Game News Obsidian's next game is Tyranny, an isometric RPG set in a fantasy world where evil won

[Excidium II]

it still looks better than the top two games of last year

lmao

 

[MrE]

Can confirm that the art direction in Pillars is easily superior than the art direction in Baldur's Gate series. I'm not sure if I prefer Pillars or Icewind Dale, though. But the rest of similar titles is far behind.

I'd vote for ID personally but there might be some nostalgia involved (on more than one level, I haven't seen proper snow around Winter Solstice for 8 years now). And yes, snow might make it easier for artists sometimes - it covers other things, obscuring details, creates appearance of purity etc. Wouldn't work as well with desert sand I guess.

The art style is more like Shadowrun than PoE.

Somebody mentioned Diablo, it doesn't quite look like Diablo 1, maybe like D2 (I played it only for a bit). Or like D3, no idea about that though. But probably more like Diablo 2/3 mixed with PoE rather than Shadowrun, quite hard to compare Tyranny being all medieval scorched land and Shadowrun near-future interiors + noir city (focusing on environmental art here).

the blocky terrain is a step in the right direction

For Rayman.

I really like old games but why would they downgrade what was almost universally praised about PoE? It's just unclear to me to say the least. Anyway, this conversation will be forgotten by tomorrow, when we hopefully get better news.

 

[DeepOcean]

Tyranny has too much detail as it is, but the blocky terrain is a step in the right direction.

 

[Zombra]

I really like old games but why would they downgrade what was almost universally praised about PoE [the graphics]? It's just unclear to me to say the least.

Was it? I remember complaining about the style back during development, but maybe that was just me. And after release, no one here was talking about graphics because there were actual important things to talk about. But you come from elsewhere lands so your perspective is probably different.

Anyway, this conversation will be forgotten by tomorrow, when we hopefully get better news.

 

[Brayko]

Somebody mentioned Diablo, it doesn't quite look like Diablo 1, maybe like D2 (I played it only for a bit). Or like D3, no idea about that though. But probably more like Diablo 2/3 mixed with PoE rather than Shadowrun, quite hard to compare Tyranny being all medieval scorched land and Shadowrun near-future interiors + noir city (focusing on environmental art here).

A different setting doesn't necessarily mean differing artistic approach.

 

[MrE]

after release, no one here was talking about graphics because there were actual important things to talk complain about

Don't get me wrong, I read every post of that 100-something-pages thread below Darth Roxor's review, and apart from some hardcore PoE supporters (Irenaeus), people praised graphics if anything. You might not remember that, it's actually a waste of time to read that thread tbh, but overall there was an agreement about the upside: art, style, visual presentation etc. However, if they go forward with what they showed so far Tyranny can still be a good game of course because I agree that graphics is the least important thing (unless they turn it into a text game, I'm not sure if I could be asked to go through one nowadays - just keep the graphics Fallout-level or better but more importantly focus on style, physics (in terms of positioning) and clarity).

A different setting doesn't necessarily mean differing artistic approach.

True, I just get different vibes from these screens personally. I just checked some screens and they evoke more Blizzard-style cartoon feeling than Shadowrun-style (which I'd definitely prefer myself). What I meant is that it is of course quite hard to compare a skyscraper to a meadow, sometimes even if they are done by the same artist unless said artist has a really distinctive style, which I don't think Blizzard or Harebrained Schemes have when taken completely out of context.

 

[Zanzoken]

If I saw this pitch without knowing who was behind it, I would assume it was some failed indie Kickstarter from 2010 or something. I feel absolutely zero enthusiasm for this project.

 

[Bonerbill]

If I saw this pitch without knowing who was behind it, I would assume it was some failed indie Kickstarter from 2010 or something. I feel absolutely zero enthusiasm for this project.

And I thought Kem0sabe made some of the dumbest comments on this board.

 

[agris]

Going from what I see in modern illustrations, new artists aren't allowed to have distinct style anymore. They all seem to have to follow strict guidelines not only on what to paint but how to do it too.

