Which game hook brought you to Project Eternity and interests you the most?

[Farudan]

I don't feel represented by the poll. None of them at all. Although I know all of them, I don't think there is one specific title that is particulary representative for PE. For a game setting and game world are so important for reception. PE can't use any of them, so it will be a totally new experience, no matter what game is called a model for this one. It's more of design attitude that I love about OEI games, the way the story builds up around the character and the role of the character within the game.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Farudan

[LadyCrimson]

Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale for the older games. KOTOR2/FNV for newer.

 

But for me it was largely the fact it was Obsidian. I'm an extremely loyal fan of the people behind Obsidian and as long as it's a game concept that I'm remotely interested in (South Park's not it, heh) I will toss money at them at any opportunity to support them because I want them to keep on doing what they do. Their writing and characters have created pretty much the only RPG's where I end up actually caring/paying attention to what goes on in the story/quests instead of just obsessing over, say, alchemy, stats, loot gathering and being able to kill everything with a wave of my pinky finger.

 

edit: I have been terrible with typos and missing or repeated words lately...

Edited September 19, 2012 by LadyCrimson

[Romiras]

Actually it was not the game for me.

 

In my case even if I saw just a youtube video filmed from iPhone, where Tim Cain OR Chris Avellone said something like "Hey guys, I plan to take part in RPG creation. Can't give you the details right now but I need $10.000.000" I still would be there with my credit card

[Mamoulian War]

DO NOT WANT:

-elements with bad tone or feel [the Romans in New Vegas, the cat-people and lizard people in Elder Scrolls, etc.]

 

This is very subjective... I for example always play in TES cats or lizards. Playing elves and humans is stuff of past millennium...

[Pangur]

Fallout, BG, Torment. And then KOTOR2 and NWN2+MOTB showed me that these people were still capable of making great games.

Been a fan of Obsidian ever since.

[JSWeeyu]

_{Planescape: Torment, Baldur's Gate 2 and Fallout 2 were what sold it for me, but I have to clarify that Planescape: Torment wins hand over fist of those three.}

Edited September 19, 2012 by JSWeeyu

[JediMB]

I voted "multiple", but to be fair it's not like I was thinking about any specific games.

 

It's just the overall image of Obsidian Entertainment that I have developed from playing the Fallout games (incl. New Vegas), KotOR 2 and a little bit of Planescape: Torment. I know they do interesting stories, fantastic characters and comparatively deep RPG mechanics.

[Ieo]

I don't feel represented by the poll. None of them at all. Although I know all of them, I don't think there is one specific title that is particulary representative for PE. For a game setting and game world are so important for reception. PE can't use any of them, so it will be a totally new experience, no matter what game is called a model for this one. It's more of design attitude that I love about OEI games, the way the story builds up around the character and the role of the character within the game.

 

The question wasn't "which game should represent PE" but "what is YOUR favorite that captured your attention when PE was announced." The difference is subtle, underlined below:

 

Why doesn't the poll support multiple options? KOTOR 2 has got no love in the current results, but I would've picked it if there was an option to pick multiple games. (I mean literally, an option to pick multiple games, not the option "Multiple games")

Sorry, I considered making it like that (and it's a little late to change it, I think), but typically people will have a real favorite and thus carry associated bias in terms of expectations and hopes for game development--an underlying and unspoken psychology is also that it's possible Obsidian won't be able to deliver the perfect trifecta of mechanics/breadth/depth, so taking into account one's bias, in what direction would you prefer the game to lean? Some people have said that they liked ALL OF THEM, but that wasn't really answering the question and is more saying they love Obsidian, which is fine. The other/multi thing is taking into account that some people will also have a tie as to their absolute favorite in relation to supporting PE. And it's not like this is a pure numerical poll; discussion is of course encouraged.

 

There are Obsidian fanboys/fangirls, undoubtedly, but I find it very hard to believe that someone will love all the listed games and others equally (I'm not a fanboy/fangirl type so I can't empathise).

 

Edit: But to say you were drawn in by the studio's development attitudes instead of any specific game is a great answer, of course.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Ieo

[Parsifal]

Regarding

DO NOT WANT:

-elements with bad tone or feel [the Romans in New Vegas, the cat-people and lizard people in Elder Scrolls, etc.]

and the responses to it, this is mostly a matter of pure taste. I'm glad that if people disagree, they disagree with that thought and not the ones about grinding, or pulling enemies unrealistically, etc.

