(4) What do the words mean?

[Tale]

Like maybe they are calling it Eternity because its going to use a re-worked (or successor) version of the Infinity Engine...

Definitely not. They have Onyx.

 

Infinity Engine belongs to Bioware/EA.

[Tigranes]

Watcher is a pretty damn common word, you could tie it to just about any setting.

 

Engine will be Onyx, and Onyx is a very good engine, so no problem with that. It could do an IE-esque game just fine I think, if that's what they were going for.

[Killrazor]

Time is not your enemy, forever is....?

[Eccehobo]

Watchers are fairly prominent figures in the Wheel of Time series. It may end up not being the case, but the world serpent, combined with the use of the term "Watcher," combined with us having knowledge that Obsidian is working, at least in part, on Wheel of Time RPGs, means if I were a betting man, I would go with the reveal being a WoT game.

 

No, Watchers are not fairly prominent figures in WoT. The Amyrlin Seat has the title of Watcher of the Seals (an honorific since the Aes Sedai haven't had the seals for nearly 1000 years), the Watchers over the Waves got about three mentions before the Seanchan killed them for "watching for the wrong thing and forgetting what should have been remembered" and Moridin/Ishmael was referred to as the Watcher for about three or four chapters before being outed as Moridin. That's it, the only "Watchers" in WoT.

 

Except, of course, for Tel'aran'rhiod, which has plenty of (lower case w) watchers. And if only one of the the "Watchers" you mentioned had something "weighty" hanging around their neck, like a shawl, perhaps...? And then of course the similarity of 2 to the opening stanza of every WOT book, discussing the constant, unstoppable turning of the wheel/world.

 

Don't have any idea if it's WOT or not, but I don't think it can be dismissed as easily as some are trying to.

 

What the watchers in Tel'aran'rhiod are were never really discussed in the books, general fan consensus was that it was either the Forsaken (minor theory) or the Heroes of the Horn who did keep an eye on things but were not allowed to take part. The scene with Egwene, Birgette and Gaidal Cain in a blurred/muted form comes to mind. And Watcher of the Seals is a title that means nothing, it's an empty honor on one person at a time. As for the opening paragraph of every book, the theme isn't anything remotely like the clues we've been given.

 

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning."

 

The tone, the prose is nothing alike. One final point, on the Godhammer crater. God is never, ever mentioned in WoT. He's the Creator.

[mtp403]

Engine will be Onyx...

 

Can you provide a source?

[mtp403]

Like maybe they are calling it Eternity because its going to use a re-worked (or successor) version of the Infinity Engine...

Definitely not. They have Onyx.

 

Infinity Engine belongs to Bioware/EA.

I didn't mean to suggest it would in fact be developed on Infinity, just that they make tweak or alter their current engine (Onyx) to be more "Infinity-esque." The dynamic third-person worked well for DSIII but I feel they'd want to provide at least something more approximating the top-down isometric of the Infinity Engine if they were going for something BG-related...of course, assuming, that's even what they are doing.

[Tigranes]

Engine will be Onyx...

 

Can you provide a source?

 

Obsidian invested a huge amount of resources with the precise aim of developing a multi-purpose engine that they can use for the foreseeable future; it is versatile enough to support DS3, Aliens RPG (cancelled), 2D South Park, etc. It's common sense; there is no way they would use anything else unless it was a licensed sequel/spinoff a la New Vegas, but given that Obsidian is doing the pre-announcement hype that is highly unlikely.

 

For the same reasons, it was obvious from early on that this would in no way be DS4 or Fallout.

[ThinkerT]

What the watchers in Tel'aran'rhiod are were never really discussed in the books, general fan consensus was that it was either the Forsaken (minor theory) or the Heroes of the Horn who did keep an eye on things but were not allowed to take part. The scene with Egwene, Birgette and Gaidal Cain in a blurred/muted form comes to mind. And Watcher of the Seals is a title that means nothing, it's an empty honor on one person at a time. As for the opening paragraph of every book, the theme isn't anything remotely like the clues we've been given.

 

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning."

 

The tone, the prose is nothing alike. One final point, on the Godhammer crater. God is never, ever mentioned in WoT. He's the Creator.

 

Sorry, you're just obviously incorrect about theme. Tone and prose I agree aren't alike, but that was never my point - theme was, and it's obviously thematically similar. You really can't see anything similar between "The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again." and "Your kind must learn it comes from straining against the turning of the world. It spins thus. You cannot stop it."?

 

Also, virtually everyone in Tel'aran'rhiod was a "watcher" of some sort - the main use by the Aes Sedai through most of the series is spying on (or watching) the material world.

 

The God/Creator thing is simply semantics.

 

You're trying to interpret things very literally, which may be correct, we'll see. But if you allow that they might be using artistic license to insinuate but yet camoflage things, the connections are there.

Edited September 14, 2012 by ThinkerT

[Eccehobo]

What the watchers in Tel'aran'rhiod are were never really discussed in the books, general fan consensus was that it was either the Forsaken (minor theory) or the Heroes of the Horn who did keep an eye on things but were not allowed to take part. The scene with Egwene, Birgette and Gaidal Cain in a blurred/muted form comes to mind. And Watcher of the Seals is a title that means nothing, it's an empty honor on one person at a time. As for the opening paragraph of every book, the theme isn't anything remotely like the clues we've been given.

 

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning."

