Welcome to Obsidian Entertainment's new Forum Community!

 

We're anxious to talk with all of you, but we ask that certain rules be followed to keep this a great place. Listed below are the holy commandments of these forums:

[*]Thou shalt not use excessive profanity. Foul language should be used in a minimum, non-excessive manner. If it can be said on the radio, you can probably say it here.

[*]Thou shalt not insult others using racial, ethnic, gender or sexual discriminatory remarks.

[*]Thou shalt not mean to offend or hurt any other member, in a manner that is offensive, inflammatory, or just plain mean.

[*]Thou shalt not spam our forums. Posts should remain constructive and on topic. Leave the spamming to generic Viagra, off-shore mortgage and septic tank companies.

[*]Thou shalt not post pornography, warez, codez, serialz, cracks or participate in any ~l33t~ or otherwise illicit behavior on the forums. Obsidian Entertainment will fully cooperate with law enforcement officials should that be necessary.

[*]Thou shalt understand that Obsidian Entertainment and its designated moderators and administrators have the right to request alterations or deletions of any post. Posts may be moved, edited or removed without notice at any time.

[*]Thou shalt not argue with moderators or administrators in a public fashion. Use our Private Message (PM) system. That

Addendum #1: DISCUSSING OUR PRODUCTS

 

Q: Stop it already! Why can't you just announce your project(s) already? Sheesh!

A: As much as we would like to confirm or deny any projects we are currently working on, we simply cannot do so until our publishers give us the green light.

 

For those interested in a brief synopsis of how a game comes to market: In the game industry, much like the book industry, there are typically two entities that come together to create a piece of work: an author and a publisher. The author (or in the case of our industry, the developer) usually creates the work, and the publisher markets, prints, and distributes the end result to retail stores.

 

The publisher usually fronts the money to the developer in the way of pre-determined milestone payments. Since they have to pay for this long before the game ever comes out, they naturally assume the burden of risk, but at the possible reward of the lion's share of the game's profits.

 

Since publishers are generally in charge of marketing and handling public relations, they control the announcement schedule. As much as we want to show some of our never-before-seen work, unfortunately we cannot do so without the blessings of our publishers.

 

...which leads to the next question:

 

Q: Who are your publisher(s) then? How can I bug them to announce sooner?

A: Well, you see, in the same vein, we also can't reveal who are publishers are. Sorry We can promise you this, you'll find out when the game is announced!

Addendum #2: DISCUSSING "THEIR" PRODUCTS

 

Q: I have a question about a Black Isle Studios game (Fallout, Icewind Dale, Baldur's Gate, et al.) Will you answer it?

A: Even though many of our employees once worked for Black Isle Studios, sadly we will not be able to comment about or provide any support on Black Isle or Interplay products on these forums. You may discuss them in our off-topic forums, but we do not officially support those titles.