For me, the Romans in Fallout NV feel drastically out of place even with the Caesar's backstory, whereas all the other game flavors are pitch-perfect.

For me, cat-people and lizard-people are too 'high fantasy' or 'kitchen sink', though I'm not especially preferring elves or dwarves. I would have loved original races. It looks like we might get one or two, out of five.

[hernedpea]

Planescape: Torment and Arcanum.

[Farudan]

The question wasn't "which game should represent PE" but "what is YOUR favorite that captured your attention when PE was announced." The difference is subtle, underlined below:

I did understand that. It doesn't matter how many quite different games they throw into the marketing mix. They were way too different to work as a hook to me. I judge a game only by the arguments that are given towards a project. Other games are only relevant, if they are directly connected to the new title, what isn't the case. In that case it was the reputation of the developers and the market situation for that kind of games that gave me confidence, not the fact they mentioned several games they were involved in the past. To be honest, if it wouldn't be Obsidian, I don't know if I had watched the video at all.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Farudan

[General_Disarray]

You could technically say Fallout and Planescape, if you mean which games I played that got me hooked to isometric RPGs/the company.

If we really focus on the kickstarter, my brain just sort of went 'Obsidian, Kickstarter' and then my money disappeared. Basically, if Obsidian pull this off, it'll be a kickstarter dream for me. It would be a perfect example of what I hoped kickstarter could do.

[PKCrusader]

All of them!

[Ieo]

The question wasn't "which game should represent PE" but "what is YOUR favorite that captured your attention when PE was announced." The difference is subtle, underlined below:

I did understand that. It doesn't matter how many quite different games they throw into the marketing mix. I judge a game only by the arguments that are given towards a project. Other games are only relevant, if they are directly connected to the new title, what isn't the case. In that case it was the reputation of the developers and the market situation for that kind of games that gave me confidence, not the fact they mentioned several games they were involved in the past. To be honest, if it wouldn't be Obsidian, I don't know if I had watched the video at all.

 

Those two statements seem to negate each other? (Assuming the watch video part implies sticking with the KS.)

 

Personally, I can never get fully behind a developer... or a band... or an author... or Apple ( ) because absolute fandom, to me, creates a subculture lacking accountability. There are still people who believe Bioware can do no wrong (but perhaps "wrong" is the incorrect word--rather their target audience has changed substantially). Reputation is a double-edged sword; faith is always best when tempered. I do appreciate reputation, of course, but to boot, I have never played an Obsidian game, either.

 

PS:T (Black Isle)

Baldur's Gate complete (Bioware)

IWD 1 (Black Isle)

NWN 1 (Bioware)

KotOR 1 (Bioware)

ME 1 & 2 (Bioware)

DA:O (Bioware)

 

Every single one that I chose to play were based on the game's own hooks or friends' recommendations, and I judged them purely on my personal enjoyment rather than anything else because I don't pay attention to developers or band names or whatnot. So I'm kind of coming from the outside and relying on the business proposal itself. Thus it didn't even occur to me to add Obsidian to the poll.

[salty]

It was actually Josh's sick tats.

[Farudan]

Those two statements seem to negate each other? (Assuming the watch video part implies sticking with the KS.)

The name Obsidian made me watch the video. What I saw in that video didn't impress me much. The only pleasant surprise in that video was, that Tim Cain is also involved. It would have been surprising if Josh and Chris wouldn't have been in. I know exactly which games they made before, don't need a reminder. I have them all, except Dungeon Siege. I do not expect PE being a close spiritual successor to one of them. Even if so, I could live with all options. Planescape is my all-time favorite. But as long as they can't do another planescape game for me it will never be a real PsT successor. This will never happen. Wizards of the Coast tried it's best to get rid of all aspects of the planescape setting, the official statement is it's dead. Also Kickstarter would not bring enough money for a licence Obsidian does not own. So, no legit successor to any of these games (see my game world argument above), no reason to get overly excited and bring in false expectations. I backed for the arguments story driven, party-based, RTwP. Why so for Obsidian? I prefer Obsidian's approach to game stories. BioWare and Bethesda have quite a different approach how to write a story. I don't care if SciFi, Steampunk, High Epic Fantasy or a historical setting, I want to learn something about the character I play. BioWare / Bethesda games first of all are about your character is what you think he is. There is no other highly profiled developer I get that kind of games. All others would be unknown to me and therefore a risk to spend money for a game I don't like. Also I doubt Indies could offer the kind of quality Obsidian is capable of. Obsidians games are sometimes a little bit rough around the edges, but Indie games are often even more rough, miss to offer comfort features or lack some basic qualities.

[descalabro]

Visually(artistically) and musically, my vote goes for IWD series. It chilled my bones. Also, we got a chance to see how well AD&D worked for intensive combat, and they took the most out of the Infinity Engine with IWD2.

 

As for plot and depth, PS:T wins by far. It was just superb. The way the concept turned out visually is also a plus.

 

BG2 was a great mix of the 2 previous aspects, plus the depth of exploration was outstanding.

 

 

It's interesting to see the results so far.

[descalabro]

Well, that's a hard decission, I like the most: Torment, Icewind Dale and Fallout. That would be cool if the Project Eternity has:

- dialogs/story like Torment

- many, different quests like Baldur/Icewind

- atmosphere like Fallout.

 

From the looks of it so far, the atmosphere will be very far from Fallout. I believe this would be the best choice because the market is flooded with medieval-style RPGs whereas there is still A LOT to explore and develop in post-modern game settings (the possibilities of in-game technology and quests related to it are endless). And I personally don't prefer one setting over another, it's just that there are a lot more traditional style RPGs out there. Problem is post-modern settings don't attract as many backers.

Edited September 19, 2012 by descalabro

[veryblackraven]

All of them, actually. A bit more of P:T, Fallout, BG and Arcanum.

[Rostere]

Well, Arcanum and Torment. But I must say I like all the games in the poll.

[Starwars]

The constant name-dropping for the IE games was actually a small disappointment (if one could even call it that really) for me as I really only thought Torment was the great game. The others fall into the "mostly good" category for me. But yeah, Fallout, Arcanum and Torment are basically my top three RPGs.

 

Really thought, I'm mostly excited that Obsidian is doing an old-school RPG. I'm personally hoping that, despite it obviously being inspired by the IE games, it will break new ground within the "old-school RPG" fold. I think and hope that Project Eternity will have its own identity, and I hope that it will really show Obsidian flexing their muscles, trying to push their design hard and be creative, and hopefully not feel too much like a "copy" of the IE games even if they may look alike on the surface.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Starwars

[Ieo]

The constant name-dropping for the IE games was actually a small disappointment (if one could even call it that really) for me as I really only thought Torment was the great game. The others fall into the "mostly good" category for me. But yeah, Fallout, Arcanum and Torment are basically my top three RPGs.

 

Really thought, I'm mostly excited that Obsidian is doing an old-school RPG. I'm personally hoping that, despite it obviously being inspired by the IE games, it will break new ground within the "old-school RPG" fold. I think and hope that Project Eternity will have its own identity, and I hope that it will really show Obsidian flexing their muscles, trying to push their design hard and be creative, and hopefully not feel too much like a "copy" of the IE games even if they may look alike on the surface.

 

It's a risk either way---I know a number of us were banking on DA:O to address the itch for Baldur's Gate, but that didn't happen. It was simply too different, too "new." This is why "spiritual successor" is a phrase that generally just pisses me off, but I'm still holding out hope...

 

There must be different elements, yes. There must be "improvements" to certain things, yes. But where the good balance is, no one has really figured it out yet because no current games, including DA:O that first name-dropped, has actually successfully addressed it, IMO.

 

...Okay, I just remembered there's supposed to be a game coming out very soon or already that's supposed to be a classical isometric deal, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was...

[Jaesun]

I just saw the words Obsidian + Kickstarter and then immediately clicked pledge.

 

I didn't even watch the video until later.... But I was happy I did. :D

[PsychoBlonde]

All of the above. I enjoyed aspects of all those games--and they were pretty similar fundamentally.

[Zed]

All of the above. I enjoyed aspects of all those games--and they were pretty similar fundamentally.

Some of the titles share common qualities, but I wouldn't call them fundementally similar. KotoR is lightyears away from ToEE, for instance.

 

That said, I'm hoping for Eternity to take stuff from all the Infinity games - because they are indeed quite similar to each other.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Zed