Total speculation on my part, but I think going digital, using wacom tablets etc is a big part of it. Holding charcoal versus holding an acrylic pen is a lot different than selecting a brush in illustrator. Also, the prevalence of easy geometric symmetry in digital drawing must impact the result.

 

[sser]

Sorry, I don't get it. AoD and Underrail both have graphics that are worse than this. I understand that the screenshots are all we have right now, but there are many things that are more important than graphics.

And even that fireball screenshot looks fine to me.

Those are fire arrows. This is why we need great graphics!! What, do you fucking LARP without your glasses? Talkin' fidelity here.

 

[The Village Loon]

I don't know, I'm not a geologist, there are some weird natural structures in the world but I don't think you can explain any of the showcased examples with either wind or water.

Just what this thread is missing. Some autistic geologist looking at the handful of screenshots we have of the game, and telling us how shit this game is going to be because of unrealistic rock formations and crystalline structures in a computer fantasy RPG.

 

[Turtle-Zone 3000]

I don't know, I'm not a geologist, there are some weird natural structures in the world but I don't think you can explain any of the showcased examples with either wind or water.

Just what this thread is missing. Some autistic geologist looking at the handful of screenshots we have of the game, and telling us how shit this game is going to be because of unrealistic rock formations and crystalline structures in a computer fantasy RPG.

Get the fella who was analyzing Tali's sweat in to do the analysis. He's good with minerals.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Come on people, it's safe to assume that, in principle, nobody here gives a slightest fuck about graphics. But gaming is a visual medium and Pillars set a high standard for how isometric game should look. It had many locations that were boring and generic, but it also had many locations that were quite stunning, especially those with lots of animations in the backgrounds and tons of lightning.

Some of the maps were next-level from what I learned to expect from this sort of game, and it's really disappointing to see them aim way below that level, instead of pushing it further.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

Enviroment grafics. Kill self.

Well ok, but you couldn't expect anyone to follow this thread in its details and dig through every shitpost to know the exact context. This thread is shit just like the game will be.

 

[Blaine]

I lost interest in the actual game two pages into this thread, and am instead using people's posts to

 

[commie]

Had to go out to get some bandaids as I cut myself on the edge in this thread.

 

[Turtle-Zone 3000]

Had to go out to get some bandaids as I cut myself on the edge in this thread.

 

[Kane]

+++ Obsidian Entertainment's Tyranny Manifests the Unimaginable +++

“Innovation at Obsidian Entertainment is not about dreaming of tomorrows RPG. It’s about accelerating toward it,” says Shane DeFreest. “We’re able to anticipate the needs of RPG gamers because we know them better than anybody. Sometimes, we deliver a reality before others have even begun to imagine it.”

Welcome Obsidian Entertainment's Tyranny, the first performance vehicle for Obsidian Entertainment’s latest platform breakthrough, adaptive storytelling. The game translates deep research in digital, electrical and mechanical literature into a product designed for playing. It challenges traditional understanding of reading, proposing an ultimate solution to individual idiosyncrasies in storytelling and dramatic preference.

Functional simplicity reduces a typical gamers concern, distraction. “When you load up the game, your character will be presented with a large wheel of hundreds of choices and the system will automatically select one of it,” explains Adam Brennecke, Senior Innovator, Obsidian Entertainment, Inc., and the project’s technical lead. “Then there are two buttons on the side of the wheel to go more good and evil. You can adjust it until it’s perfect.”

For DeFreest, the innovation solves another enduring gamers quandary: the ability to make swift micro-adjustments. Undue pressure caused by tight cooldowns and mouse slippage resulting from badly designed minigames are now relics of the past. Precise, consistent, personalized storytelling can now be manually adjusted on the fly. “That’s an important step, because gamers undergo an incredible amount of stress during play,” she says.

Brennecke began pondering the mechanics shortly after meeting Joshua Eric Sawyer, who dreamed of making adaptive storytelling a reality. He asked if he wanted to figure it out — not a replication of a preexisting idea but as “the first baby step to get to a more sophisticated place.” The project caught the attention of a third collaborator, Obsidian Entertainment, Inc. President & CEO Feargus Urquhart, who helped guide the design.