 

The tone, the prose is nothing alike. One final point, on the Godhammer crater. God is never, ever mentioned in WoT. He's the Creator.

 

Sorry, you're just obviously incorrect about theme. Tone and prose I agree aren't alike, but that was never my point - theme was, and it's obviously thematically similar. You really can't see anything similar between "The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again." and "Your kind must learn it comes from straining against the turning of the world. It spins thus. You cannot stop it."?

 

Also, virtually everyone in Tel'aran'rhiod was a "watcher" of some sort - the main use by the Aes Sedai through most of the series is spying on (or watching) the material world.

 

The God/Creator thing is simply semantics.

 

You're trying to interpret things very literally, which may be correct, we'll see. But if you allow that they might be using artistic license to insinuate but yet camoflage things, the connections are there.

 

Firstly, the Aes Sedai didn't get access to Tel'aran'rhiod until much later in the series. The Forsaken, the Aiel Wise Ones, Egwene and Perrin are the only characters that have had free reign in the world of dreams.

 

Secondly, if you are doing a quality interpretation of someone else's work, whether it be in a movie, video game or even fan fiction, prose and tone are extremely important. Otherwise it's a bastardized version and I can't see Obsidian doing that, neither can I see Jordan's wife, Harriet (who has complete control of his estate and creation) letting it happen. Before you try and argue that she might not understand the world, keep in mind that she was his editor as well, and read every word that he wrote, multiple times. It might share a slightly similar theme, but that in itself means nothing. Hell, based on theme this could be a video game about Hindu reincarnation. That's where the tone and prose comes in.

 

The God/Creator thing isn't merely semantics either. It's part of staying true to the source material. Think of it as a Conan movie where Conan worships Morc instead of Crom, or a vampire movie where the bastards sparkle in the sun instead of bursting into flames.

 

I'm not so much trying to interpret in literally, but coming from a long, long time fan of WoT and knowing the books better than I know most of my family members. I started reading the books when I was 14 years old, and I'm now 33. I've done a complete series re-read for every book that has come out. And as much criticism that the books deserve for the amount of filler material, you can't say Jordan didn't create a very complex world that adheres to it's own rules.

[mtp403]

Engine will be Onyx...

 

Can you provide a source?

 

Obsidian invested a huge amount of resources with the precise aim of developing a multi-purpose engine that they can use for the foreseeable future; it is versatile enough to support DS3, Aliens RPG (cancelled), 2D South Park, etc. It's common sense; there is no way they would use anything else unless it was a licensed sequel/spinoff a la New Vegas, but given that Obsidian is doing the pre-announcement hype that is highly unlikely.

 

For the same reasons, it was obvious from early on that this would in no way be DS4 or Fallout.

That's fine and good, but that means its your opinion (perhaps a decidedly sound one, from your viewpoint). I believe it would reduce misunderstandings in the future if you presented them as such, and not as facts. Thanks for your consideration and I look forward to the improvement in your intellectual credibility.

[Gorgon]

I don't see it, but I never read the books so what do I know. I hope it's Torment(ish), was there ever any official word on that kickstarter idea. Nameless goes through incarnations like potato crisps. It sortof fits.

[Audiocide]

That's fine and good, but that means its your opinion (perhaps a decidedly sound one, from your viewpoint). I believe it would reduce misunderstandings in the future if you presented them as such, and not as facts. Thanks for your consideration and I look forward to the improvement in your intellectual credibility.

 

OT:

 

I am so tired of this "don't you say they're facts!" thing that's been circulating forever on the internet.

 

Everything you say is your opinion. This does not need to be stated.

 

(opinion) I don't think this is an Elder Scrolls game

(opinion) This is definitely not a Fallout game

(fact) 2+2=4

(opinion) This might as well be a Dragon Age game

 

I am not necessarily agreeing with what Tigranes has said, but he hasn't been deliberately misleading. How would this create a misunderstanding? Only a very naive person would never question anything he hears.

Edited September 14, 2012 by Audiocide

[Tale]

I don't see it, but I never read the books so what do I know. I hope it's Torment(ish), was there ever any official word on that kickstarter idea. Nameless goes through incarnations like potato crisps. It sortof fits.

The last word on Torment is that Avellone thought they could do a lot better than that, by using the studio's ideas instead of just focusing on him.

[Zoraptor]

That's fine and good, but that means its your opinion (perhaps a decidedly sound one, from your viewpoint). I believe it would reduce misunderstandings in the future if you presented them as such, and not as facts. Thanks for your consideration and I look forward to the improvement in your intellectual credibility.

Technically, a whole host of things are only very likely- it's just extraordinarily tiresome to specify that every time much as it's extraordinarily tiresome to presage everything with imo. IMO this game will be released on PC and be an RPG, but I guess it could be a flight simulator for Commodore 64 instead.

 

As it happens there is a (marginally) possible alternative in that Obsidian has (theoretically at least, and if other information is correct) an unused UE licence from a cancelled project. But Onyx is still the vastly most likely possibility though for all the reasons Tigranes listed.

[Tigranes]

I wish it was so easy to increase my intellectual credibility. It would probably help my career quite a bit.

 

'Tis as Zoraptor says, and there's a lot of interviews where Obsidian state their plans to use Onyx in upcoming titles. But sure, it's not a 100% thing.

[beetfunchic]

A hour and some more to go... It's F5 time. Or cmd+r if you are browsing from a mac.