Development Info Obsidian going down to South Park

[nihil]

*Stuff about summons and jRPGs*

Bottom line, this one probably ain't for "us".

But why would they hire a company like Obsidian to develop a JRPG-style game? They have no experience with that at all, as far as I know.

 

[Excidium]

*Stuff about summons and jRPGs*

Bottom line, this one probably ain't for "us".

But why would they hire a company like Obsidian to develop a JRPG-style game? They have no experience with that at all, as far as I know.

Who else would they hire? Obsidian is the one RPG developer that will do anything provided you pay. Besides, anyone can develop a JRPG parody. they just have to get the South Park "feel" right, and that's why the creators are in the project.

 

[Mangoose]

Should just use Onyx for the SP RPG

 

[Jaesun]

It is using the Onyx engine.

 

[Metro]

I don't see the point in debating whether or not the game makes sense financially. I doubt many people here deny the right of developers to earn a living. That said, as players, we couldn't care less so long as they earn enough to stay in business. Even then, does it matter? I mentioned this in an older thread discussing Obsidian but to paraphrase: you can't ride your name forever. It's been about a decade since they produced anything really good. Yeah, a certain amount of Codexers loved New Vegas. Personally I thought it was mediocre at best. Granted they were fighting an uphill battle using Bethesda's assets but, again, the argument always seems to be how good Obsidian is in theory or that, but for X, Y, and Z, they'd be good.

For the employees it's certainly a good thing they remain financially successful. For the players it doesn't matter if all they keep making are profitable games that are creatively bankrupt. Obsidian fans here fool themselves into thinking that stuff like DS3 and South Park will be used to fund the 'real' Obsidian titles that are no doubt planned for the future. I've got news for you: they aren't coming. DS3 is followed by South Park and South Park will probably be followed by My Little Pony Friendship is Magic or, if they're really lucky, maybe they'll get to do a Skyrim DLC.

As for the South Park game and its RPG elements... I would be amazed if it gets close to the level of Costume Quest (which wasn't bad... for a $15 game). Anyone expecting a game even remotely close to what Obsidian did a decade or so ago is delusional.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Don't expect much in the way of deconstruction of the RPG genre either. Well, at least not the ones "we" tend to think of. Have a look at some of these statements:

-Parker has always preferred silent protagonists in RPG's, so the player’s character will be silent.

-Parker hates unskippable cutscenes.

-The humor will be more focus on the games they have played in the past but Parker mentions that games have lampooned other games before so they don't want to do exactly that instead they are focusing more on RPG's on how big and bombastic they can get sometimes.

-There is a Summon System but they are not able to talk about it. {Ed: Probably refers to summons-as-huge-animated-attacks a la Final Fantasy games}

It seems that RPG, to Parker and Stone, isn't Wizardy/Ultima/Fallout/BG, but jRPGs and newer stuff like WoW, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age. Or at least that's what their fanbase (the South Park one) thinks of when they think RPGs. So don't expect anything close to Torment in terms of deconstruction of RPGs, expect something more along the lines of every GameFAGs, IGN, or blog with a TOP TEN LIST OF BIGGEST RPG CLICHES which draws mostly from jRPGs.

Bottom line, this one probably ain't for "us".

I dunno. Out of these points, the only one that makes me think "jrpg" is the "Summon System", and even then the writer himself isn't sure.

I mean, jrpgs and unskippable cutscenes go hand in hand, and they've been using voiced protagonists for a while.

 

[gromit]

If I put a gun to your head and said come up with a design for a Barbie RPG that would be fun to play, I bet you could do it.

5/5 2/5 (and a sincere )

 

[Rivmusique]

There are some RPGs with deep tactical combat besides JA2?

ToEE - borefest.

 

[nihil]

Besides, anyone can develop a JRPG parody.

A parody, maybe, but not a good JRPG. Not even the Japanese can do that, nowadays.

 

[Mortmal]

When they said they were working on a leading animation franchise i was thinking about stuff like death note , full metal alchimist, anime a bit more mature than usual .
They could have made another good Jrpg, after all obsidian has quite some experience on them ,kotor 2 and planescape tormentto name them , such moving story (yet linear) and characters, pre generated characters except the main one and even its really restricted. Planescape is the jrpg with the best writing ever .
My only hope is after south park rpg , they could start their own ip or something a bit more closer to our taste . That means we wont see anything good from obsidian before a few years , if ever at all.
Although if they stay on the leading animation franchises ill settle on ponyo the rpg.

 

[kris]

WHO IN THEIR GODDAMN FUCKING MIND WOULD WANT TO PLAY IN THE WORLD OF BARBIE GODDAMIT?!

I want Barbie to play with me.

 

[Elwro]

Ponyo? No way. Porco Rosso would be a lot better.


... with turn-based 3D aerial combat!

