Development Info Obsidian to develop NWN 2

[taks]

Then there's also the thing with churning out sequels just for the hell of it, but that's more of a pet peeve against the industry. I can't really fault Obsidian for this. Even if they refused this opportunity, someone else would develop it and eventually flood the market with yet another sequel.

this is the one area that really can be debated ad infinitum...

from one view, it can be thought of as a "franchise" opportunity. like the bond movies, talk of a "bourne" franchise, etc. the same could be said for the gold-box games, which were essentially modules built on the original engine.

unfortunately, i don't think any industry knows when to quit. the gold-box games got boring. sorry, but bond is tiring. all the IE games wore on even the best of fans (hence the hope for the jefferson engine). might and magic shoulda quit after 6, or come up with a different theme... and the ultimas, well, we all know how that ended.

taks

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Sorry, that part of my post was more directed to Kamaz. I didn't mean to give the impression that i ignored that part of your post.

Ok.

Will your slavish lurve of Troika extend to embracing BG3 and all that it entails in the event that Atari award our fave aloof bugmeisters with the franchise?

I am sorry, dear sir, but your compulsive, flowery discourse has led me astray. Speak commonly so that i might understand thee better.

Seriously now, though, this is assuming Baldur's Gate 3 is actally made by Troika. While it would be a fairly good chance to possibly garner a good amount of commercial success in exchange for a bit of their souls, i would be a bit disppointed that Troika would get their hands on Baldur's Gate 3 (for a couple o'reasons).

I suppose i would feel more interested in it if it was Troika working on it rather than Bioware, though. I do appreciate their games more than i do those of Bioware, but i don't think Troika would be my choice for developing Baldur's Gate 3. In a way similar to Fallout, the franchise carries a certain weight and importance to many people, something which i am not certain Troika would be able to handle. I'd much rather have Bioware or Obsidian tackle Baldur's Gate 3, since both have shown to have similar design concepts in regards to story-driven, munchkin fests.

 

[Dhruin]

Chalk me up as another who preferred Obsidian to get BG3. Oh well...

 

[Jed]

What would St. Timmy do with it? Subvert it? Introduce even more memory leakage and questionalbe rules implementation and stellar NPC characterization? Enquiring minds need to know!

Add functional pathfinding?

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

this is the one area that really can be debated ad infinitum...

from one view, it can be thought of as a "franchise" opportunity. like the bond movies, talk of a "bourne" franchise, etc. the same could be said for the gold-box games, which were essentially modules built on the original engine.

Good point. I think that when it comes to BG3, the exploitation of a familiar name is comprehensible, even if undesirable to some. The game series has come to an end, and i personally don't think using the same name for the next iteration in the franchise is exactly a good choice. Sure, brand recognition will draw people in, but the name alone isn't always guaranteed sales. Fallout Tactics and Fallout: BoS come to mind as a good example, alongside yours.

But as for Neverending Nimrodness 2, i don't see many reasons to make a sequel to it. The first game is already moddable, has bucketloads of modules, and the Community Expansion Pack even increased the lifespan of the toolset. I can imagine why would a NWN2 would be necessary, tho', but i can only think of technical reasons. I assume certain core elements of the Aurora engine and its toolset would need a whole base for improvements. You can't just 'hack in' something like a fully implemented Z axis, for instance, or uncode the hardcoded portions of information (at least i do not think so). A more polished and detail graphical engine also comes to mind. In that regard, it is understandable. But in the rest - a singleplayer campaign, the DM mode, and online capability - there isn't any need. And if this is the case, then why simply not invest much more time and effort in something like Dragon Age than in NWN2?

 

[Whipporowill]

I can see a reason for making a sequel - it'll rake in cash for Atari. It's not like they would mind 2 million PC games sold now is there?

 

[Walks with the Snails]

The only bad thing I can see for Obsidian is that one day, they may not get a sequel contract or two and end up having no franchises they call their own. It's kind of the same road BIS went down, having never made an original CRPG.

At some point, Obsidian really needs to focus on creating their own properties.

I dunno, when they were at BIS, everything original they tried to make imploded before it got out of the gate. For all the talk of how talented, etc. they are, maybe it's true they're mainly just good modders at their best when working with other people's stuff. Bioware Jr. might really not be that bad of a description.

 

[Voss]

Hmm, hmm.

I don't expect them to take the aurora engine as is, or even tack a few new things on it. Aiming for 2006, its going to look dated as hell. Or rather, even more dated.
I'd expect a major overhaul, if not a different engine. (odyssey, perhaps, or whatever Bio is working with now, particularly if NWN2 comes out after dragon age)

I also fully expect WotC to insist on the 3.5 rules, which will cause some changes... and starting anew sounds easier than trying to weed out, fix, cludge and jury-rig work arounds to a lot of the problems in aurora anyway (spellcasting prestige classes, anyone?)

I'm also half-expecting a name-change press release along the lines of:
'Obsidian is now officially Bioware U.S. or Bioware South' It seems odd to base reputations and careers on tweaking someone else's stuff. And to do it twice, no less, considering how many BIS products were Bioware spin-offs, or used their engine.

