People News Leonard Boyarsky has joined Obsidian Entertainment

[LESS T_T]

Gamasutra, no further detail: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/..._designer_Leonard_Boyarsky_joins_Obsidian.php

Newsbrief: Veteran game designer and artist Leonard Boyarsky has left Blizzard to take on an unspecified role at Fallout: New Vegas and Alpha Protocol developer, Obsidian.

Boyarsky started his career as a freelancer for Interplay and Maxis in 1992, and eventually joined the Fallout developer on a permanent basis as art director.

After six years Boyarsky left Interplay to form Troika Games with Tim Cain, now also at Obsidian, before shutting down the struggling studio and joining Blizzard a year later.

During his time at Blizzard Boyarsky worked as the lead world designer on Diablo III. He confirmed his departure on Facebook.

 

[DeepOcean]

If Boyarsky left Blizzard on his own will, he abandoned a really good job, I don't think he did that because he couldn't wait to work on Obsidian knowing that Obsidian is unstable as hell to the point that it could close at any minute if it wasn't the tank MMO on 2012. I guess that Obsidian has secured the funding for a secret project, three theories:
1)They refurbished a cancelled project with new funding.
2)WoD game from Paradox.
3) Fallout 4 spin off.

Of the three, the refurbished cancelled project and even a Fallout 4 spin off seems more likely to me than an WoD game. From where Paradox would get the kind of funding to pay for an AAA Bloodlines kind FPS?

 

[StrongBelwas]

. From where Paradox would get the kind of funding to pay for an AAA Bloodlines kind FPS?

Aren't they planning an IPO? And while everyone is hoping for Bloodlines 2, theoretically speaking a WoD game could be anything (Would they risk the disappointment though?)

 

[DosBuster]

Paradox is, Obsidian is not.

 

[StrongBelwas]

...And they would be the ones doing the funding, wouldn't they?

 

[Athelas]

Hiring Boyarsky is obviously a calculated move to use his tenure at Blizzard to craft the ultimate Diablo 3 killer, Dungeon Siege IV.

If Boyarsky left Blizzard on his own will, he abandoned a really good job, I don't think he did that because he couldn't wait to work on Obsidian knowing that Obsidian is unstable as hell to the point that it could close at any minute if it wasn't the tank MMO on 2012. I guess that Obsidian has secured the funding for a secret project, three theories:
1)They refurbished a cancelled project with new funding.
2)WoD game from Paradox.
3) Fallout 4 spin off.

Of the three, the refurbished cancelled project and even a Fallout 4 spin off seems more likely to me than an WoD game. From where Paradox would get the kind of funding to pay for an AAA Bloodlines kind FPS?

You left out the most obvious scenario - Figstarting a new IP.

 

[Infinitron]

I don't know why you would say Obsidian is unstable. Wasteland 2 bought inXile a new studio. Divinity bought Larian two new studios.

Pillars' success has had consequences too. You're seeing them now.

 

[LESS T_T]

Develop: http://www.develop-online.net/news/lead-fallout-and-diablo-iii-designer-moves-to-obsidian/0219141

Looks like no one got a comment from Obsidian.

 

[DeepOcean]

. From where Paradox would get the kind of funding to pay for an AAA Bloodlines kind FPS?

Theoretically speaking a WoD game could be anything (Would they risk the disappointment though?)

While I would love an isometric vampire RPG on the middle ages, I don't think Paradox would waste money on WoD to just make niche RPGs. The WoD setting is mostly popular on urban modern enviroments and an isometric cRPG low budget on urban enviroments... sure, the shadowrun games did that but I dunno... Obsidian needs a big project to survive and the tank MMO is done and I guess it is the russians that get all the sweet MMO money.

 

[Ninjerk]

WoD card game

 

[DeepOcean]

I don't know why you would say Obsidian is unstable. Wasteland 2 bought inXile a new studio. Divinity bought Larian two new studios.

Pillars' success has had consequences too. You're seeing them now.

I was talking of 2012, anyway, it could be that working with all the low taste weaboos at Blizzard was too much of a work hazard for Boyarsky and he left it because it was too boring but I dunno... Blizzard seems the kind of company that is alot more stable than Obsidian and can pay better too, this move doesn't make sense, unless Obsidian is planning some AAA project that attracted his attention.

 

[Fairfax]

I don't know why you would say Obsidian is unstable. Wasteland 2 bought inXile a new studio. Divinity bought Larian two new studios.

Pillars' success has had consequences too. You're seeing them now.

Indeed. At least $15 million in profits for Obsidian, although we don't know how much it cost to buy MCA out.

 

[Infinitron]

DeepOcean Gaider moved to Beamdog. So I dunno, weirder shit has happened.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

isometric cRPG low budget on urban enviroments... sure, the shadowrun games did that but I dunno...

Yeah, I just don't see it as isometric game.

 

[Jaesun]

WoD card game

 

[Excidium II]

WoD card game

VtES PC adaptation with online mp would actually be p. cool.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

WoD card game

VtES PC adaptation with online mp would actually be p. cool.

Would certainly offer a more handy way to hold secret negotiations than tobacco breaks, text messages, and sealed notes. But it would also limit possibilities of espionage.

 

[The Great Deceiver]

Let's speculate. First of all, Cain joined Obsidian in late 2011, while Diablo III was released shortly thereafter. So it can assumed that Cain wasn't the sole reason of Boyarsky's relocation and something else, perhaps a new Cain-led project, persuaded him to leave (a presumably) very lucrative postion he had at Blizzard. Now it seems that Bloodlines II is the obvious answer - Paradox recently purchased the World of Darkness IP and it has a working relationship with Obsidian and is unlikely to develop cRPGs on its own (though a strategy could be made, even though it'd probably be a waste to purchase the property solely for this reason).

Or perhaps it isn't connected to WoD at all; I remember some interviews with Feargus, who mentioned that Cain had some very interesting ideas concerning new titles. Is he getting the old team back?

I really don't think he joined up to work on Armoured Warfare, Tyranny or even PoE II - so maybe it's a new project, only not Cain-led, but one which somehow piqued his interest.

The most boring (but also probable) explanation is that the Diablo III development cycle is at an end and he just thought he could use a change of a pace - and what better place than Obisidian, with his old friend?

In any case, I'm pretty happy about this - anything's better than being absorbed and wasted at current Blizzard.

Spoiler

And yes, it's better to have his talent wasted at Obsidian.

 

[Zeriel]

The most boring (but also probable) explanation is that the Diablo III development cycle is at an end and he just thought he could use a change of a pace - and what better place than Obisidian, with his old friend?

This is probably the real reason.

Blizzard is starting development on a new Diablo title (not an expansion), it's the natural time for him to move on if he was going to.

DeepOcean Gaider moved to Beamdog. So I dunno, weirder shit has happened.

I'd argue not comparable situations considering Bioware's on-going fall from grace with a slew of recent departures, Gaider's long-held and openly-expressed disdain for his own fanbase, etc. Gaider's departure from Bioware was a long time coming, but on the surface there's less of a reason for Boyarsky to move on unless he had a really compelling offer. Blizzard is in another league from Bioware.

While we're at it, Obsidian is definitely a way more reliable employer than Beamdog. Beamdog could feasibly die in a year if things didn't go their way. That's not going to happen to Obsidian. I think that Gaider went to Beamdog at all says volumes about how much he wanted to get away from his position at Bioware.

 

[The Great Deceiver]

The most boring (but also probable) explanation is that the Diablo III development cycle is at an end and he just thought he could use a change of a pace - and what better place than Obisidian, with his old friend?

This is probably the real reason.

Blizzard is starting development on a new Diablo title (not an expansion), it's the natural time for him to move on if he was going to.

Yeah, I think so too. We know that he tried something new with Diablo III (branching storyline), which ultimately didn't pan out quite the way he imagine it would. Perhaps he felt that he already tried what he wanted and felt it was, like you've said, a natural time for a change.

Probably best not to get our hopes up for some super-secret Cain-led project.

 

[ZagorTeNej]

If Boyarsky left Blizzard on his own will, he abandoned a really good job, I don't think he did that because he couldn't wait to work on Obsidian knowing that Obsidian is unstable as hell to the point that it could close at any minute if it wasn't the tank MMO on 2012. I guess that Obsidian has secured the funding for a secret project, three theories:
1)They refurbished a cancelled project with new funding.
2)WoD game from Paradox.
3) Fallout 4 spin off.

Of the three, the refurbished cancelled project and even a Fallout 4 spin off seems more likely to me than an WoD game. From where Paradox would get the kind of funding to pay for an AAA Bloodlines kind FPS?

Maybe it isn't that expensive to make a FP with decent graphics anymore, aren't there some good looking FP indie titles? Besides, I doubt they bought WoD just to sit on it or make some isometric strategies/RPGs.

Aren't they planning an IPO? And while everyone is hoping for Bloodlines 2, theoretically speaking a WoD game could be anything (Would they risk the disappointment though?)

Theoretically speaking yeah but I find it hard to believe they wouldn't want to tap into that Bloodlines cult classic nostalgia, especially when Obsidian (with whom Paradox has good relationship obviously) has two of the three Troika founders now.

 

[Prime Junta]

What's Jason Anderson up to these days by the way?

 

[The Great Deceiver]

What's Jason Anderson up to these days by the way?

At Turtle Rock studios. A bloody waste.

 

[ZagorTeNej]

Yeah, worked on some shitty MMOFPS or something. It's depressing.

 

[Prime Junta]

That's good. It means it shouldn't too hard to lure him to Troiksidian.