 

[J_C]

So, since Jaeson kindly deleted my thread about this, here it is again. Details from the game vida NeoGAF via Game Informer.

Basics

-The first game Parker and Stone have directly participated in, writing the script and the dialogue.

-Parker has always preferred silent protagonists in RPG's, so the player’s character will be silent.

-The player’s character will be fully customizable.

-Your character has a smartphone that acts as the primary game menu and has a facebook-like app show the number of friends you have and your current standing with the various kid factions.

-There are five classes, which are wizard, paladin, adventurer, rogue, and a fifth unannounced class.

-Obsidian is using the Dungeon Siege III engine.

-Obsidian developed a dynamic lip-syncing tool to accommodate changes to the script.

-Parker and Stone gave Obsidian 15 years of assets used during the show and a detailed list of approved textures and colors.

-Critical hits, cash rewards, experience, and consumables are in the game.

-Parker hates unskippable cutscenes.

-The humor will be more focus on the games they have played in the past but Parker mentions that games have lampooned other games before so they don't want to do exactly that instead they are focusing more on RPG's on how big and bombastic they can get sometimes.

Story

-The player will play as the new kid in town, the main theme of the game is fitting in and being accepted.

-The story begins with your character participating in a live action role-playing game that the neighborhood kids started, which eventually evolves into a real adventure.

-Eric Cartman will greet your character and help you decide your class, which are wizard, paladin, adventurer, rogue, and a fifth unconventional class made up by Cartman.

Combat

-Many elements of the combat system are like Paper Mario and the Mario & Luigi games.

-If player initiates combat they will attack first and vice versa.

-X button is for melee attacks, pressing it in well-timed succession will result in multiple hits.

-Timed inputs occur for defense as well for reduced damage.

-Obsidian doesn't want the player to have to sit and watch animations play out; they're incorporating dynamic camera angels at certain times, such as a Ro Sham Bo attack that stuns an enemy.

RPG

-Enemy encounters are visible on the map.

-Soda are health potions and Tweak's coffee is a haste item.

-There are melee and ranged weapons, as well as a lightning powered Okama Gameshpere that is a magic item.

-There is a Final Fantasy Materia like system in the game to augment weapons with various abilities like fire, poison, and electricity.

-There is a Summon System but they are not able to talk about it.

Collectibles

-There are collectibles to look for in the environments, some appear throughout the game while other are in specific areas.

-An example of a collectible is a Chinpokomon doll and a magazine, Chinpokomon dolls are not all the same model Obsidian are using various models that appeared in the episode.

Other

-When Obsidian were first coming up with ideas they show Parker and Stone a quest where you go into a cave and fight a giant bat boss that Ike is riding on, Parker and Stone said that the quest wasn't Southpark, that it was a generic video-game. Parker and Stone then mention a quest to get Kung Pao Chicken from City Wok, to readjust Obsidian focus.

-When they start making the town hub Parker and Stone realized that they did not have a true layout for the town, so they had fun figuring out where everything went.

-There will not be any platforming, they tried jumping early on but it didn't seem right.

-They talk about how they have had to scrap level because the perspective wasn't right because everything is hand illustrated and hand animated.

-They talk about the challenges of making a comedy driven game, Portal 2 is mention, they say if Portal 2 dialogue was on top of a shitty game it wouldn't be as good, so they want to make a game that is as good as the dialogue.

Concept Art (Massive Spoilers!!!!)

-The first concept art is a 'Gnome Mine' a concept, my guess underpants gnomes.

-The second concept art is 'UFO Crash Site', it shows Kenny, Cartman, Stan, and Kyle in front of a military fence with a UFO further away in a forest surround in mountains.

-The third concept art is a 'Gnome/Crab People D.M.Z.' label as a rough concept, it show a border fence with gnomes on one side and Crab People on the other side.

-The last concept art is 'Christmas Town' a concept.

Interview with Trey Parker and Matt Stone

-Parker and Stone really enjoy rpgs and they do think that rpgs are the best fit for southpark.

-They were asked of how making a rpg story differs for an episode, they say that the learning curve was be bigger than anything they have done other then their Broadway musical.

-Visual and Visual style seen in episodes like “Good Times With Weapons”, or the live action hamsters in “Pandemic” will not be in the game they want to keep a simple 2D style.

-Parker has been a lifelong gamers, he really likes rpgs because he like the singleplayer nature of them so he doesn’t like or get MMO’s. His favorite game is Oblivion. Also he has completed every Zelda game.

-Matt when he was young used to play the old Infocom game and Wizardry and likes open world games like Arkham City, Infamous, Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, and also hockey and soccer games. He mention that he is more of a button masher and remember Serious Sam because he likes to shoot shit and blow shit up but he is now more interested in games like Arkham City and he hasn’t play a RPG in year because he got tired of walking everywhere. His favorite game is FIFA and he mentions getting his ass kick online by kids with English Accents.

