Would you pledge to a new Obsidian Kickstarter?

[Somberlain]

After being kinda disappointed with PoE, I'm going to need a much stronger pitch to contribute the same amount of money, otherwise I'll pledge only enough money to get the game.

On the plus side, Pillars was a game I could easily step away from. I didn't spend any super late nights playing it and only getting a couple hours of sleep before work. I'd have no qualms throwing down 20 potatoes for the game kickstarter as long as it was turn based, but I would have a really tough time justifying to myself pledging any potatoes to another RTwP game.

The plus side of the game was that it was shitty enough you weren't motivated to play? This is the "plus side" of games nowadays? Shit, no wonder 48% of Codexians liked it.

I'd certainly call it a plus side when you consider certain individuals are so obsessed with the game that they keep up to date poll results on what % of Codexers likes or dislikes it.

You have to understand him. Sawyer successfully made rohan his bitch and successfully ended his fun. And roshan just couldn't suck it down.

 

[dragonul09]

I wouldn't pledge to any Obsidian Kickstarter. Overrated developer is overrated.

They made some good games in the past but lately it seems they don't even try anymore,they started making games like Southpark,Dungeon Siege 3,MMOs and now PoE.

No wonder they almost went bankrupt,with choices like these,makes you wonder what went wrong.

You're confusing cause and effect. They made those games because otherwise they would go bankrupt. The well for an independent AAA RPG developer has all but dried up.

They should have went for kickstarter a long time ago,if ''amateurs'' like Harebrained that no one knew who the fuck they were gathered 2 mils in a 40 days,i think Obsidian could have done even better than their first kickstarter.

They have people that could write great characters,stories but in the end the game felt like a lame carbon copy of Baldurs Gate because they had to put the worst team to wok on it.How come Avellone barely touched this game? He made two mere companions and even those two got gutted by the other writers.

That's what i call poor choices.

 

[Athelas]

They have people that could write great characters,stories but in the end the game felt like a lame carbon copy of Baldurs Gate

Outside of fora such as these, Obsidian doesn't necessarily have a wide-spread reputation for good writing. So Feargus chasing that Baldur's Gate pie certainly makes sense.

they had to put the worst team to wok on it.

Cain and Sawyer are the 'worst team'? Okay...

How come Avellone barely touched this game?

He's a co-owner of Obsidian, he can do what he wants. I imagine he wasn't all that interested in the setting.

 

[dragonul09]

They have people that could write great characters,stories but in the end the game felt like a lame carbon copy of Baldurs Gate

Outside of fora such as these, Obsidian doesn't necessarily have a wide-spread reputation for good writing. So Feargus chasing that Baldur's Gate pie certainly makes sense.

they had to put the worst team to wok on it.

Cain and Sawyer are the 'worst team'? Okay...

How come Avellone barely touched this game?

He's a co-owner of Obsidian, he can do what he wants. I imagine he wasn't all that interested in the setting.

So as a co-owner you let your company to go down the drain because you do whatever the fuck you want? Well ladi fucking da that's how you do business these days?

From what i understand this Sawyer fella,he created the lore and pretty much he dictated the whole game...well,he seems like a jolly guy and all that but the dude is not that good at making interesting games.
The only good game that he was involved into was New vegas and let's be serious,it wasn't stellar.
Then you have Neverwinter 2,Alpha protocol and Icewind Dale...not a very promising catalogue.

 

[Infinitron]

Lots of Codexers seem attached to this vision of Obsidian as they were 10 years ago. The "orgasmic storyfaggotry" startup company that took some Bioware games and made better sequels for them, that tended to end up as "Planescape: Torment in a different setting" flawed gems (and let's just forget NWN2 OC ever existed ahem ahem).

The "storyfag Obsidian" or "Avellonesidian" is really largely gone now. And it's gone because the games that it made had lots of problems and didn't sell well. I would also include Alpha Protocol in this category.

Now you have "Sawyersidian", which makes games that try to be good on a broader spectrum than just story, that come out on time and on budget, and make a profit. Feargus is probably happy.

 

[Athelas]

Next up: Cainsidian!

Spoiler

If only.

So as a co-owner you let your company to go down the drain because you do whatever the fuck you want?

Your idea of a company going down the drain is releasing a commercially succesful, universally acclaimed product?

 

[Ulrox]

Next up: Cainsidian!

it was called Troika, Troika now doesn't exist because evil publishers.

 

[Ismaul]

The "storyfag Obsidian" or "Avellonesidian" is really largely gone now.

After all those years, hoping that maybe they'll do something great, creative...

 

[Ulrox]

The "storyfag Obsidian" or "Avellonesidian" is really largely gone now.

After all those years, hoping that maybe they'll do something great, creative...

Easy now - I dont think people should count obsidian out just yet. Just because Infinitron says that Obsidian has become Sawyersidian. The truth is often more complicated than these black and white ways of looking at it. Obsidian is both Sawyersidian and Chrisavelloneidian or whatever it was called, since Obsidian has both in them. Sure Obsidian has :"changed" profoundly due to having chased publisher gold, but that doesn't mean that they dont stand to change again... Brian Fargo recently said that he believes Obsidian and Larian stand to change profoundly due to kickstarter just as kickstarter changed InXile, and I believe him - but change doesn't happen overnight.

