The Vision Document
The progress on Wasteland 2 continues on at a healthy rate. Not a week goes by that I am not in a conversation with my team here or with other development groups about how wonderful this experience has been and the gratitude for the opportunity to work on a game under our terms. We are so much more efficient this way, and the game's development has a more organic process to it. Nothing in the world beats out the tinkering and re-iteration process.
I can't imagine a better way for Wasteland 2 to be created. We have your trust and a symbiotic relationship that will have us learn from each other. We are not afraid of the transparency of our process and thinking and intend to share it along the way. Our detailed reasoning of our choice of the Unity engine is just one example.
Today we are publishing our vision document for Wasteland 2 which details the sensibilities of the game itself. The ideas in this document come from things that worked in Wasteland 1 and are expected, things I have communicated previously, and suggestions/opinions from the fan boards. The role of a producer is often misunderstood and sometimes done poorly, but my role is to help shape a vision for a game, hit the right touch points and then watch it become bigger than any one person could make it. No one person can take credit for games of this size and intricacy, and for me it all starts with the vision document. My role is not to hammer on spreadsheets and task oriented management but to instead create a team that is excited and understands the totality of the game. I have been using this method since the beginning and it continues to serve me well. In the past I have had to rely wholly on my instincts but this new paradigm helps me to limit the surprises.
I would not expect too many surprises in the vision document, but it does answer much of the detail for those who might not be up to speed on many aspects of the game. We will have a section set up on our forums http://wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2333 for comments and we'll read them all as usual.
Also you will note that Andrée created another gorgeous piece of art for the game that will be used for the packaging. Those who fondly remember the original Wasteland 1 box will appreciate the handing of the baton off to this new look and camera. Our next update will be to move away from the conceptual and into reality with early screen shots and camera angles...stay tuned and enjoy the vision document read.
Here is the link:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BxMevjNSr2EjbDBpZ2ZMdmNnc28
--Brian Fargo
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Apr 17, 2012
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Pledge $15 or more
32778 backers
Digital Downloadable copy of game DRM free for PC or MAC OSX or Linux. This low price only available for those who helped fund. Also your party will start with a unique and quirky skill. (It won't affect game balance.)
Estimated delivery: Oct 2013Pledge $30 or more
8828 backers
Previous reward + Downloadable DRM free digital soundtrack by Mark Morgan and digital WASTELAND 2 CONCEPT ART BOOK + Extra Digital Downloadable copy of game DRM free for PC or MAC OSX or Linux + Exclusive Ranger portrait collection + Access to Four episode Video Dev Blog. Also receive a Novella on the Wasteland 2 world created by Chris Avellone.
Estimated delivery: Oct 2013Pledge $50 or more
7967 backers
One digital copy and one full LARGE BOXED COPY OF WASTELAND 2, complete with worn cloth game map and old school instruction book. Also features the digital soundtrack and digital concept art book from previous award. Also receive an early release episodic Novella (Part 1) on the Wasteland 2 world created by Mike Stackpole, a member of the original Wasteland story team. The Novella will give hints and clues being built into the actual Wasteland 2 game. (Please add $15 for international shipping)
Estimated delivery: Oct 2013Pledge $55 or more
2274 backers
THE INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY ALL DIGITAL PACKAGE! You get one digital copy of the game DRM free for PC, Mac or Linux, digital soundtrack, digital concept art book, episodic novella part 1 and 2, and premiere access to an early playable beta on steam. This comes with no physical goods to help with VAT, duty and shipping costs for our international fans!
