Game News Seven Dragon Saga Kickstarter is LIVE

[Zombra]

Creator Tactical Simulations Interactive (TSI) about 5 hours ago
Doing an interview with MMORPG.com this morning. More Updates soon.

Anyway, here's the interview. Haven't read it yet.

 

[Infinitron]

Creator Tactical Simulations Interactive (TSI) about 5 hours ago
Doing an interview with MMORPG.com this morning. More Updates soon.

Anyway, here's the interview. Haven't read it yet.

Interviewing with MMORPG.com doesn't mean the game is an MMO, there are PoE articles there too

 

[Vault Dweller]

 

[Zombra]

Interviewing with MMORPG.com doesn't mean the game is an MMO, there are PoE articles there too

Informative x1

That's weird to me, but okay!

 

[felipepepe]

Felipe-bro, do you need someone to help you define the audience your book is aimed at? No. All you need is an opportunity to present it and you'll chew the audience's ears off.

Herr VD, but how should I present it? Should I make a video ranting for 50 minutes all the way from PLATO games to Dragon Age:Inquisition and post it on Youtube? Should I break it down into various 5-minute weekly episodes? Make just a 3 minute trailer about the whole thing and point to the preview .pdf? Use recorded footage to make video version of some reviews? This is a real doubt that I have, I've been playing around with a video promoting the project for like 2 months, and can't decide on how to make it... I know that the internet is uncharted territory, that all of these could work depending on how I make them, but someone with experience in this could help a lot.

I felt that type of confusion on this KS. Is like they were afraid of tiring casual players away, so did something short and simple, but that doesn't reveal anything. A pro by their side, not necessarily a marketing dude, would rent a professional camera, make them record multiple takes and only pick the best one, and would perhaps tell them that it sound bland, that they should add more details.... at the very least he would make them watch Larian's KS video and tell them "let's do something like this".

 

[Turok]

Make the video with some awesome outside parts of Spain in the background and talk about what you most like, i am sure the people will be identified with that.

 

[felipepepe]

Make the video with some awesome outside parts of Spain in the background and talk about what you most like, i am sure the people will be identified with that.

I would need to travel to Spain first, seen that I live in Brazil.

And I have no idea if my HEUHUEHEUHE accent is viable for video, nor if I'll pass the CHA stat check... or if it will look like Latino Matt Barton gusta del video-juegos y banana.

 

[Turok]

Make the video with some awesome outside parts of Spain in the background and talk about what you most like, i am sure the people will be identified with that.

I would need to travel to Spain first, seen that I like in Brazil.

And I have no idea if my HEUHUEHEUHE accent is viable for video, nor if I'll pass the CHA stat check... or if it will look like Latino Matt Barton gusta del video-juegos.

Put some garotas on the background and just repeat gimme money in all the video with the garotas dancing, it will make a record on kickstart.

Make sure the garotas sing the song Brazilll la la la la la Brazill Brazil!!!

 

[J_C]

Make the video with some awesome outside parts of Spain in the background and talk about what you most like, i am sure the people will be identified with that.

I would need to travel to Spain first, seen that I like in Brazil.

And I have no idea if my HEUHUEHEUHE accent is viable for video, nor if I'll pass the CHA stat check... or if it will look like Latino Matt Barton gusta del video-juegos.

I heared an interview with you, your english is pretty good, don't worry about it.

 

[MRY]

Creator Tactical Simulations Interactive (TSI) about 5 hours ago
Doing an interview with MMORPG.com this morning. More Updates soon.

I realize that interview was done by email, and that launching a KSer is super time-demanding and you can't sweat every small detail, and that I myself am horrible with typos, but man, that's a lot of errors for the first big interview you do. It also has a really anticlimactic ending.

"Almost all of that is straight production development. If you look at creating an RPG with a good number of hours to it that budget [$450k] is pretty realistic."

Huh? Vogel makes longer games with much less; Bioware makes shorter games with much more; etc. This underscores the weirdness of this whole KSer.

That said, I think if they had just recorded themselves saying the stuff they say in that interview as their KSer pitch, it would've been much better.

 

[felipepepe]

I blame the fucking 3D. At this budget and without a strong artstyle, it will look like shit for old SSI veterans and casual players alike. I know that Unity's asset store must look fantastic development and cost-wise, but man... it only helps to make everything feel generic.

I would love to see people try more stuff like Card Hunter:

Good art direction wins any aesthetic fight, no matter the tech. #oneeyeking

 

[Dorateen]

A classic turn-based RPG with full party creation, in a setting that fits comfortably with Dungeons & Dragons-derived fantasy.

Which can mean just about anything. I want to know ABOUT the character system, combat system, magic system, non-combat gameplay, faction dynamics, etc. I don't think that my pledge is precious and should be earned, but I want to know more about the game before deciding whether to support the KS and how much or pick it up on the first Steam sale 2 years from now.

However, their words do mean something to me and speak with definitive clarity. For example, the combat system is turn-based... not real time, or real time with pause. This is a party based game, not single character. Even better, the party is created by the player... no bioware-like developer manufactured NPCs here. As far as the D&D type setting I alluded too, I have enjoyed the hobby for a long time and have certain expectations. When I think of a D&D setting I picture dwarves, elves, assorted races and humans in conflict with humanoids as well as more dramatic creatures such as dragons and demons. The world context outlined by TSI provides that fluently.

It seems to me, they have been very forthright with their intentions. To the point if a player doesn't like slow turned based battles, or wants talkative companions with lots of developer written banter, they will steer far away from this project.

