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[Pachterballs]

Bard's tale was great (1+2) and I enjoyed the hardcore CRPG from way back. great maps system and tough creatures. Really enjoyed it back then. The problem with the BT console version; you know - there's always this talk about how publishers shape titles; and don't want certain games.

The casualness of BT PS2 I'm sure is a perfect storm of that and trying to appeal to the console market. I mean look at

fallout brotherhood of steel PS2. Same sort of look at Bards Tale Ps2 and awfulness all around. I felt sick back then when this surfaced. Yuck


Being able to make games their way outside of publisher pressure is going to be great for inxile + BF. cant wait. to see what they come out with.

 

[wwm0nkey]

but they hit it already.

1 million is the real goal. Brian was going to give $100k if it only hit $900k

 

[Zeliard]

I dont doubt that they will greatly profit when the game releases, its just that in my experience RPG's take a considerable amount of time and money to produce, much more than 2 million ... and one like this? With the ability to make choices? That aloone makes for like, a bajillion bugs that need to be accounted for.

I know that the team is very experienced and knows what theyre doing, but even then this seems extremely ambitious for the means they have.

It's an ambitious goal no doubt, but I have to imagine they are prepared. Their original mark was only 1 million (and that's with Fargo himself throwing in that last 100k if need be). So I have to imagine they had already crunched the numbers and were prepared to make this game with that amount of money.

I don't doubt they're banking on profit post-release to cover the rest of the costs.

 

[mclem]

“@BrianFargo: The statue is of a creature being blown apart... blood sausage style!”

Blood sausages don't actually habitually explode, though.

Well, unless you go out of your way to make them do so.

 

[Pachterballs]

This is amazing. I can't believe they are this close to hitting their goal.

um, what. they hit their goal.

 

[mclem]

There were a bunch of anthologies that Interplay put out in the late 90s.

The Ultimate RPG Archives, The Forgotten Realms Archives, The Ultimate Wizardry Archives, Ultimate Might and Magic Archives. i think each were $30 or less when they first hit shelves. All of them well worth the purchase.

There's also a 10th and a 15th anniversary one, I believe, both of which also have Wasteland.

They go for an awful lot in many cases, though!

 

[subversus]

a new interview is up


here it is

 

[DanDeschain]

Pledged, even though I've never played Wasteland. Love the old Fallouts, can't wait for this.

 

[mclem]

um, what. they hit their goal.

Depends on if you want to argue semantics, given their original goal was 1M (with Brian stumping up a tenth of that if necessary) you could argue that they're not there *yet*... but any second now, they will be!

 

[duckroll]

Depends on if you want to argue semantics, given their original goal was 1M (with Brian stumping up a tenth of that if necessary) you could argue that they're not there *yet*... but any second now, they will be!

The goal now should be to raise 1.5 million so we don't let our Mac and Linux bros down!

 

[mclem]

The goal now should be to raise 1.5 million so we don't let our Mac and Linux bros down!

That was always my preferred goal. MORE STUFF!

 

[water_wendi]

$1m!

 

[DaBuddaDa]

Brian Fargo right now: *phew*

 

[jet1911]

Boom! 1 million!

 

[Pachterballs]

A MILLION BUCKAROOS.
A MILLION BUCKAROOS.
A MILLION BUCKAROOS.

 

[wwm0nkey]

The true goal has been reached. Now we work our way to 1.5 million!

 

[Xater]

The goal now should be to raise 1.5 million so we don't let our Mac and Linux bros down!

*brofist*

 

[mclem]

*NOW* we can say they've met their goal

 

[Joseph Merrick]

yep. more stuff is the real goal. 500k to go :O~

 

[Pachterballs]

a new interview is up


here it is

When we released Wasteland we were one of the top developers in the world and had several #1 successes with Bard's Tale, yet we really were not making much money. I tried to re-negotiate terms but I was offered but a small increase from what we were getting. It would have been crazy to stick with the same business model if a #1 hit wasn't getting us anywhere. There were people making decent money on games in the late 80's but they tended to be 1-2 person teams and there was no way I could make decent RPGs with that few people. So I became a publisher to change our model and EA wanted to pursue making a Wasteland 2 without us which was certainly in their rights to do so. I continued to pursue them to license the rights since they were not producing a game but they wanted to hold onto them. I finally gave up and decided I would just go make a new post-apocalyptic game that shared many of the sensibilities with the first one. We had many discussions about what made Wasteland great and through those discussions Fallout was born.

People are very clear about wanting THAT experience and none of this "re-imagining" business.

now that is interesting.

Do you have a classic game (not developed by you!) that you'd like to see resurrected or given a sequel through Kickstarter crowdfunding?

I don't even want to hint at what other things might be interesting to me. I am laser-focused on Wasteland 2 and it is all-consuming for me... in a good way.

I do think he should have talked about something else. It isn't going to draw attention away from wasteland 2. ... I grimaced a little reading that bit. Sounded a little bit... selfish but maybe they shouldn't have asked him about that til after the kickstarter campaign was done. I mean, its day 2/3.

