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[Derrick01]

Yeah they obviously weren't talking about normal RPG fans or Obsidian fans with that part of the article. No legit RPG fan would be upset with how they handled NWN or Fallout.

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

Yeah I want AP2 and even though Obsidian said there's always hope in the future for it since it keeps gaining underground fans, Sega is in no position to finance a game like that unless it's a sure thing like their Total War games.

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?

Especially with most of the bills paid already.

 

[Durante]

What I'd like to see most in terms of sequels out of Obsidian is Alpha Protocol 2. Sadly, it's also the least likely.

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.

There's one of them here on GAF. Discussing it with him was quite a surreal experience. Maybe I'm biased since NWN1 is probably my biggest gaming disappointment ever, but usually I can at least try to understand other gamers' point of view. But NWN1 being better than 2? Never in a thousand years.

 

[Izick]

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.

I don't think that's a logical connection at all. You do know that George has been working on ideas for these movies for a while, right? He just didn't feel like he had what it took to do them, but he gave general ideas and plans for the future.

I bet we'll still see a lot of side stuff from Star Wars, mainly because it almost always sells well. Disney would be dumb to only capitalize on the movies, and when it comes to business, Disney ain't dumb. They're going to have so much stuff around that movie when it releases, it's going to be Star Wars mania, mark my words.

 

[razgriz417]

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

Spoiler

Revan

.

actually the retcon'd

Spoiler

Revan

in one of the Raids/Operations in SWTOR

regardless I'd love KOTOR3 or another Fallout game

 

[V_Ben]

The part that really leapt out at me was the fact that EA wanted to make an Ultima game in the style of an elder scrolls game. Instead we got Ultima 4 Ever. Heh.


Edit: actually, fuck it. Pitch an open world middle earth RPG to WB. Give them ages to make it, and release it in time for the hobbit box set in 2015. Done.

 

[Castor Krieg]

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

Ofc it would.

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.

You underestimate how butt-hurt people in charge can be. Not only in gaming industry, but in all industries millions are lost because individuals in charge let their emotions and feelings influence their decisions. I'm sure Tod Howard will never give ES to Obsidian if he can help it. They shit on work him and his team had done - rightly so, but that doesn't make it better.

 

[TheSeks]

actually the retcon'd

Spoiler

Revan

in one of the Raids/Operations in SWTOR

And retcon'd

Spoiler

the Exile

. :lol Bioware :lol

 

[Extra Sauce]

Obsidian: Biting on more than they can chew since 2003.

 

[jschreier]

I may be biased here, but I recommend reading the whole article. There are a lot more interesting details and pieces of unknown news than what was in the first post of this thread - details that I'm surprised you guys aren't talking about. (A cancelled Snow White prequel game, for example...)

 

[LastNac]

"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.


Don't you dare. Don't you fucking dare.


It's been 8 years. Eight long years of having my hopes up. Don't. You. Dare.

 

[meltingparappa]

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

Spoiler

Revan

.

I think there's a very disappointing and sad folllowup to that in Old Republic. :\

Obsidian strikes me as a studio that could benefit from licensing a really solid existing engine and maybe even existing assets if they're handed a sequel like New Vegas again, and then they can focus on the impeccable writing they're known for.

If they can stay in business, maybe it's best if they lay low a little until Unreal Engine 4 or Frostbyte or whatever becomes stable, rather than trying to augment an existing engine and then be raked over the coals because their game ends up buggy.

 

[Oblivionmancer]

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.

You're going to have to explain that point a little better, because, what?

 

[KefkaPalazzo]

Maybe they could finish KOTOR 2 first.

 

[Alchemy]

Newer Vegas and KOTOR3. Where do I throw my money?

 

[Castor Krieg]

I may be biased here, but I recommend reading the whole article. There are a lot more interesting details and pieces of unknown news than what was in the first post of this thread - details that I'm surprised you guys aren't talking about. (A cancelled Snow White prequel game, for example...)

But that would mean giving you guys clicks, which I am not willing to do. Glad Nirolak posted some portion of that.

