Editorial Chris Avellone on Doing Planescape: Torment Successor

[FeelTheRads]

mmm... wonders about "Arcanum 2"

Would mean getting the license from Activision. Doubt it would happen.

 

[Mrowak]

We get like two of these per month ever since the whole kickstarter kraze started. How about they actually start something already.

Give him a slack - he is one of the head honchos in Obsidians, and is working on Wasteland 2. It'll be some time before he gets down to actually making it.

 

[Mrowak]

mmm... wonders about "Arcanum 2"

Would mean getting the license from Activision. Doubt it would happen.

I don't think he ever played Arcanum. o_O

 

[FeelTheRads]

mmm... wonders about "Arcanum 2"

Would mean getting the license from Activision. Doubt it would happen.

I don't think he ever played Arcanum. o_O

Yeah, I know. But Tim Cain is there now. He could be interested in an Arcanum sequel.

 

[Turjan]

1) A plane-jumping universe with diversity in environments, cultures, religions, and people.

Yes! Getting rid of the alignment wheel isn't the worst thing, anyway. I would really like to see a game along the lines of Mike Mearls' "The River of Worlds: Sailing on the Sea of Creation" idea.

 

[ghostdog]

So maybe I should do 2 Kickstarters – one that does the worldbook and characters for the game,

and the second one would be for the production of the title itself if enough people like the idea?

I'm also willing to give my beautiful moneyz to a third kickstarter for making the game 2D isometric with nice bitmap art instead of some shitty 3D engine.

 

[tuluse]

We get like two of these per month ever since the whole kickstarter kraze started. How about they actually start something already.

If he wants a decent amount of money, like 1 million+, it might be best to wait a while. If kickstarter fatigue is real (and not just worse projects being proposed now), letting some time go by could help. Even better might be to wait until one of the bigger projects actually finishes and excitement is high, of course that could backfire if it isn't well received.

 

[markec]

Well he cant really start anything as long he is working for Wasteland 2, so its pretty obvious that he wont start any Kickstarter project before end of 2013, if then.

 

[DwarvenFood]

Well he cant really start anything as long he is working for Wasteland 2, so its pretty obvious that he wont start any Kickstarter project before end of 2013, if then.

That's not true, he is only outsourced for W2 part-time, work on South Park should be about finished as well. What else is there to do ?

 

[Jasede]

Playing PS:T for the combat...

 

[The Vanished One]

I don't quite understand whether MCA is talking hypothetically, or he'd do it if given the chance (i.e. if he were actually paid by a publisher to write one entire year for the game he wants to do). Either way, it looks like Kickstarter is now very serious business even for an established developer like Obsidian, so whatever happens to Wasteland 2 and Obsidian's future project might make or break an "old-school" RPG renaissance.

But I would rob a bank for MCA's PST "spiritual successor". And sell my soul, if I still had it.

 

[commie]

I don't fucking believe you fuckers! You've sat like fucking chumps with your thumbs up your arses for 13 years, wailing and ranting about no torment successor and eagerly(in many of your cases) lapping up consoletard shit in the meantime, and when finally; FINALLY; there is a slight and tenuous hope that MCA might go for that ONE SHOT in getting a PS:T style game made again, you fuckers all want it fucking NOWWWWW!!!!!

Give the man a break! He has this W2 thing to help out and see how it goes, probably is making his own notes about how much moneys it's consuming, how credible is a deadline like this given the financial limitations etc. and there's Obsidian's own South Park thing to oversee and hopefully it does well enough to keep them going for the next project. THEN maybe he can devote his time to carefully think of a new PS:T style game and everything that goes with it. I'm not expecting a slew of such titles and I daresay that the next one if it comes to fruition will either be a one off or likely to have the majority of MCA's creative juices in it, making further games pale in comparison.

I'll happily wait another 5-10 years if it means we get the best GAEM EVAH!!!!!

 

[Zed]

I'm still wondering what the hell Sawyer is up to...
Top secret Obsidian project? IWD-like? Bicycle sim?

 

[Kz3r0]

Bicycle sim?

 

[kaizoku]

I hope they do make it RTwP, just for the glorious amounts of butthurt it will generate on the Codex.

Well, Josh Sawyer has been fiddling around with Icewind Dale related stuff recently...

Oh fuck I hope that doesn't mean Trent Oster is making an Icewind Dale EE

Who is The Butthurted One now?