Estimated delivery: Oct 2013Pledge $75 or more
1130 backers
$50 pledge + Early release episodic Novella (Part 2) on the Wasteland 2 world created by Mike Stackpole, a NYT bestselling author and member of the original Wasteland team. Also, get PREMIER ACCESS TO AN EARLY PLAYABLE BETA ON STEAM. (Please add $15 for international shipping)
Estimated delivery: Oct 2013Pledge $100 or more
5218 backers
Previous reward + COLLECTOR'S EDITION PREMIUM BOXED VERSION which of course contains map and instruction book. But additionally comes with Wasteland miniature, Wasteland 2 faction badge. Also get your name in the credits in a special thanks section. The premium box replaces the standard box but also comes with a digital copy of the game. (Please add $15 for international shipping)
Estimated delivery: Oct 2013Pledge $150 or more
407 backers
The $100 reward + a backer-only WASTELAND 2 T-SHIRT. You will get to select between one of four shirts. The T-shirt will not be available anywhere else. (Please add $15 for international shipping)
Estimated delivery: Oct 2013Pledge $150 or more
776 backers
The $100 reward + a limited edition numbered collectible coin, a WASTELAND 2 POSTER and one large boxed copy. (Please add $15 for international shipping)
Estimated delivery: Oct 2013Pledge $250 or more
1200 backers Limited (300 of 1500 left)
One $150 reward + your boxed collectors edition copy of the game will be AUTOGRAPHED BY BRIAN FARGO, ALAN PAVLISH, MIKE STACKPOLE, CHRIS AVELLONE and other key development team members. You will also receive 2 digital download copies (so you can leave your collectors edition sealed up!) and a lv1 Desert Ranger medal of honor (real metal medal) limited edition collectible. (Please add $15 for international shipping)
Estimated delivery: Oct 2013Pledge $500 or more
172 backers Limited (328 of 500 left)
Previous reward + WASTELAND DOOMSDAY PREPARATION SURVIVAL KIT. All your doomsday needs in a themed Wasteland collectible bag. You’ll also receive a lv2 Desert Ranger medal of honor limited edition collectible. (Please add $15 for international shipping)
Estimated delivery: Oct 2013Pledge $1,000 or more
147 backers Limited (53 of 200 left)
Previous reward + BECOME AN NPC, WEAPON, OR LOCATION in the Wasteland 2 world! We will get your name and (if relevant) a picture of you to add your general likeness to the actual shipped game. Brag to your friends and beg them not to take you out with a Meson Cannon. You’ll also receive 5 digital copies of the game and a lv3 Desert Ranger medal of honor limited edition collectible.
Estimated delivery: Oct 2013Pledge $2,000 or more
2 backers Limited (23 of 25 left)
YOU GET TO PLACE A PERSONALIZED COLLECTIBLE ARTIFACT IN OUR WORLD and write its backstory! It could be anything from an engagement ring to a teddy bear. We will have 100 of these rare and semi rare items that can be found throughout the Wasteland 2 world. When collected, all players will learn about the personal touch that you added to the world. You'll also receive a signed Collector's Edition, boxed version and 8 digital copies of the game to do what you'd like with, in addition to a lv4 Desert Ranger medal of honor limited edition collectible. (This does not include NPC/Weapon/Location as well)
Estimated delivery: Oct 2013Pledge $2,500 or more
13 backers Limited (12 of 25 left)
BECOME AN NPC, WEAPON, OR LOCATION AND PLACE A PERSONALIZED COLLECTIBLE ARTIFACT IN OUR WORLD and write its backstory! You'll also receive a signed Collector's Edition, boxed version and 10 digital copies of the game to do what you'd like with, in addition to a lv4 Desert Ranger medal of honor limited edition collectible.
Estimated delivery: Oct 2013Pledge $5,000 or more
9 backers Limited (6 of 15 left)
Previous reward + We will BUILD A STATUE, in your honor. After getting a picture of you, we will carefully craft this in game statue. You are now forever a part of Wasteland history. At this level, we will also sign and frame actual original concept art from the game. With 30 digital copies of Wasteland 2, you will be a hit with your friends. You will also receive a lv5 Desert ranger medal of honor limited edition collectible and AN EXPLODED BLOOD SAUSAGE Wasteland limited signed and numbered collectible figurine. (for the game, you'll get 1 signed collectors edition and 30 digital copies)
Estimated delivery: Oct 2013Pledge $10,000 or more
12 backers Limited (4 of 16 left)
Previous reward + COME TO AN EXCLUSIVE PRIVATE PARTY hosted by Brian Fargo, Alan Pavlish and other key members of the Wasteland team (must be able to travel to Newport Beach, CA). Talk design, previous works or anything else you’d like to discuss. Also, a shrine in Wasteland 2 will be erected in your honor. You’ll receive 50 copies of the game to do what you want and our deep appreciation. You'll also receive a medal and AN EXPLODED BLOOD SAUSAGE Wasteland limited signed and numbered collectible figurine.
Estimated delivery: Oct 2013
Comments
Creator Jim Young on June 28, 2012
Looking good. I like the back story and detail.
Creator Nicky Weber on June 27, 2012
Thanks alot for the sweeeet wallpapers!!!
Creator wiande on June 23, 2012
Hi guys,
no relation to this update but if you can get a look to dead state project on kickstarter would be cool and please let us feel what you feel about it, i don't know if you know Brian Mitsoda, but been following this project for two years now and i think the Dead State would appreciate any feedback from people they find inspiration in
cheerz from France
Creator Piotr Stolarczyk on June 15, 2012
it will be nice to see how the party oriented interaction will turn out a lot of possibilities, nice work :)
I'm sick and tired of games pretending to be RPGs, and novel driven story whit limited freedom
Creator Bill Bessette on June 15, 2012
The link heads to Google docs, so it's highly unlikely to be a bandwidth exceeded issue.
