Leaderboard

All of Double Fine

I'd pretty much fund wathever Obsidian decides to do, truth be told. I'm only looking for two things: an interesting story and great characters. I can adapt to the rest

Hi, me again... After seeing some very heated arguments pop up on various sites about what a game should be to be a true old-school RPG, I'm convinced that unlike Double Fine have been you should be *very clear* about the scope and goals of the game that is going to be made, so you don't get the sort of long term resentment and grief that Notch gets from some Minecraft "fans". I.e have this on the Kickstarter page: Related to that, with my earlier suggestion that you do like Order of the Stick and add milestone rewards to increase pledges, be careful that you don't alienate early donators. For instance, if you add iPad/console as a new reward if we would double the initial amount, I'm sure non-PC owners would (rightly) be overjoyed, and while I wouldn't begrudge them having the game there too, I'm sure you know you would face a level 10 inferno worth of people going "OH GOD NOOO! They are going to dumb down the interface!!". Because on the internet, believing something makes it true, no matter how much evidence to the contrary is produced. Also, for goodness sake don't overcommit and burn out on this Kickstarter. Create something small(ish), original and most of all polished! Then do another one if it is successful. Best suggestion so far in this thread in my opinion has been from ex-Obsidian "tevans": With all that said, I think something with the graphics level and gameplay complexity of Age of Decadence would make me very satisfied. Final comment: If isometric turn based would become a "thing" with you but Kickstarter is too limited, consider talking to Fredrik Wester of Paradox. They are growing as publishing company and have shown they are willing to fund some out there stuff. I'm sure they would be delighted to have a famous team like you as a feather in their hat.

A turn-based, party-based RPG in a unique setting with goals more ambitious than "adolescent power fantasy" and an emphasis on quality over quantity (no "RPGs must be x hours long" business filled with trivial killing and fetching tasks please).

I think this topic should be less focused on "what license do you want Obsidian to blow the hundred thousand dollars or whatever the Kickstarter raises" and more on "what genre would you, hypothetically, support". Because as much as I would love to see Sigil again, I know that it's never going to happen. And that's fine. I have the happy (and unhappy) memories associated with it, and that's all I need from it. Doublefine's Kickstarter really only said one thing - it said "hey, do you want Tim Schafer and his crew to make a point and click adventure game?" And a lot of people said "aw hell yeah I'll drop 15 on that, take me down that lane again crazy man". If Obsidian makes a Kickstarter that says "hey, want to go down memory lane and have Obsidian's badass writing crew craft a new isometric designed-for-PC RPG?" I would totally drop 15 to help make it a reality. I don't need a known property. I don't need amazing graphics. I don't need you to waste half the budget hiring Liam Neeson to voice your dad for 30 minutes. I just want a game that can't be sold to a publisher these days - a well-crafted RPG that didn't spend 95% of its resources on combat mechanics. Those aren't your strong point anyways, we all know that, I'm cool with it. I want skill checks, and dialogue, and memorable party members that stick in your mind for decades to come. I want, after all this is said and done, for this to be a game for people 10 years from now to hold up and say "man, remember when Obsidian totally toppled Planescape from its golden throne? Why don't they make those any more?" But all that nomenclanture about not telling you what to do aside, I really must stress the "PC first" part of this. Been burned FAR too many times on console ports... consoles can have it later, to be sure, I'm not greedy. But considering that I am, hypothetically, one of the ones paying for this... I think a little time in the sun is appropriate, don't you?

Well first off... To everyone saying "remake Torment"...leave. Just leave. There is absolutely no need to remake Torment with 'better graphics' as better graphics would do nothing to improve the game. There is absolutely no need to remake Torment with 'better gameplay' as the gameplay was superb (I'm assuming the people saying this are conflating combat with gameplay, which is just silly). The game was almost perfect the way it was. To everyone saying 'Torment 2', 'Kotor 3', 'BG3' etc. Think about it. The point for the whole kickstarter thing is to have Obsidian maintain 100% autonomy on the project they are making. If they are tied to existing IP, the people holding those licenses would hold a large amount of control over this project, ruining its purpose. Additionally, the surge of sequels we've seen in the past few years is due to publishers wanting relatively safe returns on their investments. Though this only seems to work for Activision and Zenimax (sometimes), it is still the course that most studios are going to take. Why not use this to free up a studio to completely buck that trend and use creativity and innovative to get sales - not rehashing. There are also many technological trends that are proving to be utterly pernicious to game development. The amount of resources that have to be redirected to voice acting and animation are hamstringing the quality of games that are being released. Other aspects of the game suffer to accommodate these supposed requisites. This would be an opportunity for a studio to be free of those obligations and create a game in a manner that they believe would be best to tell their particular story. Now...as far as what to make. Why are you asking us? I've never made a good game, nor has anyone responding to this blog (The original ideas put forth in these comments should be enough evidence that you should not be coming to us for ideas). The reason people are excited over this is because we trust that Obsidian, if allowed to run loose, would make an extraordinary game. Personally, I just say lock you, Tim Cain, and Michael Kirkbride (The fellow responsible for much of Morrowind's excellent lore) in the same sensory deprivation tank for a week and see what comes out. But that might be a bit extreme. You've had well over a decade in the industry and you know what you would like to do. Why not give us a few examples of games you think should be made and let us mull over those?

