[Megathread] Pillars of Eternity

[Darkfie1d]

My first thought was "That's almost the same as the TESO logo, but I think they're both owned by Zenimax.

Obsidian is an independent studio. None of the mega-publishers own it and that's why they're funding their project through a kickstarter. And as I said before Ouroboros/Jormungandr/World Serpent/etc is not a property of Zenimax or Bethesda, if anyone is to take Obsidian to court because of the serpent thing is either Loki who fathered the Jormungandr or whoever created Ouroboros which I believe can be traced back to ancient Egypt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouroboros
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B6rmungandr

[Cyclone Jack]

Awesome news! Thanks for the link, OP. Pledged. I bet they hit their goal today, leaving 30 days of stretch goals. I hope they made a long list, they're going to need it.

[Repefe]

Yeah, bring iso rpg back please.

[Wynnyelle]

Funded already! Awesome! This is gonna be great.

[chazus]

I refuse to donate Kickstarter funds to any well established, already profitable company. They will get these projects going regardless of 'donations'. It's just money grabbing.

I love Obsidian and their projects, however I do not support this kind of method of funding.

[Lylyth]

I refuse to donate Kickstarter funds to any well established, already profitable company. They will get these projects going regardless of 'donations'. It's just money grabbing.

I love Obsidian and their projects, however I do not support this kind of method of funding.

They do it this way so that they can have the freedom to do what they want with the game. They can make whatever game they want because with funding from FANS they have no big bossman looming over them going, "You can't do that...it won't sell."

[chazus]

They do it this way so that they can have the freedom to do what they want with the game. They can make whatever game they want because with funding from FANS they have no big bossman looming over them going, "You can't do that...it won't sell."

Still not a good reason. There are limited funds in the 'donation' industry, and that money is going to well established areas that will make good games regardless, while good indie games that actually NEED money, not freedom, are fizzling out.

[Ratyrel]

I really wish this works out and is as awesome as it is in my head - but the infinity engine games built on a massive tried and tested base in AD&D; you need really good writers to make something like that up out of thin air.

[MCMXCIX]

That logo seems like an Elder Scrolls lawsuit waiting to happen.

Bethesda didn't create the Oroborous. Pretty sure the vikings did. It means infinity, everlasting, et cetera.

[Deleted]

Still not a good reason. There are limited funds in the 'donation' industry, and that money is going to well established areas that will make good games regardless, while good indie games that actually NEED money, not freedom, are fizzling out.

Nothing is preventing indie developers from doing a Kickstarter themselves. It has been repeatedly proven that if the vision resonates, it will spread through word of mouth and get the funding it needs to become reality.

Personally, I love the idea of enabling Chris Avellone and the other guys to design the game that they want to create. :-)

[Repefe]

Still not a good reason. There are limited funds in the 'donation' industry, and that money is going to well established areas that will make good games regardless, while good indie games that actually NEED money, not freedom, are fizzling out.

It's a way for consumers show real interest in a possible product. Saying that established studios will make good games regardless is naive. Even established studios have to persuade investors that what they are going to make will sell. And I would much rather give good will money to companies I can trust rather than to some indie developer with no references and history.

[Deleted]

Still not a good reason. There are limited funds in the 'donation' industry, and that money is going to well established areas that will make good games regardless, while good indie games that actually NEED money, not freedom, are fizzling out.

I'll have to disagree with you on that one, I think having freedom to do what they want without a publisher in the picture is a great thing, and going through kickstarter is a great way to do that. I wouldn't be surprised if we see more of this in the future.

[Orodoth]

They do it this way so that they can have the freedom to do what they want with the game. They can make whatever game they want because with funding from FANS they have no big bossman looming over them going, "You can't do that...it won't sell."

this 100 times over. Its a GREAT thing people are this avid about donating. Keeping the stupid suits out of game making should be a priority. Hopefully though, this wont become a huge trend that more companies start using.

Can you imagine?

"Blizzard is proud to announce World of Warcraft 6.0: Return of the Legion! But, we need YOU, the fans, to help kickstart this project. We only need a 10 dollar donation from all 9 million subscribers to get the ball rolling. Yes, thats right, with a 90 million dollar budget, this is sure to be the best WoW expansion to date, but only if we can get your undying support loyal fans!
10 dollar donation - beta access 3 months after beta open, and a free (random) darkmoon card
25 dollar Donation - 10 dollar package plus a free month of game time
50 dollar donation - 25 dollar package plus a copy of the game
100 dollar donation - 50 dollar package plus a free authenticator keychain, with a devs thumb print all over it
250 dollar donation - everything mentioned + your choice of either picking an NPC's hair color, or having a rare elite mob who only spawn once a week for 5 minutes receive your initials worked into its full name somehow
500 dollar donation - everything mentioned + an extra copy of the game for a friend"

Not to say Blizz would do this, or that I dislike them or anything. Take it as satirical at best.

