Interview Feargus interview at Game Informer reveals Obsidian's secret project is Stormlands reincarnation

[Fairfax]

I don't see how the deal could have been made recently given that Obsidian have had a secret project going on for what seems like years.

It was just the way he said it, and how they pitched to all publishers again etc, but yeah, could be the secret project. There was still MCA's project, though, and he confirmed that he never worked on Stormlands. I feel like Obsidian has had "secret project" rumors for 5 years at least tbh.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Allowing them to keep the IP sounds like Paradox funding this perhaps. I just don't see M$ plopping down cash for an open wound rpg, and allowing them to keep the IP. Though if I am recalling correctly, M$ funded Mass Effect, but allowed BioWare to keep the IP. Possibly due to Xbox exclusivity, stuff like that.

Yeah, MS has massive problem locking down 3rd party deals with how much of a lead PS4 has. So they might have agreed not to keep the IP.

I can't imagine it being Paradox anyhow, AAA open world game doesn't seem like their thing.

 

[Jaesun]

Yeah, this whole deal just seems odd. Anyways we will know the details later on, eventually.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

I'd love to see Obsidian work on an open world game, and anyone else for that matter. These are the holy grail of current RPG development, and the more companies try to make them, the better.

For a long time, Bethesda has absolutely dominated this subgenre, with a few other offerings by other companies in between (Gothics, NV, etc), and as a result the market has completely stagnated in the absence of competition. On top of that, Bethesda isn't even any good at any aspect of open world RPGs other than large and open. So I welcome all these companies (CDProject, Obsidian, Warhorse, Piranha Bytes, etc) trying their hand at it, bringing new ideas and expertise to the games. And it's no surprise that all of them pretty much produce superior products to the stale Bethesda crap.

 

[Severian Silk]

Was going to ask if Stormlands was ASOIAF but if it's their own IP then never mind...

 

[Turtle-Zone 3000]

FU: So, New Vegas just used the Fallout 3 engine, but what we did, what we used, we write…well, we write a little dialogue here and there <grin>, and so well, we have a dialogue tool, it’s something that we’ve been developing for almost ten years now. What we realized when we went into doing Fallout: New Vegas, for the time we had it was going to be hard to write a lot of dialogue. And it’s always going to sound like criticism, but it’s sorta criticism. With Morrowind and Oblivion and Fallout [3], the Fallout engine, the Bethesda engine had a certain way of doing dialogue, and they hadn’t gotten to a newer modern way of doing dialogue. We realized we couldn’t use their system to generate a ton of dialogue. In essence, what we did was we bolted on our dialogue tool on to their engine and then we wrote an interpreter between it which would take our dialogue data information and put it in a format that the fallout 3 engine understood. It let us increased our speed three-four-five-ten-fold in doing dialogue.

BH: How much of a pain in the ass was it to work with the fallout 3 engine?

FU: <laughs>

Sounds like Beth can't be arsed doing the work to fix their dialogue system along with other problems for Gamebryo.
It does sorta give some hope that a F4 spinoff would be handed to them as they have the tools for it.
However with their four projects, it sorta seems like Obsidian won't have time for it.

 

[Shadenuat]

Feargus: I am not saying that every Fallout must have SPECIAL and it should matter
Feargus: I am not saying we're jelly that Bethesda got Fallout since we had in the making our own "Fallout 3" 2-3 times before
Feargus: I am not saying that game development was just better in the past

 

[oldmanpaco]

Inb4 game cancelled have to layoff staff uh-oh bankruptcy here comes liquidation of assets.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

I wouldn't consider myself a JES fanboy, especially after he basically failed to deliver on all his (totally enjoyable and right-minded) smack-talking with PoE, but I think that he and John Gonzalez were very obviously the reason that NV was as great of a game as it was.

I have a hard time mustering enthusiasm for the prospect of an open-world OES RPG without either of them involved.

I would, of course, love to have my doubts disproven.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Bethesda was faithful to Fallout .... seriously?!

 

[Stinger]

I wouldn't consider myself a JES fanboy, especially after he basically failed to deliver on all his (totally enjoyable and right-minded) smack-talking with PoE, but I think that he and John Gonzalez were very obviously the reason that NV was as great of a game as it was.

I have a hard time mustering enthusiasm for the prospect of an open-world OES RPG without either of them involved.

I would, of course, love to have my doubts disproven.

John Gonzalez left Obsidian years ago.

FNV was great but it heavily relied on good writing, the bulk of which was Gonzalez on the main story and Avellone on the dlcs.

Without either of them you end up with Sawyer writing like Honest Hearts or Pallegina or Fenstermaker writing like Pillars of Eternity.