Anything related to Planescape or Arcanum is ridiculous. For one thing, do you realise how much of their fund it would cost to acquire those IPs? And for another - it would reign in their creativity. The whole idea of this is to not do something as dullcentric (DULLCENTRIC IS NOW A WORD) as past, long belaboured trad RPGs. They want to do something new, so let them do something new. They want to be unrestricted, so let them be unrestricted. Desiring that they be stranded in sequel land is the worst thing you could do to them.

Isometric, turn-based, party-based RPG. Develop your own IP so you don't have to license anyone else. I would like to see a setting that is not done to death. 80's style cyberpunk, science fiction, old west, but really anything will work done in the old-school real RPG style. Of course if you want an established IP there are some fairly popular ones in the public domain. HP Lovecrafts Cthulhu stuff, Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars stuff(and with the John Carter moving coming out this will be even more well known) and most of Robert E Howard's Conan and Kull stuff come immediately to mind. But whatever you do for the love of the gods please, please, please avoid any sort of anime based art direction.

Having read a bit more and understood that there is little to no chance of doing a Planescape game or any other sequel without going into the same problems you are hoping to avoid via kickstarter, I'd like to just note the bare crux of the matter, what most people agree is what we want. An oldschool, isometric, story-heavy, well written RPG, if possible with a proven-to-work combat system (whether from a p&p RPG, or wherever else you can find one.) I think we can agree on this, no? And frankly the details are better left to, y'know, people that do this for a living.

I'm pretty sure most publishers wouldn't fund a 2D, isometric, old-school CRPG, even if it only cost $1 million to develop and market. Publishers are interested in making the most profit possible. An old-school RPG wouldn't be profitable enough for them to even bother. This is why most publishers stick with big-budget, high-profile, multiplatform releases in mainstream genres (and mostly sequels at that). Sure, games like CoD 2012 and Skyrim cost a lot to develop and market but the potential profits are far greater than any low-budget, niche game could ever achieve. Also, your GOG comparison is invalid because GOG is not a publisher and they didn't fund the development of any of the games they sell. Publishers only allow them to sell their older games because it gives them another revenue source with a negligible investment.

Pretty much this. Then again, it's the whole point of a Kickstarter project (especially in the case of a well-known developer, like Double Fine or Obsidian). Anyway, they have my full support as long as they promise two things: 1) Solid, satisfying combat (whatever style, and only if the game has combat) 2) Proper QA / bug hunting These are usually the glaring issues that plague their otherwise brilliant games.

As soon as I saw Double Fine's Kickstarter, I thought to myself, "I'd love Obsidian to do this for an RPG featuring turn-based tactical combat and a top down perspective." I'd prefer a true turn based game like Fallout 1 & 2 (as opposed to Baldur's gate where the "turns" were mostly behind the scenes). And In combat, I'd like to have full control over my party members' actions. Oh, and a party of 4-6 (including the PC), as opposed to just one companion (which seems to be the norm these days...) I'd suggest an original IP. Something sort of "weird steampunk" (a la Planescape: Torment). I also like meaningful choices that change how the story plays out. I like my companions to be integral to the story (a la the Sith Lords). I liked how Torment was philosophically interesting. And I like factions... especially when some factions are mutually exclusive (like New Vegas). I really enjoy a bit of complex political interplay. Honestly though, if Obsidian put up a Kickstarter and just said "we'd like to do an RPG our way" I'd totally fund you guys, since you guys are one of the few studios who consistently make the kind of thing I like.

It's great to see all this enthusiasm, i signed up just so i could post in this thread. I can imagine that having more creative control, must get you closer to what most people starting out in your industry always talk about, making the games you want to make! Something Obsidian might not always get with the industries current structure. Your team must have some ideas brewing (ideas publishers knocked back?), I hope that the setting you pick is one Obsidian is excited about so it gets made with a lot of love, and has plenty of creative scope. Perhaps an original IP but definitely one with creative scope, maybe a Planescape like setting? A Hard Sci-Fi or World of Darkness style setting in the far future? Or zombie survival ALA Dead state (Brian Mitsoda)? Kickstarter might also be an opportunity to bring people like Brian Mitsoda back on board in time (though i don't know the circumstances of his leaving), perhaps one day you'll have an Obsidian Indie division working on kickstart projects on sub AAA funding, and it be low risk and profitable. I definitely have a preference in terms of the combat system, turn based in the tradition of Fallout Tactics, Age of Decadence Demo and Temple of Elemental evil (isometric or at least an NWN style view). But if you guys aren't excited by that i don't see the point. As long as the game has certain elements, you will find many AAA things aren't needed, like top of the line graphics, stacks of cinematics, full voice acting, etc, so your kick starter budget can be set accordingly. Whether or not you make the game i want to see made, i really hope you champion this model and that it's a big success, it might change the industry enough so some companies do make the games i want to see made. Also few quick bullet points that other people have mentioned. Toolset would be a great plus Tolkien Fantasy setting would be a minus Mature setting (this does not mean grimdark with boobies n romances)

