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Enter the Story Zone

Update #31 · Nov 15, 2012 · 43 comments

Today's update isn't about lore as much as it is about the focus and process of developing our central plot. I'm not going to spoil any details of the story, but I do want to share what we're working on.

When we develop stories at Obsidian, we often ask ourselves (and each other), "What's the conflict and why do I care about it?" and, "What is my range of roles in resolving the conflict?" "RPG" means a lot of different things to different people. For us, it's important to let the player decide who he or she is in the story. That means when you set aside class, race, magic missiles, and all of the other goodies, the player needs to be able to define his or her own motivations, attitudes toward others, and ways of resolving problems in the story.

Finding the right level of player freedom and clarity of purpose can be difficult. It's tricky to develop scenarios that can convincingly motivate characters of many races and classes, many backgrounds, and many moral and ethical stances. A conflict that is too "hands-off" or impersonal (e.g. a political conflict that doesn't directly involve the player) can make it difficult for players to connect to it. A conflict that is extremely personal may rub players the wrong way if it assumes too much about their character or if it feels like their choices don't have a large enough impact on the world around them.

Because this is the first story your characters will shape in this world, we want to start with something small that grows into something larger. As we have hinted before, the story opens with the player's character witnessing a supernatural event that puts him or her in a difficult situation. The full ramifications of what you become a part of are not immediately apparent, but you quickly become aware that you have... new problems. Dealing with these problems makes you realize that resolving your situation is inexorably linked to the fates of many others. In some cases, these "others" are individuals. In others, they are much larger groups of people. You will get to interact with them all in various ways over the course of the story. If we do a good job in developing these groups and characters, the decisions you make in the course of resolving your problems will be interesting and difficult to make.

That's what we're aiming for, but that doesn't necessarily tell you what we've been doing. On this project, the process started with a rough idea for a story and a theme that went along with it. The story itself wasn't that important; it was just an idea to get us moving. What followed were critiques of the story's premise, the unfolding of the plot, the player's motivation and involvement, and the scope of the conflicts the player faces from the beginning through the end. For the past few weeks, we've been exchanging various small ideas, big ideas, minor tweaks, radical overhauls, and brand new storylines. Through it all, we regularly return to the questions I posed up above: "What's the conflict and why do I care about it?" and, "What is my range of roles in resolving the conflict?" We can (and do) write about all sorts of character and location ideas, subplots and interesting takes on themes, but until we answer those questions in a way we believe will be compelling to your characters and all that they may be, we still have work to do.

We like to develop fun ideas we come up with and every once in a while we delight at some clever character or situation we think of, but for us, it's more important for you to feel clever, for you to feel like you can take control of a situation -- by whatever means you see fit. Until we believe we have a few gems on our hands, we'll keep the Story Gnomes digging in the mines on your behalf.

Thanks for reading.

Update by Josh Sawyer

PS: Chris says he will start playing Arcanum mid-January.

FORUMS: Head over to the Project Eternity Forums and join in on the story discussion!

Comments

    1. Missing_small

      Creator Giovanni Manca on November 29, 2012

      You all are doing a great job!

    2. Sparta_sm.small

      Creator IamHowie on November 20, 2012

      I'm one of the persons who would not believe video games can accommodate many type of stories. If there are one single formula to fit everyone's bills, there should have only one novel in the world. A good story needs to be fixed to build up strong premise, the more branches you give a story, the weaker its foundation. I think story and options are counterproductive to each other.

      Not that they can't co-exist, but by the time you managed to satisfy 100% of your backers, you're probably pretty close to your tombstone.

    3. Colecolecole.small

      Creator Cole on November 18, 2012

      Really excited about the direction you are taking the game! :)
      Class systems and character choices are what really make me want to play games and it seems like you are going to create a really robust game for these things. :D

    4. Missing_small

      Creator Gokce Cimen on November 17, 2012

      Actually it's highly probable but I definitely want the option not to solve the conflict or even be a part of it. I want more than one good/neutral/evil options that every time I play I can follow a character path, such as a ruthless patriot that doesn't mind the few broken eggs and never cares about personal problems. I've never managed to find options for such behavior (or any behavior other than supergood and superbad) in any RPG before.

