South Park: The Stick of Truth (PRE-RELEASE DISCUSSION)

[torpid]

So this is another Obsidian game which is supposed to pay the bills and hopefully allow them to make that good game they've always wanted to make at some point in the future? The ratio of crappy games to good games is getting pretty off-kilter.

They're a company. The sole purpose of a company is to make profit. Sometimes, along the way, a few creatives get a chance to make something good within the confines of that system. Welcome to capitalism and unless you've got a revolution planned there's no point getting buthurt about it. Just stop being fans of companies - fans of products and individual developers perhaps, but companies? The only competition that matters between companies is which one generates the most shareholder revenue.

What's the point of these kind of posts? They always pop up, and they're always inane. "Hey guyz this is business I know how business work guyz they're here to make money not please u." No shit dweeb. I'm not an Obsidian owner or employee, you're probably not either, so the fact that it's a smart move on their part has no bearing on whether I should be happy or unhappy about it. As a potential customer, it is in fact utterly normal for me to express my feelings on a particular product. You want to talk about "this is how things work guyz" well yeah: company seeks to make a profit by selling a product; potential customer doesn't like the product and doesn't buy it, while making fun of it on internet forums. The only one getting butthurt and writing multi-paragraph rationalization posts is you. Apparently you fall into that category of consumer who puts the interest of a company ahead of his own: oh they're trying to sell me shit but it makes total sense from their point of view! Unless they're making you money their point of view shouldn't fucking matter to you.

Of course whether the game will be good or not is pure speculation at this point; by some miracle it could turn out to be an awesome RPG that reunites combat aspies, storyfags and C&C whores in a symphony of brotherhood, but I'm not counting on it, especially when you consider Obsidian's track record. If another developer had made a South Park game and they were being brought in for the sequel/add-on/spinoff it would be another matter, but developing this from scratch? I can too easily see it being just a bunch of shitty quotes/memes from the series and the C&C being limited to how Kenny dies. Or maybe he won't die, oh my god MCA such a genius, turning it all on its head

 

[Elwro]

Screw you fags, this is fucking awesome news.

 

[PorkaMorka]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EarthBound
(RPG starring little kids in a modernish setting)

Given the above, I really have no problem imagining that South Park could be successfully adapted to an RPG. After all, they have 223 Episodes to pull content from.

Not planning to play it, just saying.

 

[Roguey]

So this is another Obsidian game which is supposed to pay the bills and hopefully allow them to make that good game they've always wanted to make at some point in the future? The ratio of crappy games to good games is getting pretty off-kilter.

No, the way games industry contracts work nowadays ensures that Obsidian will only get paid once. They get no royalties from the games that sell well.

That sure sounds like it's not worth it to do anything well in the game industry.

It depends on the terms of the contract. The thing publishers tend to do these days is to use royalties and bonuses as an incentive for them to meet all their milestones, sell at least x amount of copies and get a score of over XX on metacritic.

 

[asper]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EarthBound
(RPG starring little kids in a modernish setting)

Given the above, I really have no problem imagining that South Park could be successfully adapted to an RPG. After all, they have 223 Episodes to pull content from.

Not planning to play it, just saying.

Well yeah but Earthbound is an original and surreal JRPG that was not based on an existing franchise as far as I know.

 

[IronicNeurotic]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EarthBound
(RPG starring little kids in a modernish setting)

Given the above, I really have no problem imagining that South Park could be successfully adapted to an RPG. After all, they have 223 Episodes to pull content from.

Not planning to play it, just saying.

I'd think Obs would be a little more creative than that.

 

[made]

Yeah, a Futurama RPG I can see - there's even a class system they could pull from, like pilot, mad scientist, delivery boy... But South park? I don't even know what that's about, cept badly drawn kids.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Haven't you guys thought that these guys are simply fans of South Park? Didn't Fallout have South Park references?

 

[Vault Dweller]

Dungeon Siege 3 was business. WH40K RPG (THQ owns the license) would have been business. South Park RPG is "what is this I don't even". Would this shit even sell?

Of course it'll sell. South Park is a hugely popular franchise...

Sure, the potential market is huge - 3+ mil. I can see how the suits can think it's a slam dunk, but watching a cartoon for free, 20 min at a time, is one thing. Paying $50-60 for an RPG based on the series is another thing, especially if the game will have a similar art style. How many people would be able to play endure it for more 30 min?

Haven't you guys thought that these guys are simply fans of South Park? Didn't Fallout have South Park references?

I'm sure you know that it's not how it works.

 

[hiver]

One thing thats for sure is that its not going to have turn based "combat". So whether "obsidian fanboi" or not you can forget about it.

Its not really clear to me what kind of "combat" there should be in a South Park game anyway.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Haven't you guys thought that these guys are simply fans of South Park? Didn't Fallout have South Park references?

I'm sure you know that it's not how it works.

Why not? What's so different about South Park from let's say AD&D or GURPS or Star Wars? Wanting to make a slam-dunk doesn't disallow some kind of personal sympathy towards the subject.

 

[Menckenstein]

I guess everyone isn't realizing this is SOUTH PARK and being tailored to the audience of SOUTH PARK so it will be so dumbed down it will make DA2 look like Darklands.