 

[water_wendi]

How high could it go? If it can do a million in a couple days.. there is still over a month to go. Its possible that several million might come out of this. Unbelievable.

 

[Acosta]

a new interview is up


here it is

Very nice, great read. A bit more detail abiut what he wants for this game.

I want this game to be comfortable for either a Wasteland of Fallout 1/2 player to be able to step into like a comfortable pair of shoes. Obviously the graphics need to be updated and will have different combat systems etc. but there is a tone, stats, and interface that comes with the RPGs from that era. People are very clear about wanting THAT experience and none of this "re-imagining" business. The game will initially take place in the (American) southwest with you controlling a band of desert rangers like the first game. The game will have scope and scale like both Wasteland and Fallout; it will be open-world in the sense that we don't lead you around by the nose; it will have multiple approaches to most things to avoid the moralistic "right" solution; it will be skill based; NPCs will join the group and not always behave like you want, and it will not require hand-eye coordination. Oh, and tons of weapons so people can shoot their way through situations instead of charming anyone.

 

[Zeliard]

The goal now should be to raise 1.5 million so we don't let our Mac and Linux bros down!

It seems very likely they'll do that, especially since it would be the smart business move. On release they'll simply have more platforms to be able to sell the game to.

Frankly they should put that sumbitch on iPad as well. Isn't Baldur's Gate 2 about to get an iOS release? Could work.

 

[BrokenFiction]

Good Grief Gravy - a million bucks in two days.

I'm liking this brave new funding world so far...

 

[duckroll]

How high could it go? If it can do a million in a couple days.. there is still over a month to go. Its possible that several million might come out of this. Unbelievable.

I think 2 million or so is realistic. It probably won't be able to get 3 million like Double Fine, but who knows.

 

[JoseJX]

The goal now should be to raise 1.5 million so we don't let our Mac and Linux bros down!

Thanks! I upped my pledge from $50 to $100 after they announced the possibility of a Linux version, can't wait to get into the Wasteland world again!

 

[ultron87]

I'm glad this got funded. I would've felt slightly bad if they hadn't made it and I didn't contribute.

 

[subversus]

I think I'll up my pledge to 115$ just because I don't want to worry about the box being lost or damaged.

 

[Pachterballs]

You know the hardest thing now? Its not what final sum they'd get to. Its the wait for the game. I know i'll be posting ITT til the KS campaign ends but damn, if the 32 days aint too far away and then the OCT 2013 date also too far off.

 

[Zeliard]

This all feels rather bittersweet as a cRPG fan considering what's happening at Obsidian right now.

 

[Minsc]

How high could it go? If it can do a million in a couple days.. there is still over a month to go. Its possible that several million might come out of this. Unbelievable.

Most likely days 4-33 are going to be pretty negligible. I think 2.something million is attainable, but hopefully I'm wrong and it tops 3 million!

 

[Fjordson]

7 figures. Feels good man.

You know the hardest thing now? Its not what final sum they'd get to. Its the wait for the game. I know i'll be posting ITT til the KS campaign ends but damn, if the 32 days aint too far away and then the OCT 2013 date also too far off.

Just what I was thinking. The initial rush of finding out if this would work is waning. Now I'm hyped for the actual game.

 

[Blackace]

I can't argue with this, it wasn't Bard's Tale. It irks me when developers use old names to make something completely different, so I understand it.

But come on, give them a chance, this is the first time they have true freedom to do whatever they want without worrying about "making it for a new public". It could go wrong in many ways, but I believe they will stay close to the core of the original at least.

Don't get me wrong I am buying it day one, no matter what he puts out.... I just hope all the talk of staying close to the roots is true. He is saying the right things for sure

 

[Zeliard]

One of the things I'm intrigued about with Kickstarter is just how far it can go.

Double Fine and inXile are by far its two biggest successes and they both started off with fairly modest numbers as far as their goal. It's crazy to think now that DF's original mark was only 400k.

I'm quite curious to see what would happen if a developer decided to try a higher amount off the bat, like 2 million. Super-risky but if the trend is for these games to make considerably more than their original goal, starting off with a higher amount could end up effective.

Even now Kickstarter's potential is still largely unknown. It could be that higher amounts won't be effective until something like DFA or Wasteland 2 is actually released and people see the sort of quality game that can be created through crowdfunding.

 

[DaBuddaDa]

I'm quite curious to see what would happen if a developer decided to try a higher amount off the bat, like 2 million.

I want to see Chris Avellone's project come out swinging, aiming for the stars. Planescape 2: it's yours in all its glory if you fund us 2 million.

 

[Lancehead]

One million is such a refreshing number right about now. I feel terrible at not being able to gather some money right now for this. Thankfully, there's a lot of time left.

 

[The Hermit]

 

[Purkake4]

I want to see Chris Avellone's project come out swinging, aiming for the stars. Planescape 2: it's yours in all its glory if you fund us 2 million.

