Obsidian's front page survey

[Corvus Metus]

I voted Baldur's Gate, as it was a superior game.

 

While I'd agree with anyone who said that Planescape had a better story, it felt more like a Choose Your Own Adventure book at times, than it did a cRPG.

[Archmage Silver]

I voted for a similar game to the Baldur's Gate series. I would have added shades and flavors from the other games as well if that was possible.

[NerdBoner]

I wish Planescape: Torment had a sexual lust child with the BG series and spawned a new era of superior cRPG gaming that can put the last decade of utter decline behind us forever.

 

Also add in the beautiful naturesque music of IWD and the epic feel of the ToB tracks (best sound track in any IE game!)

[Gibbscape_Torment]

I am prepared for brickbats and my shields are switched to maximum.

 

PS:T fans are a very vocal minority and their clamour (understandably though that might be) should be taken with a pinch of salt.

 

 

 

Don't know if you realize this, but classic cRPG lovers are an extremely vocal, extreme minority. Among this extreme minority, Planescape lovers are not as much of a minority as you think they are; as shown by the poll's results.

 

Once i find evidence of this "Planescape minority" among the already extreme minority that is the IE enthusiasts, i can agree with your claim. Until then, all clamor should be equally heard or ignored; depending on Obsidian's mood.

[Churchwarden]

art style from icewind dale + planescapes good characters + baldurs gate 2 balance between combat and talking would be my preference

isn't this what they said they would make in the pitch anyway?

 

This encapsulates my preferences very succinctly. Additionally, I also loved the music from IWD1, especially the Kuldahar theme. Little things about the artwork in IWD like the grainy wood on the main menu and loading screens were atmospheric touches that impacted the feel of the game.

 

My biggest hope for PE is to surpass all the IE games by creating more lively, interactive cities, where I can sandbox around as a thief or priest or something doing class-oriented activities that aren't necessarily quest/main story driven.

[jivex5k]

I had to pick CoD....just couldn't resist.

[Lu Jo]

Must resist... trollvote... Call of Duty...

[Ink Blot]

Hey guys, we're making a game that is a mix of IWD, BG and PST. Which one should it resemble most?

 

Well all three, duh.

 

Bingo. I'd ideally love to see the scale of the BG games, the great story of both BG and PS:T, and the excellent combat encounter and dungeon design of the IWD games.

[wanderon]

I chose PST becuase I couldn't choose just BG1 and the elements they are likely to use from PST are the ones I am most interested in seeing - lots of dialoge options & great companions - add in the open feel of BG1 - and the challenge of IWD plus Jan Jansen and I'm good...

[BobbinThreadbare]

I am prepared for brickbats and my shields are switched to maximum.

 

PS:T fans are a very vocal minority and their clamour (understandably though that might be) should be taken with a pinch of salt.

 

PS:T is a classic example of a cult hit, a love-it-or-hate-it kind of deal. I usually refer to it as Wordscape. Having read MCA's subsequent views on the design process, it's clear that he sees the faults himself and more credit to him. It also means that he is unlikely to make the same mistakes again.

 

For me it's an interactive novel with too much navel-gazing about the metaphysical oddness of a world with which I felt unable to connect. It tried to be avant garde to the extent that it became unplayable (for me). P:E is a niche enough product as it is, and it needs to sell. By taking some of the least commercial aspects of PS:T (i.e. the bits hardcore fans love) it might well commit P:E to an even narrower niche ghetto.

 

Just my two silver pieces.

 

I know that this is a much-beloved game. I respect the love and genuinely understand the sentiment behind it. But P:E should channel BG1 & 2 with a splash of PS:Ts NPC depth. Like a shot of tabasco in the soup.

Considering no option has >50% of the vote, each of the games' fans are a minority. PS:T seems like it's the 2nd largest minority to me.

[Larkaloke]

Hey guys, we're making a game that is a mix of IWD, BG and PST. Which one should it resemble most?

 

Well all three, duh.

 

Bingo. I'd ideally love to see the scale of the BG games, the great story of both BG and PS:T, and the excellent combat encounter and dungeon design of the IWD games.

 

Indeed. If possible, I would've voted for all three, but I voted for Baldur's Gate because it's less of an extreme either way than Icewind Dale or Planescape: Torment would be.

[Dangermouth]

Landstalker.

 

Best ever game on the Megadrive.

[Marceror]

In reality, the poll is pretty simplistic, as polls often are. Each game has particular elements, only some of which I'd necessarily want to see used as a strong inspiration for PE. That's why I posted earlier to explain some of the specific elements I'd like to see from IWD and ToEE.

 

As for Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, they can take inspiration from just about anything in those games as far as I'm concerned (except for the pathfinding). I feel similarly about Torment, but as much as I love that game, Baldur's Gate has always been the clear favorite for me. For PE, I'd like to see more conventional stuff done (a la BG) vs. the utterly rare and bizarre (a la PST). It's been such a long time since we've had a new "IE-like" game that I feel it's best to start with something that most folks will "get". Once PE becomes wildly popular, and Obsidian decides to devote the next decade to creating only this type of RPG (or at least, makes this type their core focus), then they can let Avellone loose to do another "I hate RPG conventions" type game, which will be the spiritual successor to PST!

 

You hear that Obsidian! I've got big plans for you for the next 10 years or so!!

[Ignatius]

haha...Call of Duty.

 

I hope it's most like BG2. Best of everything. ToEE's combat would be nice, but without TB combat, that ship has sorta sailed.

 

I wonder how Josh feels knowing that more people would would like PE to be like CoD than his IWD games... Hmmm.

Edited November 1, 2012 by Ignatius

[SunBroSolaire]

I voted for Torment because the most important thing to me is that there is a powerful, mature, deeply interactive story. I don't expect there to be many similarities to that setting, or the mechanics besides the dialogue. Really, I want what they described in the Kickstarter: story/dialogue of P:T, exploration of BG, combat and art direction of IWD.

[Frenetic Pony]

I love that "Call of Duty" is doing better than Icewind Dale. But seriously, I got bored and quit Icewind Dale 2 a third of the way through. It starts out great but loses all variety and pacing after Targos. The plot loses all sense in terms of your characters motivations, the story is delivered in jabs of epic ten minute speeches delivered by enemies that should just be killing you with barren rifts of nothing in between, the game turns almost entirely linear with only combat that hasn't changed at all in the past tweny hours and hoards of loot taking hours to collect with a horrible UI to sort through.

 

Don't think I've ever encountered a game that went from so fun to so disappointing for me as did Icewind Dale 2.

[Marceror]

But seriously, I got bored and quit Icewind Dale 2 a third of the way through. It starts out great but loses all variety and pacing after Targos. The plot loses all sense in terms of your characters motivations, the story is delivered in jabs of epic ten minute speeches delivered by enemies that should just be killing you with barren rifts of nothing in between, the game turns almost entirely linear with only combat that hasn't changed at all in the past tweny hours and hoards of loot taking hours to collect with a horrible UI to sort through.

 

 

I enjoy IWD2, and have played it through to completion several times. I particularly enjoy creating full back stories for my party and each character, so I can create the motivations that my team has when the game doesn't give them to me to the level that I would like to see.

 

{Slight Spoiler Alert}

That said, I have to acknowledge that the story does lose much of it's credibility as you progress through the game. I still find it infuriating that at the end of act II, Oswald and Nathaniel just ditch the party like so much garbage in their airship. This results in the party having to face some of the worst dangers of the game (angry barbarians, dragons, haunted forests, and the Underdark (among others)! And then, when we finally do make it to Kuldahar, Nathaniel has the nerve to question how long it took us to get there!!!!! Screw you buddy! Next time wait an extra 5 minutes and let us ride in the airship with you!!

{/Slight Spoiler Alert}

 

That said, I read that Josh wrote the entire story in a single weekend, so it's not surprising that it wasn't a complete, end to end, masterpiece. It still makes for a helluva fun dungeon crawl though!

Edited November 1, 2012 by Marceror

[Water Rabbit]

 

 

Don't think I've ever encountered a game that went from so fun to so disappointing for me as did Icewind Dale 2.

 

And yet it was so much better than ToEE. How anyone thinks that piece of drek compares to the other games listed is beyond me. ToEE had only one thing going for it: it had the most faithful rendition of D&D combat mechanics. Other than that it was just a buggy boring PoS.

[Osvir]

Icewind Dale was like combining a Baldur's Gate linear setting with Chess. I loved it. I'm surprised it is below Call of Duty to be honest.

 

I voted Baldur's Gate, mostly for the world exploration.

 

Planescape: Torment is a gem worth savoring, and each to his own should find it in their own time. But just so is Baldur's Gate, in its own way.

 

I don't play any modern Call of Duty~esque titles (nor have I done so in a very long time, conscious choice), but I know what it is and it doesn't interest me one bit. I couldn't help but chuckling seeing it there though.

 

BUT:

I don't hate much in this world, modern real life warfare is one of the rare and I've had many trying discussions about video games followed by the argument that "it's just a gaame!" (a game which ridicules real life with "HEADSHOT!!11" and "Lulz noob!"). Blegh.

[CheeseGraterSuicide]

At least one other element from PST I'd like to see in PE is some planewalking. Perhaps that's out of scope for this project, but maybe they'll set Avellone loose with the expansion. I can dream, can't I?

[Marceror]

Don't think I've ever encountered a game that went from so fun to so disappointing for me as did Icewind Dale 2.

 

And yet it was so much better than ToEE. How anyone thinks that piece of drek compares to the other games listed is beyond me. ToEE had only one thing going for it: it had the most faithful rendition of D&D combat mechanics. Other than that it was just a buggy boring PoS.

 

A lot of the continued longevity and love for ToEE stems from the Circle of Eight mods. Co8 has addressed so many bugs, added gameplay, and just generally allowed the game to reach much closer to its potential. It's definitely worth a look, if you like the game's design, but want to see improved stability.

[Progressive_Stupidity]

I would've voted Arcanum but it's not in the poll =/

[Marceror]

I imagine that Arcanum isn't in the poll because Obsidian does not intend to make a game like Arcanum this time around. So there's no point in asking fans if we want a game like it, because they're not planning to make that game anyway. Just a hunch.

[PsychoBlonde]

I really enjoyed Planescape: Torment, but I'd rather have the character customization and exploration of BG1 and 2. Actually, I'd really like to have the characters from BG2 and the exploration from BG1. MAKE IT SO.

[PsychoBlonde]

I imagine that Arcanum isn't in the poll because Obsidian does not intend to make a game like Arcanum this time around. So there's no point in asking fans if we want a game like it, because they're not planning to make that game anyway. Just a hunch.

 

They meant to type "Arcanum" and wound up with "Call of Duty". This is why you shouldn't spill kool-aid on your keyboard and then attempt to make a survey.