Savvy30039

And suddenly I see where the mindset against romances is coming from.

--what type of romance plot do you enjoy (tragic, happy ending, marriage/family)? I love antagonistic relationships or rivalries. Fighting, insulting, and trying to one up each other in battles only to eventually admit a grudging respect and even later love makes for a way more interesting character dynamic than getting along and telling each other how great they are. It also could easily be written for both a romantic arc or friendship arc, since actually admitting affection would come fairly late in the game. --are there particular game mechanics that you like to see when romances are included (complex questlines, cutscenes?)? I really liked how in KotOR2 and NWN2 you always had two characters directly opposed to each other in terms of their relationship to the PC. Even if it wasn't romantic interest, like Sand vs. Qara, you could only win over one of them in the end. It was a sobering experience to know not everyone was going to like you no matter what you do. --what romances or relationship plots from other games did you enjoy that can serve as examples? Though I wish it had been actually finished, I really liked Atton in KotOR2. A lot of his romance was him just sticking his neck out for the Exile or musing to other characters about a potential relationship, and he never actually admits to any feelings to the PC directly. It was bittersweet, but not over the top. --What, even, is romance? Mutual interest between characters is enough. Sex isn't necessary in the game, dating and marriage isn't necessary. Just a character that is a little more focused on the PC than the other party members.

Amazing, simply amazing. Didn't they mention something about a surprise Tuesday morning? More reasons for us to throw money at them perhaps?

I'm amazed at how much the donations have picked up in the last few days, and we aren't even on the final day yet! I'm gonna up my pledge again tomorrow as the countdown comes to a close.

Oh, if that is the only thing keeping you from playing this game then you MUST play Planescape. This game is in so many ways better than any Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights game ever could hope to be. The story, the characters, the freaking places you'll get to. I still remember the "brothel of slating intellectual lusts" very fondly. One of the coolest ideas in the whole Forgotten Realms universe. Oh I know, Obsidian gave me some of my fondest video game memories. I did watch a video of the game opening once, and had a rather shallow "That's who the main character is?! EW!" reaction to the Nameless One. Now that I'm older and wiser I won't be so foolish, but I do always get a bit thrown when an RPG doesn't let me fully create the character I'm supposed to be RP'ing.

Make sure you continue the playthrough into Mask of the Betrayer, the game is incomplete without it and it's really good. I, myself have never actually played Planescape. Not being able to play as a female has usually deterred me but I know I'm missing out, so I plan on giving it a try soon.

Oh man, his Resident Evil LPs were great, I might have to check this out. As far as endings go, I am not a real huge fan of unhappy ones in games. Make me really work for it sure, making tough choices and sacrifices along the way, but it's hard to not feel like you wasted 60 hours of game time if you can't at least get a sense of accomplishment out of it. I'm not adverse to unhappy endings altogether. Movies like Seven would be totally ruined if it had a happy ending, and there's a strength to not allowing the viewer any catharsis. But, how do you pull that off in a game without making the player feel cheated? A smattering of quests with no good outcomes here and there is realistic, but all the time? As the ultimate conclusion? No thanks.

I tend to find the term 'grimdark' itself lends more towards the idea of perceived maturity, without really being mature. A preteen's idea of maturity. In terms of seriousness, I prefer a balance. I love me some weighty drama and don't mind a bit of perversion as long as it's not just tossed in as shock value, but I also want some lighthearted moments as well. If you're drowning in darkness the whole time it tends to blunt the effectiveness of it.

I started at $100 on the first day. Moved up to $140 not long after and then $250 after the Wasteland 2 addition, since I missed that kickstarter. If a real donating frenzy happens on the final day I'm tempted to move up to $500, maybe even $1000 if we get close to the 3.5 million stretch goal.

These things have to be done... delicately. Kreia and Bishop are among my favorite characters because they are deceitful and manipulative. It makes them interesting. But it's also deliberately taking control away from the player and railroading them down the path the untrustworthy character wants you to go. If done right it adds a great amount of uneasiness and dread to the plot, but if done wrong (see Anders in DA2) it can make the invisible hand of the game designer too apparent.

I have a feeling that no matter how close to perfect this game comes, the big gaming sites will view it as a backwards curiosity relying on 'dated' game design. *sigh*

Not a fan of this. It violates the all important rule of "show, don't tell." I'd rather a character demonstrate he's a surly mercenary through dialog and stories rather than just be straight up told he's a surly mercenary by a codex description. Hated that about DA2. Naturally the amount of dialog is going to make a big difference as to how in depth the character feels, but when they do run out of things to say, I still want to be able to engage in conversation with them. They feel like zombie NPCs otherwise, and it's not unrealistic to retread over past conversation options, out of forgetfulness or simply due to a favorite topic.

Since musing over whether or not we'll reach 3.5 million would lead to pessimistic results, it's probably better not to dwell on it. I plan on just watching to see where this crazy ride goes without any expectations.