-Lastly they joke how this Southpark game will be a cross between Obilivion and FIFA were “you gotta go kill a bunch of monsters and shit but you can only use your feet.”

Update:


Here are some things I missed. The editor says the game look like an episode of southpark and there is one screenshot that I am not sure if it is a cut-scene or in-game but it definitely looks like it could be a screenshot of an episode of southpark.

Also you can explore the town between quests its a little vague it sound like walking around the town is 2D the writer mentions "exploration takes the characters from the left to the the right(and vice versa), but branching paths occasionally take them in the background or foreground to prevent the game for m becoming overly linear".

There are a few screenshot of combat, the editor mentions that encounters are like classic Final Fantasy that are presented from a side view. With every combat screenshot there is only the player and one other party member(Cartman, Kyle, or Butters), fight 2-5 enemies(Girls, Gingers, Hippies, Fantasy style, and Goth) at a time.

The screenshots in the article show the player in a tree house and fighting on a top of a, different?, tree house or fort, fighting in a backyard, a cave, a forest, and a cemetery. Also in the article they mention the insides of Stan's house and just now looking at the screenshot of the tree house there is a map that I could replicate that might be layout for the town.

 

[DwarvenFood]

Ya it's been posted earlier in this thread.

Also, I am warming up to the idea slowly. And there will be other games as well, not all is lost.

As for the Barbie RPG, I already know someone who would like to play it over here.. Konjad

 

[J_C]

Ya it's been posted earlier in this thread.

Really? I was looking for it, but couldn't find the post, that's why I posted it again. Oh well.

 

[Melcar]

I want a My Little Pony RPG.

 

[J_C]

Feargus interview about the game.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/ ... k-rpg.aspx


And a post from the comments:

Ugh, 2D RPG? Man, I'm bummed about that. There are way too many 2D RPG's out there. They've exploded recently. I've played way too many of them and I really can't bring myself to play another one, even one based on South Park.

Especially after playing the awesome Skyrim, I'm going to have to take a few years off of 2D RPG's. Same goes for 2D platformers. We get it, they are easy to make. Enough already, try something new. We've been playing these games since the NES and they haven't changed a bit and most of it is because of how 2D limits them.

I just put this here because the retardation level is off the fucking charts.

 

[Metro]

-Parker has been a lifelong gamers, he really likes rpgs because he like the singleplayer nature of them so he doesn’t like or get MMO’s. His favorite game is Oblivion.

Yeah...

 

[IronicNeurotic]

Dude silent kill I think your forgetting that kotor 2 was only good because of how great kotor 1 is, other than that I totally agree

 

[Black]

Dude silent kill I think your forgetting that kotor 2 was only good because of how great kotor 1 is

I like you, you're funny.

 

[Mangoose]

On first thought I'd rather play DS3-like action combat than a JRPG (aka attrition borefest with no positional strategy). But I've never played Paper Mario and I've heard good things. Any validity to that?

 

[Qwertilot]

Think so. Its basically turn based combat with a big rhythm action element and a few intriguing bits. (inc a little positional strategy.). Very far from the worst combat system ever seen.

 

[Nael]

And a post from the comments:

Ugh, 2D RPG? Man, I'm bummed about that. There are way too many 2D RPG's out there. They've exploded recently. I've played way too many of them and I really can't bring myself to play another one, even one based on South Park.

Especially after playing the awesome Skyrim, I'm going to have to take a few years off of 2D RPG's. Same goes for 2D platformers. We get it, they are easy to make. Enough already, try something new. We've been playing these games since the NES and they haven't changed a bit and most of it is because of how 2D limits them.

I just put this here because the retardation level is off the fucking charts.

That has to be sarcasm....

 

[Stinger]

(inc a little positional strategy.)

I've played a bit of Mario and Luigi Partners in Time (gave up on it cause I could never really get the timing right and after a while it just became a necessity to dodge everything) but from that and some vids I watched of Paper Mario 64 I don't remember there being any positioning in those games, you could actually move around a map?

 

[Clockwork Knight]

And a post from the comments:

Ugh, 2D RPG? Man, I'm bummed about that. There are way too many 2D RPG's out there. They've exploded recently. I've played way too many of them and I really can't bring myself to play another one, even one based on South Park.

Especially after playing the awesome Skyrim, I'm going to have to take a few years off of 2D RPG's. Same goes for 2D platformers. We get it, they are easy to make. Enough already, try something new. We've been playing these games since the NES and they haven't changed a bit and most of it is because of how 2D limits them.

I just put this here because the retardation level is off the fucking charts.

That has to be sarcasm....

Nah, I think the "they've exploded recently" line shows babby should be asleep instead of posting about that 2D thingie of the past popping up all of a sudden. He even tries to add the good old "I played many games bro, since the NES bro" but...nah. It's another bad case of the babbys.