Obsidian Entertainment To Collaborate on Wheel of Time Games

Greg Tito

PR for Dungeons & Dragons
Sep 29, 2005
12,070
0
0
Obsidian Entertainment To Collaborate on Wheel of Time Games



CRPG veterans, Obsidian Entertainment, will now be assisting Red Eagle Entertainment on the development of games set in the universe of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time [http://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Time-Boxed-Set/dp/0812538366/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1279573119&sr=1-3] series of fantasy novels.

Obsidian Entertainment is comprised of some of the designers who made Fallout: New Vegas [http://www.amazon.com/Baldurs-Gate-Collection-Shadows-Throne-Pc/dp/B00009ECGG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1279573156&sr=1-4]. Red Eagle formed in 2008 expressly to exploit the license to the Wheel of Time series with games and films. The deal struck between Obsidian and Red Eagle was meant ensure that the games come to fruition by having an experienced third-party developer to support them while reducing overall costs. Red Eagle plans to create games for the PC, the Xbox 360 and the PS3, but there are no firm plans announced about dates or specific stories that will be told. There is also an MMOG set in the Wheel of Time universe planned.

"Although Red Eagle Games is both a game producer and publisher," said Red Eagle COO Larry Mondragon. "As a new company, we quickly recognized that we could benefit from supplementing small in-house technical and creative teams with a proven third-party developer."

The creative director at Obsidian concurs. "Games set in Robert Jordan's universe have the chance to deliver on the epic storylines and the complex characters that the series is known for - and this is one of Obsidian's strengths," said Obsidian chief creative officer, Chris Avellone. "It's a natural fit."

Although Robert Jordan passed away in 2007, his legacy continues to grow. His huge fantasy work, currently at over 10,000 pages, was unfortunately unable to be completed in his lifetime. Brandon Sanderson was hand-picked by Jordan's estate to complete the story based on the late author's extensive notes and drafts. The first book Sanderson completed in the series was published last year and is called The Gathering Storm [http://www.amazon.com/Gathering-Storm-Wheel-Time-Book/dp/0765302306/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1279573702&sr=1-1]. Two more novels are planned to finish the epic fantasy story.

I'm currently working my way through The Gathering Storm, having been a fan of the series ever since a gamer buddy told me that I had to start reading it back in the 90s. To say that I'm excited about a game set in the story is an understatement. To say that I'm happy that Obsidian was tapped to help make them, well it feels like I'm embracing the One Power.

I better stop or I'll start pulling my braids and scowling.

Source: Gamasutra [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27225/Obsidian_To_Support_Red_Eagle_On_Wheel_Of_Time_Games.php]

Permalink
 

Swaki

New member
Apr 15, 2009
2,013
0
0
i haven't read the books, maybe games are becoming the new "nah, ill just wait for the movie" statement, which i may be thrilled about, have yet to decide.

oh right there where some news there: well as long as they wont take away any manpower from the New Vegas game I'm happy, and judging by new vegas i will give it a try, especially if the source material makes you babble.
 

Hurr Durr Derp

New member
Apr 8, 2009
2,558
0
0
Greg Tito said:
I better stop or I'll start pulling my braids and scowling.
Only if you're a woman.

Men get to be totally oblivious and wonder why everyone else is better with girls than they are.
 

Yokai

New member
Oct 31, 2008
1,982
0
0
While I think the story of the series is overlong and convoluted, the setting is quite an interesting one, and would make an excellent game if done right. I'll have to keep an eye on this one.
 

sharks9

New member
Mar 28, 2009
289
0
0
I can't wait! I started reading that series in late August and I'm a couple chapters in to The Knife of Dreams and I'm loving it!
I'd really like to play the MMO, it seems like it would be fantastic.
 

EnzoHonda

New member
Mar 5, 2008
722
0
0
I played the old Wheel of Time game. For those who don't know, it was a FPS that used the the Unreal engine... not very well. It was a forgettable game, not terrible, just meh.

If they can put the setting in a proper RPG, it should be good. WoT is a mature series, so it should translate well to a Baldur's Gate type of feel. It's a rich world that you could do a lot with.
 

UnravThreads

New member
Aug 10, 2009
809
0
0
I silently cheered.

I've not read much of The Eye of the World (WoT #1 for the uninformed), but Obsidian did a really good job of NWN2 IMHO if you forgave the slightly crappy graphics. I'm really looking forward to see how they handle Fallout with New Vegas soon, too.

This is good news, Obsidian have a lot of RPG expertise under their belt (They've been tasked with BioWare properties before, NWN and KotOR) and have some of who were Interplay in their roster, so I've got high expectations.
 

carpathic

New member
Oct 5, 2009
1,287
0
0
Maybe this wont suck as much as the original WOT game.

Or make me want to dig up Robert Jordan's corpse and punch it for not finishing the FRIGGIN series before he died..."nope, what the world really needs instead of a satisfactory, non-spanking involving ending to my WOT series, is another CONAN book..." WTF!!!!

I have been reading these books for literally years now and the last one, which was supposed to be the LAST one is the first of another 3.

Seriously though, an MMO would be a total waste. Game companies need to figure out, like Bioware has, that there is a huge market for non MMO games.
 

Zephyr892

New member
Mar 15, 2009
35
0
0
I think I started crying when I read this? I'm so happy?