    5. Missing_small

      Creator Michael Melnikoff on November 17, 2012

      The good games seem to have one of two things that drive player agency. It's either revenge (Baldur's Gate) where someone did something to you and you're trying to get back at them and in the process end up exploring around and getting involved in and solving larger problems, or it's curiousity (Planescape Torment) where you are hooked into finding out more about something interesting and turned free on your own to do just that, and in the process stumble upon greater problems that may then require your attentions.

    6. 1342168084046.small

      Creator Sam on November 17, 2012

      Can't wait for Chris to start arcanum.
      I honestly have enjoyed every RPG from the black isle / interplay / obsidian team some I enjoyed more than others but I feel that you can see where the people making these games still have the passion for it even if there were glaring moments of publisher interference meaning the games ended up as less than they had the potential to be.

      This I think is the most important part of making a good game and the thing that has kept my attention throughout the ups and downs of their games

    7. Dscn4445.small

      Creator kindman on November 16, 2012

      thank you so much for those regular updates. even though it will still take some months until i can actually play project eternity, i already feel "rewarded" for getting those insights in game development from such a direct and personal point of view. i'm a big fan of bonus materials on movie-dvds, but this is even better:-) one additional little totally-out-of-context thought: i really, really hope for non-classical, rather social classes to be available such as the bard or a scientist/explorer or something like that. that would be awesome.
      yours kindman

    8. Passfoto_copy.small

      Creator Chris Shannon on November 16, 2012

      WHY ARE YOUR LIPS SO RED (in this video)!?
      ARE YOU A MENTAT!?

    9. Missing_small

      Creator ProtonAx on November 16, 2012

      @ Adam Taylor
      Yes, it is particularly egregious in the KOTOR series where the choice seems to be not so much good vs. evil as between naive fool and baby-eating monster. Needless to say neither I, nor my friends, take pleasure in being forced to play either role.

    10. Male07-edit.small

      Creator Silver, ∞ Grey Eminence in Exile & WoOS on November 16, 2012

      Josh (M)Aced update #33!

    11. Missing_small

      Creator ProtonAx on November 16, 2012

      @ J. Ace
      Well technically you could kill the Vault 13 Overseer through your choice in the epilogue, or by presuming he died if you let Vault 13 be overrun, but he was invulnerable during ordinary game play. This was to ensure the Vault Dweller is exiled from Vault 13 regardless of your actions in the game. Killing him (at least prior to your exile) would likely have not been a rational choice for a player who had not played the game to its conclusion, so I don't count it as a serious flaw in the game. While he desired to keep Vault 13 isolated, he never directly impeded the player or acted in a manner that would suggest he needed to be removed from power by force. (That is not to say that in a tabletop session that a group of players might not decide to kill him, but it never seemed like a choice a serious group would take.) Contrast this -- one single invulnerable plot critical NPC -- with the games that followed.

      As for your second point, true -- but I will gladly broaden my criticism to the entire RPG developing community spawned by Interplay. Fallout offered a clearly successful (in terms of sales, critical acclaim, and to the extent it modeled tabletop RPG gaming) model that was scrapped for a bland, mostly linear narrative. I stopped buying Interplay/BI/Obsidian/Bioware games for precisely this reason -- and I would likely have never played either of the KOTORs had I not given the first and received the second as gifts to/from a player in my RPG group.

    12. Adam01.small

      Creator Adam Taylor on November 16, 2012

      @ProtonAx

      I very much agree with your comments. Games definitely need more than just the basic "good vs evil" black and white options.

      You often see arbitrary options like "destroy X uber weapon to be the good guy" and "keep X uber weapon to be the bad guy". Why? Why does not destroying some powerful item suddenly make me the bad guy?

