Obsidian announces 'Project Eternity' Kickstarter : Othor Games

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 9:00 am

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obsidian/project-eternity

Obsidian Entertainment and our legendary game designers Chris Avellone, Tim Cain, and Josh Sawyer are excited to bring you a new role-playing game for the PC. Project Eternity (working title) pays homage to the great Infinity Engine games of years past: Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment.

Original IP, hooray!

http://www.gamebanshee.com/interviews/109456-project-eternity-interview.html

We talked a lot about the genre and to be honest we kept on coming back to fantasy. With all the experience we have had with a lot of varied fantasy settings, we are really looking for to taking our unique approach with factions, characters and mature themes to the setting. Ultimately, we really feel that what an RPG is about is the characters and the story – not the setting.

http://kotaku.com/5942307/the-people-behind-fallout-and-planescape-are-making-an-rpg-that-sounds-fantastic

If the Kickstarter succeeds, this will be a franchise. "It means we FINALLY have a world of our own that we can build upon, not just for this title but for future releases down the line. We've wanted to do our own RPG world for a long, long time, and it's been hard to pursue outside of existing franchises. Project: Eternity is our chance to take all the RPG knowledge, mechanics, lore, and characterization we've learned over the years and turn it into the game our fans have been hungering for."

Where's my credit card...

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 12:13 am

Darn, it a fantasy setting

Sounds like DA:O

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 6:40 am

Original IP, hooray!

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 6:20 am

A brand new fantasy setting. There's magic and there's mature themes. Not a whole lot else is known yet it seems, but I still need to read the gamebanshee interview and I'm sure we'll be getting more info in the next weeks.

» Fri Sep 14, 2012 10:01 pm

Whats the setting?!?!?!!?!

Medieval Britain, mid-tier fantasy.

I see I've been too reasonable with my estimations. The project's already a quarter funded. So ... tomorrow morning it should reach its first mark?

» Fri Sep 14, 2012 9:51 pm

Is this only on PC?

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 1:11 pm

Nothing mentioned about multiplayer yet :confused:

I really think I need more information before I'll help fund the project. It will be coming to Steam and hopefully Linux at some point (as he mentioned in the interview), so that is cool.

I'm interested in learning more about how the party based gameplay will be handled. The supporting skills/abilities they alluded to should be explained a little more.

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 11:22 am

OH, SNAP. AVELLONE.

And it'll be PC only, because Avellone is "tired of designing content and interactions that caters to consoles and console controllers."

"Those limitations affect RPG mechanics and content more than players may realize"(especially for players who've never played a PC RPG and realize what's been lost over the years), and often doesn't add to the RPG experience," he told me.

I don't know where this came from. I stole it from neogaf.

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 7:05 am

it was at $100,000 around 11am PST and now it's already up over $250,000 at noon.

would be cool to have an NPC named and designed after you! though for $1000 i think my wife would disagree!

» Fri Sep 14, 2012 11:36 pm

I stole it from neogaf.

Oh, right, neogaf. Off to the neogafs with me. I love reading those forums.

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 1:40 am

Thanks for putting the links in the OP.

There is a term on the map, palatinate. A palatine is "a feudal lord having sovereign power within his domains". The most famous one is the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_Palatinate. This has been Roseanne, your guide to the world of facts.

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 10:29 am

Nothing mentioned about multiplayer yet :confused:

It's pretty unlikely I'd say. Maybe a distant kickstarter stretch goal, but with the limited budget they'd probably rather spend it all on the single player experience. I know Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale had multiplayer, but I think most people want this for the single player.

3 people already pledged 10K.

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 2:47 am

I wish I wasn't so damn broke. I'd be throwing money at it. But alas, I'm poor right now.

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 5:02 am

Darn, it a fantasy setting

Sounds like DA:O

Fine by me. This should hopefully fill the void in my heart that the Dragon Age series ripped open...ever since it turned into a ROTTEN CHEATING SKANK!

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 2:17 pm

The best thing is that it does not have full voice acting. Full voice acting was what killed this type of RPG.

So that "Dirge of Eir Glanfath" thing must be about whatever created the "Ruins of Eir Glanfath"...

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 6:07 am

Interesting. $20 gets you a digital copy of the game when it's released, but it's a limited offer (25,000 possible pledges, currently 20,000 still available ). If those run out, you'll need to pledge at least $25 instead to get a copy. A clever way of incentivizing early pledges.

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 11:41 am

The best thing is that it does not have full voice acting. Full voice acting was what killed this type of RPG.

Agreed.

I hope this project is a success and shows that there's still a large audience for CRPGs with written dialogue.

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 1:39 am

Pledged for the box... will now proceed to play FTL.

» Fri Sep 14, 2012 11:03 pm

Eh.... not my style of game, but i do wish those guys at obsidian the best of luck with this.

» Fri Sep 14, 2012 11:54 pm

Nothing mentioned about multiplayer yet :confused:

I highly doubt MP is a priority for these guys.

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 2:38 am

I wish I had enough money to spare to do the physical copy pledge.... And that is what I must start saving for, as I want to have a physical copy, just a "must" of sorts to me.

But anyway, I had hoped there'd be a bit more information in the announcment video, the current did not strike so much, even though it sure got me excited about this.

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 7:54 am

Every time I say "I am going to save some money for now." Something awesome appears.

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 7:18 am

I'm excited. This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for. An original IP, old-school RPG. Avellone, Sawyer, Cain. Take my money, fools!

Okay, we don't know much about the setting, yet, and it may turn out to be generic Western fantasy (or it may not). But with this writing team behind it, I am confident it will at least have a good story, great dialogue, and interesting characters.

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 10:32 am

The thing about being able to turn this into a franchise is pretty great. Obsidian has always been floating around, doing sequels for other people's franchises, never a chance to make something of their own without being limited by someone else's IP, and never the possibility to build up a series. The only original IP they've ever done is Alpha Protocol, but they couldn't really do anything crazy with that and I bet the rights belong to SEGA.

If they can turn this into their flagship series that would be great.

» Sat Sep 15, 2012 2:43 am

I highly doubt MP is a priority for these guys.

It's a "Party-Based RPG" I hope it's a priority..