Why is Obsidian so praised?

[Condiments]

Within Obsidian are the hands-down best writers in the industry. There's no one else that comes close. Gameplay varies from good to below-average, there's always bugs out the ass, and the graphics aren't special (this is why most of their work are expansions, sequels, or using a well-established engine). But there is not a company in existence today that can write like Obsidian. If you go start naming the best-written games in history, it's literally a laundry list of stuff done by Obsidian or done by people who are now part of Obsidian.

Like, Chris Avellone for example. The main guy behind the classic Planescape: Torment, which is arguably the best written game there is.

I seriously want this guy at the helm of a story centric RPG again. I'm dying to play a game with an engrossing story.

 

[Wolfenbarg]

KOTOR 2 DOES NOT HAVE GOOD WRITING!

There, I said it, and I will clarify why. Kreia is the ONLY good part of KOTOR 2. Everything pertaining to her was really interesting, especially her philosophy... but what of everything else? The beginning is HORRIBLY paced; Peragus takes forever, there's almost nothing to at Telos station, the surface of Telos is extremely tedious, and then you FINALLY get to explore the other planets: the empty Korriban, the sparsely populated Dantooine, the mostly wild Dxun with only a small taste of Onderon's city, and the dark and bleak Nar Shaddaa. Where's the life? Where's the interaction? The only people you really talk to are your companions, and only Kreia has anything interesting to say. Even HK is boring this time around! At least the first game felt like you interacted with the world and DID something.

One good character out of all those games does not make for good writing. So what's the deal with Obsidian anyway? Is there some other game that I'm missing out on, or are these just fanboys flapping their metaphorical lips?

Okay... but nothing you touched on has to do with writing. It has to do with rushed game design. You brought up zero narrative flaws, issues with the scenario, the themes, the characters... you know, nothing that has to do with the writing.

I love Kotor 2 because it actually calls consequences into a universe that never gave a damn about them. Star Wars had become so ridiculous with one-upping each other in the EU that there would be bigger and badder armies and wars without giving the world a break to figure out what happened between them. Conversely, Kotor 2 is all about a damaged world and damaged people trying to recover. The Exile is wounded, Kreia is wounded, Atton, Brianna, Mical, Visas, Bao-Dur and even the droids are all people who were fundamentally damaged by the Mandalorian Wars or the Jedi Civil War. Kotor 2 is all about closing those wounds and moving into the future with the resolve to face an even greater conflict. Only when the galaxy is healed one way or another can they move on to the next issue. Games almost never attempt that kind of depth in a narrative. It was hastily assembled and didn't do justice to the relatively well crafted nature of the first game, but in terms of the lore it surpassed Kotor in just about every possible way.

Also, you may hate the pacing of the beginning of the game, but it actually throws you into a story and plays a lot darker tunes than Kotor. I can't stand Taris, while I still get creeped out when trying to navigate my way through Peragus. Not only that, but it introduces the central ideas of the game very well when the sneaking ends and the shooting starts. The consequences of that initial battle are present through the rest of the game. If you didn't enjoy that portion, you weren't likely to get much out of the rest of the game either, because it's more of the same with less railroading. Actually, it's later on where you can actually see the bulkheads missing from sections. In that respect, I think the early bits outshine a lot of points where the game opens up.

I don't dismiss design flaws, though. Obsidian proves time and again that they shouldn't be trying to compete with the triple-A industry until they can get some smaller hits to hire more technically adept programmers. Games require another level of craft above narrative proficiency. Mechanics are part of the story, and flimsy ones can ruin an experience, as you had quite a few of yours ruined. They've only dropped hints about their next project, but it's supposedly a 2D highly stylized game that will hopefully put them in less of a compromising position with how well it's made so we can focus on those good storytelling abilities they've got.

 

[DustyDrB]

Obsidian makes games that I tend to like better every time I play them. Their games have bugs, but Bethesda is every bit as bad in that department. Obsidian is just behind BioWare right now as my favorite developer, though at this point they are the better RPG developer. They make choices matter. I hated Fallout 3 and was apprehensive about giving New Vegas a try, but some things convinced me to play it. One of those was the faction system, which is something I'd always thought Oblivion needed. When the very thing I'd been asking for actually showed up in New Vegas, I was ecstatic and bought the game and adored it. I've now played it four times and do love it more every time I play it.

As far as writing goes, I think they are great. I'm not going to say you're wrong, because there's no objective truth to such a claim (nor the reverse). But Knights of the Old Republic II is, to me, the definitive Star Wars story. It is so intelligent in the way it subverts the lore. It takes the dei ex machina of the Star Wars universe and twists them. Kreia is the best character in video games and in the Star Wars universe, but I think much of the rest of the cast is good too. People want to write off Atton as the Han Solo or Carth Onasi stand-in of KotOR II, but that is so untrue. His backstory is grim, and it's something he still struggles with. In fact, it is something you can convince him to embrace. Visas, Brianna, Mandalore, and Bao Dur are on equal ground as Atton.

I love Obsidian because they truly get how to approach games as a storytelling medium. They understand choice, both in terms of story and in character building. And they are ambitious. They can take overdone properties like Star Wars and make them seem new and fascinating again.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

They made Mask of the Betrayer, one of the best RPGs ever made - if not THE best.