Obsidian General Discussion Thread

[Drax]

 

[Infinitron]

I wonder if by "non-PC formats" he is thinking of PnP or of consoles.

area sizes

Take a wild guess.

It could be tablets too though.

 

[AwesomeButton]

Take a wild guess.

It could be tablets too though.

So - popamole, ahem, "accessible" TB Pillars game coming to consoles soon :D

 

[Infinitron]

In the Darkstation interview, Josh referred to the turn-based PoE game Obsidian could make as "super-hardcore".

 

[Fairfax]

What is his dream RPG design again? Turn-based, class-less, attribute-less, and no levels? They should give him free rein to make that as a mobile game. Transgender protagonist fighting against misogyny with romance and everything. I, for one, will not complain.

 

[One-and-a-half-Ivan]

So, Feargus said that the game will be announced in a few months' time, right?
The next month there will be PSX show. Sony is expected to announce several new exclusive titles.
You got it, right?
Just. Imagine. The butthurt.

 

[AwesomeButton]

In the Darkstation interview, Josh referred to the turn-based PoE game Obsidian could make as "super-hardcore".

This will be something to see. I'll remain skeptical, to allow for myself to be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Duraframe300]

 

[Duraframe300]

Infinitron Did Obsidian hint at a Fallout like with Pillars engine while I wasn't looking?

Edit: Sorry forgot link: http://playmoments.de/2015/11/fallout-entwickler-von-new-vegas-arbeitet-an-neuem-spiel/

 

[Infinitron]

Infinitron Did Obsidian hint at a Fallout like with Pillars engine while I wasn't looking?

Edit: Sorry forgot link: http://playmoments.de/2015/11/fallout-entwickler-von-new-vegas-arbeitet-an-neuem-spiel/

Germans have clickbait sites too, I see.

 

[Jaesun]

So....... Pillars of Eternity: Tactics coming soon?

 

[Irenaeus II]

I wonder what a TB combat system by Sawyer would look like.

 

[Jaesun]

I'm betting a TB combat system designed by him would actually be pretty good.

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.gamepressure.com/e.asp?ID=389

What’s Obsidian’s next big thing? We have no idea, but Tim Cain, the creator of Fallout, is involved in it!
We asked Feargus Urquhart and Josh Sawyer a few questions about the current condition of Obsidian Entertainment, Pillars of Eternity: The White March – Part II, and a new mysterious project.

Obsidian Entertainment is one of the best developers in the world when it comes to RPG games and no wonder that fans of the genre wait for the studio’s new project with their eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. One thing is certain – Obsidian is working on a new RPG game and most probably it’s not Pillars of Eternity 2. While celebrating half a million copies of PoE, we decided to ask Feargus Urquhart and Josh Sawyer few questions about what’s going on in the developer’s studio in California.

Congratulations for selling half a million copies of Pillars of Eternity! Do you consider it to be a lot or not really, keeping in mind that you are a rather large studio based in the US where it’s not cheap to develop games?

Feargus Urquhart: While we are a big studio, success is all relative to the size of the team and the budget. If Call of Duty sold 10 000 000 units it would be considered a failure. For us having sold over 600 000 units now, we are ecstatic.

What are you the most proud of when it comes to Pillars of Eternity and what would you do differently from today’s perspective?

Josh Sawyer: I don’t think there’s one specific thing, but the game as a whole. Our goal was to make a spiritual successor to the Infinity Engine games and I feel that, for the most part, we accomplished that. In retrospect, we should have had more stronghold content and the mega-dungeon (Od Nua) wore thin after a while. Would have preferred to have more content in the stronghold and to spread those dungeon levels around to make existing dungeons feel more substantial.

Od Nua in Pillars of Eternity.

How is your work on The White March - Part II going? Will the game be comparable to the first part in terms of size?

Josh Sawyer: It’s going well and it should be comparable in overall size and gameplay length. We learned a lot from working on the base game and Part I, so we’re trying to apply all of that to Part II. The scale of things kicks up after you relight the White Forge and we hope people will enjoy the progression from the relatively modest problems of Stalwart to the wild ‘n crazy ending.