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.

Why leave money on the table? New trilogy will be so far removed from KotOR you can have both co-existing together.

 

[kswiston]

What I'd like to see most in terms of sequels out of Obsidian is Alpha Protocol 2. Sadly, it's also the least likely.

There's one of them here on GAF. Discussing it with him was quite a surreal experience. Maybe I'm biased since NWN1 is probably my biggest gaming disappointment ever, but usually I can at least try to understand other gamers' point of view. But NWN1 being better than 2? Never in a thousand years.

When I get into a debate like that I usually ask when they played both games. Perhaps NWN1 was his favourite grade 8 game, and he was expecting more when the sequel came out and he was in grade 12. I have a couple games like that. I know their sequels are better, but I played them at a critical time and will always hold them in higher esteem.

 

[Izick]

Maybe they could finish KOTOR 2 first.

KOTOR II has actually been finished for 8 years. You can actually buy it here for your personal computing device if you'd like.

Newer Vegas and KOTOR3. Where do I throw my money?

I would kickstart the fuck out of this.

 

[Derrick01]

Maybe they could finish KOTOR 2 first.

It's been finished since 2004. You should play it.

edit: Izick knows the deal.

But that would mean giving you guys clicks, which I am not willing to do. Glad Nirolak posted some portion of that.

Stop being ridiculous. It's a really good article.

 

[Stallion Free]

I'd like all 3 from Obsidian.

 

[Perfect Cha0s]

Disney should jump on that and try to take advantage of the mindshare they will be gaining with the new trilogy here in a few years. KOTOR 3 while Star Wars is on the public's mind? I can't see it going poorly.

 

[Acosta]

I'm glad they still talk with Bethesda, I thought there could be bad blood between them.

But honestly I hope Eternity is a high success and they can self-fund or CS the next project too. I prefer them focusing on their own projects instead of KOTOR III or even New Vegas 2, I loved both but I feel Obsidian will always have trouble when they can´t call the shots of their games.

 

[jschreier]

But that would mean giving you guys clicks, which I am not willing to do. Glad Nirolak posted some portion of that.

I'm glad you're willing to read the news I break but not willing to give me the clicks that help me pay for meals. You seem like a very good person!

 

[Levyne]

I should really replay through KotOR 2 again with the widescreen and content mods. Have it all set up just got to find time to play it.

 

[Izick]

Think how glorious next-gen and future PC could be for WRPG's?

-KOTOR III
-Deus Ex: Something
-Witcher 3
-Cyber Punk 2077
-Elder Scrolls 6
-Fallout 4
-Fallout New Vegas 2
-Wasteland 2
-Project Eternity

And I know I'm missing some already. The future is bright!

 

[Kinyou]

A next gen Kotor by Obsidian would be one of the greatest things ever.

 

[Castor Krieg]

Stop being ridiculous. It's a really good article.

Too bad it's on Kotaku then.

I'm glad you're willing to read the news I break but not willing to give me the clicks that help me pay for meals. You seem like a very good person!

First of all, it's not "news", it's a feature. A scheduled interview you guys conducted and put on the site. Second - thanks! I try my best!

 

[Kimaka]

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

This is what I want as well.

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.

I don't see why it should. The KOTOR games came out around the time the prequel trilogy was going on along with the movie tie ins and other Star Wars games unrelated to the prequels.

 

[Stallion Free]

Think how glorious next-gen and future PC could be for WRPG's?

-KOTOR III
-Deus Ex: Something
-Witcher 3
-Cyber Punk 2077
-Elder Scrolls 6
-Fallout 4
-Fallout New Vegas 2
-Wasteland 2
-Project Eternity

And I know I'm missing some already. The future is bright!

I do hope we get both a Bethesda and an Obsidian Fallout game because I enjoy both company efforts for different reasons.

 

[kswiston]

Think how glorious next-gen and future PC could be for WRPG's?

-KOTOR III
-Deus Ex: Something
-Witcher 3
-Cyber Punk 2077
-Elder Scrolls 6
-Fallout 4
-Fallout New Vegas 2
-Wasteland 2
-Project Eternity

And I know I'm missing some already. The future is bright!

