release, was a quirky tale of the conflict between magic and technology. Set upon a world in the throes of an industrial revolution, it blended a familiar reality with fantasy elements. It was a deep and involving game met with critical success. Temple of Elemental Evil is not quite so easy to praise, though I think it ultimately deserves a good heaping of it. A buggy game, but o­ne that satisfies the D&D itch through a classic module.
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And, though it is part speculation, and part guilt-by-association, <b>it must be noted that the quality and originality of Black Isle games has been o­n an exponential decrease of late culminating in the disappointing unmet potential of Lionheart.</b> The reasons must be left to conjecture, but something has been driving the names and talent away from Black Isle for years now, and I question how an adequate Fallout 3 could be produced in that kind of environment.</blockquote>
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Good article, I'm glad that it wasn't just another "iply killed BIS" stuff, and I agree with the key points: BIS failed to produce hits for a long time, BIS failed to do what Bio did, and the quality and the originality of the games were "exponentially decreasing" as was proved once again when <a href=http://www.rpgcodex.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=3005>FO3 plot was revealed</a>

 

[Sol Invictus]

This is yet another reason to love these guys!

 

[Spazmo]

This may just be me, but it looks like gamerswithjobs.com no longer exists?

 

[Major_Blackhart]

After learning the plot for FO3, I too am glad it will not be made, as it doesn't seem very fallouty

 

[Dan]

This may just be me, but it looks like gamerswithjobs.com no longer exists?

Works fine OUTSIDE of Canada.

 

[Transcendent One]

The editorial is very good, there's no doubt about that. It seems like all the fans (myself included) got carried away with the whole IPLY sucks, death to IPLY for closing BIS thing, but when the dust settled posts started popping up about how Fallout 3 may not have even been that good if it was to ever be released. In a way it does make sense and sometimes I feel like I almost agree with it, considering that what little information has been revealed about Fallout 3 was disappointing at best.

Just the story alone. Fallou 1&2 both had very simple openings of you going out into an unknown world to obtain some item to save your people. It is rather simple but very effective for the kind of game Fallout is. The opening for Fallout 3 is notably more complex and sounds like the start of a story-driven adventure, something that doesn't at all suit Fallout.

 

[DemonKing]

I think that the article is pretty much on the money.

BIS has done nothing right since it lost NWN to Atari.

HOW was a poorly designed expansion which was only redeemed by the rather good free add-on TOTLM.

IWD2 was a decent CRPG but it didn't really appeal to anyone beyond hardcore CRPGers and couldn't compete with newer titles like NWN.

Lionheart was a flop. I actually thought the first half was passable (just), but the second half of the game is rubbish. Linear, poorly-designed, unbalanced clickfests do not an immersive CRPG game make.

As for the cancellations of Torn, BG3 and Fallout 3 - the less said the better. Of the three, I was only convinced that BG3 would be a surefire winner, but maybe that was more to the obvious passion JE had for it than anything else.

Now with no one left but "CRPG" stalwarts like Sean Reynolds (who has never worked on a game that actually got released) and a "console only" policy things can only get worse...which seems a little hard to believe: the BIS brandname is still somehow managing to slide further down the gurgler than it already has.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Well said, DemonKing. I think the biggest problem BIS had is that they never actually did anything completely original. As such, they got trapped in a rut of relying way too much on others to make sure they could do anything themselves.

They relied way too much on licenses and franchises. Every game they released that they developed was either a sequel or a D&D license game. Of the big three that were cancelled, only TORN wasn't using a license already done and/or the D&D license. TORN still used the SPECIAL system though.

That was the big problem with BIS, I think. They just never did anything from scratch.

 

[Volourn]

Neither has BIO... yet... they are still going strong (to your chagrin ). Like i said, "originality" is overrated; it's the quality (or percieved quality) of a game that attracts buyers.

 

[Psilon]

They did Shattered Steel; I don't think that was licensed. That said, they certainly haven't done anything since then without relying on a license.

 

[Anonymous]

Neither has BIO... yet... they are still going strong (to your chagrin ). Like i said, "originality" is overrated; it's the quality (or percieved quality) of a game that attracts buyers.

Right, bu that's what the site is all about.

Calling those buyers morons.

 

[Voss]

How amusing.

Considering how many of the Bio bashing crowd here keeps buying Bio games...
Its a sad thing for people to call themselves morons, over and over again.

And... thats what the site is all about?

Very sad.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

Well, I don't own any Bio shit, so I can say whatever I want, though I won't, since peoples tastes are their own.

 

[Volourn]

Yes, Blackheart; but the point wasn't you speciifcally I beleive. It's that there are people who bash BIO's games to no end, and thenc all those who do morons. Weird.. Then again, I've pointed out what Voss did for a long while now. It's usually the exuse that "I buy all crpgs no matter how crappy they are", or "I gotta give them a chance to prove me wrong". I say whatever. Those people who buy BIO games, and enjoy them it makes sense to buy BIO games; but if you don't enjoy them stop buyin' them.



Tru, Psilon. They ahve that agme though I've never played it so i don't know how good, or bad it is - just that it isn't my type of game.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I bought Baldur's Gate, and hated it. I bought NWN and hated it. I bought KotOR and thought it wasn't that bad, and the best thing they'd done to date. I bought HotU hoping for more KotORness since it was designed solely for single player, and it was a let down.

So, I've passed on the two BG expansions, BG2 and it's expansion, and an NWN expansion.

 

[Spazmo]

I played and enjoyed the whole Baldur's Gate enchilada. They were decent games with a heap of gameplay in them, even if they were severely flawed in many respects. Same thing with KOTOR, which I only bought once assured by colleagues (Exitium, mostly, who enjoyed the BG games in the same way I did) that it's as fun as BG2. I bought NWN expecting maybe not a great RPG but at least a fun game of BG2's caliber. Needless to say, I was disappointed.

But my point is, the only BioWare game I regret getting is Neverwinter Nights.

 

[Transcendent One]

I spent at least 300 hours playing the original BG, due to not having a formed opinion of what a good RPG should be. I spent at least 300 hours playing BG2. I still enjoy BG2, even though it could be done better. Really, it is NWN that stands out as the Bioware game that I hated from the start. KotOR, many people say is Bioware's next biggest thing since BG2. I agree, as NWN was awful, but that rank is not quite as spectacular as it sounds. I personally think KotOR is okay in terms of roleplaying, the NPC interaction is okay, but everything else is just blah at least up until the point where I am. I hate most of Bioware's games, but for me their games were good while I liked them (okay, that makes no sense, just ignore me on this one).