Update #48: Documentary News and More Arcanum

[The Guildmaster]

Project Eternity the Documentary Update
Article by Adam Brennecke, Executive Producer and Lead Programmer
 


In Update #23 Feargus announced that Obsidian would fund a documentary of the making of Project Eternity without using a dime from the Kickstarter funding. Here's a behind-the-scenes of the behind-the-scenes and some other tidbits about the documentary.

We've been working with the documentary team, Tony Jacobsen and Michael Mitchell from Creative Lane Media, for some time. Tony and Mike are very professional guys with years of experience making films, and have experience working with the games industry. They will be with following us with their fancy cameras for the entire production of Project Eternity.

Our documentary will be a full movie and released in its entirety when the game is complete. We are targeting a 45 minute film that covers the entire process of the making of Project Eternity from the early days of the Kickstarter, into preproduction, all the way through production to finishing it up and going gold. There will be footage from our team meetings, informal discussions, scrums, and major milestone events.

The room pictured above is an office at that we transformed into a small film studio. It will be used to shoot one-on-one sit down style interviews.

Documentary FAQ
When can I get the Documentary?
The documentary will be released when Project Eternity is finished. We will have more details when we get closer to the Project Eternity beta.

How do I get it?
If you already backed at the $20/$25 tier level (and Slacker Backers via PayPal thus far) and above you will be able to stream it. At the $35 tier level and above you will be able to download it, and at the $140 tier level (and physical tiers above) we will include a DVD / Blu-ray. You can still get access to the documentary stream if you donate to the project today via the Slacker Backer pledge at the Eternity website.
 
 
Tony and Mike from Creative Lanes Media
 
 
Season 0: Season of the Wolf (Ghosts), Parts 4, 5, 6
Article by Darren Monahan, HTML monkey
 
The truth behind Season 0's naming reveals itself in... ghosts. Note that this recording was done at the same time as last season, so any fixes or interface errors will not be fixed again until, uh, the real Season 1. (Ed: Yes, that means Chris is probably not using the world map enough quite yet. )
 
We'll be recording a new batch soon and I'm passing along feedback from YouTube comments and our forums.
 
PART 4

 
PART 5

 
PART 6

 
Next week's update we will have a movie showcasing some of the progress we've made on prototype 1! Stay tuned!

[Zed]

Thanks for the update. Not as exciting as next week's update will be... but still.

 

Please ask Tim Cain to sit in on one of MCA's Arcanum sessions to give some dev commentary. That would be awesome.

[Sensuki]

Thanks for following up on my continuous questions about the documentary

 

Interesting that you're going with a movie style rather than Double Fine's episodical method, but I suppose that makes sense considering the weekly/bi-weekly updates that you have been doing.

 

Good stuff (y)

[Lephys]

I just want to say that it's awesome of you guys to take the time to show-and-tell what you're able to in a weekly update, rather than simply saying "Meh, there's nothing super major to share right now, so we'll just go dark for a few weeks."

 

So, thanks for the update, ^_^! And that's pretty cool that you've got a film crew documenting everything.

 

Maybe if you get the chance, you can make an instructional video for publishers on how to not inhibit development efficiency/quality. 8D

[LordCrash]

No small trailer/teaser of the doc? The update is good but it would have been much better with some video coverage....

 

I'm not interested in watching other people at gaming so....

[harhar!]

I neeed more MCA

[AGX-17]

"I hated ghosts in Fallout 2. It wasn't my idea." best thing he said in the Arcanum videos to date.

[Keyrock]

The documentary should be really cool and will be a fantastic nostalgic and sentimental piece to watch many years down the line.  Once Project: Eternity (under its final title) comes out and sells like a bajillion copies (due to its inherent awesomeness) and all the folks at Obsidian are sipping Shipwrecked 1907 Heidsieck Champagne out of jewel encrusted platinum chalices while driving Bugatti Veryron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesses, it will be cool to look back at the game being made and thinking that I, in a very small way, helped make that happen.

 

/wipes away future tear of happiness

//high-fives future self

[SinoSamba]

The wolves are there to tell the player "Listen to the prick when he is trying to explain the game UI to you who don't read manuals". These videos are more fun than they are supposed to.

[HorseFD]

Thanks for the update. Not as exciting as next week's update will be... but still.

 

Please ask Tim Cain to sit in on one of MCA's Arcanum sessions to give some dev commentary. That would be awesome.

 

Yes please, this would be amazing.

[JWestfall]

Just checking in to say thanks for keeping on with updates, even small tidbits like this are a great way to maintain "presence" with your backers and stalkers fans here.

 

The documentary sounds great, can't wait.

[Shadenuat]

Clockwork Knight said

 

Arcanum: Of Wolves and Worldmap Obscura

 

 

 

 

[Botahn]

This documentary is a really good idea. Just could we have subtitle in different languages for those who don't understand english very well (like me I confess ^^).

[LadyCrimson]

Adam's rockin' that black leather(?) jacket.

 

I like that the doc's going to be more of a complete film, rather than in multiple installments. I'm still used to movie docs being that way and can't get used to all the "watch our daily/weekly 5 min long making of/preview clips now!" stuff. Guess I don't like having to remember to keep track of such things...I like having it all in one shot - don't have to see it as it happens.

[Faerunner]

How are you guys making me love you more and more every time I think I can't possibly love you any more than before?

[Sensuki]

Adam's rockin' that black leather(?) jacket.

 

I like that the doc's going to be more of a complete film, rather than in multiple installments. I'm still used to movie docs being that way and can't get used to all the "watch our daily/weekly 5 min long making of/preview clips now!" stuff. Guess I don't like having to remember to keep track of such things...I like having it all in one shot - don't have to see it as it happens.

The Double Fine ones are actually very good, they're about 30 minutes each. Not including the 'side' episodes. Edited April 3, 2013 by Sensuki

[Mico Selva]

Nice update. Arcanum wasn't as funny as last time, but it's nice to see Chris doing some progress.

Remember, Chris: Tim Cain made this game specifically to torment You (no pun intended). But You can ruin his efforts by reading the manual.

Looking forward to next week's update.

[WorstUsernameEver]

Filler update. I suppose it was too early to expect something meaty given the team was busy working on the prototype, but it was nice to hope. Oh well, better than nothing.

[LadyCrimson]

The Double Fine ones are actually very good, they're about 30 minutes each. Not including the 'side' episodes.

I still prefer such things to be a one-shot thing I can sit down and watch one evening. I guess I'm just don't crave that much info all the time.

 

Edit: nothing wrong doing it the other way, btw. I just wouldn't watch them all until they were put into one giant DVD where I could pick and choose which ones I'm interested in.

[Labadal]

Filler update. I suppose it was too early to expect something meaty given the team was busy working on the prototype, but it was nice to hope. Oh well, better than nothing.

It might just be me but it seems to me that the two latest updates were like this to not steal to much attention from the Torment kickstarter.

[Sensuki]

Not every update can be a mechanics update or an art update

 

I was looking forward to hearing about the documentary because they hadn't mentioned it at all really since Update 23.

[Lysen]

Thanks for the update. Not as exciting as next week's update will be... but still.

 

Please ask Tim Cain to sit in on one of MCA's Arcanum sessions to give some dev commentary. That would be awesome.

 

That's... cruel. Would be fun though.

[WorstUsernameEver]

Not every update can be a mechanics update or an art update

 

I was looking forward to hearing about the documentary because they hadn't mentioned it at all really since Update 23.

Yeah I know, but a man can hope! Still, it's true that it's nice to hear about the documentary even if there's not a *lot* of news on it

[rjshae]

Sorry, I just don't find this interesting.

[Kissamies]

Heh, I'd love it if there was a some sort of reference to MCA's let's play in PE, like a lady lost in the hills because she refuses to read the map, or an ailing wolf a Ranger can tame and nurse into full health.