Would mean getting the license from Activision. Doubt it would happen.

damn it! I put the quotes "" to mean it as a spiritual successor, in this case, a fantasy steampunk game

OTOH I'm starting to wonder on why would it be that difficult in getting Arcanum's license at this time? Aren't they loaded with Call of Fruity franchise money?

I don't think he ever played Arcanum. o_O

yeah... forgot about that one. The Codex offered him a copy but he haven't played it yet AFAIK.

 

[villain of the story]

2) Tactical combat – it doesn't need to be turn-based, but pausing and choosing your actions is important.

Fuck this shit. Seriously. There is no shortage nor an end to RTwP games and one PST with abysmal shit combat was enough. I'm not backing ANY project with RTw-fucking-P, MCA or not. I don't care if it's the perfect spiritual successor to PST.

 

[FeelTheRads]

OTOH I'm starting to wonder on why would it be that difficult in getting Arcanum's license at this time?

Well, I'm not sure. For example the Space Quest license is with Activision as well and The Two Guys From Andromeda couldn't get it. No details on why, though, it could have been the price and maybe Obsidian could afford the Arcanum license... but, would it be profitable for them to get it?

Aren't they loaded with Call of Fruity franchise money?

Jews gonna jew.

 

[Infinitron]

2) Tactical combat – it doesn't need to be turn-based, but pausing and choosing your actions is important.

Fuck this shit. Seriously. There is no shortage nor an end to RTwP games and one PST with abysmal shit combat was enough. I'm not backing ANY project with RTw-fucking-P, MCA or not. I don't care if it's the perfect spiritual successor to PST.

I don't know, pretty much all of these Kickstarter RPG projects are promising turn-based. Right now RTwP would almost be a welcome change of pace.

Also,

 

[General Maxson]

I must say I would really like Arcanum 2. Or a similar tolkien/industrial revolution rpg, only with better turn based combat. I really like arcanum it was huge and interesting and diverse. Ah, I can dream.... I know majority would vote PST. I wouldn't however. But anything is good as long as we get a proper crpg from another "bigger" company like Obsidian. I guess it gives me hope I'll have something to play in the future except popamole.

 

[Roguey]

I see Avellone uses the DU-method of handling polls: acknowledging a majority and then not giving them what they want.

Also I wouldn't trust them to make a good realtime with pause game. There hasn't been a good one in over ten years, and not through lack of trying.

 

[deuxhero]

If they did do a Torment Sucessor, would anyone here object to using the OGL 3.5 rules like KotC did for the combat system?

 

[Humanity has risen!]

Why a need to do the exact same thing again? Also I didn't see, insert actual gameplay this time around.

I'll never understand the fascination emos have with this game, it's PC gamers' equivalent of Final Fantasy VII with no action, an iconic game that meant something when they were suicidal teens.

To me it was a series of convoluted fetch quests and inane find the NPC to talk to situations, under a somewhat gothic and emo atmosphere that tried to sound deep so hard but meant nothing. Just like in Alpha Protocol, it has well written characters, but characters that get lost in their own narcissism, and it is all it has going for it. I'm not a teen, so I'm not looking for another gothic emo fetch quest clickfest to keep myself from suiciding.

This guy keeps talking and talking, but apart from characters, item descriptions and convoluted dialogue trees, whatever great game content has he done? Others don't talk all the time about what their pompous game design and philosophy theories are for some 12 years, and delivered actual games that played like ones.

 

[kaizoku]

If they did do a Torment Sucessor, would anyone here object to using the OGL 3.5 rules like KotC did for the combat system?

So maybe I should do 2 Kickstarters – one that does the worldbook and characters for the game, and the second one would be for the production of the title itself if enough people like the idea? Hmmmm.

so he won't use Pathfinder after all.

Got to correct myself here as I made an interpretation error.

Yeah that would be great.
The combat system could indeed be Pathfinder OGL based.
But the game world would be their own, so they retain the IP and don't have to pay anyone.
win win

 

[Pope Amole II]

I don't mind the wait - it's not like I actually had any hopes to see a proper Planescape successor in my lifetime, more than so from Avellone himself, so any attempts and any terms are fine in my book. Things get really easier when you don't expect much from them.

 

[Alex]

If they did do a Torment Sucessor, would anyone here object to using the OGL 3.5 rules like KotC did for the combat system?

I would. Well, not really object, but prefer something closer to 2e. For the reasons I gave in the other thread.