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[Kildread]

...thoughts?

[Mesoian]

Funding wasn't their major issue. It was management, which is why half of their games never end up in the final product. It's great that they have enough to greenlight a new project, but I'd be more worried by the fact that they have 5 obligations for completed games between now and 2014, and they just added another one WITH YOUR MONEY.

Obsidian is a minefield.

[Kildread]

Originally Posted by Mesoian

but I'd be more worried by the fact that they have 5 obligations for completed games between now and 2014, and they just added another one WITH YOUR MONEY.

It's the sheer size of the total amount raised that baffles me --- it's no surprise now that this project will be entirely(?) fan-funded, are they ready to meet their goals now? Time will tell I guess.

I like how the entire project is very ambitious, but I'm skeptical that Obsidian/Bioware/whatever still had the skill to pull off a vast exploration venture, although being on the Infinity engine might help compared to the fancy 3D.

I haven't tried the enhanced Baldur's Gate series, but has it been upgraded a little for resolution and interface? I tried Icewind Dale 2 not long ago and had several problems with it already.

What are the 5 games they're obligated to?

[Mesoian]

They have:

The Wheel of Time
South Park: The Stick of Truth
They're on the hook for 2 Skyrim expansions (at least they were before EA pretty much cut their losses on the hole post game skyrim stuff)
And they had another game that was due out next year which seems to have been cancelled.

Keep in Mind Obsidian laided off like 40 people in March. They're not in a position to be stacking projects like this.

[Kildread]

Add Dragon Age 3 to that

[Mesoian]

Probably one of the Mass Effect Spinoffs as well...

[The Hag]

Ignoring any specifics of Obisidian's chances of success, in theory, I like the crowd-sourcing idea. I don't know what kind of guarantee you've got of actually getting a product out of it, but, yeah, sure, if I had a gaming PC I'd risk giving them $25. I hope it works out. Who knows? If it's successful, it could be a model for getting niche games with better production values or localizing more obscure titles.

Originally Posted by Kildread

It's the sheer size of the total amount raised that baffles me ---

1.1 million actually seems like a pretty tiny amount for a video game budget. I've got to assume that some of their costs (salaries? engine license? IDK?) are covered by other sources.

[Kildread]

Originally Posted by The Hag

Ignoring any specifics of Obisidian's chances of success, in theory, I like the crowd-sourcing idea. I don't know what kind of guarantee you've got of actually getting a product out of it, but, yeah, sure, if I had a gaming PC I'd risk giving them $25.

One company did it for... Day of the Tentacle, I believe. I never looked it up, dunno if it met its goal or is a thing.

I found that there's a successful one for a Broken Sword game.

And just look at this.

Frankly, I enjoy the idea of a 'preorder' and is the sole reason I pledge 20$ for it --- that I'd get the game if that was a thing that happened. Of course, there's no guarantee that we get anything great even by having the project meet its goal, but hey.

Originally Posted by The Hag

1.1 million actually seems like a pretty tiny amount for a video game budget.

It is --- the amount amazes me because it's not really financial backing a company made, it's something that mostly fans went for. (Discounting that there's 50+ individuals that gave 1K for this project, even a few going for 10K O_o).

For a game that has nothing out apart from text and references to older games that don't even concern Bioware's current flagship series --- 44000+ preorders (At 25$ each, lowered to 20$ with the meeting of the goal) is a *lot*!

It's the first time I actually put money for a game I haven't walked out of a store with or downloaded immediately.