They need an extra budget for a crack lawyer/ninja team to liberate the license first...
Maybe some scheme to make Wizards/Hasbro desperate enough to sell all the licenses they have collecting dust.

 

[Zeliard]

I dunno about an actual Planescape game, since it's been deemed a dead setting.

But a Planescape spiritual successor of sorts could work nicely. The annoying thing is that Planescape is such an incredible setting, and it's just totally going to waste.

 

[mclem]

One of the things I'm intrigued about with Kickstarter is just how far it can go.

Double Fine and inXile are by far its two biggest successes and they both started off with fairly modest numbers as far as their goal. It's crazy to think now that DF's original mark was only 400k.

I'm quite curious to see what would happen if a developer decided to try a higher amount off the bat, like 2 million. Super-risky but if the trend is for these games to make considerably more than their original goal, starting off with a higher amount could end up effective.

Even now Kickstarter's potential is still largely unknown. It could be that higher amounts won't be effective until something like DFA or Wasteland 2 is actually released and people see the sort of quality game that can be created through crowdfunding.

The challenge with a Kickstarter is convincing your potential backers that you can deliver. DFA had the advantage of Double Fine's clear ability to deliver products along with the two key names of Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert. That's what carried them to such a level. Similarly this one has a veritable list of RPG luminaries signed up to contribute, as well as the key factor of the Wasteland name.

However, that sort of convincer isn't going to work for every single project. Just look at the Serellan LLC tactical shooter; the names behind it aren't that well known (I'm not a fan of tactical shooters, but is it right to say that they're not even that well-known *within* the fanbase?). They might meet their funding goal, but their model requires input beyond their funding goal; it's not entirely funded by the kickstarter, and depending on how much they actually *really* need, I'm not sure it could realistically be.

That's not to say that it's impossible for projects that don't have Big Names to throw at people to be successful, but they'll need some *other* X Factor involved to convince backers that there really will be a game for them at the end of the process to get the sort of funding DFA and (it looks like) Wasteland 2 will.

That said, I'm speaking solely in terms of multimillion dollar projects, here, and there's plenty of scope at a much smaller level to thrive off KS.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Blood sausages don't actually habitually explode, though.

Well, unless you go out of your way to make them do so.

I'm sure they explode just fine with some machine gun fire or a sledgehammer swing, as they apparently often do in the world of WL1. I love the close relationship that the CRPG part of WL1 has with the text adventure part. The experience is so very dependent on text as the primary information method for everything, including combat. I mean, the map, the units visible there, and the animated portraits are the only visual communication the game has with the player. If I have to try to make a distinction between them, Wasteland is a book written in the third person, Fallout is a movie written in the first person. Maybe just relative to each other in terms of detail delivery, anyway.

 

[DiddyBop]

so what happens if development takes longer than 1 year and they ask for more funding? what if they cancel? is there any legal backing to this to get money back? just wan tot make sure before i potentially fund

 

[bloodydrake]

I'd like to see Touch support for Windows 8 and Ipad2+ implemented if they can get more then 1.5million
GOG and Steam are one of the main reasons I want a windows 8 hybrid tablet over buying an Ipad3 but obviously the Ipad marketplace has huge potential as well.

 

[Purkake4]

I dunno about an actual Planescape game, since it's been deemed a dead setting.

But a Planescape spiritual successor of sorts could work nicely. The annoying thing is that Planescape is such an incredible setting, and it's just totally going to waste.

It's not like you can't license out "dead settings" all the material is still there, in fact, they should come at a discount. Free money and publicity for Hasbro.

 

[The Emperor]

so what happens if development takes longer than 1 year and they ask for more funding? what if they cancel? is there any legal backing to this to get money back? just wan tot make sure before i potentially fund

I think this is all based on trust and if that trust is broken...it will be such a severe break of trust that Brian Fargo may never be able to recover from the backlash.

 

[How About No]

I started following this thread at the 600k mark. A few hours later, 800k.

But today,

 

[nubbe]

I'm sure they will release something.
Polish and bugs is the real question.

 

[Wiktor]

I dont doubt that they will greatly profit when the game releases, its just that in my experience RPG's take a considerable amount of time and money to produce, much more than 2 million ... and one like this? With the ability to make choices? That aloone makes for like, a bajillion bugs that need to be accounted for.

I know that the team is very experienced and knows what theyre doing, but even then this seems extremely ambitious for the means they have.

I assume it won't be high end game, so all the money will go into creating the content instead of teh pretty graphics.

 

[PIMPBYBLUD]

perfect...

 

[mclem]

I'm sure they will release something.
Polish and bugs is the real question.

I did wonder about the plans for post-release support, because the implication when they say that the entire budget will go towards the game is that the entire budget will go towards the *release* game, which does raise questions about how post-release patches will be funded. That said, we're not going to be tapping into Brian's $100k in the main project any more, so there's some leeway there; alternatively, I'd hope some of the revenue from 'real' sales will get poured into support.