      What if I were to keep the death ray and use it to ensure that other evil forces stay in check? What if I use it as a deterrent to further evil plots? Sure, I might have the option of using it for global domination, and that would certainly be a more evil approach. But that's not the only option present, at least it shouldn't be.

      I want the good, evil and dozens of shades of grey options. A binary path is just stupid.

    13. Adam01.small

      Creator Adam Taylor on November 16, 2012

      I have one thing to say about "player motivation" and how it's tends to handle good vs evil in most games.

      It's usually wrong.

      Giving a player "good" choices is easy. Turn down rewards, help the weak, defend those who need help, convince people to change their ways rather than just killing them, find peaceful solutions, etc.

      But when it comes to "evil" choices, games usually substitute evil with "jerk". Stealing things is not inherently evil. If a good man steals money so he can fund his battle against some tyrant, ala Robin Hood, that's definitely not an "evil" act. But most games will treat it as such. Killing someone isn't necessarily evil, as sometimes it's the only choice or the best option available.

      If you're given a quest to get an item for someone and decide to keep it for yourself, that's not always an evil act. If you keep the uber dragonslayer sword you're asked to get but make good use of it (generally using it to help you save the world) that's not what one would call evil. Handing in the item and then stealing it back also would fall more under the lines of being a jerk rather than being evil.

      However when you look at the bigger picture, say a group needs an item to fend off attackers, things get more muddy. You might take the item, dooming that group but helping your party defeat the uber big bad (which saves more lives overall). Or you might take it so you can sell it, or just to watch the people suffer, THAT would be an evil act. Dangling the item in front of them and demanding they give in to your demands for the item back would be more evil.

      Evil isn't not being "nice" as most games try to pass it off as. Evil is being purposely cruel, violent, vicious and sadistic for the purpose of be so. It's promoting your control over others, working towards enslaving the world, destroying anything that might be a threat to you (now or later) rather than compromising.

      I'm tired of seeing games flag me as "evil" because I stole some old woman's necklace (to use or to fund my heroic adventure). Or because I didn't risk my life to save someone else (who's more important? Bob the peasant or the hero who will save the world?).

      I want to be hailed as evil because I've done evil things, like turning two otherwise peaceful factions against each other for the simple joy of watching them kill each other. Not because some shmuck has money or shiny items he doesn't need.

    14. Missing_small

      Creator Singlehandedsailor on November 16, 2012

      I hope telling of the story will be concrete and rich.

    15. Missing_small

      Creator J. Ace on November 16, 2012

      @ProtonAx
      Was there really a character in Fallout you couldn't kill? Who wast that?

      Also, BioWare made the first KOTOR. :)

    16. Ahaha.small

      Creator Dan "DG" on November 16, 2012

      Really glad about these kickstarter updates, at least for people like me who don't have time to check out the forums and search for new info. I wish others would do it as well (wasteland 2, *sigh*).

      I hope the story would make room for portals to other dimensions or strange, bizarre stuff like that, like it was in Planescape. At least a little, maybe a subplot.

    17. Yasuo_iwakura.small

      Creator Sashh on November 16, 2012

      Dat Chris

    18. Missing_small

      Creator ProtonAx on November 16, 2012

      The root of the issue I think is that BI/Obsidian’s games became extremely railroading after Fallout 2 and prior to Alpha Protocol. Robbing the player of agency is bad game design. A significant number of rational players could reasonably be seen dropping Kreia in Kotor 2 (thereby derailing the main plot), or taking a third choice in the Jedi-Sith conflict in at the end of Kotor 1, for example. The two narrow paths badly reflect the range of options players in a real tabletop RPG might take. While Fallout 1 and 2 still largely had a good path/bad path dichotomy, each could lead to a separate outcome for each region, and there was always a third path not explicitly laid out as kill 'em all and let god sort them out -- where the player was allowed to kill literally any NPC except one in the original Fallout.

    19. 2012-11-28_15-29-51_440.small

      Creator Ged42 on November 16, 2012

      Please make the Dolphin of Choice a character you meet in Project Eternity.

