Support NeoGAF

[Nirolak]

Kotaku has put up a gigantic history of Obsidian article.

Here's some catchier excerpts about their future and current state, but really the article is vastly longer so if you're interested you should head over.

First up, they are still talking to publishers about new potential projects. It's unclear if they have something signed and are trying to have a new project in case it's canceled or don't have one yet, depending on how literally you take "Products that are working right now for our publishers might not work":

"As soon as we get back from the holidays, I'm on the road looking for the next thing," Urquhart said. "We're generally always pitching. Products that are working right now for our publishers might not work, and probably people don't know a lot about this aspect, but in general, all agreements that any developer signs with a publisher have this line called 'cancel for convenience.' We could get a call tomorrow saying, 'Yeah, we don't want to move forward with product X.'"

Here are the publishers they have talked to:

It almost feels like a fairy tale ending: after years of rushed projects, sudden cancellations, and brutal layoffs, Obsidian is suddenly in control of its own destiny. They've got two promising games on the way, and even just a few months ago, major publishers were knocking on their door: Urquhart told me he's been talking to Bethesda, Ubisoft, Warner Bros., and LucasArts.

But not everybody is a fan of Obsidian Entertainment. Some RPG fans disliked their treatment of series like Neverwinter Nights and Fallout, and some have grown disillusioned with the company after what they see as a trend of rushed, buggy software. In many ways Project: Eternity's success is now an albatross. Between the South Park RPG and the Kickstartered phenomenon, expectations are at an all-time high for the group of developers from California.

Here are some games they would like to work on, notably published by the publishers they've been talking to (see the first quote for a conditional statement):

Urquhart isn't worried about the pressure. He's optimistic about the next couple of years. "I really feel that 2013 and 2014 are gonna be great years for Obsidian," he said. "For gaming in general."

He's even got a dream project: Knights of the Old Republic III. On next-gen consoles.

"I think doing something like that on [Orbis and Durango] and things like that might be—I would be disappointed as a gamer if that never got made," Urquhart said. "I think a lot of gamers would be disappointed as well."

But Obsidian has a lot of dream projects, and the 90-person studio can't get to all of them. For now, they've got a lot of work to do. South Park has to meet expectations; Project: Eternity has to meet even higher expectations; and the company has to convince the world that they can release bug-free, polished video games.

"We would love to work on Fallout again," Urquhart said. "Hell, we would love to work in the Elder Scrolls universe. Nothing is going on at this point in time, but we talk about it all the time... I'd love to do a Fallout: New Vegas 2. I think a Fallout: New Vegas 2 would kick ass.

"I believe New Vegas is a great, like—you have Fallout, and then you have New Vegas. They feel like separate products. Same engine, same everything, but they feel totally different. ‘Sister product' is the best way to put it."

And here's what their canceled Microsoft game was:

When I asked Urquhart about North Carolina—the cancelled project that led to significant layoffs at Obsidian earlier this year—he said he couldn't talk much about it. It was an original IP—a big, third-person, open-world game designed and created by Obsidian. They pitched it to several publishers in 2011, complete with a fancy book full of ideas and concept art. But Urquhart couldn't say much more than that.

"We went down the road with a few publishers," he said. "We did get it signed up with a publisher, and unfortunately as happens sometimes, projects just don't go. Particularly when it's been not that long, it's hard to go into a lot of detail about it. It's too bad—we thought it was really cool."

Source: http://kotaku.com/5968952/the-knigh...e-some-of-the-coolest-role+playing-games-ever

 

[dionysus]

I am on the record being pessimistic about Obsidian's survival since I think they are tied at the hip with THQ at this moment in time. I like his optimism but we should all be praying that funding for South Park is guaranteed from THQ if we want to see PE completed.

Please THQ, make it another year or sell South Park to a financially sound publisher! Please!

 

[Glass Rebel]

I am on the record being pessimistic about Obsidian's survival since I think they are tied at the hip with THQ at this moment in time. I like his optimism but we should all be praying that funding for South Park is guaranteed from THQ if we want to see PE completed.

Please THQ, make it another year or sell South Park to a financially sound publisher! Please!