Creator SV on June 15, 2012
Is it just me or is the link leading to an (I assume) bandwidth exceeded page? Any chance of a mirror - pretty please? :3
Creator Colin Baker on June 14, 2012
I'm excited for the promise of a traditional CRPG.
Creator Bill Bessette on June 14, 2012
Did I miss it? Did the full-sized asteroids hit the earth along with the nukes?
Creator Doug Trippe on June 13, 2012
I read "an astronomer" and was immediately excited.
Creator chaosprime on June 13, 2012
Don't get me wrong, I love me some over-the-top. I love it even more when it proceeds from a coherently built world. One of my favorite over-the-top gaming moments recently was when, in Dwarf Fortress, my guardsdwarf whose stats included "incredibly tough" got that validated when she was kicked so hard in the head by a giant beast that it knocked her back ten feet and shattered her skull -- and she got up and walked away, and over the next few months her skull healed up fine. That was a fun OMG moment because the world rules, which usually would have produced much sadder results in that situation, generated an awesome, somewhat insanely badass outcome. Compare and contrast with the fun value of stumbling across some item that is obviously Special and Different and having to do internet research to discover that it's just some developer's ode to how much he loved the second season of Bones and it doesn't do a damn thing, and hopefully the point I'm trying to get at will be clear.
Creator James Arnett on June 12, 2012
Very specific events or opportunities that add to the reality of the game, but can be missed by a less involved player make me giddy. In my first D&D campaign I managed to use my halfling thief to climb up a banister and ride two necromancers down the stairs on their faces, with my blades in their backs. Little over the top things help make it more interesting, those necromancers still gave us a fight after they got up. I agree with chaos though, keeping the humor intelligent and a little sparse makes it better. Too much and it bogs down the serious moments.
Creator Colin Baker on June 12, 2012
Personally I enjoy the 'over the top' aspect that harkens back to the old school tabletop gaming, reminds me of playing PnP rpgs in the 80's and 90's (like original Warhammer 40K).
Other then Borderlands and Fallout 3: New Vegas, I personally haven't seen to many games that hide under a protective layer of irony. In fact I personally feel that games have lost touch with fun in an attempt to present a ballsy, realistic (relatively) world.
imho, Fallout 3 suffered from cutting the humor that 1&2 had. Just my 2 cents.
Creator Skirge01 on June 12, 2012
The 3840x1080 is cut off on the bottom. It's missing nearly half the image.
Creator chaosprime on June 12, 2012
A suggestion: be careful and sparse with the humor. I love the Fallout series, but something that's gotten really irritating about it is how far it's descended into self-parody and relentless, gratuitous cultural references -- Easter eggs aren't meant to be a carpet crunching underfoot. This parallels an overall tendency to self-parody in our culture -- it seems increasingly rare for a creative work to have the balls to *be what it is* instead of hiding under a protective layer of irony, mocking itself before anybody else has the chance to. It would make me happy if you bucked this trend. Clown gangs and connect-tone-spewing robots are all well and good because you can make some kind of in-world sense out of them, given sufficient human craziness and odd technological issues. Too many cutesy in-jokes and that collapses in on itself. And, really, the whole thing is tedious at this point because it's *been done*, and done to death; Wasteland 2 will benefit from differentiating itself from the Fallout series, obviously, and taking itself more seriously would be, I think, an excellent angle for that.
Creator inXile entertainment on June 12, 2012
Cover art on our site now goes up to 3840 x 1080!
http://wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com/press
Creator inXile entertainment on June 12, 2012
Cover art on our site now goes up to 3840 x 1080!
http://wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com/press
Creator Gabriel DiGennaro on June 12, 2012
I love the new cover art, it's exactly what I wanted.
Creator Eye-Level Entertainment on June 12, 2012
Awesome. Thanks for sharing the vision!
Creator Sumoslap on June 12, 2012
I love how my pledge retroactively gains in value with each update. This is a terrific document.
Creator Samet Bagcivan on June 12, 2012
Every single RPG mechanic listed made me grin, and grin... and grin some more.
Hype level over 9000!
Creator Alexander Vogel on June 12, 2012
@Nicky Weber: see there: http://wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com/press
Largest reolution however is 2650x1440.
