WHEEL OF TIME game not dead at Obsidian, KotOR 3 a possibility

I missed this when it went up over a month ago, but Kotaku have published a thorough interview with the founder and CEO of Obsidian Entertainment, Feargus Urquhart. The interview is extremely informative and revealing.

First up is the surprising news that the Wheel of Time RPG is not entirely dead. Previously Obsidian had signed a deal with Red Eagle to make a game based on the setting, but then all news on the project dried up. The article reveals that, despite no forwards movement on the project for almost three years, the game is actually still viable, provided that Red Eagle finds a publisher and provides funding. I'm not holding my breath on this realistically ever happening, but it's good to know that Obsidian are still ready to go with the project if it does ever become a reality.

Secondly, Urquhart talks about the success of their Project Eternity Kickstarter appeal, and how it has opened other doors. He reveals that he has been talking to companies like Ubisoft, Bethesda and LucasArts about future projects. Based on comments elsewhere in the article and some things that have happened since, it sounds like Obsidian have - very tentatively - been talking about doing a Might and Magic game with Ubisoft (although that possibly might have been related to Ubisoft picking up the South Park RPG Stick of Truth, which has indeed just happened); to Bethesda about a potential Fallout: New Vegas 2 (or even an Elder Scrolls game); and to LucasArts about a Knights of the Old Republic III for next gen consoles and PC. None of these things are 'go' projects or particularly likely to happen, but they're all potentially mouthwatering prospects.

Finally, Urquhart talks at length about their highest-profile failures, particularly the incomplete Knights of the Old Republic II and the furore surrounding Alpha Protocol. What is particularly intriguing is the fact that Alpha Protocol has been selling very well over a long period of time, enough that Obsidian have hopes of being able to revisit the idea of a sequel with Sega a couple of years down the line (although given the summary cancellation of Obsidian's Aliens RPG - also mentioned in the interview - that may be more wishful thinking than anything else).

Overall, a very interesting look at what might just be my favourite game developers around at the moment.

FALLOUT TV series in the works?

Bethesda has filed a trademark for an 'ongoing television program set in a post-nuclear apocalyptic world', sparking speculation that they are planning to turn their Fallout franchise into a TV series.

The Fallout series depicts a parallel history where the United States built a technologically-advanced future based on the designs and visions of the 1950s, only for this world to be destroyed in a nuclear war between the USA and China in 2077. The games are set between 100 and 205 years later and show the rise of new societies from the ruins of the old one. There are four main games (Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas) and two spin-offs (Fallout: Tactics and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel), as well as a tabletop wargame. The series was created by Interplay and Black Isle Studios, who created the first three games in the series. After Black Isle's dissolution in 2004 (whilst working on a third game in the series), other studios produced the spin-offs for Interplay. Bethesda bought the rights to the Fallout franchise in 2006 and released Fallout 3 in 2008. They then hired Obsidian Entertainment to make New Vegas, which was released in 2010.

Bethesda are currently working on Fallout 4, which will almost certainly be set in Boston (Bethesda researchers have visited the city recently, making notes on its layout and geography), and there is widespread speculation that they will start work on Fallout Online once The Elder Scrolls Online is released later this year.

Bethesda applying for this copyright does not necessarily mean that there will be a Fallout TV series - they may be simply trying to protect against another show being made using the same concepts - but it does indicate they are at least thinking about it. Reactions will likely be mixed. Whilst Bethesda are to be thanked for raising the profile of the Fallout franchise and introducing it to a huge number of new fans, it is also the case that their interpretation of the franchise in Fallout 3 was simplistic, though fun. This was particularly shown up by New Vegas, where Obsidian (consisting of many of the writers and developers of the first two games) delivered both a better game and a considerably more interesting and more nuanced view of the setting. If a Fallout TV series is to proceed, hopefully Bethesda would involve some of the Obsidian talent (particularly Chris Avellone and J.E. Sawyer) in some capacity.

Creators of the greatest RPGs of all time collaborate on new game

Obsidian Entertainment have announced their next big RPG: a fantasy game called Project Eternity (working title). This game will be an isometric, old-school RPG that draws heavily on their old D&D games using the Infinity Engine (the Icewind Dale series and the legendary Planescape: Torment).

However, tired of working for publishers who either don't do proper Q&A on their games (resulting in the bug-filled mess of Alpha Protocol), rush them out in an incomplete state (Knights of the Old Republic II) or refuse to pay them a bonus by failing to hit a ludicrously arbitrary Metacritic score by one point despite selling millions of copies (Fallout: New Vegas), Obsidian have decided to take this one to the fans. Via Kickstarter, Obsidian are asking for $1.1 million to help fund the game. They're already at $300,000 less than a day after starting the project.

The creative forces behind the game include Chris Avellone, the writer of Planescape: Torment; Tim Cain, the creator of the Fallout franchise; and Josh Sawyer, the project lead on the excellent New Vegas (who infamously disapproved of the game being somewhat 'softened' for console players and released his own, more hardcore mod for the PC version of the game). They hope to release the game in early 2014.

Kotaku interview Avellone here about the project, whilst GameBanshee talk to Obsidian studio head Feargus Urquhart here.

UPDATE: As of 24 hours later, the amount raised stands at $1,083,000, and should hit the target within a few hours (with 31 days still to go). Obsidian have already said that any money they make over the $1.1 million will go to making the game even more impressive, and some projections are now suggesting they could make upwards of four times the amount they asked for.