Pillars of Eternity is a classically styled party-based computer RPG made by the fine folks at Obsidian Entertainment. It was successfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter, in a campaign that raised $4 million and single-handedly saved the company from impending closure.
Obsidian? Doesn't Samwise Gamgee use that to kill The Others?
Obsidian is one of the foremost RPG game studios in the world, being responsible for South Park: The Stick of Truth, Fallout: New Vegas, Alpha Protocol, Neverwinter Nights 2 (& Mask of the Betrayer), Knights of the Old Republic 2…and that Dungeon Siege 3 game with the awful co-op camera. Obsidian was built from the ashes of Black Isle Studios, which itself was responsible for some of the very best and most influential RPGs in history.
Obsidian has some serious talent, including Chris Avellone (Planescape: Torment lead), Josh Sawyer (Fallout: New Vegas lead), and Tim Cain (Fallout 1&2 co-creator, Arcanum lead), and they’ve all worked with the numerous other cool cats at Obsidian to bring you Pillars of Eternity.
It was crowdfunded? Is this some sort of indie game for hipsters with laboriously oiled beards?
Pillars of Eternity is Obsidian’s first creator-owned project, putting the studio in control of its destiny for the first time. In one of the most famous instances of Metacritic being the worst thing to ever exist, the wildly successful Fallout: New Vegas, despite selling many millions of copies, didn’t net Obsidian a dime after the fact. As perpetual guns for hire they weren’t entitled to any royalties, and their contract with Zenimax stipulated a hefty bonus check only if the game received a Metascore of 85 or higher. It got an 84. That, and other troubles with publishers: Knights of the Old Republic 2 was shipped incomplete after only a year of dev time, Sega cancelled Obsidian’s Aliens RPG after it was finished, and many other woes, have sent Obsidian into a downward spiral of layoffs and close calls with the afterlife.
A successful in-house original IP for Obsidian, with profits going back to them instead of a third party, has the potential to rebuild the company with solid financial backing and pave the way for many new RPGs to come. The folks at Obsidian aren’t here to constantly beg for cash with each release, either. They’re looking to make the Eternity IP self-sustaining now that it’s been Kickstarted, and they’re only pitching a second new IP on Kickstarter after Pillars of Eternity is released and judged by the public. There’s a reason we like these guys and gals besides the games they make.
What’s the gist of the game, then?
Pillars of Eternity is a real-time-with-pause tactical party-based fantasy role playing game, spanning two large hub cities and a vast expanse of wilderness locales and beyond. If you’re unfamiliar with the subgenre or you’re not a million years old like those of us who crowdfunded this game out of our massive old-fashioned Costanza wallets, think Dragon Age PC’s strategic camera mode without all the suck. You control your party of heroes with RTS-style click and drag controls, pausing when necessary to queue up actions and abilities, then unpausing to see it all play out in glorious mayhem.
Pillars had a design goal of recapturing the look, feel, and uniqueness of the classic Infinity Engine computer RPGs (Baldur’s Gate 1&2, Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale 1&2) of fifteen years ago without compromising the game for broader audiences or console-friendly controls or anything else that would typically be necessary for a mass market product in 2015. Like the classic IE games, it uses prerendered backgrounds with hand-drawn elements for a timeless and beautiful look. Just look at those screenshots.
Instead of using a D&D ruleset or its Forgotten Realms setting, though, all of PoE’s game systems have been built from scratch, along with a elaborate original fantasy setting: Eora, a world which delves deeply into the concept of souls.
What does NeoGAF have to do with Pillars of Eternity?
WE'RE ALL PILLARS OF PILLARS
The enthusiasm and generosity of NeoGAF’s members contributed significantly to the Pillars of Eternity Kickstarter campaign, with NeoGAF tracking among the campaign’s highest inbound links. If you contributed to PoE, sleep soundly in between marathon PoE play sessions knowing that you helped make an important game possible and also helped save Obsidian from sleeping six feet under next to Black Isle.
MASSIVE EVILORE EGO PORTRAIT IN-GAME
I personally contributed $3000 to the Kickstarter campaign (don’t worry, I’m crazy), and in return Obsidian’s artists have painted an awesome likeness of my face that is included in-game as a playable portrait for the main character or any custom party member. You'll be able to subject the founder, owner, and head troll of NeoGAF to all sorts of pain and suffering for your pleasure. Seriously, though, use my portrait, even if you’re playing as a girl or an Orlan or an Orlan girl, or I’ll beat the crap out of you at E3. Or just silently shed a tear. Probably just silently shed a tear. Let’s choose the path of peace and love, though, okay?
NEOGAF INN IN-GAME
A core group of NeoGAF enthusiasts, coordinated through the time and efforts of NeoGAF member shagg_187, also raised an additional $5000 for the PoE Kickstarter to secure a very special and limited backer award: our very own NeoGAF inn inside Pillars of Eternity. Seriously. With specs figured out jointly by those of us who raised the money, the NeoGAF inn — called, with appropriately classy subtlety, the Goose and Fox — can be your home away from home inside the game. Until you get banned for saying something about Nintendo in the NPD common hall.
It’s situated in a prime location in one of the two main hub cities, Defiance Bay, in the Copperlane district. The innkeeper is our very own veteran banmaster Bishop. Check it out and explore the NeoGAF easter eggs Obsidian included, starting with the sign outside the door.
TROLLS
Chris Avellone also drew us some NeoGAF trolls, because he loves us and and he had to. Not necessarily in that order. Anyone up for a tattoo?
100 pages of PR materials about the game
Read a wiki or some shit.
Metascore
Not 84.
Miscellaneous
Here's the world map:
Play as one of these people: aumaua, dwarves, elves, godlike, humans, orlans
With these classes: Barbarian, Fighter, Cipher, Chanter, Ranger, Wizard, Priest, Monk, Paladin, Druid, Rogue
The game is really pretty:
It's on Steam and GOG, for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
John Walker of Rock Paper Shotgun thinks it's really good.
The end~
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OR IS IT?
"Sensuki" has several good videos to introduce new players to the concepts and mechanics in the game, essentially spoiler free.
Character Creation
UI / Mechanics
Basic Gameplay / Combat
When does it come out?
26th of March, 2015 at 9am PST.
Is there anything else I should know?
There is a manual available here, assuming you're some kind of nerd. If you're also concerned about information being "correct" and other such trivialities, check out the Errata page.
Guest Appearance by Durante
