I'm pretty sure DFA put together 1M in their first 24 hours, so this is a bit ahead of that (they're on, what, 20 hours now?). I do wonder how much of it is simply the fact that they're *asking* for more money
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Pillars of Eternity by Obsidian Entertainment (Kickstarter) [Up: Teaser]
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I'm pretty sure DFA put together 1M in their first 24 hours, so this is a bit ahead of that (they're on, what, 20 hours now?). I do wonder how much of it is simply the fact that they're *asking* for more money
Remember that when DFA was announced people didn't really think about kickstarters as a viable source of funding for video games (other than very small budget indie games). They didn't have the kind of campaign leading up to the reveal that Obsidian did, and a lot of people didn't hear about it at all until the campaign was well underway. I think the circumstances are pretty different.
Angry Fork
Member
Only 1.1 million? Don't these sorts of games cost like 20-30 million these days?
I guess we don't know everything... Do games REALLY cost 20-30m to make?
Jibbajabbawockky
Member
Probably depends on what you mean by "these sorts of games"? This isn't a BioWare RPG that'll have everything voice acted and have to work with a fully 3D engine with tons of cinematic cutscenes that'll need to accommodate the consoles and big budget marketing and publisher whims.
Pretty much, none of the big developers/publishers are making this kind of game these days. Which is basically why this Kickstarter exists in the first place.
Mister_Bubbles
Member
They're not having voice over for every line of dialogue - for an RPG that's gonna cut a huge chunk of cost out of the total.
These sorts of games aren't made anymore. Outside of the low-budget Spiderweb games, I mean.
Fallout 1 was made for ~$3 million so this is feasible at least.
why so low?
If you go back few years when 2D was latest viable technology then yes. But now thanks to better development tools they can make worlds faster and better looking.
Also 1.1mln should count as minimum. From there stretch goals will evaluate whole game more.
I want robbust mod support.
if you want AAA production values in graphics, voice acting and animations they do.
The presentation in this project will be on a much smaller scale.
Delusibeta
Banned
So, it's 2.30pm BST, this Kickstarter started 6pm BST. So, in twenty and a half hours, Obsidian has raised $926k.
Will Obsidian reach their goal in 24 hours? Probably not, but they'll almost certainly do it before 12 midnight BST tonight.
Will Obsidian reach their goal in 24 hours? Probably not, but they'll almost certainly do it before 12 midnight BST tonight.
Jibbajabbawockky
Member
I really want to see what their stretch goals are, since they'll likely need to put them up pretty soon.
I'm also really curious to see a sample screenshot of whatever engine they have in mind. If it looks like Infinity engine just at a higher resolution and better looking character models, I'll be thrilled.
I'm also really curious to see a sample screenshot of whatever engine they have in mind. If it looks like Infinity engine just at a higher resolution and better looking character models, I'll be thrilled.
maverick40
Junior Member
What have I done
Wow did you really just pay 1000 for a game??
Count of Monte Sawed-Off
un33dab@dpu$$y
I'm going to play Icewind Dale 2 it's the only IE game I never finished, any advice? I'm not to good with 3rd edition rules and it's generally what has turned me off of the game in the past.
SquiddyCracker
Banned
I'm guessing that one of the higher stretch-goals will be VA.
I believe it's going to look like Inquisitor, just a bit smoother:
What is this ? First time i heard of it..
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Not unless they double back on one of their announced pillars of the game. Which would be a very bad thing.
A new, Czech made iso CRPG. It came out last week I think, and it's on Greenlight for Steam release
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=92965329
It's basically doing exactly what Eternity is trying to do. Jury's out on how good it actually is though, I haven't heard much.
I hope they include them seeing as they're going to fly past the goal.
The game will not have full voice ever. They made that very clear in the interview. It's not just a cost issue, it also makes it far harder for them to improve/change/correct dialogue on the fly as they develop the game. For the best results and flexibility, voices will only for used partially for flavor.
That's kind of a bummer. I don't mind a silent main character(actually, I prefer it like in DA:O) but I much prefer side characters to be voiced, it helps immerse you in the world in my opinion.
They'll probably be voiced, just not fully voiced. There'll probably be voice in combat for example, and when you talk to a character the first greeting line would be voiced, but not the entire conversations.