As a second bit of input, what I'd like to see above all is space for player agency. Too often players are told where to go, what to do -- whether it's by being given actual missions or by having exposition thrown at you. So what i'd like to see is a game that does a better job of recognizing player agency. If I decide to wipe out a town somewhere, I'd like to see that represented somewhere, even if it's just a Fallout-style flashcard that says 'and town X is dead'. At the pinnacle of this, and this may not be feasible, I want a game to recognize the player as a power in the world. If I want to become king, and I have the power, well, let me pull a Conan and actually become king (or mayor, or Caesar). Sculpting an empire would be interesting, but not necessary. This ties into what another poster said, which is a fear system. I excel at everything, and in the fields I favor, I'm unsurpassed. I'm wearing shining armor from the lost Golden age and carrying weapons of incomprehensible power. I've wiped out every slaver, raider camp I've come across and even a couple of armies. So maybe people shouldn't be so eager to start fights with me.

I would love to see another G.U.R.P.S. style Isometric RPG, but I've always wanted a few things that are more viable now than they have been in the past. I would love to see the ability to burn down wooden structures, or open a hole in a wall with a sledge hammer. I realize that this sort of dynamic destruction would have been difficult to implement in the past, but with Phys-X that sort of possibility is more realistic. It has always confounded me that I can, perhaps break open a chest, and if I'm extremely fortunate a door, but a wooden wall provides some immutable obstacle to my progress. The ability to open unlocked windows, break locked windows, and use them as entrances/exits to buildings would also be quite useful. I've often wondered why it is impossible to scramble over some smaller debris present in isometric games. I realize that from an artistic standpoint debris can be a nice way to break up the monotony of yet another wall, and that from a level design standpoint it's important to be able to wall of some locations, but it can sometimes be quite frustrating to the player. I'd also like to see the ability to roll explosives (grenades in a more modern world, less sophisticated devices in other universes) down staircases. I would love to be able to roll a tear gas grenade or hurl a flask of noxious cloud producing liquid down a staircase into an entrenched foe. I would like to see ice, muck, and other types of terrain that affect footing. Being able to cross a frozen lake, and being able to do it without falling are two different things. Wading through the muck in plate or combat armor alike becomes quite tedious and will slow your progress immensely. As such, they can be quite useful as parts of strategic ambush points. Personally, I know this is a pipe dream, but I would really love to see a game set in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn universe. Preferably in the same time period as The Alloy of Law. It's a steampunk sort of world, where a unique form of magic coexists with rudimentary technology, but without the whole magic vs tech concerns that were present in Arcanum.

I want to play something new that reminds me of Fallout 1-2 and Planescape: Torment. I want an open world, real consequences for my actions, dark humor and memorable NPCs. I'd love to see an original, non-fantasy setting, and a complex combat system

There have been some pretty good ideas posted so far. One that I liked was going with a very modern sci-fi setting. Something post- or near-Singularity, showing off the absurd variety and social upheaval that comes along with that, with flavors of Accelerando, Stand Alone Complex, Transmetropolitan, and Eclipse Phase. Gaming is weirdly slow to acknowledge that sci-fi written after Neuromancer exists. I'd think 2d would work best. It'd fit well with the budget constraints, for one thing. I honestly don't think that full 3d adds that much, especially when current-gen AAA games with massive budgets still haven't managed to pull off many locations that immerse me as much as the environments in Infinity Engine games. I think the big thing for me would be hitting that sweet spot between Planescape: Torment and Alpha Protocol, having the player's relationships with NPCs be a big thing that heavily impacts the plot. Throwing in AP-style plot variability based on that would also be cool, and that would lend itself well to being a relatively short, heavily-replayable game that would probably be easier to fit within the budget constraints. Set it up a system where, with the right choices, I can end up allied with the guy I fought as my end boss the last time I played, without oversimplifying the plot to accommodate it, and I'll love you forever. Alternatively, another thing I'd love to see is a game about power and the consequences thereof. Every other game has you claw your way up from being a nobody; I want a game where I start out with world-shaking power, and the real challenge is sorting out the dilemmas that come with that. If every other modern game is a power trip, I want a game that's a responsibility trip, where the player has to weigh the possible consequences of every action they take, knowing that they'll affect thousands of lives. This isn't necessarily incompatible with having lots of fights, either, and 'a sandbox game of world-shaking demigods' has a pretty awesome feel to it in my head.

@CommanderCool Not a sequel. Another game set in the Planescape universe.

