IGN's Take On What Obsidian's Up To

[chaosprism]

They should just do away with mini games entirely or make them purely optional.

[Iolo]

They should just do away with mini games entirely or make them purely optional.

[Lord Tingeling]

I don't understant why people diss the Final Fantasy card games. They were fun, and required some thinking. And having the right cards for the right moment.

Agreed.

[Volourn]

I don't why people say there weren't multiple solutions to quests in the game. There were almost always at least two; and many had more than two. Weird. That, I thought, was one of the games' strength.

[Llyranor]

I agree with magical volo.

[Aeon]

does jumping really matter? i mean its not a platformer or action game.

[Spook]

KotOR was kind of fun, considering how limited you was in what you were allowed to do, but if they make a KotORII I expect it to be a lot better then the first one.

 

KotOR needed a lot better side quests that actualy allowed the story to change a bit. As darkside you were railroaded along the same story line as light side Jedi was. You could not even turn the first dark Jedi you met, that was fallen and was supposed to join you, to the dark side. And you could not try to take over neither the assassin guild or the Sith academy (well if you beat the game I guess you by default took over it when you ruled all the Sith, but you should have been allowed to do so earlier and maybe take up an alternative dark side companion as well there).

 

In general the interaction with your companions and the ability to change their opinions through the game was limited, as was the romance option (if you wanted that).

 

Another thing is that the console mini-games should be optional on PC. Not that I ever had any problem with the gun turret game, but there was a lot of players complaining about it on the KotOR forum.

 

One thing I did like was the weapon/armor options, but they should have better optional parts to put in the games later on so you could use your old trust sidearm without having to switch to a bteer one later on.

[Karzak]

if they make a KotORII I expect it to be a lot better then the first one.

Yeas, cause the sequals are always better

[Spook]

if they make a KotORII I expect it to be a lot better then the first one.

Yeas, cause the sequals are always better

No because the first one was lacking in some aspects, and any half competent game producer that just add a little more would make a better game.

 

That said, concidering that the people at Obsidian have had experience already making games it should not be any problem making a better game, if they just add to what was in first KotOR.

[Volourn]

Yeah, 'cause IWD2 was so much better than IWD1.

 

I hope they do make the game better as there were quite a few things I dislike a lot about KOTOR; but don't assume thinsg will be automatically better. Blind faith gets people nowhere proper.

[Spook]

I don't have blind faith, which is the reason I have not even played IWDII. The first was a dungeuon crawl, and acording to my friends the second was not that much different. That is the reason it is one of the few BIS games I don't have (together with lionheart).

 

I just hope that Obsidian will make a good game, which would be in their interest since they are a new company and realy need to make a name as independant game developers. The first game will be what most people will use to judge them, so if first game is good they should have an easier time getting more games out.

 

 

A "Slam-dunk-flopp" is not an option.

[Volourn]

Really? Bio isn't judged on their first game. What will makes Obsidian different? I think what they are judged on will depend on is doing the judging. If one's outlook is positive; they'll be judged on the good stuff. If one is negative; they'll be judged on the bad stuff.

 

And, you made a wise choice ignoring IWD2.

[Spook]

Obsidian is a new company that don't have a long set of games to show. Sure that workers at the company have worked on other games before, but those games are generaly not associated with Obsidian.

 

So after first game is released they will be associated with it untill they manage to make something better or something that flopps, and then the flickle gamers will assiciate them with that one, untill next game that make an impression.

[kumquatq3]

Edit:dumb post

[Iolo]

in case you didn't notice, Obsidian is hiring again. I take that to mean they have something for those people to work on. Ie a second project.

Or they are expanding the resources on the first project. I don't think you can extrapolate from this that there is a second project until they say so.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

Really enjoyed KOTOR.

 

It's the only non JRPG which Yuki will play. Though some of the concepts she wasnt comfortable with at first.

Like making a character. Trying to explain that was difficult(you dont make characters in JRPGs you evolve them statistically). As was the idea that you would be in the driving seat rather than the character being an entity to themselves and you just playing the game sections.Because she wasnt familiar with characters. She had no idea how to approach making the choices for that character. Something I really hadnt considered because after so long RPGing its second nature. But that it even caught her attention is quite an achievement.

 

At first I wasnt too happy with the mini games (I even made a few posts on the Bioware boards) but in actual play they were so non intrusive (re easy) that they didnt make any difference.