Though to Carpathic, Yes the market for non MMO games is large, why limit your entire company to non-mmos? Most average/semi-successful mmo's easily manage to balance out, and the long term investment of even those is well worth the cost.

This is all speculative though, because the entire MMO market is drifting toward change; with the growing amount of MMO games and a stagnation on the grwoth of populations in games there are going to be a lot of MMO's with smaller populations. (Think about how many people are going to flock to Fallout, Elder Scrolls, the new Star wars... etc)

It won't be a total waste, just a well made single player series can potentially be more worth it?
 

NeutralDrow

New member
Mar 23, 2009
9,097
0
0
*grabs saidin, fighting urge to vomit*

*weaves fire, air, and water to amplify voice*

<url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooJ36w1GN5k>GEEK DANCE!


*geek dances for seven repeats*
 

TsunamiWombat

New member
Sep 6, 2008
5,870
0
0
hURR dURR dERP said:
Greg Tito said:
I better stop or I'll start pulling my braids and scowling.
Only if you're a woman.

Men get to be totally oblivious and wonder why everyone else is better with girls than they are.
And women get to be bitchy charictures of actual people that are full of malice and hate until they finally provoke their otherwise goodnatured boyfreinds into getting angry and fucking the shrew out of them BADOOSH RIMSHOT but seriously, Jordan had some serious issues with women, I dunno how women can read those books and not be offended.
 

NeutralDrow

New member
Mar 23, 2009
9,097
0
0
TsunamiWombat said:
hURR dURR dERP said:
Greg Tito said:
I better stop or I'll start pulling my braids and scowling.
Only if you're a woman.

Men get to be totally oblivious and wonder why everyone else is better with girls than they are.
And women get to be bitchy charictures of actual people that are full of malice and hate until they finally provoke their otherwise goodnatured boyfreinds into getting angry and fucking the shrew out of them BADOOSH RIMSHOT but seriously, Jordan had some serious issues with women, I dunno how women can read those books and not be offended.
Because there's more female characters than Faile.
 

thenamelessloser

New member
Jan 15, 2010
773
0
0
I haven't read any of the Wheel of Time books, are there stories anyting compared at all to Planescape: Torment? Also, what is with the lack of Planescape: Torment in this topic? I mean, isn't that Chris Avellone's magnum opus? But considering what Chris Avellone did with STAR WARS and a D&D setting , I guess the quality of the IP doesn't matter, hehehe....
 

seule

New member
Jul 21, 2008
113
0
0
thenamelessloser said:
I haven't read any of the Wheel of Time books, are there stories anyting compared at all to Planescape: Torment? But considering what Chris Avellone did with STAR WARS, I guess the quality of the IP doesn't matter, hehehe....
Sadly, nothing will ever be quite the same or even close to planescape, but the wheel of time series does provide a nice basis for an RPG world with much variety, sad part is, if I actually made a character in that world, i don't think I could care less what happen, I'd just sit around gambling on dice all day.
 

NeutralDrow

New member
Mar 23, 2009
9,097
0
0
thenamelessloser said:
I haven't read any of the Wheel of Time books, are there stories anyting compared at all to Planescape: Torment? But considering what Chris Avellone did with STAR WARS, I guess the quality of the IP doesn't matter, hehehe....
Planescape Torment should be compared to The Wheel of Time, not the other way around. If anything, WoT should be compared to Lord of the Rings (different styles for most of the books, but it compares favorably, I'd say).

And I'm still trying to figure out what your wry comment is implying. I've narrowed it down to either "any franchise can be ruined, so don't hold out hope" (odd, since I've heard mostly good stuff about KotoRII), or "a good game can be made of any franchise" (which would be oddly roundabout).
 

ww2jacob

New member
Mar 21, 2008
33
0
0
This is excellent news. I was concerned when it was announced that a newly-formed company was going to tackle the WOT IP on their own. I'm feeling better about this now that they've teamed up with Obsidian, though. I've really enjoyed the depth of story and character development in the previous Obsidian games, so here's hoping they can translate the complexities of WOT into a great cRPG.
 

Dirty Apple

New member
Apr 24, 2008
819
0
0
I'm sorry but I'm gonna be that guy. Jordan squandered an original premise and creative setting for the sake of milking his long suffering readers. I gave up on the series around book six. When it became clear that his writing had de-evolved into expositional diarrhea, I knew it was time to just swallow my lost time and move on. I've said it before and I'll say it again: forget Jordan, and move onto Martin. You'll love it, I will stake my geek guarantee on it.
 

thenamelessloser

New member
Jan 15, 2010
773
0
0
NeutralDrow said:
thenamelessloser said:
I haven't read any of the Wheel of Time books, are there stories anyting compared at all to Planescape: Torment? But considering what Chris Avellone did with STAR WARS, I guess the quality of the IP doesn't matter, hehehe....
Planescape Torment should be compared to The Wheel of Time, not the other way around. If anything, WoT should be compared to Lord of the Rings (different styles for most of the books, but it compares favorably, I'd say).

And I'm still trying to figure out what your wry comment is implying. I've narrowed it down to either "any franchise can be ruined, so don't hold out hope" (odd, since I've heard mostly good stuff about KotoRII), or "a good game can be made of any franchise" (which would be oddly roundabout).
Sorry, I am a poor writer, I meant that I thought that the previous games that I have played were done well even if its setting itself is pretty boring to me. I only saw the original Star Wars trilogy but I found those movies so boring compared to the KOTOR games especially to the second one..