Something new

[cb.spike]

Leak of meeting with SCEA

 

Alpha Protocol

Michael Foster, product evaluator, said AP felt barely RPG. Initial level too challenging for players.

[Humodour]

[Humodour]

Vanquish and Aliens: CM

Opportunity for PS3/PSP interoperability (see Eidos Batman, Army of Two, Assassin’s Creed for good examples).

If we offer that SCEA would be really interested in having us at their booth next E3.

 

Wait, what?

 

What is Vanquish? Is it a separate Sega project? Is it related to Aliens? Is Aliens dead? August 2009 is 6 months after it was cancelled!

 

Edit: Nevermind, that's the Gearbox game. Aliens is dead.

Edited September 22, 2009 by Krezack

[PastramiX]

Would Michael Foster be a BioWare spy? I heard that they're everywhere these days, always attempting to sequester good ideas from rival companies, even if that resorts to corporate espionage...

[Cloaker]

Would Michael Foster be a BioWare spy? I heard that they're everywhere these days, always attempting to sequester good ideas from rival companies, even if that resorts to corporate espionage...

 

I really hope you're joking or on crack or something.

 

Anyway this is not good news.

[Dagon]

Leak of meeting with SCEA

 

Alpha Protocol

Michael Foster, product evaluator, said AP felt barely RPG. Initial level too challenging for players.

[Baeus]

"Felt barely RPG"

 

What on earth is that supposed to mean? Maybe I'm too much of a fanboy, judging it just from trailers, but so far it looks more like an RPG than anything out this year so far.

[Pidesco]

Anyway this is not good news.

 

 

It's not bad news either. It's just news and fairly meaningless at that. We don't know who Michael Foster is, or what he meant by it.

 

Maybe he means that AP has good combat as opposed to about every other action RPG out there.

[Masterfade]

Leak of meeting with SCEA

 

Alpha Protocol

Michael Foster, product evaluator, said AP felt barely RPG. Initial level too challenging for players.

[Oner]

I think RPG still has a major cultural divide between "insiders" and "outsiders" that is unique to the genre. People who are not hardcore RPG enthusiast may consider complex stats and inventory systems as defining characteristics of the genre. They may also throw in fully customizable characters and 'walking around talking to random people' as part of 'RPGness'. If someone judges AP from those criteria, they will feel AP is "barely RPG".

The inventory may not be complex, and (most of) the people aren't random, but it still looks pretty RPG-ish to me. And the guy said it was too hard for some reason, though I have no idea what he meant. Maybe the manual aiming is "too TPS" for poor ol' Foster? We'll never know...

Or maybe we will.

 

All in all, SEGA as a publisher is new to the (Western) RPG business, and AP is Obsidian's first original IP with a brand-new in-house engine. I can't help but feel this is not the best pairing possible. From the meeting transcript, it's plain that SEGA doesn't have much confidence in AP.

Last I heard, AP runs on Unreal Engine 3, and maybe as Obsidian their IP is new, but they did make original games as Black Isle (and all the other companies they recruited from).

[Masterfade]

Last I heard, AP runs on Unreal Engine 3, and maybe as Obsidian their IP is new, but they did make original games as Black Isle (and all the other companies they recruited from).

 

My mistake then, kind of assumed AP is Onyx-based. But rest of what I said still stand. AP is the first original IP created by Obsidian (as a company), and I feel SEGA just don't have the willingness, focus and experience to help them through it.

[Oner]

AP is the first original IP created by Obsidian (as a company), and I feel SEGA just don't have the willingness, focus and experience to help them through it.

We agree on that.

[cb.spike]

My mistake then, ALIENS RPG was Onyx-based. But rest of what I said still stand. ALIENS RPG was the first original IP created by Obsidian (as a company), and I feel SEGA just din't have the willingness, focus and experience to help them through it.

 

Fixed.

[Morgoth]

Obsidian really needs to hook up with EA, they know how to market a game properly. AP just deserves more publicity.

[PastramiX]

I really hope you're joking or on crack or something.

I regularly shoot up hyperbole, always with a few cc's of sarcasm; it keeps the burgeoning stress at bay.

 

As far as what an RPG might be defined, I'd go out on a limb and say that AP seems to break out of the generic confines of what an RPG of today might be considered. The dialogue system seems to support that theory, as well as the morality system (or lack thereof), and of course, the setting. If the reviewer in question was specifying stats and mechanics, well, ME wasn't too heavy on those, either, and AP doesn't seem to be either. Not to imply that there is anything wrong with that per se, but AP also seems to not put a massive amount of importance on skills and stats and their relation to gameplay, so I can see where one might regard that as not RPG-y enough.