Long time fan, first time poster here. Dear sirs and ladies from Obsidian, please create - a stealth-action RPG - with characters and decisions I will think about a long time after finishing the game - with gameplay that supports multiple solutions - with a world I can shape with my actions - preferrably from a near future / cyberpunk dystopia / postapocalyptic landscape Or just create whatever you wanted to create for a long time and you will love. Just have fun with it!

Cyberpunk RPG Preferably 2D or 3D Isometric with Turn Based Combat or better Baldur's Gate like combat 4-6 member party with deep character development and customization Augmentations,implants,conspiracies,guns and please whatever you do no ''chosen one'' saves the world. Finally,i know i am getting ahead of myself but i would like to at least have the option of a DRM free version,in other words no STEAM,etc Alternatively, i would go for Arcanum 2 or Vampire the Masquerade.

I wouldn't be opposed to a more linear story. Think of DA:O. While it claims 'non-linearity' due to the patented "intro quest, conflict, go do one of 4 larger quests in any order, conclusion', it's quite linear feeling. But not only does it end up feeling linear, it ends up being bad.The whole 'do these 4 quests in any order) thing ruins a sense of progression as each of those quests has to be scaled towards a wide range of levels. Not only that, having such disparate quests that take place within the larger arc of the main quest (think DA:O, the darkspawn 'threat' is looming as your trot around forests, the underdark deep roads, mages tower, etc.) ruins all sense of urgency that the quests have. And when you compound that with side quests that have you traipsing all over the world and companion arcs/quests, you have a jumpled mess. This has always struck me as an absurdly bad way to make a game as the timings of these arcs are never controlled well. So you have taken a few npc's all the way through their arcs and they are completely new characters...but what does it equate to? Nothing. They still spout the same dialogue and it has no effect on the majority of the game. Now if you happened to do this towards the end of the game, it would not be very noticable. But if you complete their arc earlier in the game, it ruins all illusion that your interactions accomplished something meaningful. But side-quests are the worst. When you are trying to finish all available side-quests, all belief in the threat of 'awoken ancient evil #299' is dispersed. I was doing all kinds of absurd errands in DA:O while the rampaging darkspawn horde apparently got bogged down in Lothering for months and months. A lot of people like to think non-linearity brings about a deeper experience or greater replayability...and though it sometimes can, the majority of the time it just brings about an ill executed game that I don't have the will to finish. I would prefer an excellently polished game that is more linear than a mediocre, garbled, non-linear game. No. The reason for choosing an isometric view (3d or not) is because it would cut down on a lot of time of polishing up textures and working on relevant animations. Now if you had to jump to 1st person for dialogue...well...all those textures would have to be brushed up and those animations done anyways. And if that work was to be necessitated...then why have the game in an isometric viewpoint in the first place? Otherwise all that work would go to waste. Just watch an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Well...I agree with this, but Obsidian (and Troika and Black Isle) have a tendancy to try to avoid these things in a good many of their games. If they were to make their rpg, I'm sure it wouldn't be yet another ancient evil awakening that drives the plot but rather internal conflicts within our character or with your character's pre-game actions that moves the game forward. Would it? It would probably be disappointing and underwhelming. Especially when compared to the Torment experience. There is a sweetspot when it comes to games giving the player information. Most games today...they overshoot it. Let's stick with Bioware as we've all played their games. Do you think the npc's are more believable in BG/BG2 or in DA:O. I would say the BG's. But why is this? The npc's in DA:O are fully voiced, have (what seems like) hours of dialogue, their own quest arcs, more detailed forms, etc. Well, I think that the IE games had a certain magic to them. Think of all the energy you had to put into Torment or the BG's. You were led to your image of these games instead of shown an image of these games. I'll explain. When dealing with npc's, you had sparse voice acting and a character portrait, that's about it. So all that other information was superimposed onto the character by the player. My perception of Jahiera or Dak'kon could be markedly different from another player's. This applies to all aspects of those games. When exploring Irenicus' Dungeon or The Smoldering Corpse Bar, we are given a beautiful scene, some flavor dialogue, music, and ambient sound (can I just go ahead and say that the ambient sound in Torment is possibly the most unfortunately overlooked thing in gaming). To breathe real life into these scenes, we have to superimpose a lot of information. So even though we are both imaging the heat or the smell or the thickness of the air, what we are perceiving could be drastically different. Yet despite that difference, the experience could be powerful for both of us. The stimulation of imagination is something that games just don't do. It's not because people are bad at making games or gamers are hopelessly plebeian and lazy, but because the constant push of using exciting new technology (and getting sales just by virtue of having the latest bells and/or whistles) has been a big race of making the use of imagination less and less necessary. Unfortunately, we've lost the magic of games like Ultima 7 or Torment as we've had this tech race to inundate our senses with the latest thing. I think that a clear defiance of this trend would stand out vividly against the brown and bloom landscape of modern games. Gameplay leading a person to use his imagination to create a living world out of the game he is playing...what a novel idea!

Also registered just to answer here. I think we (as in, gamers) shouldn't post complete scenarios and setting ideas, instead we should focus on gameplay elements. Because honestly, the preferences with regards to the former are just so varied that it's almost impossible to form a coherent "community response". Please don't expect Obsidian to do the tale YOU would like to see - another thousand of players want their own. That being said, I'd like the game to have following elements/features: - Deep, meaningful story where every move would contribute somehow to the "greater picture". I don't like/want an open world - Torment wasn't open and it played well. Just bring up a story this good and I'll be pleased. I won't request great characters cause I know these are already in Obsidian standard package - Rich world. Well, I believe you guys wouldn't make anything else, but I just want to express how I appreciate learning all the lore. Mass Effect for example has a medicore story, but it's world is well-thought and quite original. - I don't even need character stats or anything. You could make an action or adventure game, as long as above requirements are reached. - But if you do character stats: please make real-time, optionally pausable combat. Many people above expressed that they would prefer turn-based combat, but as much as I like this kind of cRPG's for their scenarios, I prefer non-tb combat as more lively and more realistic. If you would like to please both sides, a mix like Arcanum would do, but please polish it a little bit more cause real-time in Arcanum was practically unusable for me - NOT being constrained by publisher's funding/deadlines/IP. If an IP comes with any sort of strings attached - don't buy it and make your own. - Graphics are not really an issue - they can be 2D isometric, 2.5D or 3D as far as I'm concerned. You guys are doing good in every kind of environment. Though I would prefer TPP-esque model, as in, don't try to copy Might & Magic or Wizardry... - Multiple endings and romanceable characters would be nice. - Additional props if you make the game moddable.

I would like to see something that injects fantasy into history, like the PSP game Jeanne d'Arc. Maybe a conqueror like Napoleon or Alexander the Great gets his hands on a magical force or something. If the gameplay is old-school, that's great. However, what I don't want to see is something where there's a conscious effort to make it look and sound old. I'm not asking for great graphics, but on the other hand, don't make it look dated. I don't know if I would call it a trend, but there have been some games in the last few years that deliberately look like a lost NES or SNES game. Examples of this are games like Cave Story, Soul Caster, and Cthulu Saves the World. Even Capcom got into it with Mega Man 9 and 10. I see these games as having imposed annoying limitations on their look and sound for an attempt at playing on nostalgia. The problem for me is, I don't get nostalgic about old graphics; I get nostalgic about old GAMES. I don't expect something on the level of Trine, but I don't think it's too difficult to produce a game that looks modern on a budget. Something like Bastion would be terrific, although even that game sets a high bar with its art.

Seriously people. As much as you or me would like a new game in Planescape setting, it ain't going to happen. Same goes for Arcanum 2. Some of the commenters have already posted reasons why but I will quote one of the latest. Second reason why we won't have another Planescape game is that I think WotC discontinued Planescape a few years back so I don't think they would allow Obsidian to use it's licence anyway. As for people asking for a remake, no. It doesn't need a remake. Original IP as a spiritual successor for Planescape or something like that would be nice (I like the idea of 'Torment in space') but Obsidian should make a game that they want to make.

There's a false dichotomy going on here that's bugging me. It goes like this: "An old, isometric game you could NEVER sell to a publisher because, uh... it's old! So make that, Obsidian!" Except, to the contrary, an isometric, old-school, traditional RPG with low costs and low risks (to the niche being sold to) would have no trouble finding a publisher. I mean, look at the success GoG have had. If a developer approached a group of publishers asking them to sell such a game, they'd probably end up with more than a few offers. I agree with the notion of having something you couldn't sell to a publisher, but a thing that's already been tried and proven isn't the way to go about it. "Wild and risky!" doesn't equal "Make the same game that GoG is selling twenty times over." I mean, the way most people do it is to either keep the traditional mechanics, or the traditional setting, and that's why that sells. Cthulhu Saves the World and Avernum have seen success, so has Kingdom of Amalur. But (barring perhaps the humour of Cthulhu), these games are all quite dull. Quite, quite dull. The way to really create a game that a publisher wouldn't buy would be to go outside of the comfort zone of the lowest common denominator. And that means being experimental and controversial, not only with your setting but with your mechanics. It's intellectually dishonest to claim that a publisher wouldn't buy something that's a sure bet, and really, with the low production costs of an isometric RPG and a studio like Obisdian behind it, that's a sure bet. This is why I challenge them to be abstract with their game, to NOT create the same generic world, to NOT create the same generic RPG, to NOT dwell on the same old mechanics. To make something that's actually new, and to do it their own way.

Wow, well this seems like it would be an opportunity to create an awesomely deep and complex game, complete with a brand new set of mechanics. Setting makes not much difference to me, I play RPGs in many different settings. Isometric is a plus. Something that would be cool... Have a game world where people react realistically to antisocial behaviour, like looting their wardrobes. Don't gear the game around the concept of being able to steal from and murder people, plenty of modern RPGs fulfill these sociopathic urges. Don't have false morality systems (unless you implement deities, who would approve/disapprove of certain actions), but punish crime harshly. Outright murdering someone who asks your party for help should probably cause most of your party to leave, some of them would attack you, and even the coldest killers on your team would be like, "What is the point of that? Trying to get us arrested?" Opt for granularity in skills, and have them interact in surprising ways. So you'd train in a very specific thing like short bows, but that also slightly improves your other bow skills, and marginally improves your "ranged mastery" and up to the trunk of "combat prowess". So you basically are picking which roots of the tree to strengthen, but every time you do, everything that particular root nourishes also gets a bit of a boost (to stretch the analogy). Other main trunks could include streetwise (general sneakiness, getting people to see your way, that sort of thing), survival (outdoors type skills that help you travel/hunt), trade (job-type skills that enable you to function as a member of society, and the sciences, anything learned at a university) and magic (broken up into elements/other types of magic like telekinesis, illusion, etc). Think of it as a system of skill trees, but MUCH more complex. The idea is that the complexity is hidden and you discover it by training your characters. You also wouldn't get to that point where your entire development path is optimized and pre-determined (I loathe the term "build", characters should be individuals darnit). Have surprising interactions like training in fire magic and gaining a degree of proficiency at melee combat grants you some kind of burning strike (maybe makes your blows harder to parry or something). And also have crazy amounts of non-combat skills as well, that also can interact. Let's say you study wind magic and leatherworking, in addition to runesmithing, and that lets you make some windwalking boots. But whatever you do, make all of these paths hidden. Make it surprise a player when he gains new abilities. In this way, you just train organically and sometimes little perks will just pop up and you will have to figure out how to use them. Character stats would be incrementally increased based on skills selected for training. Basically make this really complex system with tons of ramifications, but the only thing the player does is train from a list of skills. Each choice trickles up the complexity chain, and if implemented correctly, there would be no incorrect skill choices. A lot of old D&D tabletop games aspired to this level of complexity in non-combat skills, but it is very rarely implemented correctly. Climbing/swimming could be in, and maybe it would mean you have to split your party as only some of them can gain access to certain areas. On the perks - Don't make them things that the character should be able to do anyway. Like, any bow user could climb a tree and snipe down from cover, but rather make the perks have you better at doing it (less likely to fall out of the tree/increased accuracy for this example).

Another guy who made an account just for this. I donated to Tim Schafer's project for one major reason: because he wanted to make a game like they used to make, a type of game publishers think can't sell. That is the only type of game I would be willing to fund for Obsidian. You offer to make something niche, and old school, you have my support. As I've seen mentioned on other forums, there are lots of "old school" RPGs. Games like Wizardy, Bards Tale, and Might and Magic. Games like Ultima. Games like Daggerfall, Eye of the Beholder, and Ultima Underworld. Games like Fallout, Fallout 2, and Arcanum. Games like Baldur's Gate, Planescape, Ice Wind Dale. What ever "old school" type RPG you want to make is up to you, but please give me a game that the publishers won't. Please don't "streamline". Please don't "evolve" by making a game that is simple, and that holds your hand. If I want a game like that, I can currently get that from most of the RPGs the publishers are willing to put out. I don't want Planescape 2, or anything that would require a license. I know that put's me in a minority, but please don't spend money on that. Just put whatever money you raise into the game. Instead I want something "like" Planescape. A project where you guys just go wild, without worrying about limits. Create whatever world you want, and let your writers put in whatever depth they want, without worrying about alienating the audience. so in conclusion, I'd love to Kickstart an Obsidian RPG, but only if its an RPG experience that used be made, but isn't being made now. I mean no offense, but I don't want a Mass Effect, a Skyrim, a Kingdoms of Amalur, a Dragon age 2, and yes, I don't want an Dungeon Seige 3 or an Alpha Protocol. I can get those games or those kind of games right now. I want an experience that the publishers won't give us right now. Give me a promise to deliver something like that, and I WILL help fund it.