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

I'm also half-expecting a name-change press release along the lines of:
'Obsidian is now officially Bioware U.S. or Bioware South'

Or rather, "Bioware Official Sequel Division".

 

[Dhruin]

It could just be the wording but I took this bit...

"... and many new upgrades and enhancements to the already powerful BioWare Aurora Toolset for the modding community"

...to mean they will be working off Aurora. Some screens or art and an IGN interview comes out on Friday, apparently, so I'll guess we'll find out then.

 

[Sammael]

I've just lost all interest in Obsidian.

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

I've just lost all interest in Obsidian.

Tell us how you really feel.

 

[errorcode]

I've just lost all interest in Obsidian.

Why? If ya don't mind my asking?

 

[Stark]

not that these news are directly related, but now that Obsidian got NWN2, Troika's the one possibly working on BG3, and does that in anyway related to the news that PA game by Troika being put on hold???

all in all bad news for me. now that Obsidian is going to work on NWN2, I can't look forward to any fresh rpg for the next, oh, 5 years at least, from them.

i wonder which part of NWN are they gonna retain. if they keep the tilesets idea I think I'll give this game a miss.

 

[POOPERSCOOPER]

I've just lost all interest in Obsidian.

Tell us how you really feel.

I THINK THEY SHOULD DIE!

 

[Volourn]

"Bioware Official Sequel Division".

You stole my line!

 

[Voss]

not that these news are directly related, but now that Obsidian got NWN2, Troika's the one possibly working on BG3, and does that in anyway related to the news that PA game by Troika being put on hold???

Yes. In both cases you are completely jumping to conclusions.

 

[merry andrew]

not that these news are directly related, but now that Obsidian got NWN2, Troika's the one possibly working on BG3, and does that in anyway related to the news that PA game by Troika being put on hold???

Yes. In both cases you are completely jumping to conclusions.

That's nothing! Note the weapon and armor/clothing in the Troika PA screenshots. They are shots of BG3

 

[Briosafreak]

I've just lost all interest in Obsidian.

If one wants to live in this RPG creation business context there`s nothing else you can do besides jumping from SLAM DUNK to SLAM DUNK, like Troika is seeing with the PA game beeing put on hold, at least if you are an american developer. it`s Fergus fate, SD to SD to SD, repeat ad nauseam...


So who`s making BG3 anyway?

 

[Jaesun]

Since Obsidian has yet to release a game, this make sence in getting some capital for Obsidian, (Provided they release these 2 games, and they sell well and are good).

And I agree with SP, they do need to start working on a new IP. But I'm thinking they need some capital and (hopefully) some prestige from 2 good games first.

They have the talent to pull this off. Guess we shall see.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

They would have gotten enough prestige from KotOR2, though. NWN2 might not be the SLAM DUNK they're expecting it to be. They're not BioWare, so I doubt they'll get the same reception for a crappy single player game that NWN got.

 

[Stark]

They're not BioWare, so I doubt they'll get the same reception for a crappy single player game that NWN got.

took me awhile to digest the above. you mean, people will be less forgiving if Obsidian provides a lousy OC, right?

I'm finding it puzzling. why is BioWare letting them produce NWN2? Dragon Age is for all purposes, spiritual successor to NWN so it's akin to creating competition to themselves, for basically the same type of audiences.

 

[merry andrew]

I'm finding it puzzling. why is BioWare letting them produce NWN2? Dragon Age is for all purposes, spiritual successor to NWN so it's akin to creating competition to themselves, for basically the same type of audiences.

They're old buddies. They knocked out super-duper games way back when, now they're easing back into that relationship.

 

[Darkwaters]

Since Obsidian has yet to release a game, this make sence in getting some capital for Obsidian, (Provided they release these 2 games, and they sell well and are good).

Definately, I think Obsidian is just trying to play it safe for the moment. They don't want to jump into their own IP because of a number of economic reasons right now (and I'm sure they have yet to forget the problems which befell Interplay). Besides, its not like Obsidian is doing this all for the money and making the next Final Fantasy or Morrowind 2 or something. They're still making good games (or sequels to good games) and sticking to what we like.

However, if their next project is yet another sequel (not even a necessarilly a Bioware handoff) then I would get concerned. They're playing it safe, but the time comes to spread your wings. Wait till New Jersey.

 

[Sammael]

I've just lost all interest in Obsidian.

Because I have a rather high opinion of several people who work at Obsidian and I can't believe they are going to be wasting their talents on NWN2.

On the other hand, this sounds like a Feargus Urquhart Slam Dunk Project(TM), so I am not surprised. What's next, Feargus? Are you going to buy the latest version of LithTech and try to re-make TORN? Or buy the IWD license from Herve and start on IWD3?

Gah. I'm just bitter.

As for BG3, I've had a feeling for a while (even before this announcement) that Bioware is going to develop it internally. They have so many developers that they can easily make a small team devoted to it right now and then shift people from other projects as they get finished. And it would be a safeguard, if their own IPs don't turn out profitable.