Agreed, Obsidian is not blameless in building their buggy reputation, and the very same publishers manage to release content from other developers with half the issues. But Obsidian has also been screwed over by the system an epic amount, and it speaks volumes that their games are so memorable and engaging despite their technical flaws. Take a look at KotOR 2. As unfinished and broken as it is, I hold it in higher regard than the first, because the content and characters that remained in the game and fully fleshed out were so rich. So ultimately it doesn't matter how much Obsidian delivers on Project Eternity, because the content they do deliver is going to be AWESOME.

Obsidian always bites off more than they can chew, that's why I love them. Their failed attempts are far more interesting than most of the safe stuff in the industry.

And people say gamers nowadays are entitled!

Paladins! Aw, but I've already upped my pledge twice...

You can't really isolate the two entirely without sacrificing what makes a good RPG. A good story is affected by the game world and player's impact in it, otherwise you might as well just be reading a book. But a cool world with no story, and then the player is just running around playing imagination. Setting is a pretty important part of story, even more so in games I think.

The completionist control freak in me would be... dissatisfied. I've enjoyed clockwork game worlds in games like Majora's Mask, where if I miss an important even I can just reset time to catch it the next go around, but if I have to meticulously follow a walkthrough to make sure I catch everything in a game without starting over entirely, I'm not going to have much fun. Part of the impact of big events in games is experiencing it, it wouldn't really be the same if it happened off screen. Obviously you can still harvest a good bit of drama from arriving too late to save the day, but if it isn't totally necessary that the player is there, then is it that important in the first place?

I usually play paladins less for roleplaying but because they fit my gameplay style. Tank + Charisma. I always try to talk my way out of a fight, but if fighting is inevitable then I wanna soak up that damage and keep my party members safe. Since non combat skills are separate from combat skills and there's nothing stopping me from playing a fighter with a silver tongue, I'm fine with the paladin omission.

I love tragedy when it's poetically justified, not so much if it's just "rocks fall, everybody dies." I wouldn't say it's more dramatic though. There's a certain gut punch that sticks with you after a particularly well done tragedy, especially in video games where the tragedy is happening to "you", but it can also feel very cheap since a lot of people play games to win. They want to be the hero and save the day, not necessarily to fail tragically. I find being put through a lot of horrible **** that makes it look like a tragedy but everything turns out alright in the end works a little better for games. Make the player really earn that happy ending and they'll appreciate it that much more.

What I loved about Hardcore Mode in New Vegas was that it actually made the game feel more immersive and had me roleplaying more. Having to find food, store clean water, and constantly watch my rad level made the New Vegas wasteland feel much more brutal and real. I don't know how they would include something like that in Project Eternity, but I hope there can be some of those elements in there as well rather than just making the game a bit harder.

After playing through the painfully underdeveloped romances in NWN2, they hardly seem any better than "gimmicky romances included as an afterthought." I think frustration is a perfectly understandable reaction.

Well, personally, I think by far the most important thing to get down is character development for all party members, with or without romance. I don't think one character should be cheated out of an interesting and fleshed out personality so that the romancable characters can spend more time on the shrink couch. I'd be fine with fewer party members if it meant that more time was spent on their creation. I do enjoy in game romances, although my experience is mostly limited to the Kotor series. I had fun harassing Carth the boy scout, and felt a certain comfort with the fact that if I got tired of his whining, I could always tell him to shut up and never hear from him again. Kotor 2 was less fulfilling mostly because I couldn't tell Desciple to bugger off, and I kept coming accross cutscenes for him when I would have rather seen more of the much more compelling Atton. If I could change their execution, I would give the player more controll. The NPCs always seem to be in charge of gradually initiating the romances; you don't really get the option to go up to a new party member and say "you're hot". Personally, I'd like to decide which party member I like best, then blatantly hit on them until they get the idea. Instead of the whole "let me tell you about my life story so I can fall in love with you" thing. The influence system helps this idea along, because if a character is counter to your alignment, then they feel less compelled to talk to you and perhaps even less attracted to you. I'm sure there are light side characters that have to warm up to you before they initiate anything, but if you're dark side, why not skip the whole falling in love bit and just have some fun? Fallout gave the player so much freedom, and I wish more games nowadays would use that formula. Obvously the nature of love and romance is complex, making it difficult to translate effectively in to a video game. But despite the pitfalls and flaws of romance quests, I ultimately find them to be enjoyable and fun, just as I enjoy talking to any of my interesting party members. (Jolee was always the most fun to talk to, even if he wasn't romancable.) Even if the romance option fails to hold my fascination, it's always interesting to see how they progress from stranger to devotee. As long as I have the option to say "thanks but no thanks" (as I did to Casavir because I found Bishop more interesting) then why not have them in a game?