Like many others, I joined the forum as soon as I knew about this thread. I really, really dig the idea of a new 2D isometric CRPG. I'm simply fed up with all the action RPGs around... And with the fantasy setting. Seriously, the fantasy setting is so overused it's not even funny. Thus my opinion is that, unless you're absolutely, positively sure you're going to make some innovative setting, you should avoid fantasy settings like plague. Personally, I'd like to see an actual sci-fi/cyberpunk RPG, but hey, it doesn't really have to be like that. What if we made a RPG with a contemporary setting? One that is about some average joe, living in an average city... That suddenly has to face something crazy? Or something average, if you want to be that groundbreaking. Anyways, there are three factors that, to me, are important for such a game to be good, and those are factors you guys already used in previous games: Fallout 1 had a way to make you feel unsettled and ignorant, which to this day I failed to find in any other game. It's not about game mechanics being hard or something (the game manual, which, by the way, was really neat, explained everything just about right): it's the game itself that is confusing. You are literally thrown out of the vault, with little to no weapons, and you barely have an idea where to go and what to do. You head for shady sands and there it kicks in: you realize that you can do pretty much everything. Which is the second point of my brief list. You should be able to do almost anything. I'm not talking about "anything" as in "lol i can shoot ppl hurp durp". I'm talking about "I can pay this goon to work for me and then pickpocket him to get my money back". Although I couldn't really wrap my mind around it, Wastelands had an interesting take about this. You could use your skills creatively. And there's tons of different skills. Just like in real life... Lateral thinking and lots of stuff you can learn and do. Torment was great because you actually had to... smart your way into the game. You could've finished the game almost without fighting. That means you could get experience by the darndest things, like... Noticing something strange, remembering something some other NPC said, and so on. I would really love to see something like this again. That said, I don't think a PS:T sequel is a good idea; it's ok if you want to use the Planescape setting (although it's fantasy, at least it's not the same old fantasy) or a similar plane/space-dimension based one. Plenty of other users had awesome ideas. I see the general consensus is that the game should be C&C based, and I agree, but, like many others, I want to see some real consequences, as in, something more than "NPC # 354 is mad at you" and "you get a different ending cutscene". For this reason, I feel that the only "game over" should be from your character dying, and not from, let's say, your main-quest being failed. I've always been wondering what would've happened in FO1 if, after surrendering to the Master, you didn't get your game over cutscene... but you got to play as a super mutant instead. Catch my drift? one should be allowed to play his/her heart out. Do things they didn't even come up with. Voice acting is almost completely unnecessary: ditch that and get some real good soundtrack composer(s) instead. Same goes for graphics: everything you can save without adding fancy visual effects, can be spent to make a more "deep" and complex game mechanic. finally, such a complex game will lead to loads and loads (and loads... AND LOADS) of bugs. The game should therefore be easily moddable. there, I'm done. I apologize if you think I sound demanding or just flat out crazy, and I'm sorry for my english. Keep up the good work.

um, I'm not really interested in seeing people's planescape: torment fanfictions in game form. please do your own original thing, obsidian. (not directed at anyone in particular)

An oldschool isometric 2D RPG with deep story and text based dialogue. Lots of it. Make it happen and you have my money.

Great idea, let's focus on the story and setting on abnormal sexuality. Bioware has blazed the trail on this by publishing several high profile RPG/dating sims. Obsidian just needs to take it to the next level and abandon all pretense of story beyond who gets to bang who! /sarcasm Alright, that might have been a little bit harsh. Point being, sex should not be the main focus or even a heavy element in RPG's. Leave that to the dating sims.

It'd be nice to see a good fear system, where enemies flee if your to strong or their to injured, and NPCs hide and shops close when you pass through town, being able to avoid fights using raw physical intimidation.

I want a game that has the literary/thought-provoking ambitions of PS:T, in a world that is at least as interesting as PS:T's - and when I say 'interesting', that could include contemporary times, just something that's fascinating and well thought out. Beyond that, I'm happy to give MCA and crew free-reign. In PS:T, I found the combat boring and often would cheat to raise wisdom, intelligence and charisma to max levels just so i could get the dialogue and choices - so I can't cast a vote behind using those gameplay mechanics again. But the world, characters, story and quality of writing made it one of the greatest games of all time. Do that again, please... And get Mark Morgan to do the soundtrack. Also, if Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky are up for it, involve them as well

A spiritual successor to Torment (although not a direct sequel) would be the way to go, I think.

Hey Chris, Like I wrote on FB, the most pie-in-the-sky hope would be to see a remake of FO1 and FO2, but those would really have to be AAA development cycles. For something like this, an Isometric/turn-based/SRPG approach works best. It sounds like folks are generally in agreement that *the* most important thing is a deep, choices and consequences storyline with lots of great characters and deep relationships. The other trick to elevating that kind of game would be the small things - a headquarters with lots of smaller features and party interactions (like in the Suikoden series), character specific storylines, towns and villages that you can invest in (like the original Wild Arms or your own NWN2), stuff like that. One thing that I loved in KOTOR2 and would love to see executed even more complexly is when the party splits. It's a compelling dynamic to have the focus shift to different characters within an overarching plot line. One game template to consider is Shining Force 3. That game was broken up into three releases, each one featuring a different main characters. However, all three featured in each game, and there was an overall narrative that brought the plot threads together. America only got the first game in that series, so I don't know how well it worked, only that the concept alone is amazing and one you guys could obviously do justice. Oh, and one last thing I would love - an ability to name my characters. Even better...a chance to name characters at the beginning of the game, and enjoy it as they get introduced over the course of the narrative. ) Good luck, and hoping I get a chance to donate to the cause!

Something like Planescape: Torment in spirit : Great writing, unique setting / characters, philosophical matters, strangeness, etc. It would be so great ! And a better combat system coupled with that (turn-based preferably). But all in all, just do something personal, that you like, without compromise.

Think the original Fallout except with better combat (possibly full-control of your henchmen?) and an original setting. Or do what the **** you want, as long as it's not "yet another action-RPG: Retribution". We're served by the AAA market for that.