[chazus]

Nothing is preventing indie developers from doing a Kickstarter themselves.

I was pointing out that Obsidian, and whatever other large, successful studios, are literally taking away money from other smaller Kickstarters. Nothing is preventing them from making a kickstarter, but some things prevent them from getting money. One of those things is lack of money to give.

[Repefe]

"Blizzard is proud to announce World of Warcraft 6.0: Return of the Legion! But, we need YOU, the fans, to help kickstart this project. We only need a 10 dollar donation from all 9 million subscribers to get the ball rolling. Yes, thats right, with a 90 million dollar budget, this is sure to be the best WoW expansion to date, but only if we can get your undying support loyal fans!
10 dollar donation - beta access 3 months after beta open, and a free (random) darkmoon card
25 dollar Donation - 10 dollar package plus a free month of game time
50 dollar donation - 25 dollar package plus a copy of the game
100 dollar donation - 50 dollar package plus a free authenticator keychain, with a devs thumb print all over it
250 dollar donation - everything mentioned + your choice of either picking an NPC's hair color, or having a rare elite mob who only spawn once a week for 5 minutes receive your initials worked into its full name somehow
500 dollar donation - everything mentioned + an extra copy of the game for a friend"

Not to say Blizz would do this, or that I dislike them or anything. Take it as satirical at best.

Thing is imagine if players were the ones deciding what Blizz should do with the money they get from players ... the way it is now somebody buys a good developer for an inflated price and goes "come on guys, I bought you to make me money, so chop chop ..." vs players going "ok guys here you have my 13 euros this month, do the best you can to make the game better". It's ofc way more complicated and less evil than that, but it gives off that vibe.

[Frozenbeef]

I'm slightly confused...i watched the video and all it did was show past games they created (all of which i disliked) then made all these promises which practically every company has made in the past 20+ years ie. we will listen to the player/ customer, we will create an amazing product, you will feel like you are actually there etc...

It really feels like it's just pandering (yay pandas) / targeting/ exploiting peoples nostalgic feelings to games they once loved so they donate money 0o

I know it's not up to me how people spend their money, but with 1million donated and with very little about the game currently known ...that is one hell of a lot of hype

[ddsad2212]

Like the bold move, Obsidian has always been a talent company and i am glad to see them go out on there own a bit more, just hope that while this is a old school RPG, they keep some of the newer elements as well, mix the good from both and cut out the crap (i guess thats the general idea of game design tbh:P)

[Wynnyelle]

I'm slightly confused...i watched the video and all it did was show past games they created (all of which i disliked) then made all these promises which practically every company has made in the past 20+ years ie. we will listen to the player/ customer, we will create an amazing product, you will feel like you are actually there etc...

It really feels like it's just pandering (yay pandas) / targeting/ exploiting peoples nostalgic feelings to games they once loved so they donate money 0o

I know it's not up to me how people spend their money, but with 1million donated and with very little about the game currently known ...that is one hell of a lot of hype

Obsidian has a lot of talent. You may not have liked their games, but many, many people do. I'm willing to give them money in order to get games like the ones they've made in the past again. I wouldn't call it hype, I'd call it trust.

[Orodoth]

Thing is imagine if players were the ones deciding what Blizz should do with the money they get from players ... the way it is now somebody buys a good developer for an inflated price and goes "come on guys, I bought you to make me money, so chop chop ..." vs players going "ok guys here you have my 13 euros this month, do the best you can to make the game better". It's ofc way more complicated and less evil than that, but it gives off that vibe.

what I'm saying is, is that I hope they don't all get the bright idea to try this model. For a special project with potential, yes, I'd donate if I had the cash to spare.. but I don't want it to become common practice to need donations for a game, and then to have to turn around and buy the game too. At that point, we may as well have to adopt a model that mandates prepay, with about 10 bucks added to the price of what it would have been.

Not doom saying, not glass half empty'n or any of that. Just giving a hypothetical situation is all. I dig Obsidian's games very much. If they are still taking donations by the time I have a few bucks to spare, they have my vote... and my bow...

[PizzaSHARK]

I refuse to donate Kickstarter funds to any well established, already profitable company. They will get these projects going regardless of 'donations'. It's just money grabbing.

I love Obsidian and their projects, however I do not support this kind of method of funding.

I think you're missing the point.

Funding for a game has to come from somewhere. If the funding is from another company or group of investors, they're the ones that tell you what your game can and can't be, and a turn-based, isometric RPG would NEVER be greenlit these days, because it's not a guaranteed profit.

But if you secure funding through Kickstarter, you're putting the design decisions in the hands of the developers and fans.

It doesn't matter if the developer is a successful developer - you can't just snap your fingers and pull $1,000,000 out of your butt to fund a game.