Terra_Ex
Member
Not for me its not, its the best way to make use of the resources available, doesn't squander the budget on something entirely superfluous, plus it allows for significant (non-voiced) mod content to be easily added to the game without it sticking out like a sore thumb while still allowing devs to selectively highlight/heighten critical parts of the game through voices. Fantastic choice imo.
Angry Fork
Member
Oh ok, I thought it was going to be a full scale 3D thing like the newer Fallout games or Elder Scrolls which is why I thought it would cost a lot more than 1.1 million.
nonadventurer
Neo Member
Unfortunately he isn't. He left Obsidian some time ago.
I dunno why they would lay him off, of all people, given that it was he who turned the boring generic fantasy of NWN 2 into Obsidian's most imaginative game that was Mask of the Betrayer.
$2 mil stretch goal: bring back George Ziets.
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
It's probably already partially developed, since they have concept work, a story and so on. It's also likely using existing technology at Obsidian, and being built using a smaller team. The fact that they're giving the game to people who chip in 25 bucks may be an indicator that they're not expecting to sell it as a full price title for one reason or another (e.g. graphically simple, or low production values). This isn't going to be a Bioware style bombastic RPG with 100 hours of voice acting and complex CG cutscenes. Finally, Obsidian has money. It's not exactly blessed with huge amounts of cash to blow on whatever it wants, but throwing in a couple of million dollars of their own money behind a project isn't beyond the realm of possibility.
1.1 Million dollars will give you 12 staff members being payed $45,000 / year for 2 years. That's not a lot, but if the total budget is actually more like 4-5 million, it's not exactly unrealistic for an isometric game with low production values (e.g. not an AAAA blockbuster with 20 mil marketing campaign).
Um it's really not doing exactly what Eternity is trying to do. It's primarily a hack & slash game with a deeper storyline and mechanics, akin to Divine Divinity.
water_wendi
Water is not wet!
Its probably going to be like Torment or the other IE games.
I meant story/dialogue driven 2D isometric fantasy role playing games in the vein of the late-90s/early-00s games (such as Divine Divinity).
Fine Ham Abounds
Member
I'm glad these projects are in good hands. I'm not looking forward to the first major gaming Kickstarter to fall through and the ensuing legal mire, but I feel like a jerk being even remotely pessimistic at this point in time.
So happy for this, incredibly impressive and encouraging that they may reach their goal in a day.
So happy for this, incredibly impressive and encouraging that they may reach their goal in a day.
Imp the Dimp
Member
Inquisitor looks incredible.
He payed $1000 for a dream.
Z
ZombieFred
Unconfirmed Member
If they can hit their target in less than 24 hours then this would be the best thing to see in gaming for me in years. Kickstarter has really brought that middle game ground again and getting these beloved genres and interesting concepts returning again on the PC front. This is what the generation of gaming should be like, taking the best out of what the internet and gaming community can provide directly to developers that don't have to sacrifice their ideas due to publisher control.
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
It slowed a lot maybe 6-7 hours ago, but I think that's because America went to sleep. I'm expecting to pick up a little soon as everyone rolls out of bed on Saturday.
Yes but I like to think that Bioware realized that soon after the release of DA:O but they had already committed to the 'Press A for awesome' turn for the franchise.
And now they can't get themselves to admit how wrong they were. And are.
ChosenPredator
Banned
This is a good thing than since DEVs have a chance to feed off of some people nostalgia but also enhance gameplay to modern standards visually which equals gaming bliss and more company bonus points with the community.
Just hope there is a good gap between a few of the most wanted ones so they aren't directly competing against each other.
Just hope there is a good gap between a few of the most wanted ones so they aren't directly competing against each other.
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
Dear lord, DAO is one of the dullest and least inspired RPGs I've ever played. More than any other game I can think of it feels like an offline MMO, and the few good ideas that it has are scraped out over the huge length of the game. People whined about the Fade, but I'll play through that twice before I'll go through the Deep Roads. You could cut down the game-time by a third by reducing the volume of unnecessary combat and eliminating the stupid-arse "random" encounters on the roads, and the game would be significantly improved for it.
Of the many problems that DA2 suffers from, I think "press A to awesome" barely registers. It's half baked, reuses too many assets, has shitty wave based encounter design and looks ugly as sin despite it's tiny scale.