Make the RPG YOU and your co-workers want I also accept Your Highschool RPG Dr. Who RPG Planescape 2 (Not a sequel. Just a game set in the Planescape Setting) Original IP Darklands 2 Arcanum 2 Just has to be turn-based, wordy, full of C&C. Ya know the drill.

I would pay top dollar for Planscape: Torment "Special Edition" with updated engine and graphics. I love that game!

Created an account just to say that I would really, really like a spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment. So... uh... because of likely licensing issues... a primarily story-driven RPG with tons of choice, old-school world design. Not everything needs to be voice acted, much prefer how it was done in the past with just the main characters only having the first line of what they say being voiced.

I would dearly love to see more of the world of Planescape: Torment. Preferably with mentionings and perhaps even a few cameos of the characters from Torment.

An RPG in the Planescape or Darksun settings please. I loved Planescape Torment and I love the Planescape and Darksun settings. Obsidian are the only ones I'd trust to make a decent game in either setting. Furthermore, there haven't been any good D&D games for years, I think (hope?) there's an untapped fanbase there. I wouldn't invest in another fallout game. The Fallout setting has seen enough love recently, and I think Obsidian would add more to the RPG landscape by doing something different.

First i want to excuse me for my bad english. I hope you all are understanding what im writing. Introducing Power A Open World Action-RPG that is placed in a city like new york. You are playing a normal person (male or female/mid 20) who is discovering his/her new superpowers. Of course you are not the only Human who are discovering these powers, but your Ability should be stronger because you the Hero of the story. Maybe the power to copy powers of others or the power that your hero can create and develope his own powers based on his will. (skilltree) Story What would you do if you get superpowers? I think try to get an explanation on this or find other humans with powers. Gameplay During the story other Peoples with Abilitys should join your party. It should be an action game, but you can pause the game and command your companions. Decisions with consequences. Superheroes are very popular. Thor, captain America, The Avengers and Batman. I always wished a game with an world like in GTA 4 combined with Obsidian/Bioware Gameplay and Superpowers.

Agreed a unique environment, containing unique creatures and races would be brilliant.

I'd like to see a game in the same vein as PS:T. What I mean by that is a game that tackles serious, philosophical issues (insofar as a game can do such a thing). The actual form is not important, although I would like it to be an RPG. Seeing as how Torment barely fitted in RPG conventions, it could just as easily be an adventure. The details of the story are not important but it has to carry real weight and be closer to actual life than to arbitrary mechanics. Just like in Torment, which could be superficially labeled as bizzare or outlandish - but is really a very human story of duty and redemption. Hopefully it would be aesthetically appealing. Things that popped into my mind while writing this suggestion: Tarkovsky's Stalker, Blade Runner, Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, Shadow of the Colossus (for aesthetic reasons). Keep it human and people will be talking about it for years, like they do with PST. Good luck. PS: It should not be PST2. That book is closed in the best way it could be, and there's nothing more worth saying about the Nameless One.

I will donate in every case, but personally I want to play in RPG with Planescape setting. It will be very interesting to take a look at Sigil created with modern technologies. P. S. Excuse me for bad English.

What I'd like to see is just an RPG that really pushes the envelope in terms of story telling. What made Planescape Torment really interesting was the moral ambiguity and diverging ways you could play the game and handle conflicts. All I want is to see you go all out with an interesting story and atmosphere. If it's an isometric RPG too, all the better.

Doesn't have to be DnD, but something like Planescape Torment and the Baldur's Gate series, just no sequels. There's probably better ideas to start from, but I just love those games. Just one thing though, get the voice acting done good, if it's one thing I've always loved and remembered about those two games it's the voice acting. It's just so.. perfect.

Strong, complex, playable female characters are critical. No one dimensional good guys or bad guys - the game must have flawed, interesting and well-intentioned characters in different stripes of grey. No false choices. No options like "give the begger a coin" (good) or "kill her" (bad). The game should be imbued with a strong sense of nuance and complexity. Real-world consequences - taking food from people's houses, robbing bodies - things that would make you look like a **** in the real world should piss people off in the game. Invent a new mechanism for in-game trading that isn't reliant on making your character a glorified scrap-armor and scrap-weapon merchant. A mature RPG made for adults - this is a kickstarter campaign, after all. Don't go with the lowest-common-denominator marketing guff aimed at teenage boys, you need to go with something that wouldn't make its way through the marketing department of a major publishing house... otherwise, why bother? Again, this is a kickstarter campaign - take a risk and push the boundaries. Pitch an idea that's not yet proven to be commercially successful, and therefore that would be hard to sell to a hard-nosed bean counter. Avoid multiplayer gimmics like the plague.

I also prefer 2D btw, not sure if you guys want or would be able to do that, but I personally find the 3D distracting in RPGs, and the graphics are usually unimpressive. Much prefer the Infinity Engine or Bastion look. I'd gladly be proven wrong though.