Has Obsidian gone too far in some of its recent updates?

[Sarkus]

Up front, I'm pledged on the game and that isn't going to change. That said, some of the recent announcements not only have me rolling my eyes, they have other "old school" RPG fans I know laughing at how stupid they seem. Asking for Facebook likes to get another dungeon level? Giving away Wasteland 2 now if you pledge above a certain amount? Promising an expansion to pledgers above a certain amount? How about they just focus on things that will expand PE, not other stuff like that?

 

Am I the only one who thinks they've gone a bit too far with this?

[Cantousent]

You're probably not the only one, but I disagree. The updates are supposed to be exciting and edgy. If they play it safe the whole time, they might as well not make these updates for the Kickstarter campaign. In fact, a number of folks suggested previous updates were too timid. I say go all out in the last ten days in order to secure more funding.

[ogrezilla]

all of those things will help the base PE game by getting them more funding. And in case of the facebook likes, by directly increasing the content of the game while hopefully spreading the news that the game exists to 20,000 different people's facebook friends.

Edited October 8, 2012 by ogrezilla

[Hiro Protagonist II]

No. Getting people to pledge at higher tiers will make a better base game. I don't understand why people can't understand that basic concept.

[Uomoz]

YOU have gone too far! *Uomoz cut him with a halberd*

[Caranthir]

Well, if you put it like that ... I also wondered a bit about the facebook likes and the expansion promise. But maybe that's what it takes to market an old school RPG today ... I can't blame them if they're trying to raise even more money. And kickstarter being quite a new idea (for computer games), I guess people are trying everything and it's a bit trial and error what works and what doesn't.

[Osvir]

You have to understand they are acting from a company viewpoint. Obsidian is a company.

 

With this being said, no, no I don't think they are going too far (personally), yet. Sure, they can focus everything on P:E's expansion if they were die-hard "We are making this game for our fans!!" but from a business approach Obsidian needs to take care of Obsidian as well. The Facebook likes is to make their player base grow, and thus gain a bigger market of consumers. We are "Income", minerals to be harvested, P:E is only one SCV and the Command Center is Obsidian.

 

EDIT: This too of course:

 

No. Getting people to pledge at higher tiers will make a better base game. I don't understand why people can't understand that basic concept.

all of those things will help the base PE game by getting them more funding. And in case of the facebook likes, by directly increasing the content of the game while hopefully spreading the news that the game exists to 20,000 different people's facebook friends.

Edited October 8, 2012 by Osvir

[diablo169]

Any money donated to this kickstarter benefits the game, the expansion will be funded from profits and Obsidians own money. Facebook likes generate publicity for the project and in turn get us a better game.

 

They havent gone too far at all. Keep rolling your eyes if it makes you feel better though.

[YourVoiceisAmbrosia]

I don't really think so. There are probably others inclined to disagree, but Obsidian has a very tight budget for developing a game, virtually none of which is going to be placed in marketing. They are doing whatever they can to get as much publicity as possible before the Kickstarter ends. In the end, that can only help provide more resources for the game, which isn't bad at all in my eyes.

[NOK222]

You have to understand they are acting from a company viewpoint. Obsidian is a company.

 

That they are, but they are passionate about their work and not pure money grubbers. You can tell they're clearly enjoying this as opposed to being dragged by the balls by publishers or being forced to make a game you don't agree with coughdraognage2cough

[ogrezilla]

not using facebook for some amount of marketing is just a bad decision in this day and age. there's just no good reason not to use it as a company looking to get its name out there.

[Lv99Wizard]

How is "promising an expansion of P:E" not expanding the game? What kind of cognitive dissonance is this?

Facebook likes are completely free but it's far more important than that. It allows the presence of the project to explode, driving up the potential backers in KS and PayPal.

 

Wasteland 2 wasn't an enticing reward to me personally and I was totally hoping for a screenshot that Fergus has been teasing all week. For those reasons, and not the ones alluded to by the OP, I found the update underwhelming.

 

Also, I wish they would do portraits (like the dwarf ranger they first showed) rather than concept art.

[ogrezilla]

teasing all week? its monday haha

[aran665]

right now its all about pimping the idea and perks and bonuses... once the kickstarter campaign is over we'll get real updates, but right now they gotta sell it... even though the goal's been reached, still got a few more days to be able to make dat money.

 

not using facebook as part of the marketing is a silly idea... hell i avoided facebook for the longest time... but that is now literally the only way i can get ahold of anyone... yes i need new friends. but really social media in general and facebook specifically is a fantastic resource they would be silly to avoid.

 

i wanna see some real content update type stuff as far as world lore and things... but i can wait until the pimpin phase is complete.

[eleve]

Imho, no, you are not going too far. Having them talk about expansions before even having properly started, far less finished the game is going too far for me. It also strikes me as slapping people in the face who have only little money. Obsidian should never forget that it is the $20 pledges as well as the $10k pledges that help them finance their project. We are pledging our money based on trust, we are not placing pre-orders. Excluding part of their backers at this point already leaves a bad taste for me. And no, this is not the same as just another book or cloth map.