Is the release planned for the end of the first quarter of 2016 still valid?

Feargus Urquhart: The second part of the White March is looking great and will be out in late January 2016.

I assume that you won’t be able to tell me anything about what you’re currently working on, but there are lots of possibilities on the horizon. Pillars of Eternity 2, full-fledged RPG in Pathfinder universe that you were considering. Paradox acquired rights to the universe of the World of Darkness, I’m sure a lot of gamers would be really excited to hear that you’re making an RPG in this rich world. When can we expect any official announcements?

Feargus Urquhart: Not to tease, but we will have news in the next two or three months. We absolutely are looking at crowdfunding one of our next titles as well, so we’ll have news on that soon. I can say it’s been fun to sit around and talk with Tim Cain, Game Director of the original Fallout, about ideas for our next thing. I wish I could talk about it more.

Tim Cain, the creator of Fallout, is working in Obsidian since 2011. We would have sold our souls to the devil to play the spiritual successor of the classic Fallout on Pillars of Eternity's engine. Dreams...

What’s happening regarding the mysterious Kickstarter campaign that was supposed to launch by the end of 2014 (according to the interview you had with CVG)? I asked you about this in April and you said that it’s only a matter of weeks.

Feargus Urquhart: We thought about that a lot and decided that we should completely finish Pillars of Eternity before we went back to crowdfunding. Part of that was just because of how busy we were, and part of it was that it felt a bit strange to ask everyone for more money before we had delivered on our first crowdfunded game.

In the meantime, during the GI Show, a few new facts surfaced and - as far as we know - in about 2 or 3 months Obsidian Entertainment will announce a new incarnation of projectStormlands (codename North Carolina). It was supposed to be a Xbox One exclusive released sometime around the console launch, but Microsoft backed away. Now project is redesigned, probably will be a multiplatform title, already has a publisher and will be additionally crowdfunded.

You mentioned in one of the interviews that thanks to your work with My.com onArmored Warfare you were able to avoid firing people and it helped with stabilizing the company’s financial situation. What does it look like now, didn’t Armored Warfare drag you away from your RPG roots?

Feargus Urquhart: Obsidian is doing great. More importantly, we are getting to take a bit of a breath and really look at what cool things we can create in the world of RPGs. There have been so many great RPGs that have come out, it’s really been making us think about what the next thing should, or even needs to be. If there’s a setting out there you can think of, we’ve been talking about it. As for Armored Warfare, it’s not just been a great game to make, but it’s been great for our development process. Having to make a game that has something like five or six active builds at any time (Development has a different build than QA, which is different then what is being tested by outside QA teams, different from the public test server, etc.) has really taught us a lot of things I think is helping us make all our games.

Developing Armored Warfare was a valuable lesson for Obsidian.

The marketplace for mainstream RPG is pretty crowded, especially with CD Projekt RED joining BioWare and Bethesda; on the other hand, there is still place for developers of more classic RPGs where we see you, inXile Entertainment and Larian Studios. Do you think that the situation will stay as it is and the market will stay divided in a similar way?

Josh Sawyer: I wouldn’t say the mainstream RPG market is all that crowded. The big studios still take quite a while to release new games, so it’s not that often that we’re stepping on each other’s toes. That said, I gave up trying to predict where the industry and markets are going to go. If you asked me in 2007 if Obsidian would ever make a Fallout game, I would have said no. If you asked me in 2011 if we would ever make a tank MMO or a new isometric 2D RPG, I would have said no. The forces that push and pull on the gaming industry are capricious and strange. It’s still chaotic and unstable. After 16 years in the industry, I’m lucky I still have a job.

Finish the sentence: If Obsidian was making Fallout 4...

Feargus Urquhart: I would be on vacation right now next to a pool having a drink with an umbrella in it.

 

[Infinitron]

Hmm, that comment about the Project North Carolina reboot being "additionally crowdfunded" seems like BS? They probably misunderstood the Game Informer interview.

 

[Irenaeus II]

What's so great about being on a pool having a drink with an umbrella in it?

On a serious note, good interview. Renewed my hopes for Obsidian new projects and for PoE's expansion (damn you Paradox).

 

[Duraframe300]

Brand Manager

Obsidian Entertainment is looking for an experienced, self-motivated Brand Manager to join our team.

Obsidian Entertainment is looking for an experienced, self-motivated Brand Manager to join our team. The Brand Manager will be responsible for leading the product strategy, PR, and Marketing efforts around Obsidian's owned IP. This will include strategic planning as well as tactical execution. Additionally, the Brand Manager will frequently be called upon to partner with the PR and Marketing publisher teams who license IPs for Obsidian to develop. In these cases, ensuring effectiveness of the publisher efforts will be as important as developing strategic marketing plans which compliment those of the publisher.

Responsibilities

• Identify our games' target audience, develop positioning statements, marketing pillars, and define the competitive advantages of Obsidian's slate of games.
• Develop marketing, social media, and PR campaigns to be executed either in-house or with outside agencies.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators to gauge the effectiveness of our PR & Marketing efforts.
• For Obsidian owned IP, develop three to five year plans for franchise growth. This will include a complete roadmap for the games and ancillary products that fuel growth.
• Partner with our development teams to become a subject authority on our titles. Parlay that knowledge into communications strategy and media plans.

Requirements

• Self-starter.
• Creative, conceptual thinker.
• Relationship builder.
• Passion for gaming and the Obsidian brand.
• 3-5 years experience in a video game marketing role.
• Bachelor's degree in marketing or a related field.
• Working knowledge of campaign execution and measurements.

Simply apply via e-mail: Jobs@obsidian.net

Please put the job you are applying to in the subject line please.

Please no phone calls or drop ins. We only accept emailed applications.

 

[Bubbles]

experienced, self-motivated Brand Manager

• Passion for gaming and the Obsidian brand.
• 3-5 years experience in a video game marketing role.

Infinitron

 

[Duraframe300]

I don't think that's newsworthy.

Wrong forum

 

[Infinitron]

Project Louisiana?

Yes.

At least Louisiana is next if I'm counting games correctly.

Can you make a State -> Game table and put it in the OP of this thread

 

[Duraframe300]

I only counted. Will try to make one though. Please contribute

1. Delaware - KOTOR II
2. Pennsylvania - NWN II
3. New Jersey - Dwarves
4. Georgia - Alpha Protocol
5. Connecticut - Aliens
6. Massachusetts - Mask of the Betrayer
7. Maryland - Dungeon Siege III
8. South Carolina - Storm of Zehir
9. New Hampshire - Fallout: New Vegas
10. Virginia - Cancelled XBLA Action-RPG
11. New York - South Park: TSOT
12. North Carolina - Stormlands
14. Vermont - Backspace
17. Ohio - Armored Warfare

 

[Infinitron]

I only counted. Will try to make one though. Please contribute

1. Delaware - KOTOR II
2. Pennsilvania - NWN II
3. New Jersey - Seven Dwarfes
4. Georgia - Alpha Protocol
5. Conneticut - Aliens

North Carolina - Stormlands
Ohio - Armored Warfare

P.S. It's spelled Pennsylvania and Connecticut

And Seven Dwarves was actually just called "Dwarves"

 

[Sensuki]

North Carolina was that Stormlands one

Pillars also had a codename as well (Project Trenton)

"Project New York, aka. The Stick of Truth" - https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/62906-update-34-first-art-update/

 

[Duraframe300]

I only counted. Will try to make one though. Please contribute

1. Delaware - KOTOR II
2. Pennsilvania - NWN II
3. New Jersey - Seven Dwarfes
4. Georgia - Alpha Protocol
5. Conneticut - Aliens

North Carolina - Stormlands
Ohio - Armored Warfare

P.S. It's spelled Pennsylvania and Connecticut

And Seven Dwarves was actually just called "Dwarves"

Where did we originally get Seven Dwarves from? Was it Annie?

 

[Duraframe300]

Does anyone know if DSIII or New Vegas started first?