 

I didnt really enjoy Parzak as much as I enjoyed the FVIII and FF IX card games, it just seemed to similiar to pontoon and once you got some decent cards very routine.

 

Swoop racing wasnt bad but being able to customise the swoop (and the Ebon Hawk for that matter) would have helped make things more personal.

 

I enjoyed the combat. I found not being bogged down with details to be very refreshing and it added to the very cinematic feel of the whole thing. I didnt even look at the combat statistics the whole game.

I would like to see more active abilities in the future though because outside of the force powers there wasnt a great deal.

 

I'd also like to see more emphasis on ranged weapons and less on Jedi. Towards the end of the game there were so many Dark Jedi around lasers were a liability. Likewise you could stand in the middle of a room and reflect everything back.

 

Finally I'd like to play my character to the end of the game. While the suprise did add to the game. The character who was a paragon of virtue slowly realising who he really was (I twigged before the Leviathon) and the reaction of the companions following the event was a sort of CRPG highlight.

But even so having your character snatched away like that is something that can really only be done once.

If KOTOR 2 has an amnesiac character then I'm just going to ignore it on principle.

[Tigranes]

Or they are expanding the resources on the first project. I don't think you can extrapolate from this that there is a second project until they say so.

 

Feargus had commented that while he would have liked to hire some of the BISers when the division was near-killed in december, he already had 20 people on his project and could not afford to hire any more when they are not necessary. Interestingly, now they *are* hiring.. but I dont'see them hiring more than five or six people even with the seeming plethora of open positions. Obsidian doesn't have the funding to, unless a publisher should back them for a new project.

[Iolo]

At first I wasnt too happy with the mini games (I even made a few posts on the Bioware boards) but in actual play they were so non intrusive (re easy) that they didnt make any difference.

 

I didnt really enjoy Parzak as much as I enjoyed the FVIII and FF IX card games, it just seemed to similiar to pontoon and once you got some decent cards very routine.

 

Swoop racing wasnt bad but being able to customise the swoop (and the Ebon Hawk for that matter) would have helped make things more personal.

The only mini game in my opinion that was a bad idea was the shooter on the Ebon Hawk. You couldn't save during the mini game. If you die during the mini game, you may have lost some ground if you didn't realize you should save the game before you get to the point where you can't save. I actually died during the first time with that minigame. What they should have done is at least do a save game automatically before the save game begins (so you definately have a save game) or allow you to save during the game. Beyond that, that mini game just seemed forced and out of place as it's the only combat in the game where the player's skills and not the character's skills are used. It also should have been optional after doing it once (for instance you gave it to Carth or Canderous).

 

Good you liked the game. I liked it overall and thought it was one of the better XBox games that I ownl but I just had a few problems like with that particular mini game. The game could have used more options during combat as well.

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Really? Bio isn't judged on their first game. What will makes Obsidian different? I think what they are judged on will depend on is doing the judging. If one's outlook is positive; they'll be judged on the good stuff. If one is negative; they'll be judged on the bad stuff.

 

And, you made a wise choice ignoring IWD2.

Well, Bioware is primarily judged by their Baldur's Gate saga, which while not their first game, it was basically their first commercial success. NWN was compared to it, so was KoTOR (even if somewhat less). I doubt Jade Empire will get the same treatment (basically because its being targetted exclusivel for console players). But I believe their other IP, for PC, will get the same kind of comparison.

[Volourn]

Yup, Zante, that is correct. B)

 

P.S. Even though the MDK2 series didn't sell too badly. No BG numbers; but oh well; not too many games do.

[roshan]

im dont really care much about kotor 2, im just waiting for what obsidian does next, if they do anything.

[Capelworth]

If the rumors are true and Obsidian did manage to land the contract for Knights of the Old Republic 2, kudos to them. Has a new developer ever managed to acquire a license as valuable as this one for a first project before? Heck, it's difficult to imagine a better start for a company than an opportunity to develop a sequel to a high-profile, multi-platform game of the year.

[Slammy1]

I just finished KOTOR and I have mixed feelings. I wasn

[Diogo Ribeiro]

How does more involved equal tedium?

[Slammy1]

How does more involved equal tedium?

So out of my admittedly lengthy post that's what you ask? There's a point of diminishing returns on involvement. The vast majority of people who buy games aren't looking for a precise modelling of real life.