Alexander
Creator moozaad on June 12, 2012
@inXile entertainment thanx for the extra sizes!
Creator Nicky Weber on June 12, 2012
Is it possible to get a wallpaper background of that top down picture on page 5 in the WL2_VisionDoc_Final.pdf? I love this new version of the very old box art of the original game. If yes, please make versions up to 2560x1600 :) Or maybe a poster??? This is sooooooo cool!
The old box art: http://www.gameculture.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Wasteland-Retro-Box-Art.jpg
Creator Mamali Kosari on June 12, 2012
Thanks for the update fellas! Love you all!
Creator Jexter on June 11, 2012
Thanks for sharing the doc! Can't wait to see more.
Creator Allen Ectal Greenhaw on June 11, 2012
That image rotated 90 degrees ccw (title banner and all) and cropped to fit a dvd case would be the perfect cover art.
Creator cursedseishi on June 11, 2012
If I fire an RPG-7 into the pistol-packing priests primary place of residence, could I also lead a bunch of said Sewer Lizards to snack on their gibbly meaty bits afterwards?
Because that sounds like lots of fun to watch as well!
Joking aside, just read through the document and I can't wait to play the game, well I couldn't wait to play the game anyways, but now it's worse!
Creator Don Reba on June 11, 2012
By the way, if you actually include "broadcasts whispering in Russian", please get someone who natively speaks the language to do them.
Creator Matthew Fossum on June 11, 2012
I would love the option to buy a poster of that new art on this page for anywhere from $10 to $20!
Creator Don Reba on June 11, 2012
Pitching vision documents to fans — I like this.
Creator Zebra3 on June 11, 2012
That new art is amazing! Nostalgic yet very fresh :)
Creator Noe Ridgway on June 11, 2012
So, this might be a wimpy question, but will there be a difficulty setting selection option? I loved the original Fallout and Wasteland, and eventually got to the point where I could play through them both without dying countless times, but it'd be nice to be able to customize that part of the gaming experience, as well. Another thought - I'd love to get my girlfriend into gaming, and I think she'd enjoy this one, but there's no way she'd be able to keep up if it's anywhere near as difficult as the original Wasteland.
Creator alex quakenbush on June 11, 2012
very nice cover art. ominous.
Creator Poul Grym on June 11, 2012
Awesome read! Love it! ^_^
Creator Julien Pirou on June 11, 2012
Amazing piece of art :)
Creator Steve Knight on June 11, 2012
Excellent art work.
Creator Meridian99 on June 11, 2012
Excellent! Quick question. Is the world going to have some randomized events and places for replaybility's sake? Open world is fun but it would be even greater if every time i play it there is something different in the world
Creator inXile entertainment on June 11, 2012
You can get the hi-res image here.
http://wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com/press
Creator Mark - Member, Mutant League on June 11, 2012
I would love that Wasteland 2 cover art in background sizes please :D 1920x1080 please ;)
M
Creator Peter Coates on June 11, 2012
Agreed, wallpaper-sized version of that picture please! I'd very much like to add it to my rotation of wallpapers.
Creator Eric Reitz on June 11, 2012
Love the new artwork. Looks great on my desktop. The vision document was a good read. Once again I enjoy reading about your development process. Very informative.
Creator Valdevia on June 11, 2012
You guys are awesome. Hope to see real screenshots and in-game stuff soon!
Creator Josh Brennan on June 11, 2012
Very much enjoyed reading the vision document, and looking forward to this. Thank you :)
Creator Bryy on June 11, 2012
Yeah, I'd totally put this as wallpaper.
Creator Ed Hale on June 11, 2012
Yeah, another vote for a wallpaper-sized version of that image. Preferably 3840x1080... but I guess that'd be pretty stretchy. ;) 1920x1080 would work.
Looking forward to the game, but looking forward to future updates as the game develops almost as much. I really like what I'm seeing so far.
Creator LuckyLuigi on June 11, 2012
You speak the language of my people
Creator Bryy on June 11, 2012
I want the design doc.
Creator Pyradox on June 11, 2012
And that's a second Wasteland 2 image that has become my wallpaper.
Really liking the vision document too - it's exactly what I was hoping for.
Creator Sean Long on June 11, 2012
What Jon Brightwell said.
Also, possibly, a suitable image for my FaceBook Timeline. I've got my Shadowrun kickstarter image up there now, but I'd love to put a Wasteland 2 image up. Maybe I'd rotate between the two on a monthly basis. :)
Creator Troels Bay-Petersen on June 11, 2012
Large version of the image:
http://wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com/images/press/WL2logo-1920.jpg