      I need to punch it.

    20. Missing_small

      Creator ProtonAx on November 16, 2012

      Jolee Bindo and Carth are also characters annoying to the point I would have dropped in favor of mindless automatons, though to Jolee's credit he seems like an interesting character until you get to know him.

    21. Missing_small

      Creator ProtonAx on November 16, 2012

      @Johannes
      I understand her character extremely well. The Wicked Witch of the West's theme played for me from the moment I met her.

    22. Fb_profile_picture.small

      Creator Johannes 'Waldgeist' Rebhan on November 16, 2012

      @ProtonAx The simple fact, that you call her a "villian" goes to show how much of an interesting character she is and that you didn't understand the character, but chose to label her and ignore the fine details. She is far from "the villain" and way farther from simple.

    23. Missing_small

      Creator ProtonAx on November 16, 2012

      @Bryy
      Feh. Kreia was an annoying character who was transparently a villain from the moment you met her. If Kotor2 would have let me, I would have dropped her the moment she first tried to undermine my characters confidence by calling out my actions in an utterly bullshit fashion.

    24. Sempavor_184.small

      Creator Sempavor - Bandit of the Obsidian Order on November 16, 2012

      I hope that the "difficult situation" that my character will face in PE will not be like the very difficult situation that my character had to face in NW2 Mask of the Betrayer. Forgive me, but I didn't like that kind of gameplay.

    25. Octoks.small

      Creator Bryy on November 16, 2012

      Kreia was a great character.

    26. Missing_small

      Creator Coillscath on November 16, 2012

      @Matt Creighton, I fully agree. I was the same age when KotOR 2 came out and I feel it was similarly thought provoking. Without saying anything spoilerific about the story and how everything turns out, Kreia especially was an incredibly interesting character, and really made you think. I didn't agree with all of it, but it was still very thought provoking and I loved that the game was that questioning of the player.

    27. Octoks.small

      Creator Bryy on November 16, 2012

      @merin,
      But you ARE whatever the devs want you to be. It's just in this context, you have a bit more creative freedom.

    28. Missing_small

      Creator Matt Creighton on November 15, 2012

      Please make it incredibly personal. Just way to personal I want it tearing apart at my sanity and making me uncomfortable about myself as a human being.

      Seriously though. Please don't be afraid to be offensive. One of the really great things about kotor2 for me that I didn't see in other games was that people weren't afraid to chastise the player. When Kreia spoke in that game I was only like 15. The stuff she said made you think and made you question why you do things and how it effects people. I want the game to be harsh sometimes because harrowing experiences make something more memorable and when you have to think about why you are doing something in a video game.. that's when you are really immersed. Moral decisions are very powerful to me.

    29. Missing_small

      Creator Ryan on November 15, 2012

      I feel stupid having to ask but here's my question: I backed the first expansion/wastelands 2 digital only tier and just now registered on the obsidian forum. How do I get my custom vip badge?

    30. Missing_small

      Creator krayzkrok on November 15, 2012

      I'd love to have a story where you can a) choose whether or not to participate in world changing events, and b) have more "opportunities" if you do decide to take part in those events to make very poor decisions that could have drastic consequences. We're often so worried about whether or not we make the "right" or the "best" decision, we shouldn't always be afraid of making the wrong decision and having to live with those consequences. Right now poor decisions in most games tend to boil down to how much health / mana / ammo / items you waste, with a quick load fixing such errors unless you're playing some kind of "ironman" mode. But more radical gameplay consequences are risky because you risk alienating a lot of the audience who do want to go along for the best ride and get the "best" experience out of it. It's an impossible dilemma because we each want something different from these games, but having greater opportunities for failure (even if it's not always terminal) would be nice to see.

    31. Missing_small

      Creator meiam on November 15, 2012

      @ samuel,
      seems interesting, but again it illustrate my point you are exile (forced to go on adventure) to find out you have super power (destined to go on adventure). We already are in an extraordinary land, why do we need to be super ultra special? If they really want to let you be completely free, they could just have your guy decide he's feed up with being an ordinary farmer and decide to leave his village. I like the idea that you not getting involved will actually impact the world, no more “wait up guys on your super war, I need to collect some flower and find an old woman weeding ring”.

