The gaming industry and good companies.

[Terhial]

Ah, once again I make my first post on a board long winded. Ah well, it's who I am.

 

As a poor gamer, I just bought Kotor 2 and blew through the game compelled by the awesome story. On my second time through, I tried to get properly finish all the quests and stumbled across this board in a search for a mission I couldn't figure out how to complete.

 

After much forum reading (although probably not a lot considering the volume of discussion on some of these threads), reviewing the company info page, looking up the founders, I can't figure out what to expect.

 

I am of the opinion that Kotor2 looks like it was rushed at some point in it's production, but there was a lot about the game that gripped me. Again, I really enjoyed the story and found it very compelling. If that element keeps up, I will be buying Obsidian games for the stories.

 

The problem is I get bad feeling about the people who are adding that great element won't be able to do their work proper justice if the trend keeps up. Even if they do, I worry they still could fall prey to the strange forces that shut down good companies. I've watched mystified as a few companies who's games I've really enjoyed just up and vanished. Digital Anvil (Starlancer, Freelancer) seemed to pop out of exsitence and my few attempts to figure out what happened yielded no information. Troika (Vampire: Bloodlines, Arcanum, and ToEE) did the same, with news about their closure making some headlines, but nothing specific that I could find.

 

After getting that typed out, I realize that I'm getting jaded that a really great new company will stay around long. With the companies I've listed, I have found no information as to what went wrong.

 

So to sum up, I have high hopes for Obsidian and their product line based on what I've seen and who they have already and was hoping to hear from the people involved here as to how well they think Obsidian will be able to do.

[mkreku]

I don't think Obsidian will have any problems staying afloat for the first couple of years at least. I'd imagine that KotOR2 sold pretty well and that Obsidian managed to get a good deal of funding from LucasArts. Then they have Neverwinter Nights 2 on the horizon. No matter what the outcome of that game is, it's going to sell like hotcakes. The license is so strong that fans will buy it in hordes before reading a single review. After that.. Well, I guess that depends on what Obsidian (Feargus?) wants to do. They could risk it by releasing their own IP every now and then, or continue to make high profile games for other companies for a very long time. For some reason, I don't think the safe route is what Feargus would choose. I honestly expect to see Obsidian bloom out completely once they release their first independently created title. Who knows, it might even become the next mythic Planescape: Torment rival! They have the talent and experience..

[Craigboy2]

I think Obsidian will do fine. Even though today if you walk up to a gamer my age and ask them about Fallout or Planescape: Torment than they'll look at you funny. But anyway the majority of gamers are over 20 and they have more money than kids. So what I'm saying is that Obsidian devs have enough fame already from back when they worked at Interplay so people will be willing to buy their games even if they don't know too much about it.

Edited September 25, 2005 by Craigboy2

[GhostofAnakin]

I thought TSL was a solid first title to have under their belt. I think they can improve upon the weaknesses with TSL with NWN2, and learn from any mistakes they made. So if they can do that successfully, I have high hopes for seeing many RPGs in the future made by Obsidian.

[Moose]

LucasArts really went down the pan.

Edited October 13, 2005 by Moose

[metadigital]

Ah, once again I make my first post on a board long winded.  Ah well, it's who I am.

 

As a poor gamer, I just bought Kotor 2 and blew through the game compelled by the awesome story.  On my second time through, I tried to get properly finish all the quests and stumbled across this board in a search for a mission I couldn't figure out how to complete.

 

After much forum reading (although probably not a lot considering the volume of discussion on some of these threads), reviewing the company info page, looking up the founders, I can't figure out what to expect.

 

I am of the opinion that Kotor2 looks like it was rushed at some point in it's production, but there was a lot about the game that gripped me.  Again, I really enjoyed the story and found it very compelling. If that element keeps up, I will be buying Obsidian games for the stories.

 

The problem is I get bad feeling about the people who are adding that great element won't be able to do their work proper justice if the trend keeps up. Even if they do, I worry they still could fall prey to the strange forces that shut down good companies.  I've watched mystified as a few companies who's games I've really enjoyed just up and vanished.  Digital Anvil (Starlancer, Freelancer) seemed to pop out of exsitence and my few attempts to figure out what happened yielded no information.  Troika (Vampire: Bloodlines, Arcanum, and ToEE) did the same, with news about their closure making some headlines, but nothing specific that I could find.

 

After getting that typed out, I realize that I'm getting jaded that a really great new company will stay around long.  With the companies I've listed, I have found no information as to what went wrong.

 

So to sum up, I have high hopes for Obsidian and their product line based on what I've seen and who they have already and was hoping to hear from the people involved here as to how well they think Obsidian will be able to do.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

read this

[Moose]

Things sure have changed a lot.

 

I remember the days you used to just go out and buy a magazine, copy the code listing in it and you were all set to play.

 

There were no million dollar cheques - people wrote and made games for the sake of making games.

 

Unfortunately the real world caught up with us and something that was a hobby turned into a full blown commercial industry, which set up the negative feedback loop downward spiral of decay that we're bottoming out on now, slowly reaching a world full of identical factory churned crap.

 

And with all these million dollar cheques and huge fanbases, you have all these wannabe developers that are in it for the glory which is completely flawed.

 

I mean, I quite like the piano. I would love to be able to sit down and play it like a master, and get a loud applause afterwards.

 

Thing is, though I might like the idea of being a piano master that isn't enough. You've actually got to like the piano for what it is and enjoy playing for the sake of playing - and have at least some talent.

 

Same with maths. Same with science. Same with film making. Same with fashion designing. Same with politics. Same with anything.

 

And so now with the industry clogged as it is with these charlatans, welcome to a world of mediocre gaming.

 

I would ask any wannabe developers out there - ask yourself, if there were no huge fanbases; if there were no huge cheques; if nothing you did mattered; if the industry didn't exist, would you still want to develop?

 

If yes then good God why aren't you, and if you are, why not stick with it as a hobby? Total freedom vs an industry that restrains all your creativity? I know which I'd pick.

 

Of course hobbys don't put food on the table, but believe me cos I fully remember, that didn't stop us.

Edited October 13, 2005 by Moose

[Guest Fishboot]

I hope that Obsidian establishes multiple successful franchises so that they can sell the business to EA for mindblowing buckets of cash before market forces inevitably and unfairly annihilate this tiny company.

[CoM_Solaufein]

I hate EA.  They haven't produced a decent CRPG over a decade.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I thought their specialty waw sports?

[Moose]

Bullfrog, awesomeness

 

They ate Maxis as well

Edited October 17, 2005 by Moose

[Delta Truth]

It is now. Sports and Sims, and crap like that is what they spew forth now but back in the day they published great CRPGs.

 

Didn't EA just sign a deal with steven spielberg to develop new games!! Perhaps it could help them get back to the old days ????? Time will tell

[mkreku]

I thought Minority Report was kind of.. neat

 

 

"Sm

Edited October 27, 2005 by mkreku

[Darth_Schmarth]

Peter Stormare. The only guy on the planet who could make John Lennon sound like a Russian cosmonaut...

[Krookie]

[Lucius]

Peter Stormare. The only guy on the planet who could make John Lennon sound like a Russian cosmonaut...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He also happens to be the only Swedish actor I think is really cool. :cool: