Just a little concern about adding stretch goals

[czinczar]

I am a bit afraid sometimes that the game will feel more like a patchwork than something that has been well thought from the beginning. Like adding a new region : ok fine, but I hope they will do their best to blend that new content with what already exists, and that it wont feel like something coming from the blue, a bit like heart of winter for IWD, like you are transported in a different universe. New characters, new quests etc.., it's all fine unless it feels artificial.

[Infinitron]

Difference: Heart of Winter was an expansion pack to an existing game. This game doesn't even exist yet.

 

So, no.

[Ieo]

By another name, it's called feature creep. There's at least one other thread about this already (page down or something, since things fall off the front page faster than a porpoise in a sea o' snot).

[Piccolo]

This doesn't concern me. I'm sure they think every stretch goal through carefully to ensure that everything fits with their overall vision for the game.

 

I'm more concerned about them feeling obliged (because of the nature of kickstarters) later on in the development cycle to listen to fan feedback a bit too much, and make decisions / changes that go against their overall vision.

[Odarbi]

I am a bit afraid sometimes that the game will feel more like a patchwork than something that has been well thought from the beginning. Like adding a new region : ok fine, but I hope they will do their best to blend that new content with what already exists, and that it wont feel like something coming from the blue, a bit like heart of winter for IWD, like you are transported in a different universe. New characters, new quests etc.., it's all fine unless it feels artificial.

I can understand the concern, but I'm not terribly worried right now. The kickstarter hasn't even finished yet, and I imagine (or I should hope that) they've already done a lot of discussion and planning to make sure the additions are all viable, easy* to implement, and mesh well with what they already have completed before throwing out these stretch goals.

 

*I use easy as a relative term and mean it more as a "we already have a plan for how this will fit in and affect things if we get there" kind of easy, rather than intending to imply that adding a bunch of content is actually easy.

 

By another name, it's called feature creep. There's at least one other thread about this already (page down or something, since things fall off the front page faster than a porpoise in a sea o' snot).

 

Feature creep is definitely something to be worried about, but I would like to think Obsidian is already thinking and planning around such a thing. That being said, I can't imagine I'll be terribly worried if the "April 2014" date from the kickstarter reward tiers gets pushed back a few months for polish reasons.

[SewerCover]

They are still getting basic systems worked out, nothings in stone except a few key details (Souls are important, Unity is the engine being used). Any stretch goals they add are going to get the same amount of development time everything else is, with the help of more staff members that are being paid with the stretched funding. Obsidian has been planning this for a long time and are fully aware of what their studio and staff are capable of. If they were just adding things willy-nilly without being sure they could deliver, you'd see mod tools as a stretch goal already.

[Director]

Lol - they are totally just throwing stuff from a "we totally want to do" list.

 

Take the Godlike race - they talked about the Godlike from day 1, now it's a stretch goal? lol.

 

Also - this game isn't even in pre-production yet. They will wait until the end of the kickstarter before they plan a single thing. It's not like the game is a work in progress and every time we make a goal they have to staple extra stuff in. All they have so far is some concept art and some vague ideas about a setting.

 

Now - if your concern was "for this amount I don't think they can add feature X" - that might be valid.

[nikolokolus]

Two things:

 

1) I'm 100% certain that this project has a design document that was made well in advance of the kickstarter campaign, and I'm guessing they have it scaled for budget ... this is a professional game developer with a long history of making games.

 

2) Obsidian has been making very modest and incremental stretch goals, they don't appear to be caving in to the pressure to build false hope or promise the moon ... that's a good thing!

 

So no, I'm not particularly worried that they won't be able to deliver the goods.

[Archmage Silver]

I think Obsidian will bridge the content in an intelligent way, so that there'll be no gaps in the story, and no missing pieces to the puzzle. Voted no.

[Thermight]

Funny, I started a similiar poll just yesterday.

http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/60865-can-feature-creep-from-stretch-goals-hurt-a-kickstarters-success/

[Tychoxi]

think of it like this: they have a *huge* design document with tons of regions, classes and ****. Each funding threshold warrants they won't have to cut something out of that document.

[Aedelric]

Considering the whole game is actually still in the designing stages, anything that is added now would be as well planned as as they humanly could, unless they time travel of course.

 

Nothing to worry about to be honest.

[lolaldanee]

Considering the whole game is actually still in the designing stages, anything that is added now would be as well planned as as they humanly could, unless they time travel of course.

 

Nothing to worry about to be honest.

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[Blackstream]

It's more like, if I abstractly know that with x amount of time and money and people I can make x fully fleshed out areas (after all I've been doing this for awhile, these are numbers I can approximate in my head, in this example), then I know that by adding y to those numbers, I can make an extra area.

 

Once they have their funding, then they start planning out all the areas, characters, companions, and how to integrate them all in to make a well designed game.

 

I bet you won't even be able to tell which companions were stretch goals once the game comes out.

[Jaesun]

If you understand how games are made 101, this is basically a "pitch" to the Publisher. Though thankfully this is a pitch to YOU. Each an every one of us. Do you like the old IE games and want something similar? THEN HELL YES!

 

As this progresses, a budgetary amount is continually discussed (the KS funds pledged). Obsidian then asses the budget and adds milestones in they know they feel can reasonably deliver within that budget.

 

Am I worried? No.

[rjshae]

I don't find the stretch goals all that unreasonable. There's just an excess of cynicism among some of the posters in this forum. Cynics, jaded players, gamers with an axe to grind, overly inflated expectations, the list goes on. Personally I wouldn't sweat it.

[generic.hybridity]

I think their stretch goals are fairly modest and achievable (They've designed them that way). I have no doubt that they will do fine in weaving everything together. If they were offering MASSIVE additions then I would be. But at present everything seems to be within reason for each of the extended budget goals.