    32. Profile_pic.small

      Creator Samuel on November 15, 2012

      Meiam, check out http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1473965863/sui-generis

    33. Nyankomk4.small

      Creator Karkarov on November 15, 2012

      Nope you definitely aren't the only one who thinks of them as the Core 4. Truthfully Fighter, Rogue, Mage, and Cleric are all that is even "needed" as long as they have enough versatility and depth in their design.

      I am also all for punching dolphins in the face out of the ocean also, they already took all our fish and fled the planet when we were in danger after all.

    34. Missing_small

      Creator meiam on November 15, 2012

      This all sounds pretty normal story. I always hoped, but knew that it would never happens, that kickstarter would help start different kinds of narrative. My main problem with this kinds of story telling is that every game is like that, and I understand why you need to appeal to a wider audience. But I always feel like this sort of half way between “personal story” and “non-personal story” end up not really satisfying me when I would be fine with either type of story. My second main problem is that you end up with a 95% passive main character, he just end up never taking any important decision, never saying “hey let's do that” it's always the companion character that take the decision and you just follow them like a nice pet. Sure you have some “big” choice, but they always come back to the same (again it's understandable, it's easier to make one linear game than a large number of possibility). But I still think number 2 could be fixed while keeping number 1 alive. Say you live under a tyrannical rule and the MC decide to take over the country, there's still room for interpretation, maybe he went to stop the tyrant or just want to be tyrant himself or just want some fun fighting), but he's not passive, he's very active. But here the initial situation you describe goes against the own player motivation (Player: I want to go on a grand adventure, MC: I'm forced to go on a grand adventure by force outside my control). Then you'll find out you were “destined” to do the grand adventure, further removing any illusion of choice. Sorry I'm just rambling, I'm sure I'll enjoy the game a lot in the ends (try to make it like alpha protocol thought, love how the story, and gameplay, was influenced by player action)

    35. Panther1.small

      Creator pclabtech on November 15, 2012

      +1 punch the dolphin of choice out of the ocean

    36. Jim4.small

      Creator Merin on November 15, 2012

      And you still have the people who believe that the player can't make his or her own character, that they are playing the character given to them by the dev's...
      even with an update like this one, I'm sure.

    37. Mayor-nola.small

      Creator Da Mayor on November 15, 2012

      @Michelle - He's a lumberjack (...and he's OK...)

    38. Hatsworth_drinks_tea.small

      Creator Paul Andersen on November 15, 2012

      Loving the Powell's Books shirt.

    39. Dresden%20codak%20-%20i%20will%20do%20science.small

      Creator Chris on November 15, 2012

      Sounds like puberty.

    40. Rangoicon.small

      Creator Bruce Powell on November 15, 2012

      I used to work at Powell's Books. ;)

    41. (kgrhqz!k4e%20coftto-bp8luiuovg~~60_7.small

      Creator Ben Steed on November 15, 2012

      I must use 'punch the dolphin of choice out of the ocean' forever.

    42. Rangoicon.small

      Creator Bruce Powell on November 15, 2012

      Get to da choppah!

    43. 376873_339681046111357_77160710_n.small

      Creator Michelle K. on November 15, 2012

      I didn't know Chris had a chainsaw!

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  • Pledge $1,000 or more

    114 backers Limited (86 of 200 left)

    NAME AND DESIGN AN NPC (Non-Player Character). Help us design PROJECT ETERNITY! We will send you a PROJECT ETERNITY NPC character sheet for you to fill out for our design team. We will turn your personalized character design, with your name, class, and race into an NPC in the shipped game (within reason of course). You will also receive The Complete Kickstarter Obsidian Pack ($500 reward tier) + 5 EXTRA DIGITAL DOWNLOADABLE COPIES OF PROJECT ETERNITY to gift your friends and family.

