Obsidian Entertainment - Initial Kickstarter Responses

Chris Avellone has posted an update about a possible Kickstarter project, having combed through the fan response on a variety of websites, including ours. Here's the entire post:

I’ve gone through all the blog responses, comments, and Twitter responses - I wanted to say thanks to you all for the idea suggestions and the support.

And just as importantly, feel free to keep them coming. I routinely check Twitter (@ChrisAvellone), Facebook, my inbox, and a number of gaming sites with similar questions (Penny Arcade, Rock/Paper/Shotgun, NMA, RPGCodex, GameBanshee, RPG Watch, Giant Bomb) in addition to this blog so while it helps if you put your comments here or in the blog below, chances are if you frequent those other sites, I’ll have a way of getting that feedback.

If you see a thread that I may have missed, feel free to suggest it (that’s where I found many of the links above).

I’ve tabulated all the current responses as of last night, and it went off to the Obsidian owners for evaluation. I can’t promise anything will come from it, but considering the outpouring of feedback here, I appreciate everyone that took the time to respond (and the detail as well).

An additional thanks to those who had enough faith in us to be supportive no matter what the project was… that was encouraging to read.

To answer some common questions:

- Pursuing Kickstarter was a question of personal interest on my part. It doesn’t guarantee that Obsidian would do a Kickstarter project. All I know I’d love to do one, and while I have games I’d love to do, I was more curious as to what you’d want to see.

- Some people asked why we would seek funding at all. In short, our cash largely stems from publisher financing. If a publisher doesn’t believe a title is worth the investment (adventure games, old school RPGs), they will not support the endeavor.

- What excited me about Double Fine is that it skirted asking the publishers and pitching to publishers in the first place and changed the pitch focus to the folks who want to play the game. They had a means of going directly to the public and asking if they’d support a project, which they did. And as a developer, getting such a reaction from fans for a seemingly "dead” genre is welcome.

- If interested in the results, the most responses concerned in order of preference (note that there’s likely bias here considering the author of the Twitter and the blog post below):

• Planescape 2/Planescape Spiritual Successor.
• An Isometric turn-based/pause RPGs in general.
• The “other” category – this fell into game suggestions and mechanics and genres that were only suggested by 1 or 2 folks. I read all of these.
• Make whatever you want, we’ll support you.

Again, thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it. And even if my Excel-burned-eyes are dry from tabulating responses, it’s good that there was such a strong amount of feedback in the first place.

More information.

Very nice of him to respond in this manner.

Has Avellone ever gone over what game ranks at the top for what he'd prefer doing personally?

Originally Posted by Drithius
Very nice of him to respond in this manner.

Has Avellone ever gone over what game ranks at the top for what he'd prefer doing personally?

He did in a podcast a few days ago. Basically text heavy planescape-like.

Planescape 2, for years fans were hoping, finally he got the picture.

Obsidian should contact inexile and help do the Wasteland 2 project.

It would be like back in the old Black Isle Studio days again…..

I don't quite follow how Kickstarter works.

The people who are paying money are just making donations, with no stake in the revenues to be earned from the project?

No.

a) Dev describes project on Kickstarter. He makes certain promises to potential donators. This can depend on the amount donated (see Double Fine's game, lots of different levels and excuses to donate that much).
b) The money is collected and transfered to the dev only when the necessary amount has been reached and the time on Kickstarter ran out.
c) Dev makes game as pitched. Everybody hopes for the best.
d+e) Game gets released.
d+e) Donator gets what was promised. That's typically a copy of the game, but maybe also additional stuff before or after release.

A stake is only on the table if the project description explicitly says so. In most cases it does not.

In Double Fine's case the 15$ investment was certainly a good deal, because it includes both the documentary, the beta and a Steam copy of the full game. With the increased budged I would expect the game to sell for close to 30$ initially. They would stupid to sell for less, because they would leave money from the big German market on the table, where adventures are still relatively expensive.

edit:
c) is the reason why the documentary is included. Schafer says (paraphrased) "We either make a great game … or it will be a spectacular failure, recorded for everyone to see. Either way, you win!"
This lowers the (perceived) risk that the dev will only sit on the money and enjoy his life. Plus it adds value.

I have a good idea for a game that has a basis in the Planescape setting. The basis is that someone continued developing the time machine (from H. G. Wells book) and created static portals through time and space. Someone then created a city with portals spanning the entirety of space and time and then separated from time in a time bubble.

I do like where this whole affair is heading.

Originally Posted by joxer
Planescape 2, for years fans were hoping, finally he got the picture.

I don't think that was a mystery to him.

But it's never going to happen. Even if the AD&D license for video games wasn't struggling in no man's land, this Kickstarter project will not be using any licensed property, it has to be an IP Obsidian owns (which is one. Or a new one). Even if a publisher is willing to license out for such a small project, it'd defeat the purpose of creative freedom that it allows.

It doesn't have to be planescape to be a spiritual successor, I'm sure they could design a similar world idea.

As long it remains as surreal as Planescape, I'll be happy.

A city geometrically wrapped in on itself atop a giant spire. complete with dimensional portals and an enigmatic goddess overseer. …Why exactly was a Dark Elf that can do no wrong, suffer no defeat, and partake of every fantasy cliche more popular?

I would front $15 for the promise of a copy of the finished product from any of those options from Obsidian…maybe even a little more.

These fuckers all fell to the darkside a long time ago, and now they still expect people to take them seriously when they talk about wanting to walk in the light?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69HAqAwBS_0

Chris Avellone needs to answer the question at 0:35

Originally Posted by Brother None
it has to be an IP Obsidian owns (which is one. Or a new one).

What IP do they own? Icewind Dale?

I'll consider supporting them after their first game of this nature.

Then I'll know if they've learned what Q/A means, and if the publisher is really to blame for their past few titles.

Originally Posted by Dagon
What IP do they own? Icewind Dale?

I'm pretty sure it's Alpha Protocol - it's the only game Obsidian has ever developed that isn't a sequel to another company's IP.

No, AP is owned by Sega.

I don't think they own any IPs at this point. Maybe I missed something tho?

Anyway, I like the idea, but I still think they need to make it a really interesting concept for it to actually work. I know that group 4 is probably a significant amount of people, but is it enough to really get things going?

They own the Icewind Dale game rights, but can't do any D&D game. Because they do not have the license of it. So Icewind Dale IP seems useless until they convince WoTC for making Icewind Dale 3.