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PC Games (Games) Role Playing (Games) Entertainment Games

BioWare Teams Up With Ex-Black Isle Boss 32

Posted by simoniker from the rpg-dreamy-teamy-action dept.
Thanks to several readers for pointing out the Yahoo-hosted press release announcing a development relationship between BioWare Corp. and Obsidian Entertainment, notable because Obsidian is headed by Feargus Urquhart, ex-head of Interplay's Black Isle Studios, and someone who helped bring Icewind Dale and Planetscape:Torment to life, as well as working with BioWare to publish the Baldur's Gate series. Urquhart commented that "A collaboration with BioWare gives Obsidian the opportunity to explore development projects on established game franchises with proven technology and brand loyalty from the fan community."
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BioWare Teams Up With Ex-Black Isle Boss More

BioWare Teams Up With Ex-Black Isle Boss

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  • Feargus + Bioware + Aurora = Fallout 3? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Txiasaeia ( 581598 ) on Wednesday August 06, 2003 @08:30PM (#6630194)
    Feargus + Bioware + Aurora = Fallout 3?

    Oh please God, let this be so! :) Well, since Cain isn't in the alliance, maybe they'll call it "Nuclear Aftermath" or "Post-Apoc" or something like that. Come ON, we've been dying for some RPGs that ain't fantasy-based!

    • Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday August 07, 2003 @12:13AM (#6631917)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • Since when is Star Wars not fantasy based? Not to flame, but are you psycho enough to think that light sabers and blasters and the force are anything less than fantasy? Hmm interesting.
        • Comment removed based on user account deletion
          • Is post apocalyptic strictly, the weapons are fake but for the most part realistic. There are mutants, but it all strives to make you think this sort of thing could actually happen. So I would say that in this context at least fantasy is anything that doesn't aim for realism. However, I would also say that Star Wars is fantasy regardless of the context. Sorry if I was a jerk in the previous post.
    • There's been a lot of talk on the Interplay boards that stongly suggest that their current project (Van Buren) is Fallout 3.
    • I don't know about that, but i seriously hope that this means we'll finally get what NWN was supposed to be, a sequel to BG2..

      • NWN was never supposed to be a sequel to BG2. That wasn't in the works from day one; it was always intended to be a combination of SP game + MP capability + user creation of modules. Basically, a D&D construction set.

        Because they focused so much on the MP and user content, the SP side suffered, I'll admit. But even then, it wasn't intended to be BG3.

        I think KOTOR proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bioware is still capable of doing a solid single player RPG, mind you. And it's based in part on th

        • The original version of NWN, which was announced right after the BG2 expansion was released was being done by Bioware/Black Isle and was supposed to be a BG3, but out of that thread of the storyline, as it assumed that your character gave up the Throne of Baal. However, after BI tanked out of it, and it went to activision that it was revised as being a separate story line. That's also why it released 6 months later. The orignal game would have allowed you to port in and convert your BG1/2 char into 3E Dn
    • Fallout 3 (aka "Van Buren") is in development at Black Isle. If it's not, the unwashed masses are going to storm their HQ and go post-apocalyptic on their asses.

      InXile, the new company of Interplay founder and former CEO Brian Fargo, is working on acquiring the rights to the classic 80's post-apocalyptic role-playing game "Wasteland." Fargo was one of the creators of the game. (Fans will remember his name from characters "Faran Brygo" and "Mad Dog Fargo.")

      Finally, I just read on No Mutants Allowed [nma-fallout.com] toda
    • Dear God I hope you are right! Fallout 3 is what I've been hoping for for a long long time.

      Anyone seen the horrible Brotherhood of Steel [interplay.com] game that Interplay has planned? Man it looks good from a console game-design standpoint... BUT... it's Fallout for the console, which anyone who is a die-hard Fallout fan, will agree is sacrilege!!!

      What we all want is an epic Fallout SP game that has great diversity, whit and charm. We don't want any more Fallout Tactics [interplay.com], or BOS crap.

      I guess what we want is something u

  • Outsourcing (Score:4, Interesting)

    by W33dz ( 643133 ) * on Wednesday August 06, 2003 @08:40PM (#6630274)
    From what I understand, Obsidian is very strong on the dev and game design end of things. They are not, however, very strong in distribution, marketing and supply chain management. Bioware has partnered with the big boys (Microsoft et al) and has shown the ability to market and distribute its titles. The combination of these two companies should (hopefully) mean that we will get edgy, indy style games into a more mainstream distribution channel.

  • Planescape : Torment (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Gr33nNight ( 679837 ) on Wednesday August 06, 2003 @08:46PM (#6630332)
    I just finished this awesome game, and I'm praying for a sequel. Even though the sales wernt that great, I hope that there is enough of a fan base to warrent a new game in this great universe.

    • Re:Planescape : Torment (Score:4, Informative)

      by JLester ( 9518 ) on Wednesday August 06, 2003 @10:41PM (#6631147)
      I agree. I still consider it the best game I've ever played, particularly as story goes.

