Obsidian General Discussion Thread

[vortex]

Where are you getting these sales numbers?

https://eternity.obsidian.net/news/pillars-of-eternity-surpasses-500000-units-in-worldwide-sales
http://time.com/1875/at-20-million-...-in-the-top-20-bestselling-games-of-all-time/

 

[Infinitron]

Sounds suspiciously like he would welcome someone buying Obsidian.

That was the plan from the beginning. Obsidian was originally conceived as a sort of Bioware 2.0, with a buyout by a friendly Interplay-like publisher as a real possibility. Didn't work out for them, though.

What's the deal with him and Skyrim, why's he so obsessed with it? This isn't the first time he said something like this either, and I just have to wonder - why? He should play to Obsidian's strengths, not try to scavenge crumbs from Bethesda's hike-sim table.

You're too fixated on the word "Skyrim". He says Skyrim because it's fantasy. It means "big, open world RPG".

What he's really thinking about is New Vegas. After producing Fallout: New Vegas, one of the most popular RPGs of an entire era of gaming, and having another company rake in all the profits, wouldn't you do anything for a chance to do that again, but this time with something that you own?

 

[Neanderthal]

Aye can't fault man for wantin to make some moolah, whole point o running a business. Personally think he might be going about it wrong though, they need something to excite, surprise and impress gamers like say first Witcher did for CDPR, and Poe were played just too safe to be that product. Nowt wrong wi it as a game, barring personal opinions, but it didn't set britches on fire if you ask me.

Also think fantasy might not be their strongest area, I were more impressed by New Vegas and Alpha Protocol than DS3 and all others.

 

[Fry]

What he's really thinking about is New Vegas. After producing Fallout: New Vegas, one of the most popular RPGs of an entire era of gaming, and having another company rake in all the profits, wouldn't you do anything for a chance to do that again, but this time with something that you own?

Sure, but the only way you're going to make a game that sells millions of copies is with a $100 million production and marketing budget. And the only way you get that kind of budget is by selling your IP and most of your stake in the profits to whoever funds the thing.

 

[Infinitron]

And the only way you get that kind of budget is by selling your IP

Not necessarily. Strong independent developers with the capacity to partially self-fund can get around that. They can get publisher funding and still keep their IP. See: Gearbox and Borderlands.

This is a long-term goal. It might never happen, but it's completely understandable that it's on his mind. They've proven that they can do this. It's crazy that nobody has been willing to fund a New Vegas spiritual successor from Obsidian.

 

[Sannom]

I don't know, New Vegas used the engine and a lot of assets from Fallout 3. Maybe publishers wouldn't trust Obsidian with a new IP, a new engine and having to produce everything from sc

 

[Perkel]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...tertainment-survival-success-and-independence

posted ?

 

[Sannom]

Yep. LESS_T_T a few posts back.

 

[Latelistener]

Any information regarding the UE4 prototype? Who's working on it?

 

[Makabb]

Is Obsidian dead ?

 

[Sordid MCA/Prosper Hybryd]

Nope.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Infinitron]

Ah, it's live:

 

[Sannom]

Well that was short... unless it started much earlier?

EDIT : yep, it started much earlier. I must have miscalculated between the timezones.

 

[Infinitron]

Well that was short... unless it started much earlier?

Almost an hour ago. You can rewind the stream and watch it from the beginning.

 

[Fairfax]

Has this article been posted?

The Long Story of Prey 2’s Development – The Darkside of Bethesda

In retrospect, it seems Obsidian dodged a bullet. If Backspace/Prey 2 had not been cancelled, Obsidian could've hit their low point in 2012 while working with Bethesda, who would've held payments back and tried the hostile takeover described in the article.
Obviously the Kickstarter would've been on the table regardless, but in the face of bankruptcy and having to fire dozens of people, perhaps most of Obsidian's partners would've accepted the acquisition to stop the bleeding.

 

[vortex]

Could Human Head use all Prey2 assets and remake it as another scifi game?

I mean, just look at this>
http://www.aliennoire.com/home/images/

 

[Fairfax]

Could Human Head use all Prey2 assets and remake it as another scifi game?

I mean, just look at this>
http://www.aliennoire.com/home/images/

Yes. It was cancelled shortly after being handed to Obsidian because Human Head wouldn't give Bethesda the source code and the tech they'd developed, so I assume they own the stuff they made themselves.

 

[vortex]

Yes. It was cancelled shortly after being handed to Obsidian because Human Head wouldn't give Bethesda the source code and the tech they'd developed, so I assume they own the stuff they made themselves.

I just saw http://www.aliennoire.com/home/game/petition/
They could rename the game and make new IP.

 

[Infinitron]

That article is a bit inaccurate, it implies that Arkane were only bought after Dishonored was released when it actually happened during the game's development

 

[Fairfax]

That article is a bit inaccurate, it implies that Arkane were only bought after Dishonored was released when it actually happened during the game's development

That's true.
I think it may have been a successful hostile takeover. Arkane had 3 projects cancelled between Dark Messiah and Dishonored, so they probably were financially defenseless.

 

[Infinitron]

I don't know if it was "hostile" in Arkane's case, but I can believe that similar incentives were applied.

 

[Flou]

I don't know if it was "hostile" in Arkane's case, but I can believe that similar incentives were applied.

I remember there were talks of it being hostile, but can't remember if it was just hearsay after the whole Prey 2 issue. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried the same shit with Obsidian.

 

[Infinitron]

Brian Heins has a big mouth, bless him. In this interview (at 22:45) he flat out says "Obsidian isn't working on a Vampire: The Masquerade game".

 

[Sannom]

Obsidian's biggest mouth is still Feargus though.