 

[Carrion]

Didn't Fallout have South Park references?

I think there was an "oh my god, they killed Kenny" joke somewhere in FO2.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

Actually they killed Kenny way back in Fallout 1.

 

[DwarvenFood]

Shit, SouthPark is THAT OLD ?

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

I guess everyone isn't realizing this is SOUTH PARK and being tailored to the audience of SOUTH PARK so it will be so dumbed down it will make DA2 look like Darklands.

When I think about South Park audience, I see something like the Codex. I don't know why.

 

[Jordan]

NEW THINGS ARE HAPPENING SHUT IT DOWN SHUT IT DOWN

 

[Wyrmlord]

A good portion of RPG codex users (as evidenced by the threads in RPG discussion) is ready to swallow down shit like Skyrim, Alpha Protocol, Mass Effect, Dragon Age 2, Dungeon Siege 3 and Witcher 2 and ask for seconds, and now the fact that there is a South Park RPG (we'll see about the RPG part) in the making has them frothing at the mouth.

Out of the six of the games you mentioned, I have not played five of them. So I am not qualified to comment on those games. Still, could it be that people liked those games because they saw some good to reason to keep playing and because they genuinely enjoyed them? Instead of any forced coprophilia or self-imposed desire to play bad games (or "swallow down" as you say)?

Still, I don't think it is inconsistent among people to enjoy a few fantasy or escapist games now and then, but find themselves raising eyebrows at adaptations of crude TV shows.

Besides, why are you judging people based on what games they don't like rather than what games they do like? As CRPG Addict shows, one could like Oblivion or Skyrim while also liking all the old classic RPGs from 1980s to 1990s. Are you really saying that the measure of taste of what people don't like rather than what they do like? Negative instead of positive?

 

[MMXI]

Sure, the potential market is huge - 3+ mil. I can see how the suits can think it's a slam dunk, but watching a cartoon for free, 20 min at a time, is one thing. Paying $50-60 for an RPG based on the series is another thing, especially if the game will have a similar art style. How many people would be able to play endure it for more 30 min?

So what? Why does it matter to them that their fans have short attention spans? Unless there's a demo, 30 minutes of play time is enough to rake in the cash.

 

[Hobo Elf]

I like South Park. I think it's one of the rare shows that keeps getting better and better. Sure, there are a lot of shit episodes; its always been a hit-and-miss kind of show, but the good episodes haven't declined at all. I'm interested by this project. At least it's something to look forward to be it trainwreck or a good game. Not to mention that it isn't Medieval European Fantasy again either.

 

[Forest Dweller]

Its not really clear to me what kind of "combat" there should be in a South Park game anyway.

Yeah, that kinda has me scratching my head as well.

Honestly I have no clue and can't even begin to speculate on things like the RPG mechanics, combat, dialogue, animation and other elements and how all of that can happen in an RPG while still being "South Park." So there's nothing for it but to withhold all judgement until they start talking about the game.

 

[fizzelopeguss]

Stuff

I'm not understanding you. It's a massive show, makes millions in merchandising and the shows two creators are rich as fuck and game fans. There's only two studio's out there that are positioned in the marketplace to make a southpark title and that's telltale and obsidian. And telltale are all over the place lately.

 

[hiver]

Its not really clear to me what kind of "combat" there should be in a South Park game anyway.

Yeah, that kinda has me scratching my head as well.

Honestly I have no clue and can't even begin to speculate on things like the RPG mechanics, combat, dialogue, animation and other elements and how all of that can happen in an RPG while still being "South Park." So there's nothing for it but to withhold all judgement until they start talking about the game.

I wouldnt be surprised if combat itself turns out to be a parody of some sort. I guess we will have to wait and see.

Shouldnt be any problems with dialogue though.

As far as the graphics and visual representation go they said something about doing a 2D game right?
Im guessing that means onyx engine and 3D that looks like 2D in style. I really doubt they will make it look exactly the same as South Park.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Sure, the potential market is huge - 3+ mil. I can see how the suits can think it's a slam dunk, but watching a cartoon for free, 20 min at a time, is one thing. Paying $50-60 for an RPG based on the series is another thing, especially if the game will have a similar art style. How many people would be able to play endure it for more 30 min?

So what? Why does it matter to them that their fans have short attention spans? Unless there's a demo, 30 minutes of play time is enough to rake in the cash.

If the game flops, Obsidian (not the absurd concept) will be blamed and it will be even harder for them to find work and survive. If anything, this game already shows how limited their options are.

Stuff

I'm not understanding you. It's a massive show, makes millions in merchandising and the shows two creators are rich as fuck and game fans.

And? Does it mean that it's an insta-win? That you can make any South Park product and it's gonna sell like hotcakes, just because the show is massive and make millions on the merchandise?

 

[Peter]

For some reason I'm imagining Dungeon Siege III-esque hack n slash combat. What else can you really do with the South Park? First-person or behind-the-character third person would feel really weird, I think.

 

[Forest Dweller]

A point-and-click adventure would be nice. That's very doubtful though.