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2014
  • Pledge $1,000 or more

    49 backers Limited (1 of 50 left)

    HELP DESIGN AN EPIC HIGH LEVEL WEAPON, ARMOR OR ARTIFACT. Help us design PROJECT ETERNITY! Your personalized item will be used by thousands of players and will be one of the best in the game. You can provide the lore, look, and type of the item (within reason), and we will put it in the shipped game. You will also receive The Complete Kickstarter Obsidian Pack ($500 reward tier) + 5 EXTRA DIGITAL DOWNLOADABLE COPIES OF PROJECT ETERNITY to gift your friends and family.

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2014
  • Pledge $3,000 or more

    7 backers Limited (13 of 20 left)

    BECOME A CUSTOM PORTRAIT IN THE GAME + GET A SIGNED ART PRINT OF YOUR PORTRAIT. Help us design PROJECT ETERNITY! Your personalized portrait will be seen and used thousands of players. With a supplied photograph and some additional input from you, a talented Obsidian artist will make a custom portrait to be used in the shipped game. The artist will sign a print of the portrait that will be sent to you. You will also receive The Complete Kickstarter Obsidian Pack ($500 reward tier) + 5 EXTRA DIGITAL DOWNLOADABLE COPIES OF PROJECT ETERNITY to gift your friends and family.

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2014
  • Pledge $5,000 or more

    3 backers Limited (3 of 6 left)

    NAME AND HELP DESIGN AN ENEMY ADVENTURING COMPANY. What beats the classic RPG challenge of squaring off against a diverse enemy party with skills, abilities, and equipment to match your own? Nothing, that's what! Now you can design a crew of knuckle-cracking skull-crushers to ambush players at the worst possible moment. Ha, HA! You are the devil himself! We will send you six PROJECT ETERNITY NPC character sheets for you to fill out for our design team. We will turn your personalized party design into a lethal wrecking crew to oppose the player in the shipped game (within reason of course). You will also receive The Complete Kickstarter Obsidian Pack ($500 reward tier) + 15 EXTRA DIGITAL DOWNLOADABLE COPIES OF PROJECT ETERNITY to gift your friends and family. You also get the top tier WATCHER FORUM BADGE.

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2014
  • Pledge $5,000 or more

    5 backers All gone!

    NAME AND HELP DESIGN AN INN OR TAVERN. Help us design PROJECT ETERNITY! Your personalized area will be prominently seen in the shipped game. You can name it (within reason), and with your input, the design team at Obsidian will create an inn or tavern in your honor. You will also receive The Complete Kickstarter Obsidian Pack ($500 reward tier) + 10 EXTRA DIGITAL DOWNLOADABLE COPIES OF PROJECT ETERNITY to gift your friends and family + DESIGN AND NAME AN NPC + DESIGN AN EPIC WEAPON. You also get the top tier WATCHER FORUM BADGE.

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2014
  • Pledge $10,000 or more

    5 backers

    The Ultimate Pledge Pack. We really want to thank you for your generous pledge in person. You will receive an INVITE TO THE OBSIDIAN PROJECT ETERNITY DEVELOPER LAUNCH PARTY + AN INVITE TO COME PLAY A GAME AT OBSIDIAN. You and a buddy get to party with the game developers at Obsidian and get a behind the scenes tour of the Obsidian office. You get to have a once in a lifetime opportunity to play a board or pen and paper game of your choice with Chris Avellone, Tim Cain, Josh Sawyer, and Feargus Urquhart! You must be able to pay for travel and accommodations to the Obsidian office in Irvine, California for the party and game day. You will receive everything else: The Complete Kickstarter Obsidian Pack ($500 reward tier) + 10 EXTRA DIGITAL DOWNLOADABLE COPIES OF PROJECT ETERNITY to gift your friends and family + DESIGN AND NAME AN NPC + DESIGN AN EPIC WEAPON + CUSTOM PORTRAIT. You also get the top tier WATCHER FORUM BADGE.

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2014