 

[racofer]

I would wipe my own ass with money before giving it away to obshitian. At least this way it would be better spent.

 

[Ulminati]

Now you have "Sawyersidian", which makes games that try to be good on a broader spectrum than just story, that come out on time and on budget, and make a profit. Feargus is probably happy.

And this is why I voted No.

 

[Athelas]

I would wipe my own ass with money before giving it aways to obshitian. At least this way it would be better spent.

Not really, the paper that money bills are made from would probably chafe your ass something fierce. Unless you're into that.

 

[imweasel]

Now you have "Sawyersidian" [...] Feargus is probably happy.

Obsidian made so much money with Pillars of Eternity that they were able to easily finance their card game with pocket money.

Oh wait...

 

[Athelas]

Isn't the number one rule of running a business to never spend your own money if possible?

 

[imweasel]

50K is pocket money...

But maybe Obsidian thought they would get Exploding Kittens MILLIONS with a PoE card game.

 

[Ismaul]

Easy now - I dont think people should count obsidian out just yet. Just because Infinitron says that Obsidian has become Sawyersidian. The truth is often more complicated than these black and white ways of looking at it. Obsidian is both Sawyersidian and Chrisavelloneidian or whatever it was called, since Obsidian has both in them. Sure Obsidian has :"changed" profoundly due to having chased publisher gold, but that doesn't mean that they dont stand to change again... Brian Fargo recently said that he believes Obsidian and Larian stand to change profoundly due to kickstarter just as kickstarter changed InXile, and I believe him - but change doesn't happen overnight.

Oh I have nothing against Sawyer. Maybe against Feargus, and those dudes that take the decisions to play it too safe with their games (most likely Avellone self-restraining). I'd love to play "fuck you: suck my dick, the Josh Sawyer experience", but this isn't what we're getting. More like, "please let me suck your cock: the feargus and publisher approved experience" eh?

 

[Infinitron]

Whoa, nice troll post I did there.

In truth, we'll have to see what happens with the storyfaggier elements of Obsidian in the future, now that the company has more financial independence. Maybe they can finally pull something really successful.

BTW, I wonder where South Park: TSoT falls on that spectrum...

Obsidian made so much money with Pillars of Eternity that they were able to easily finance their card game with pocket money.

Oh wait...

The card game is like job welfare for Chris Taylor. I think this might be his first Kickstarter that succeeded. Obsidian: Doing what Herve can't.

 

[Ulrox]

I'd love to play "fuck you: suck my dick, the Josh Sawyer experience", but this isn't what we're getting. More like, "please let me suck your cock: the feargus and publisher approved experience" eh?

I believe this is what you're looking for then,

 

[Kuurth]

They experienced success with shit, doubtful they'll do anything but shit.

hue hue

 

[Hobo Elf]

If they kickstart another PoE game, for example, definitely not. I'll only back new games and ideas by Obsidian.

 

[Lios]

Yes for an Avelonne on psychedelic drugs experience, no for a middle aged Avelonne with enough credit already in his pockets.
Make it adventurous.

Also I would like Sawyer in the whole thing too, just not as the castrator of fun/godhead of Balance.
I replayed Honest Hearts which is the definition of mediocrity but the way he handled the environment and his characters specially the perverted mummy mormon were really entertaining.

Make it an ouroborean gaming experience of sorts where Sawyer the snake head blows the avelonnian psilocybin-dripping tail.
Now that's something I would pledge to.

 

[Zombra]

If they kickstart another PoE game, for example, definitely not. I'll only back new games and ideas by Obsidian.

Well ... yes. I voted "in the blink of an eye" for a new project, but another Eternity KS wouldn't thrill me right now. With the original game sitting in my backlog flagged "sigh, if I get around to it", I don't need to spend money on a sequel or expansion. After I finish it, probably.

 

[Somberlain]

If it's PoE 2 or some interesting new IP, I'd pledge. I don't care about any sci-fi stuff though. I still have high hopes for PoE, because even though PoE was kinda mediocre, it was an excellent foundation for a great sequel. Just like BG -> BG2. If PoE2 ends up being mediocre, though, my faith in Obsidian will be gone.

I don't really care who is involved in the project. MCA's writing is great but I care about the gameplay more. Tim Cain is overrated and I don't get why so many people think that the next Obsidian game would be a masterpiece if he was the lead designer. Most Tim Cain games have abysmal combat and mediocre-to-pretty-good gameplay. And while some of Sawyer's balance ideas are really stupid, codexian hate boner for him is quite silly.

 

[tuluse]

Obsidian went into real circular logic with their pitch and what they were making.

1) pitch IE successor and repeat this constantly when they really could have just said we're obsidian and want to make an rpg and got about the same amount of money (see: Shafer, Tim)
2) refer to their own narrow pitch as evidence that's what people want

 

[Bubbles]

A New Vegas-based pitched with a new IP would probably have made them even more cash.