 

Foremost, I couldn't block out the disconcerting feeling that the reviewer was implying that ME was a outstanding bastion of role-playing, and if correct, I feel that that is yet another indicator of how barren the industry seems to be at the moment...

[Oner]

Topic title reminds me, when will we be getting some juicy new trailers?

(I actually wrote begging instead of be getting at first /facepalm)

[Purkake]

Oh well, it was always a wildcard.

 

I guess it's curtains for AP.

[ironcreed]

Well, it was obvious that something was going on and that is why some of us were getting concerned. At least we have some sense now of what that 'something' is and can conlude what many of us already have come to suspect. That we will not be seeing Alpha Protocol in October....or probably not even this year.

 

As for myself, I'll still be following the game and plan to get it whenever it does release. However, as of now I am going to go cancel my preorder and put it on something else. No sense in waiting when I can put my money on another game that I know is releasing.

 

By the way, anyone else get the feeling that what Sega really meant is that the game is not casual enough for a broad market appeal? Hopefully they don't ruin what could have been in the process of trying to appease Sega. Oh well, to be continued, I suppose.

[Oner]

By the way, anyone else get the feeling that what Sega really meant is that the game is not casual enough for a broad market appeal? Hopefully they don't ruin what could have been in the process of trying to appease Sega. Oh well, to be continued, I suppose.

I suspect the same.

[Cl_Flushentityhero]

Well, it was obvious that something was going on and that is why some of us were getting concerned. At least we have some sense now of what that 'something' is and can conlude what many of us already have come to suspect. That we will not be seeing Alpha Protocol in October....or probably not even this year.

 

I think it's still a little early to report sighting the four horsemen. That was a couple months ago, and I believe Sega put up the supposed Oct 6 date on their website *after* that meeting. Personally, I'm still holding out for an Oct 27th release until we either hear something or the date arrives.

[ironcreed]

Well, it was obvious that something was going on and that is why some of us were getting concerned. At least we have some sense now of what that 'something' is and can conlude what many of us already have come to suspect. That we will not be seeing Alpha Protocol in October....or probably not even this year.

 

I think it's still a little early to report sighting the four horsemen. That was a couple months ago, and I believe Sega put up the supposed Oct 6 date on their website *after* that meeting. Personally, I'm still holding out for an Oct 27th release until we either hear something or the date arrives.

 

I do hope you are right, but with no official announcement of a hard date a week out from October, I'm not so sure. Not to mention that Sega is not even showing the game at TGS. All I am doing is taking what info we have and all signs point to delay in my opinion. If it still releases in October, I'll be buying it. As of now, though, I would rather take my money and put it on something that is confirmed. Just playing it safe (and smart) is all and that never hurt anyone, last time I checked.

[Enoch]

Nothing to see here. One Sega product evaluator had some notes on the game 6 weeks ago, summarized in a statement that could mean any number of things. The "initial level is too hard" bit is more specific and substantive, but difficulty balancing is one of the last (and hardest) things to finalize in a game. Comments on that (one way or the other) are to be expected.

[lasthearth]

My fear is that Sega won't allow them to release this game until Sega is happy with it, and the last couple month has been the tweaking for Sega approval process. And it's anybody's guess when they will reach the point Sega is happy, hence no hard committed release date.

 

What I hope doesn't happen is once again we get an Obsidian game where we talk about a game that "could have been". Instead of "if only Lucasarts gave them more time", it will be "if only Sega left them alone".

[Amentep]

Nothing to see here. One Sega product evaluator had some notes on the game 6 weeks ago, summarized in a statement that could mean any number of things. The "initial level is too hard" bit is more specific and substantive, but difficulty balancing is one of the last (and hardest) things to finalize in a game. Comments on that (one way or the other) are to be expected.

 

I'm pretty sure that Michael Foster is a product evaluator for Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA), not Sega. John Merlino in the AP paragraph would be Sega's person (Development Services Director at Sega of America I believe).

[ironcreed]

Well, if it does release in October, it is looking like one of those quiet, get it out the door without saying a word releases that usually do not bode very well. Regardless, I think the fact that Sega is not even bothering to show the game at Tokyo Game Show starting on September 24th is a big enough red flag all by itself. However, like the rest of you, I am hoping for the best.