Viacom is funding most of that project.

 

[dionysus]

Viacom is funding most of that project.

Great. Puts me at ease a bit.

 

[Interfectum]

We already got KotOR 3, 4, 5...

 

[Miker]

We already got KotOR 3, 4, 5...

...6, 7, 8...

What did they say, like 3-12 or something?

 

[Peff]

Some RPG fans disliked their treatment of series like Neverwinter Nights and Fallout

Debatable.

 

[Wuthering_Heights]

KotOR 3: Where you finally figured out what the fuck happened to

Spoiler

Revan

.

 

[mugurumakensei]

I am on the record being pessimistic about Obsidian's survival since I think they are tied at the hip with THQ at this moment in time. I like his optimism but we should all be praying that funding for South Park is guaranteed from THQ if we want to see PE completed.

Please THQ, make it another year or sell South Park to a financially sound publisher! Please!

Project Eternity being crowdfunded and Stick of Truth being Viacom funded makes them safe for a couple of years.

 

[Sullen]

Who are these 'fans' that are upset with their treatment of Neverwinter Nights? Neverwinter Nights 2 and Mask of the Betrayer are superior in every way to Neverwinter Nights 1 and it's expansions.

 

[dionysus]

We already got KotOR 3, 4, 5...

Heh, I wonder if they just did a massive single player conversion of TOR would it sell well.

 

[Dresden]

Don't want to see another KOTOR.

Another Obsidian Fallout would be rad but a TES game would be good too. Basically sign me up for anything.

Who are these 'fans' that are upset with their treatment of Neverwinter Nights? Neverwinter Nights 2 and Mask of the Betrayer are superior in every way to Neverwinter Nights 1 and it's expansions.

The same 'fans' that chime in about bugged releases in every Obsidian thread, I guess.

 

[Taruranto]

Some RPG fans disliked their treatment of series like Neverwinter Nights and Fallout, and some have grown disillusioned with the company after what they see as a trend of rushed, buggy software.

These most be pretty weird RPG fans.

 

[wrowa]

Ironically, Obsidian's kickstarter success might attract the attention of publishers. If a company's name is worth so much that even fans scratch together 4 million bucks, you could do worse than looking at the work of these guys. Even though a full-blown "AAA", 3D project obviously would be a lot more expensive.

Actually, I wonder if there are publishers who look at the kickstarters and see a potential for a sort of comeback of $10 million projects. When there are apparently a lot of people craving for these games and when there's not much risk involved due to the low budget, why not give it a shot if the studio wants to do it? 10 million more than a studio could hope to collect via Kickstarter, but not enough to make a difference for most publishers if it goes wrong.

 

[marrec]

Project Eternity being crowdfunded and Stick of Truth being Viacom funded makes them safe for a couple of years.

And if they're safe for a couple of years, then they will inevitably get work on SOMETHING. Here's hoping they're tapped for another Fallout game.

 

[mugurumakensei]

Who are these 'fans' that are upset with their treatment of Neverwinter Nights? Neverwinter Nights 2 and Mask of the Betrayer are superior in every way to Neverwinter Nights 1 and it's expansions.

I more concerned with who are these fans upset with New Vegas. New Vegas has a much more Fallout feel than 3.

 

[Izick]

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD YES

...I would really enjoy seeing a new KOTOR game, made by Obsidian.

 

[Orayn]

To me, this reads like a good friend trying to rekindle their relationship with an abusive ex.

If Eternity does well, couldn't they experiment with more self-published exclusives on PC? It's where they'll be most appreciated!

 

[Levyne]

I would purchase the **** out of any of those.

And by purchase I mean generously fund via kickstarter

 

[kswiston]

I more concerned with who are these fans upset with New Vegas. New Vegas has a much more Fallout feel than 3.

Considering the difference in sales, I don't think it would be a stretch to guess that three quarters of the people who bought Fallout 3 were new to the series.

To me, this reads like a good friend trying to rekindle their relationship with an abusive ex.

If Eternity does well, couldn't they experiment with more self-published exclusives on PC? It's where they'll be most appreciated!