 

I will most probably pull out of it based on Todays update.

[Sarkus]

How is "promising an expansion of P:E" not expanding the game? What kind of cognitive dissonance is this?

 

I specifically referred to the core game, i.e. what those of us not pledging $165 or more are getting.

 

I just see a lot more focus on peripheral stuff in these latest updates rather then on showing people who are unsure about the game that they should make a pledge. PE is already averaging a higher per pledger committment then other big Kickstarter projects ($45 compared to $38 for Double Fine), but it seems like the focus is on getting people to increase their pledges rather then on getting more people to pledge.

Edited October 8, 2012 by Sarkus

[GhostofAnakin]

The facebook thing is purely advertising (which is a good thing), the Wasteland 2 thing is a reward to those who pledge a high amount and who may also be interested in the Wasteland 2 kickstarter, and the expansion pack ... expands on the game.

 

It's not like they're wasting resources/man time on these things that are going to cause certain features to suffer. They're just added stuff that hopefully will generate even more hype for Project Eternity. So I'm really not seeing the issue here. *shrugs*

[SqueakyCat]

Imho, no, you are not going too far. Having them talk about expansions before even having properly started, far less finished the game is going too far for me. It also strikes me as slapping people in the face who have only little money. Obsidian should never forget that it is the $20 pledges as well as the $10k pledges that help them finance their project. We are pledging our money based on trust, we are not placing pre-orders. Excluding part of their backers at this point already leaves a bad taste for me. And no, this is not the same as just another book or cloth map.

 

I will most probably pull out of it based on Todays update.

 

So you feel you're excluded and think Obsidian should give away 50,000+ copies of an expansion pack to everyone who has pledged (even though they'd lose an enormous amount of money).

 

People at the $20/$25 level are already getting the game at what is effectively half-price, but that's not enough?

 

 

The door is that way ------>>>>>

Edited October 8, 2012 by SqueakyCat

[Director]

I think they just got completely caught out by the rapid response to the kickstarter, and didn't really have a plan for stretch goals / promotion in place. So the stretch goals are all a bit strange, and the self promotion has arrived as a bit of an afterthought.

 

I suspect they just have daily meetings where they desperately try to think of things to add, ways to promote it. "Crap - how about a big dungeon, that we can add more levels to?"

 

It's pretty funny that they had obviously set their expectations way to low.

[moridin84]

I will most probably pull out of it based on Todays update.

Well okay, that seems a little bit childish to be, pull out because they unintentionally hurt your feelings.

 

I mean, you original pledged them money because you want them to make a great game right?

 

 

Personally I think the 'free' expansion thing is cool. If the thing is successful then they are going to make an expansion pack anyway so it's not like it's going to delay the game because they are adding more stuff.

Edited October 8, 2012 by moridin84

[Jarmo]

Maybe. The expansion bit is something that won't be cheerfully accepted everywhere.

Some will take it as "oh, I'll just wait until I can get the whole game, not just the first half".

I would normally do that (still haven't bought the first 1/3 of starcraft 2 for the same reason.)

 

Everything else was just neat, but... I don't think that was a good move.

Not affecting me either way.

[santanzchild]

xp is great get my two digital copies for me and the wife get one free xp and buy another for her when it is released I get goodies I get a great game and my wife gets to play too on the same ticket.

[dlux]

Pointless thread is pointless.

 

That is all.

[Althernai]

Imho, no, you are not going too far. Having them talk about expansions before even having properly started, far less finished the game is going too far for me.

On the one hand, I kind of agree with you here -- it's enough that we're pledging for one unknown quantity, but now they want us to pledge for two? Or even three (including Wasteland 2 which isn't finished either)? But on the other hand, it's just audacious enough that I'll probably give them the $165. In for a penny, in for a pound.

 

It also strikes me as slapping people in the face who have only little money. Obsidian should never forget that it is the $20 pledges as well as the $10k pledges that help them finance their project. We are pledging our money based on trust, we are not placing pre-orders. Excluding part of their backers at this point already leaves a bad taste for me. And no, this is not the same as just another book or cloth map.

 

I will most probably pull out of it based on Todays update.

Be reasonable. Yes, the $20 pledges also contribute something, but it's a rather small something: the grand total contributed by the 25000 people who pledged $20 is only 0.5M which is definitely going to be less than a fifth of the total pledges -- less than a sixth if things go well. One of Obsidian's goals at this point must be to convince these people to increase their pledges -- there are a lot of them so even if a small fraction (say 20%) ups their pledges to the general vicinity of $100, they will have paid more than the rest put together. So yes, they will be offering more stuff at the higher tiers. It's the only rational course of action.

[ogrezilla]

you aren't pledging money to fund wasteland 2 or the expansion. you are pledging to fund project eternity and if you pledge enough they are giving you wasteland 2 and a PE expansion for free.

Edited October 8, 2012 by ogrezilla