Hombre Gato

Three long creases, two small creases, and a bunch of random scratching. Came packed tightly in a bag (yes, bag) with hardly any air in the bubble lining on the inside. The tee shirt (received earlier) was similarly packed very tightly and I can imagine if someone resorted to using scissors, they would cut right through the shirts. I feel really bummed out about this. I'm a passionate fan and resisted playing Pillars when it released because I wanted that great nostalgic moment of delicately opening a mint condition big box, paging through the manual, installing from a disc, and watching the percentage bar fill to epic music. Now I just feel let down. The Collector's Edition got sturdier shipping material? I'm sorry I don't have more money, but that doesn't make me treasure it less. Pillars of Eternity is an important moment in the history of game development, but the condition of this box does not at all reflect that at all. Obsidian, I love you. But your partnership with Paradox for distribution makes me sad.

The most important thing for me is that I don't have to stream it live. One: because I'm a busy student that wants to watch an entire Arcanum playthrough in small pieces, and Two: because my internet connection is horrible. Even youtube doesn't work for me now because it forces you to play the videos as they are loading (or it simply stops loading), regardless of your ability to download that fast. I still chose Youtube because I can use keepvid to store the game sessions and watch them later.

Not a sequel. Naturally, there are many single player RPGs we'd love to see continued but, even without the concern of licensing fees, there's more value in showing that not only are deep, single-player rpgs worth publishing but you don't have to rely on an established brand (even a lesser known brand like Fallout was to the xbox generation). A couple of things we've been told also come to mind. One, that Obsidian's Onyx Engine has been designed for role-playing games specifically, and two, that Dungeon Siege III didn't include an editor as the earlier Sieges did, because that would have been as consuming as the game itself. The important thing was assuring the quality of the core product. So with that, I would suggest that Obsidian uses Onyx for whatever you're already planning for it, but allow us to use Kickstarter to motivate you to put together a package of tools, tutorials, and advice for us. A big part of the Double-Fine success seems to be the language they used. Essentially, "Here's you're all-access pass, welcome to the team." This would be similar. We would help you give us the means to develop alongside you, in the spirit of less-than-modernly-marketable RPGs. I can picture that Kickstarter spawning numerous other Kickstarters to realize all of those Fallout/Planescape/Arcanum fantasies that modders are already trying to force into editors that are far from ideal for those properties, or putting together in games that are already showing their age.

That replacement is reflected on the current schedule, which is considerably different than the old one so make sure you readjust your plans. That huge chunk of Jim Rivers stuff is happening Friday now.

As soon as I viewed the Ballad of Gay Tony trailer I knew DLC was allowing for more... freedom of expression. From reading this, it sounds like the format of downloadable content provides some opportunity for risk taking not only in areas of content but also design. I was gonna wait for a GOTY package, but now this kind of feels like the weeks leading up to Alpha Protocol, where I can't take anything for granted. Too exciting to put off until I "have time."

Any staff members wanna chime in with anything we don't know about? Last year they only printed Chris Avellone's name for half his panels, so I'm wondering if Obsidian will have even more of a showing, not that it isn't already fantastic. I've been sitting on the GDC Vault site for a year now waiting for them to offer paid subs so I can watch Gonzalez and Rivers speak. Thanks for coming to Boston!

"Honestly on the verge of dying developer like Obsidian." You really think so? Alpha Protocol generated bad press, (too bad because I enjoyed it a lot) but "dying"? I don't have market research but I'm under the impression that if Fallout: New Vegas lives up to it's name, and with the Onyx engine dazzling those who viewed it at E3 (hopefully one day there *will* be a toolset), Obsidian will be contracted more until they can take another creative risk like they did with AP. I mean, even if they start to feel the heat, they could always do what Double-Fine is doing now, and branch out with smaller games that have less obstruction from publishers, ect. If that were to happen during a true-CRPG-revival trend (not holding my breath) it could knock some of those AAA companies off their barely deserved pedestals.

I've got my eye on this thread. ...even though an announcement about mod support is probably so far away that an entirely new one will be started when the time comes. I think it's safe to assume they'll include it, though. Obsidian has made a lot of comments lately about how important it is for players to be able to enhance their games.

Other than Boston based companies like Harmonix and Irrational(2K Boston), it looks like Obsidian is the main event developer-wise. My favorite company at my city's first legit game convention? I'm either really lucky or Chris Avellone wanted me to stop begging.

Chris gives some good advice in the blog post about KOTOR2. Only scratches the surface but worth the reminder even if yer already keen to it.

Along with the trailer music for The Last Guardian, it's funny how games are giving Miller's Crossing its due. This was a great read. I always appreciate the "our philosophy on gaming" articles and interviews but understanding the process is every bit as exciting to me, and "giving credit where it's due" paints a clearer picture of what different people bring to a project. Too often I see the end credits for a game and with all those names scrolling up for many minutes, I still find myself walking away from it pretending that company figureheads like Chris Avellone and Josh Sawyer did everything by themselves.

I spent three full days following forum instructions on how to fix this problem ...and none of it worked Take my advice: Give up! Yes you will find people with Intel Chipsets who can run the game but those people are not you. For you, there is no hope. If you can't wait until you get a new computer, buy an Xbox Even if you hate Xbox, you love Obsidian and Star Wars more, right? Lastly, never never never again in your life buy an integrated graphics card, even if you think you won't be playing games on it. I have an intel x3100, which I believe is the 965 family of chipsets... on windows XP And there's no game I'd rather play today than Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords