Game News Wasteland 2 Kickstarter Now Live!

[Sulimo]

AHUM. *Cough, cough*.
/Cue epic hollywood voice-over

For a decade we complained. For a decade we waited. We looked on in horror as our prophets were infected by the pop-a-mole one after another. Garriot felll from the heavens in a metal chariot. Morrowind was the drawn out sigh of a Dagger falling in the wind. Fallout was violated in the most gruesome of ways, until the Hero of the Codex returned some dignity to her shattered, sobbing corpse. The Polish Projekt declined into Consoletardism. The Age of Decadence will take at least fivescore more years. Bioware whored out and gave in to the great Satan for some extra jewgolds.

A decade we suffered. A decade we endured. Now the Codex has finally Risen up. We have answered the call, and together we will march towards a brighter future.

The Codex will finally get a statue in a RPG. And not a moment to soon.

 

[toro]

We should really try to get $10k and send DU to the party or somebody else...

I think that going to that party is predicated on being able to cover all the travel expenses to California. From what I know, DU lives in Australia, so the travel expenses may be... quite expensive. If we get to $10000, I think that the better option would be to negotiate with BF in order to get something else instead of the party invitation.

Then that was a stupid idea.

 

[toro]

The $10,000 doesn't cover your expenses, so it would have to be someone that lives in California. Unless people here feel like playing for someone's free vacation.

C'mon, it's a joke. :p

Still, $10000 = $5000 (shrine/statue) + 2x$2500 (two artifacts) :p

Or we could get two statues: The first would be the Codex troll and the second would be a dragon, symbolizing the popamole and the decline. The two statues would be set up in such a way so that the ensemble would depict the Codex troll slaying the popamole dragon.:D

Will the dragon have a monocle?

 

[skuphundaku]

The $10,000 doesn't cover your expenses, so it would have to be someone that lives in California. Unless people here feel like playing for someone's free vacation.

C'mon, it's a joke. :p

Still, $10000 = $5000 (shrine/statue) + 2x$2500 (two artifacts) :p

Or we could get two statues: The first would be the Codex troll and the second would be a dragon, symbolizing the popamole and the decline. The two statues would be set up in such a way so that the ensemble would depict the Codex troll slaying the popamole dragon.:D

Will the dragon have a monocle?

And a proper top hat!

 

[serch]

Guys, the dragon symbolizes popamole. No top hat and no monocle for him.

Edit: A bucket as hat would be quite fitting though.

 

[Shannow]

I'd like a codex best.

Yes, so that it's obvious to those scum at the Watch what it references.

"Examine"

This is a hefty tome, bound in a strange hide, pages encrusted and stained. While barely decipherable, it appears to be the collected wisdom of thousands of voices of rage; yet about what, you have no idea. All that you are certain is that it was once some sort of fantasy book as it is full of trolls.

Not bad. You should post it in the suggestions thread. I'm not gonna go through >6 threads and >100 pages when I set the poll up...

Site feedback. For anybody who missed it.

 

[toro]

Guys, the dragon symbolizes popamole. No top hat and no monocle for him.

Edit: A bucket as hat would be quite fitting though.

Sorry for the transgression... so, the Codex troll with a monocle and a top hat is using a spear to kill a dragon with a bucket on his head.

 

[Aeschylus]

New blog post by Fargo, which warms my withered old heart.
http://wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com/blog/2012/03/16/what-an-incredible-week-this-has-been/

 

[Azalin]

New blog post by Fargo, which warms my withered old heart.
http://wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com/blog/2012/03/16/what-an-incredible-week-this-has-been/

One friend of mine who worked with me there said recently he felt that in the beginning of the industry all the nerds were in charge, but then as the industry grew it changed, and now the guys that picked on the nerds got back on top. I think there was some great truth to that. We all hope this movement is bigger than just Tim Schafer or Brian Fargo as we want to get power back into the developers hands again. And the unbelievable Indie scene shows that there is momentum in that direction. The development community continues to pull itself together to ensure their success. They share tools, they share statistics, they share ideas, and the biggest donators in Kickstarter are always developers. All of this reminds me of the freshness the industry had in the late 80′s through mid 90′s in which creativity was being directed only by the gamers. The gamers will always rule at the end of the day.

 

[Infinitron]

Brian Farbro

 

[Kosmonaut]

Fargo is a smart man. He know exactly what word, what sentences we want to hear. I hope he delivers on this, and pray Chtulhu that this isn't just another silver tongue exercise. Funny how he gave an interview to the Codex, just before this Kickstart thingie started.

 

[Roguey]

So there's some drama from ex-Interplay employee Gus Smedstad. Not a fan of Brian Faygo's inXile Clown Posse:

I used to have regular contact with Brian Fargo and Alan Pavlish. I expect it will be a disaster, even if they manage to put something out. Think Stonekeep or Descent to Undermountain. Fargo's very focused on surface stuff, Pavlish does not have his shit together, and the two of them have a history of Not Getting Stuff Done. Both of them were long out of the day-to-day of really making games back in '95.
...
You're confusing your fond memories of a game from 30 years ago with an assurance that these guys - the guys who bankrupted Interplay - are going to deliver anything, let alone a similar experience.
...
You know dick about these two guys, and I spent a couple of years interacting with them every few weeks. Yet when I put in a cautionary note in, citing experience and games that went on for years and weren't very good (Stonekeep being the classic example), your response is that I must be shitting on Wasteland. Dude, I'm not. I'm saying that these guys are unlikely to actually produce something that you'll like.
...
This is pretty much the reason I commented at all. If it were a project announcement by these guys, I'd just leave be. The issue is that they're asking for money, and if you're sending them money, you're being taken for a ride.

Aeon does make the point much better than I do. I'm just going by my 15 year old memories of these two being shallow and not terribly bright, whereas he's pointing out their more recent history.
...
My (admittedly narrow) perception of Fargo when I was at Interplay was that he was mostly an obstacle. It was tough trying to do internal demos of a turn-based strategy game and yet cater to a guy who was sort of ADHD. I remember in one session talking about using a mechanic from Panzer General, and he vetoed it because he felt Panzer General was too niche, with too few sales. "We don't want to be like that." So, no Hard vs. Soft targets in MAX.
...
Fargo's primary motivation at the time was gore. His take was that outrageous sold, so the idea that Fallout would have lots of blood and guts in it looked good to him. It's also why Interplay green-lighted Redneck Rampage and Die By The Sword (Pavlish wanted to call it "Beheaded.") I vividly remember Ali quoting Fargo (for what project I don't recall): "Slavery is good. Rape is good."

Tim Cain was very, very unhappy there, which is why he left early in the development of Fallout 2 to form Trokia. I didn't interact with Tim much, I mostly heard about that from Chris Taylor when we were working on MAX 2.
...
Believe me, few things would make me happier than being wrong about this one.

I'm not going to cancel my preorder, I have to see this possible trainwreck for myself. And I still get to laugh at all the people who put in triple-quintuple digit figures.

 

[Aeschylus]

It's been posted in another thread a few days ago. Personally, I don't really give a crap what one extremely bitter ex-dev who, as he admits himself, had very little actual interaction with Fargo. It just sounds like sour grapes to me.

 

[Notorious]

Meh. Fargo has managed to bring out 2 relative modern titles so i think he will manage a low budget old school RPG.

Also he never did transform Wasteland 2 into an Ego Shooter. Maybe he tried, nobody knows for sure, but the Kickstarter thing shows that he really wanted to do this. I doubt that this will be a complete failure it's just too safe a play if he keeps close to the classic RPGs we all enjoy.

 

[shihonage]

Tim Cain was very, very unhappy there, which is why he left early in the development of Fallout 2 to form Trokia. I didn't interact with Tim much, I mostly heard about that from Chris Taylor when we were working on MAX 2

It's true.