      Jason
    • I think I must have been the only person that didn't like Planescape : Torment. After reading all the raving reviews I picked up a copy, struggled through about 75% of it and never played it again.
      Personally I found the storey boring, and the whole game to be a huge chore. I'm a huge rpg fan though, and love pretty much everything else, but it just didn't do it for me.
      • I didn't really "get it", either. I played for a while, and it was a very well-crafted game, but it didn't hold my interest. Must be the elite metaphysical fantasy genre.

        On the other hand, Fallout, Wasteland, Arcanum-- those are classics.
    • Yeah, I loved Torment. It translated the pen-and-paper D&D setting excellently. Far better than I expected. Hell, Torment made Best RPG of 1999. (:

      Of course, there probably wouldn't be a sequel, but I'd kill for another game using the Planescape setting. I am a huge fan [wolf-spoor.org] of Planescape.

      Looks like I'll just have to pick up Neverwinter Nights instead, and then load up the City of Doors [city-of-doors.com] mod.
    • Unlikely. WoTC don't support Planescape in 3E and Interplay lost the 2E Planescape rights at the same time they lost the rights to Baldur's Gate for PC. Such a shame they were unable to release the 'nearly' complete BG3. *sigh*
      Oh well, good luck to Uncle Fergie.
      • Actually, no, they haven't lost it. Yet. Interplay have those rights, IIRC, until 2005 which includes starting development in that year. They have all of Planescape and the Sword Coast region of the Forgotten Realms to make games from due to contracts and such from TSR - before WotC and before Hasbro and before Infogrames. However, they won't be making another Planescape game likely due to pure sales reasons and the fact that Interplay seems to want to play it safe at the moment. They did go and make the tw
        • What I am wondering is, who owns the license to the DragonLance world? I was always curious why no one has created a game in that universe. (Well, newer game, I do remember all the old asstasic DragonLance RPG's of the 80s :)

    • I think I finished that game 3 times before I even played any other RPG. It's still here on my hard drive. Such a great game. Someone else responsible for Torment has also recently left Black Isle (I cannot find the news item I read saying so), thus maybe there can be a sequel. Infogrames has the D&D license right now, and they are backing Troika's Temple of Elemental Evil [atari.com]. That's a good sign for something in the vein of Torment. It's too bad TORN [gamespot.com] got cancelled.

      Also, I have to second the Knights

  • What are they working on now? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Dachannien ( 617929 ) on Wednesday August 06, 2003 @09:22PM (#6630605)
    It would definitely be interesting to see what they are planning to work on in the near future. BioWare and Black Isle have each put forth some very impressive games under the D&D license. Maybe a more faithful rendition of the 3rd Ed (or now 3.5th Ed) rules is in the cards.

    From the looks of it, though, Obsidian is working on web page design. [obsidianent.com]

    • Greyhawk: Temple of Elemental Evil (Score:4, Informative)

      by 2megs ( 8751 ) on Wednesday August 06, 2003 @09:50PM (#6630790)
      You've heard about Greyhawk: Temple of Elemental Evil [greyhawkgame.com], right? It's supposed to be using the 3.5 edition rules very faithfully. Faithfully as in being unapologetically turn-based, the way the D&D rules are meant to work, which is something of a rarity in 2003. More at Gamespot [gamespot.com] and IGN [ign.com].

      Disclaimer: I work at one of the companies involved, though my work isn't related to the project.
      • I played this game at GenCon. As a huge RPG fan, especially PC RPGs (beaten all the BGs, IWDs, Fallouts and Torment), this game owns. I played it for about an hour, and it looks to be a great RPG. I cant wait.
      • Thanks for the heads-up - no, I hadn't heard about it until now.

        I'd love to see this concept ported to Forgotten Realms, like the old Gold Box games, but with faithful attention to 3rd/3.5th Edition rules. (I'd also love to see it pay attention to a part of FR other than the Sword Coast. Whatever happened to Cormyr, the Dalelands, etc.?)

  • Having played most of the games by black isle (Fallout series, Balder's Gate series, Neverwinter nights) and I seriously think they've lost something. Fallout and its sequel were terrific for their stress of doing things outside combat to earn experience, and only about half the game was even combat related. Steadily, they've lost this. Neverwinter nights, although terrific graphically, was little more than a diablo sequel using the D&D engine. Sure, there's a couple scattered characters that you ca

    • Neverwinter nights, although terrific graphically, was little more than a diablo sequel using the D&D engine.

      Will people PLEASE forget the Official Campaign already, please... NWN is more than that!

      I tell you, NWN: Shadows of Undrentide campaign was far better and had quite a bit of the magic already. Picked a ranger character, talked to the dogs, ended up in a well-laid-out ambush, saw a wolf chasing a deer, had meaningful discussions with dragons... wow. And FAR less l00table bArr3lz and Cr8tz.

    • ?
      Black Isle didn't make NWN.
    • You have to use fire or acid on trolls or else they regenerate.

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