Honestly, I know sequels sell, but I would rather get some more new IPs.

 

[Lime]

I don't think that's a logical connection at all. You do know that George has been working on ideas for these movies for a while, right? He just didn't feel like he had what it took to do them, but he gave general ideas and plans for the future.

I bet we'll still see a lot of side stuff from Star Wars, mainly because it almost always sells well. Disney would be dumb to only capitalize on the movies, and when it comes to business, Disney ain't dumb. They're going to have so much stuff around that movie when it releases, it's going to be Star Wars mania, mark my words.

Which is why they will only capitalize on reinforcing the new Star Wars brand, and not spend any worthwhile effort on something arbitrary universe like KOTOR. It's basic business sense to expand and improve on the forthcoming established brand, not spread out the money and marketing on different IPs.

You're going to have to explain that point a little better, because, what?

What do you think Disney would spend their money and corporate effort on: Sustaining an old esoteric Star Wars universe (which only have been instantiated as digital games and comic books) or reinforcing their new multi-million blockbuster film trilogy?

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Cool read. As much as I enjoyed playing through FO3 and NV, I would much rather see them create their own post-apocalyptic world or work on expanding the world of Wasteland instead of more Fallout...especially when the Bethsoft brand of FO is just too limited by the narrow focus on one main character. Parties, man. We need parties.

 

[Derrick01]

Think how glorious next-gen and future PC could be for WRPG's?

-KOTOR III
-Deus Ex: Something
-Witcher 3
-Cyber Punk 2077
-Elder Scrolls 6
-Fallout 4
-Fallout New Vegas 2
-Wasteland 2
-Project Eternity

And I know I'm missing some already. The future is bright!

Take the bethesda stuff out and I'm on board for all of those. I just don't see kotor 3 happening unless disney is alright with basically forgetting ToR exists since Bioware lazily retconned some parts of Revan's story and put their own explanation in.

 

[Patryn]

I think one of my dream Obsidian projects would be them doing a Mass Effect game.

 

[Geoff9920]

Obsidian: Biting on more than they can chew since 2003.

They are an ambitious bunch. It's easily their best and worst quality, but I wouldn't want them to change that fact at all.

 

[woolley]

I hope they don't do another Fallout. New Vegas was so boring and bland. And the karma system was done horribly. I had to force myself to beat the game and sold it the second I did.

 

[Lime]

I think one of my dream Obsidian projects would be them doing a Mass Effect game.

Although they would do a much better effort in terms of writing, I'd be afraid of Obsidian butchering the art, as concept art direction has never been their forte (actually it's their biggest flaw, imo).

 

[Lakitu]

I would love Obsidian to do another Fallout / KOTOR and would even love them to take a shot with the Elder Scrolls series. Give these guys plenty of great projects next-gen, publishers.

 

[Odrion]

I think Obsidian is better off pulling a Doublefine or Telltale and turn into a small studio that puts out games with a small production value but appeals to a large niche.

 

[Patryn]

Although they would do a much better effort in terms of writing, I'd be afraid of Obsidian butchering the art, as concept art direction has never been their forte (actually it's their biggest flaw, imo).

I think having a template to draw from would help them quite a bit in this area.

 

[Izick]

I do hope we get both a Bethesda and an Obsidian Fallout game because I enjoy both company efforts for different reasons.

I want Bethesda to lay the groundwork of the next game, the engine, gameplay, UI, etc., and I want Obsidian to perfect its story and atmosphere like they did with New Vegas compared to 3. Both amazing games though.

Honestly, I know sequels sell, but I would rather get some more new IPs.

I know, I know but we can't really get excited for new IP's before they're announced. Not to mention Cyber Punk 2077 is a new IP, and I have a feeling it's going to be something very special indeed.

Take the bethesda stuff out and I'm on board for all of those. I just don't see kotor 3 happening unless disney is alright with basically forgetting ToR exists since Bioware lazily retconned some parts of Revan's story and put their own explanation in.

My guess? I think KOTOR III could be set either before KOTOR I maybe, or perhaps set it in another part of the galaxy or just new characters or something. I mean they can get creative with it, and there should be some wiggle room in there. Plus, I don't think Disney cares about retcons at this point, just making money and building up the SW name. I don't know, I just hope Bioware completely shitting the bed with SWTOR doesn't kill all interest in the KOTOR brand for Disney.

 

[firehawk12]

So after that whole bonus thing, they'd still be willing to go back to Bethesda?

And anyway, KoTOR is dead. Ruined by the novels and TOR. Unless they are allowed to retcon that bullshit, it's just time to move on.

 

[Levyne]

So after that whole bonus thing, they'd still be willing to go back to Bethesda?

And anyway, KoTOR is dead. Ruined by the novels and TOR. Unless they are allowed to retcon that bullshit, it's just time to move on.

Well aren't the new movies basically gonna retcon huge swaths of the EU? There's a chance!

 

[dionysus]

So some clarity on who is funding South Park is actually in the article. Heh.

So they put together a contract and started working on the RPG. For a while, Obsidian worked directly for the South Park team with funding from their parent company, Viacom. But in late 2011, they decided to get a more experienced game publisher involved. A few companies showed interest. They ultimately went with THQ.

Not long afterwards, news came out that THQ was in dire straits. This was particularly tough for Obsidian, as they were reeling from the recent cancellation of a game they'd codenamed North Carolina, which forced the company to lay off 30 people earlier this year. For a while, all they could do was wait.

"Whenever you have to put people on the street it sucks," Urquhart said. "And so it's a big wait of like, what's gonna happen? Are they gonna pay, are they not gonna pay? So yeah, I was worried."

So the end of that quote is ambiguous but I think it is fair to say that THQ is still paying the bills currently. I also didn't realize South Park was so close to release.

 

[chickdigger802]

"And so in early 2004 they took a look and they were like, ‘Wow!' Their QA was playing it, and they were like, ‘This has a lot of potential: let's move it out, let's give it time.' So they moved it out to the next year."

Urquhart was perfectly fine with that decision, and he changed the project's schedule to reflect that new 2005 release date. But he forgot the cardinal rule of dealing with executives: make sure everything's in writing.

"On our side we didn't make sure that we had the contract changed," Urquhart said. "And then post-E3 I think financially something happened—I don't know what it was. And we got the call and they said it has to be done for Christmas... Again, I don't think this is anything nefarious, it just happened. Some of the onus is on us: we didn't get the contract changed. So we had to make this decision: get in trouble or get it done."

Shieeeet.

Also... who gives a fuck about kotors and fallouts....


Alpha Protocol 2

You have my wallet.

 

[Lime]

I think having a template to draw from would help them quite a bit in this area.

That is true. They also did a good job with the F:NV concept art, although I think that had partially to do with them outsourcing some of it as far as I can recall.

 

[Izick]

I really hope South Park sells amazingly well for them. No company deserves major success like Obsidian.

Shieeeet.

Also... who gives a fuck about kotors and fallouts....


Alpha Protocol 2

You have my wallet.

Is AP1 really that good? I have yet to play it.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

Obsidian on KOTOR 3?

DO EET!!!

Take all of money Obsidian... again!

 

[Ushojax]

If there is to be a true KOTOR 3, I'd like them to totally ignore everything from the last three games. It's all been ruined with an unfinished second game and a dumb MMO.

 

[Serra]

Very interesting piece, Jason. Too bad kotaku is filled with trash, I would have never read this piece if it hadn't been posted here.

I really want a Alpha Protocol 2! The first one had such potential (and is still a great RPG) Obsidian is a fantastic developer.

 

[Drazgul]

So after that whole bonus thing, they'd still be willing to go back to Bethesda?

At the end of the day, they signed that deal. Maybe they could get a better contract this time around, but there's no point bitching about the missed bonus mark - deal's a deal (even if using metacritic - or was it gamerankings - as the metric for success is idiotic).