Well, things weren't working out. Fargo wanted me to take over. I said no. He said I owed him, for the opportunity he gave me to do the first one. So I started FO2. But things were still bad. People secondguessed what was good for the game, and they wanted in on it, since it looked like a "big thing" now, not some grade B product, which was what FO was viewed as. So I got tired of this whole thing. I felt like I was in a dark hole. So I left. But that was 4 years ago. I have done another game, and designs on 3 other games. I wouldnt mind returning to FO, but not with those people running it.

 

[Stabwound]

Someone posted that Gus Smedstad thing a few days ago. I'll say the same thing I said then: he just comes across like a butthurt has been. It's not possible to take anything he says seriously when it comes across like whining over things that happened 10 years ago.

 

[Aeschylus]

It's weird to see the Codex defending a developer from ill-founded and hyperbolic attacks.

 

[Oesophagus]

Tim Cain was very, very unhappy there, which is why he left early in the development of Fallout 2 to form Trokia. I didn't interact with Tim much, I mostly heard about that from Chris Taylor when we were working on MAX 2.

Hold it right the fuck there. Didn't Tim Cain recently praise Fargo for when he worked with him on Fallout ?

 

[Aeschylus]

Who the hell knows. Most of this is hearsay, and it's been over a decade. I'm sure bridges are mended by now.

 

[Brayko]

Tim Cain was very, very unhappy there, which is why he left early in the development of Fallout 2 to form Trokia. I didn't interact with Tim much, I mostly heard about that from Chris Taylor when we were working on MAX 2.

Hold it right the fuck there. Didn't Tim Cain recently praise Fargo for when he worked with him on Fallout ?

Yes he did. In the video. Cain even admitted that it was Fargo's idea to have perks in Fallout.

 

[quasimodo]

It remains to be seen if Fargo can deliver the goods, but I'm backing the concept of Kickstarter funding of games as much as I am Wasteland 2 itself. I would like to encourage Avellone , and Cain to also come up with something.

 

[Kosmonaut]

Hey but don't worry shihonage, we will have our own shrine/statue! Regardless of the quality of the game or even if we manage to have the game!

 

[Livonya]

God, I wouldn't want to be in Fargo's shoes.

The Double Fine project isn't as risky and the die-hard fans aren't as ruthless (in my opinion, of course), but Fargo has to somehow create a good game, balance retro with modern, and appease a lot of grumpy old fans that will be very critical.

Wasteland 2 will be under a microscope. The pressure will be immense.

And the time frame they want to finish the game in is very short, so as they approach October of 2013 they will be under a lot more pressure.

If the production goes long or if the money runs out quicker than expected then they will be in a real pickle.

The naysayers will be out in force. It will be funny to see what happens if the average Codex member ends up looking like some sort of Wasteland fan-freak that will explain away every problem... a weird role reversal if there ever was one.

But perhaps we will turn on Fargo and Wasteland II by then.

I am hoping they can produce a great game as I miss turn based/squad style RPGs, and I would love to see real-time with pause have to hold a bake sale in order to get another cluster-fuck game produced, but at the same time I don't envy Fargo and the crew he assembles for Wasteland II.

No matter what happens it will be interesting.

 

[Aeschylus]

God, I wouldn't want to be in Fargo's shoes.

The Double Fine project isn't as risky and the die-hard fans aren't as ruthless (in my opinion, of course), but Fargo has to somehow create a good game, balance retro with modern, and appease a lot of grumpy old fans that will be very critical.

Not as outright trollish as people at the Codex perhaps, but if you'd visited Sierra/Space Quest forums back in the day you would have seen a level of ruthlessness to rival any fandom. I agree that Tim Schaefer will probably not be under as much of a microscope as Fargo though, if only because classic adventure fans are desperate for any game period, while RPG fans are more just pissed off by what the genre has become.

 

[Metro]

Well the internet was still in it's relative infancy when Williams sold off Sierra. At that point CUC and the other corporate overlords couldn't give a fuck what the fans had to say.