How many completely self-published devs have a staff of 90+? There aren't that many Valves out there. I think that Project Eternity proves that the company will exist in some form going forward, but if they don't want to pare their studio down to 20-30 people, they probably need to supplement stuff like Project Eternity with larger contracts.

 

[PhoenixDark]

KOTOR would be great on the WiiU, can't wait. Star Wars in general has a lot of potential with touch screen/tablet controls

 

[wrowa]

I more concerned with who are these fans upset with New Vegas. New Vegas has a much more Fallout feel than 3.

RPG fans who haven't played the original Fallouts.

Well, make it "RPG fans".

 

[funkystudent]

Obsidian is just interested in finding work .. period.

 

[Gillian Seed]

KotOR 3: Where you finally figured out what the fuck happened to

Spoiler

Revan

.

Read the book. I enjoyed it. And hell yeah I want Obsidian KOTOR III!!!!!!!!

 

[Totobeni]

But will Bethesda even want to work with them again after Obsidian went all " Bethesda engine is shit" and "Bethesda make our bonuses based on Metacritic score so we got nothing despite it selling millions" ? it was just an extreme case of burning bridges.

 

[Izick]

KOTOR would be great on the WiiU, can't wait. Star Wars in general has a lot of potential with touch screen/tablet controls

NO WAIT NO NO NO NO NO

Wait...it's Obsidian, they'd never do this! I will go back to yessing!

Obsidian is just interested in getting work .. period.

They're one of the last few great RPG makers in the biz, so I'm fine with that.

 

[SpudBud]

Fallout: New Vegas 2 would be amazing. Kotor 3 would be interesting to see given how the Old Republic fucked up everything dealing with Revan.

 

[dionysus]

Considering the difference in sales, I don't think it would be a stretch to guess that three quarters of the people who bought Fallout 3 were new to the series.

Even if you just compare Fallout 3 to F:NV I feel like in almost every way NV did the Fallout 3 formula better. I know opinions are like arseholes but....

Even when it comes to bugs there is no way to know objectively but Fallout 3 was bad as well.

 

[infinityBCRT]

Would love a KOTOR 3 which kept the tough decisions in the previous KOTOR games (where what you said was not clearly good/bad; unlike Mass Effect where theres a clear good and bad choice) and kept all of the RPGness of KOTOR, but maybe moved the combat and space exploration more in the direction of Mass Effect 2.

 

[Lime]

Ain't gonna happen

 

[Freedom = $1.05]

IE we'll do any job because we like eating and paying the bills.

 

[Clevinger]

But will Bethesda even want to work with them again after Obsidian went all " Bethesda engine is shit" and "Bethesda make our bonuses based on Metacritic score so we got nothing despite it selling millions" ? it was just an extreme case of burning bridges.

I don't see why some developer comments that probably only Obsidian fans can remember would make them not want to make money from another Fallout Vegas game while they're busy with Elder Scrolls or whatever. It's business. The latter especially isn't as big a deal as you make it, since they were just describing the usual Developer/Publisher relationship, and not something especially unique to Bethesda and them.

 

[BattleMonkey]

It's nice to want things

 

[Cystm]

Not interested in seeing them handle anything KotOR related at all. At least not until we are able to see the quality of project eternity.

 

[StoppedInTracks]

Some RPG fans disliked their treatment of series like Neverwinter Nights and Fallout, and some have grown disillusioned with the company after what they see as a trend of rushed, buggy software.

What fans are those? The so called RPG "fans" would be banned on RPG Codex day one.

 

[dionysus]

But will Bethesda even want to work with them again after Obsidian went all " Bethesda engine is shit" and "Bethesda make our bonuses based on Metacritic score so we got nothing despite it selling millions" ? it was just an extreme case of burning bridges.

Unless there are really strong personalities involved (think Dennis Dyack light type egos), normally these type of minor business tiffs won't stop new contracts from being signed if there is money to be made.

So really it boils down too this, does Bethesda think another developer can do a better job than Obsidian and is that developer available?

 

[marrec]

Ain't gonna happen

They'll probably be tapped to work on Fallout again.