Then there is the inescapable fact that TSI includes the developers from SSI. This grants them enormous good will from someone like me. In regard to dungeon design or encounter design, a man like Dave Shelley has nothing to prove.

 

[Zed]

CRPGs in general often have very little in terms of artistic vision. There is very seldom any style to them. Games like Card Hunter, or Banner Saga, are the rare exceptions.

 

[Vault Dweller]

However, their words do mean something to me and speak with definitive clarity. For example, the combat system is turn-based... not real time, or real time with pause. This is a party based game, not single character. Even better, the party is created by the player... no bioware-like developer manufactured NPCs here.

So did Wasteland 2, yet the reception was mixed. It too had "noble deeds vs being a dick" angle (like choosing the mayor of Highpool, for example), which also didn't set the world on fire (help the villagers with their problems or tell them to piss off and dig out some graves).

Thus the devil is in the details not broad strokes. For the record, I'm still hopeful and eagerly awaiting for more info.

 

[Joni Odin von Hassenstein]

I'm not talking about turning yourself into a snake oil salesman or selling your soul for marketing cred, but for fuck's sake, watch some of the successful pitches, look at your pitch and tell me what differences you see. Not every studio can have someone who is effortlessly cool, like Fargo or Swen, but that doesn't mean you have to fill the screen with people so awkward I feel like punching them for their lunch money through the screen. I'm sure they're fully competent people in what they do, but have someone who seems like they can pull this thing off talk most of the time.

It's people like you that made publishers the dicks they are nowadays.

 

[CyberWhale]

I'm not talking about turning yourself into a snake oil salesman or selling your soul for marketing cred, but for fuck's sake, watch some of the successful pitches, look at your pitch and tell me what differences you see. Not every studio can have someone who is effortlessly cool, like Fargo or Swen, but that doesn't mean you have to fill the screen with people so awkward I feel like punching them for their lunch money through the screen. I'm sure they're fully competent people in what they do, but have someone who seems like they can pull this thing off talk most of the time.

It's autists like TSI that made publishers as necessary as they are nowadays.

Fixed for teh truthz.

 

[felipepepe]

Makes you wonder how these people pitched stuff inside SSI back then...

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

I usually don't get giddy, but the sound effects of combat are fucking brutal, as well as visceral. Phenomenal! Setting seems above-average. I am tired of generic settings, sadly, which is why I am looking forward to the next Torment, moreso than Pillars of Eternity, or any other Tolkien rehash.

 

[Nihiliste]

These guys have been mismanaging things from the first leaks. While I want to believe they're capable of creating gold box quality games, they sure aren't doing a good job convincing me. 38k out of the gate strongly implies that this campaign won't succeed, and I don't think this group will be able to bounce back from it's failure.

I wish them the best, bless their hearts, but I really don't see how anyone looked at that pitch video and went "yeah, that should work". If I didn't know anything about these guys, which is how most people will feel, I would just assume it's a motley crew of well-wishing amateurs trying to make a game.

I'm not talking about turning yourself into a snake oil salesman or selling your soul for marketing cred, but for fuck's sake, watch some of the successful pitches, look at your pitch and tell me what differences you see. Not every studio can have someone who is effortlessly cool, like Fargo or Swen, but that doesn't mean you have to fill the screen with people so awkward I feel like punching them for their lunch money through the screen. I'm sure they're fully competent people in what they do, but have someone who seems like they can pull this thing off talk most of the time.

Quoted bold for the most universal of all kickstarter truths.

 

[Achiman]

Ok, I dropped down my 25 bucks.
I've bought plenty of worse games for more. Most AAA shit nowadays leaves a foul taste in your mouth afterwards if you're honest.

I would rather have a shitty kickstarter pitch, crap microphone, uncharismatic developers and a game at the end of it that is made with respect and passion to what has come before.
40K in two days seems like there is a fair bit of interest and I would give it 50/50 chance, admittedly I don't follow on much of the successful kickstarter metrics and funding patterns.

I'd rather risk 25 bucks and be disapointed than think that I just let the KS die with a whimper.

 

[Marquess Cornwallis]

I don't know, like VD said, I'm perfectly happy with awkward people, as long as they go into fittingly nerdy details on why I should support their game (preferably in decent quality audio); nor do I mind a charismatic Brian Fargo or Jordan Weisman hyping the product up a bit (as long as the actual description holds up under scrutiny) or a Ron Gilbert going for the very straightforward "I'm making the exact same type of game you liked 25+ years ago with only the most obvious usability improvements added". The TSI pitch has the unfortunate combination of the awkward guys doing a half-hearted, vague hype routine over footage of something that doesn't really look all that much like Pool of Radiance or Countdown to Doomsday (and, by the way, judging by people I know who are in their twenties or younger, it's much easier to get them to at least have a look at something that looks "retro" -- because they associate the pixel art look with what they see as fun games with strong gameplay like Hotline Miami, FTL or Terraria -- than at a completely unremarkable generic 3D game made in Unity, which they just associate with shovelware).

 

[Apexeon]

I am 1200 hours invested and I am not ready yet to make a pitch.
Probably another 400 hours of work to even consider a KS.

 

[l3loodAngel]

"it's fun to play", ugh.

I dunno, this seems like a fairly important thing to keep in mind when designing a game.

Have you ever been sold a game where the person selling said it wasn't "fun to play"?

This is like selling a car and saying "it has 4 wheels and an engine".

 

[JarlFrank]

The elf girls are all barefoot.
Game gets my approval.

 

[Dorateen]

I went into the mouth of Hell today, to the bioware social network and the legacy NWN2 forum to bring news of this kickstarter.

We're going to need a bigger army.