The process saw Brennecke brainstorming with a group of engineers intent on testing his theories. They first came up with an MMORPG featuring an external generator. While far from the ideal, it was the first of a series of strides toward Brennecke's and Saywer’s original goal: to embed the story components into such a small space that the design moves with the game and absorbs the same path the player is chosing.

Through 2013, Sawyer and Brennecke spearheaded a number of new systems, a pool of prototypes and several trials, arriving at a wheel-based choosing mechanism. In April 2015, Beers was tasked with making a self-choosing Obsidian Entertainment^TM Story System for Pillars of Eternity to celebrate the icon’s true fictional release date of October 21. The final product quietly debuted Obsidian Entertainment’s new adaptive technology. Shortly after, the completion of the more dynamic, automated version they’d originally conceived, the Obsidian HyperAdapt 1.0, confirmed the strength of the system.

“It’s a platform,” Brennecke says, “something that helps envision a world in which product changes as the gamer changes.”

The potential of adaptive storytelling for the gamer is huge, Sawyer adds, as it would provide tailored-to-the-moment custom fit. “It is amazing to consider a game that senses what the player needs in real-time. That eliminates a multitude of distractions, including mental attention, and thus truly benefits game flow.”



He concludes, “Wouldn’t it be great if a game, in the future, could sense when you needed to have it more good or more evil? Could it take you even further than you’d normally go if it senses you really need extra social justice in this moment in the game, right now? That’s where we’re headed. In the future, product will come alive.”

In short, the Obsidian Entertainement HyperAdapt 1.0^TM is the first step into the future of adaptive storytelling. It’s currently manual (i.e., gamer controlled) but it makes feasible the once-fantastic concept of an automated, nearly symbiotic relationship between the player and consequences.

The Obsidian Entertainement HyperAdapt 1.0^TM will be available ONLY to Obsidian Entertainment Plus members with the exclusive Tyranny PLUS DLC releasing Holiday 2016. The ending will feature three different colors. To become a Obsidian Entertainment Plus member and sign up for notifications about Obsidian Entertainement HyperAdapt 1.0^TM, go to ObsidianEntertainment.com.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

My calculations show 50.7 buzzwords per paragraph.

Nicely done.

 

[Infinitron]

Found it: http://www.youngmanblog.com/self-lacing-shoe-nike-hyperadapt-1-0-unveiled/

 

[Duraframe300]

Also Shane doesn't even work at Obsidian anymore

 

[Kem0sabe]

And I thought Kem0sabe made some of the dumbest comments on this board.

And I thought that SCO was the only child of incest on this board... Wrong again.

 

[Kane]

Found it: http://www.youngmanblog.com/self-lacing-shoe-nike-hyperadapt-1-0-unveiled/

Nope, even more insane: http://news.nike.com/news/hyperadapt-adaptive-lacing
Drax

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Found it: http://www.youngmanblog.com/self-lacing-shoe-nike-hyperadapt-1-0-unveiled/

I've made a note to never leave any personal details in a thread that you might read.

 

[Jim the Dinosaur]

People lack the understanding that games are a visual and auditory medium. If you're not pursuing excellence in those two areas, to the best your abilities, then you are ignoring one of the fundamental parts of a "VIDEO game."

No great film director is going to shoot on shit quality film, with poor sets, editing etc. with the excuse that "my story makes up for it," and a great painter is not going to use sub-par canvases or low grade paint. The excuse that "I play older games so I don't care about graphics" is retarded, those older games were trying to give you the best graphics possible for their respective era and means.

In a game visual quality often isn't simply a question of means + talent though. Making the best looking background possible means having it pre-rendered and thus largely impervious to player manipulation; once devs start allowing for interaction with the environment (i.e. allow for gameplay) visual quality is going to suffer. The same would be the case if you asked a director to make a huge multitude of different variants of the same scene to account for the viewer's preferred outcome of the previous scene, rather than having him focus extensively on creating the best possible variant of that scene. So in games it's more reasonable to complain about a visual component when it's just that; the environments of the BG's (and presumably this game) should look appealing because they're just a picture for me to look at as my party ventures forth. Once it becomes more than just a visual component and gameplay becomes involved this is less reasonable I think.