 

[Izick]

For the love of all that his holy and good Disney, LET THEM MAKE KOTOR III. Please, I will buy Wall-E again on Blu-Ray, I'll even go to the new Star Wars movie and pretend to enjoy it if it's bad if you just let them do KOTOR III.

 

[mikeGFG]

if anyone at Bethesda is reading this:

the world could use a little Fallout New Vegas 2.

 

[Yopis]

Kotor 2 was so much better than the first. New vegas was awesome and miles better than FO3. Honestly I want alpha Protocol 2.

 

[Lothars]

I more concerned with who are these fans upset with New Vegas. New Vegas has a much more Fallout feel than 3.

No it didn't, It had some of the things that made it fallout but so did fallout 3 which had a vastly better random encounters. Both games are worth playing but I don't want just a fallout game from Obsidian, I would rather have Obsidian and Bethesda collaberate on a fallout game.

RPG fans who haven't played the original Fallouts.

Well, make it "RPG fans".

I played the original fallouts and I think Fallout 3 world was better than new vegas. both have some fallout about them in different ways.

 

[jschreier]

Thanks for the link.

South Park is not funded by Viacom. THQ is paying for it, and has been since they picked up the game in 2011. (At least according to Obsidian.) That said, if something does happen to THQ in the next few months, what video game publisher wouldn't want to get their hands on an AAA South Park RPG?

 

[marrec]

I played the original fallouts and I think Fallout 3 world was better than new vegas. both have some fallout about them in different ways.

Fallout 3 was great UNTIL New Vegas came out and I realized just how boring Fallout 3 was. Then they tricked me again with Skyrim. Bethesda should let Obsidian do some Elder Scrolls content...

 

[kswiston]

Even if you just compare Fallout 3 to F:NV I feel like in almost every way NV did the Fallout 3 formula better. I know opinions are like arseholes but....

Even when it comes to bugs there is no way to know objectively but Fallout 3 was bad as well.

I liked the feeling of exploration more in Fallout 3. The Capitol wasteland was more interesting to me than New Vegas, perhaps because I was more familiar with the landmarks. The non-exploration role-play bits were better in New Vegas.

As for bugs, I had more CTDs with New Vegas, but you are right in that both were pretty buggy overall. I had to replay an hour of Fallout 3 because

Spoiler

Liberty Prime

glitched into a wall preventing the main quest from progressing. There was also a random door in Fallout 3 that would lock up my game every time I tried to go through it. I imagine that Fallout 3 got a pass on that stuff in reviews because it was new and shiny. On the surface New Vegas looked extremely similar, so perhaps people expected some of the kinks to be worked out?

 

[Izick]

I'm really curious to see how Disney handles the Star Wars name, game wise. I mean this could be awesome if they gave Obsidian the go ahead and they started to development game and plan the release sometime when Star Wars 7 comes out, thus building up hype for the SW brand name.

 

[Forsaken82]

Heh, I wonder if they just did a massive single player conversion of TOR would it sell well.

I think it would.

I think the Subscription kept it from selling crazy numbers, and then their idea of monetization for F2P didn't help matters. In my opinion Bioware made a mistake by not making a new Single Player Kotor. They were so blinded by trying to emulate Blizzard's success. They could have easily profited better with a few single player KOTOR successor's instead of a subscription based MMO that can't even seem to figure itself out with a shitty F2P model.

 

[Lothars]

Fallout 3 was great UNTIL New Vegas came out and I realized just how boring Fallout 3 was. Then they tricked me again with Skyrim. Bethesda should let Obsidian do some Elder Scrolls content...

See and I liked fallout 3 but after seeing Fallout New Vegas than I realized how much better bethesda did the world stuff compared to Obsidian.

I don't want them to do another fallout only if was a collaberation of both studios.

 

[Lime]

The simple fact that Disney is making a new trilogy after the events of the last decent film should automatically prove that in no way will they invest in anything that is as far removed as the KOTOR universe.

 

[Currygan]

I'm up for KOTOR 3


I'm going to leave the thread before the Obsidian splurging fanboy army crashes in

 

[The Silver]

I only want KOTOR 3 if it completely ignores the Revan novel and SWTOR.