I'm really struggling to think of any good writers left at OEI now though I'd like to be wrong and I'm hesitant about an Obsidian RPG with average writing.

 

[Severian Silk]

What is Stormlands? ASOIAF?

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

John Gonzalez left Obsidian years ago.

FNV was great but it heavily relied on good writing, the bulk of which was Gonzalez on the main story and Avellone on the dlcs.

Without either of them you end up with Sawyer writing like Honest Hearts or Pallegina or Fenstermaker writing like Pillars of Eternity.

I'm really struggling to think of any good writers left at OEI now though I'd like to be wrong and I'm hesitant about an Obsidian RPG with average writing.

Yes, thank you for further explaining my point. Captain Didactic to the rescue!

Not trying to be rude, only, as befits the 'Dex, edgy. I tend to assume, perhaps wrongly, that most of our forum base would know that Gonzalez is no longer at OEI.

 

[Viata]

I don't get why "no Avellone" should matter. I mean, he was there during PoE and he helped shit there. Anyway, I can't see this game being done as I don't think any publisher would give a lot of money to Obsidian.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

There were other writers who did excellent work on NV. Travis Stout wrote Mr. House, one of the best characters I've ever seen in an RPG. But yeah, Gonzalez was main guy.

Obsidian also nailed the Brotherhood of Steel, just like they understood the rest of Fallout lore. Why Bethesda can't is a mystery.

 

[Infinitron]

Anyway, I can't see this game being done as I don't think any publisher would give a lot of money to Obsidian.

To make things clear, they already have a publisher. This is a publisher-funded project. It wouldn't exist otherwise.

 

[Doktor Best]

Maybe theyre establishing their own post apocalyptic IP since they always wanted to make a new Fallout but Bethesda wouldnt let them. Why not simply make your own IP then, repeat the success of Fallout 1. Its not like Wasteland or Fallout invented nuclear holocaust.

 

[Lockkaliber]

Wasn't the main part of NV's story just Avellones old ideas from his Fallout pen and paper campaign?

 

[Stainless Veteran]

Was going to ask if Stormlands was ASOIAF but if it's their own IP then never mind...

Eh, why make a boring Westeros game when you have multicult Essos and also Free Cities? But anyway, it's such a pity that we got only that very mediocre Cyanide RPG, and not a game from some at lest marginally talented studio.

 

[Roguey]

Wasn't the main part of NV's story just Avellones old ideas from his Fallout pen and paper campaign?

Josh said they only took a few superficial elements from Van Buren.

 

[Duraframe300]

It was just the way he said it, and how they pitched to all publishers again etc, but yeah, could be the secret project. There was still MCA's project, though, and he confirmed that he never worked on Stormlands. I feel like Obsidian has had "secret project" rumors for 5 years at least tbh.

As mentioned in the other thread Brian Heins project is still ongoing and he did mention they're currently on 4 projects, so it pretty much has to be the one by process of elimination alone.

Ofc, all depends on what Feargus considers to be *working on something*

Also ofc, Obsidian had secret project rumors going on for years now. They p. much all panned out with the Original Stormlands and Armored Warfare. Every project is going to be *secret* at first.

 

[Duraframe300]

I wouldn't consider myself a JES fanboy, especially after he basically failed to deliver on all his (totally enjoyable and right-minded) smack-talking with PoE, but I think that he and John Gonzalez were very obviously the reason that NV was as great of a game as it was.

I have a hard time mustering enthusiasm for the prospect of an open-world OES RPG without either of them involved.

I would, of course, love to have my doubts disproven.

Gonzalez was great. But I wouldn't exactly call NV's main story that amazing. The Survivalist in Honest Hearts was probably his highlight.
I also remember certain quests and charachters getting way more praise. Fenstermaker as well with Vault 11 and Beyond the Beef.

The only one, aside from Chris Avellone, who managed to pull out a great main story so far at Obsidian was George Ziets, imo.

 

[Haba]

In before F2P open world MMO.

Shits given: 0.

 

[anus_pounder]

In before F2P open world MMO.

Shits given: 0.

Dear god no. I'll anything with the obshitstain logo on it but not an MMO. Not even for them.

 

[Invictus]

I have always thought Fergus is simply such a liability; maybe he is a good eye for talent but whenever he is on interview he comes across as the fat kid at highschook who everybody treated like the school pet and laughed when they dared him to eat a sandwich off the floor or show his man titties
Dont known how or why publishers would trust him with their money, at least Sawyer comes across as the new age computer cool guy hipster who can show you his tattoes and shit