I didn't even think there was a debate that New Vagas was better for a long time. I guess you had a back story in FO3 but no depth. I don't know I could make up my own story in NV It wasn't like riding a train.Kahunaburger said:
Obsidian gets no royalties from Bethesda after missing the target Metacritic score by 1 point
- Thread starter secretsantaone
- Start date
You can have as many great individuals as you like at a studio, but if it doesn't work then it doesn't work - and Obsidian has never worked. Now admittedly, they do have some excuses, but when these issues recur game after game, it gets harder and harder to ignore the common denominator.j-e-f-f-e-r-s said:secretsantaone said:
See those two guys? One of them is Chris Avellone. He used to work for Interplay, and has acted as writer/creative lead for games including Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment, and KOTOR II, not to mention Mask Of The Betrayer.
The guy on the right is Tim Cain. He's pretty much responsible for creating Fallout. He also co-founded Troika studios, and was the lead designer on Arcanum.
Both those guys are working at Obsidian, along with other veterans of Black Isle and Interplay. These guys are absolute legends, and some of the best designers the industry has ever produced. Say what you will about Obsidian's reputation for bugs, the studio is still the best collection of veteran writers and designers in the entire industry. They're the only mainstream studio able to create stories and characters that even come close to the best of what other mediums are offering (and no, the first person to mention Bioware gets a kick in the teeth). If Obsidian shuts down, all that serves to prove is that gamers aren't interested in genuinely intelligent writing and freedom of choice in their games, and would rather focus more on ham-handed soap opera and cinematic prettiness.
Obsidian are old-school to the core. The industry would be a far, far worse place without them around.
ION Storm had some of the industry's best individuals, and whilst they created one of the biggest contenders for the best game ever made, it's not unfair to say that they were less than the sum of their parts.
That's how things work out sometimes. They don't get a pass as a studio because individually they've worked on great things, nor do they get a pass because something they did over a decade ago is considered great.
Still, Bethesda's decision to not pay up is ridiculous, as is the decision to base bonuses on a bloody Metacritic score.
Obsidian agreed to be paid the bonus based on meta score. It would have been ridiculous for Bethesda to pay for a criteria not met.Woodsey said:
Its a bonus after all. To go the extra mile. Its like if I offer a cab driver a bonus if he can get me to the airport 10 min ahead of time and he shows up 2 min ahead of time and then all of a sudden I'm the dick for not giving him the bonus.
I've never played the game, and I feel bad for the guys. But really...
...anyone who agrees to a metric like that is just bad at business, period. It's so easily manipulated I'm surprised either side agreed to it considering they're both supposed to be serious companies. If we're talking about a substantial bonus, as opposed to a token amount, then they're both even more stupid.
...anyone who agrees to a metric like that is just bad at business, period. It's so easily manipulated I'm surprised either side agreed to it considering they're both supposed to be serious companies. If we're talking about a substantial bonus, as opposed to a token amount, then they're both even more stupid.
Obsidian are great, and I've never actually found any of their games to have game breaking bugs.
Even if there are bugs, it's because they're being fucked around by the publisher.
Even if there are bugs, it's because they're being fucked around by the publisher.
Splitting hairs, but it's more like the deal was for 10 minutes ahead of time, and you got there 9 minutes ahead of time. So yeah, you are kinda a dick. Assuming, of course, that this is 10 minutes ahead of the time that it would normally take to get to the airport, rather than 10 minutes before you HAVE to be there for check ins. IF the second, it would be more understandable for no bonus, but int he first instance he busted his ass to get you there much quicker than normal, and didn't quite make the mark, and for that no cookie!Dejawesp said:
Somewhere along theline I lost any point this had in relevance to the OT...
And of course Captcha mocks with with 'no-brainer'
Or you played the game around release, when it was so gods bedamned buggy that some cutscenes simply would not play at all, or play the wrong scene, or any of a dozen other things could go wrong, resulting in you having no fraking clue what was going on.j-e-f-f-e-r-s said:
Honestly, I really want to post why I think Obsidian needs to stay, but j-e-f-f-e-r-s is doing that far better than I ever could.
If Obsidian goes under, gaming will be worse for it. They're the only ones who seem to actually try creating interesting, deep stories and characters with interesting motivations. KOTOR 2 gave Star Wars a new amount of depth it sorely needed. The Neverwinter Nights 2 expansions were far better than the main games. Alpha Protocol made damn-near every choice have some sort of consequence. New Vegas did away with the "good/bad" karma stuff and instead used the main factions to show what your choices do.
Are the results perfect? Hell no. But at least they fucking try to do interesting and new things story-wise. Try to make us look at old properties a different way. Try to have actual moral dilemmas and ambiguity instead of plain "good" and "bad".
It would be a worse world with them gone.
If Obsidian goes under, gaming will be worse for it. They're the only ones who seem to actually try creating interesting, deep stories and characters with interesting motivations. KOTOR 2 gave Star Wars a new amount of depth it sorely needed. The Neverwinter Nights 2 expansions were far better than the main games. Alpha Protocol made damn-near every choice have some sort of consequence. New Vegas did away with the "good/bad" karma stuff and instead used the main factions to show what your choices do.
Are the results perfect? Hell no. But at least they fucking try to do interesting and new things story-wise. Try to make us look at old properties a different way. Try to have actual moral dilemmas and ambiguity instead of plain "good" and "bad".
It would be a worse world with them gone.
The South Park RPG and a game adaptation of the Wheel in Time books. Though the latter is still in the very early stages.Saladfork said:
The deal was.columbianbacon said:
"You make new vegas and you get paid this much and a bonus if it gets a meta score of 85 or more"
New vegas gets a meta score of 84 so obsidian get their pay and no bonus as previously agreed upon
Why on earth should obsidian not be held responsible for the agreements they signed? Are they disabled? Do they have special needs? or some other disability that impairs their judgement that makes them unaccountable for their own actions?
Its called taking responsibility. They signed a deal with Bethesda over the development of the game. The Deal was honoured by both parts according to the contract. They did not live up to the bonus and so did not get it.
Bethesda is a stock noted company. If they gave away company money for a service not rendered then the CEO could get sued by the stockholders for failing in his obligations to the company. he could even go to prison for misappropriation of funds.
I'd do what I could to help them.
At the very least Fallout: New Vegas might be one of my favourite games of all time. I'd like to see what they can do with another Fallout on a better engine. They've already shown that they can be excellent writers and designers.
At the very least Fallout: New Vegas might be one of my favourite games of all time. I'd like to see what they can do with another Fallout on a better engine. They've already shown that they can be excellent writers and designers.
The dev team was given a completely unreasonable deadline, as LucasArts wanted it to be released just one year after the first game. The story was flat-out nonsensical and didn't have an ending at all, but it certainly wasn't due to a lack of writing talent. Every one of their other games (that I've played) are among the best in terms of writing, I think.Elfgore said: