Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Fall In: Wasteland 2 Kickstarter Is Live

By Adam Smith on March 13th, 2012 at 1:30 pm.

You’ve read the interview (right?), some of you have even tried to throw money at the screen, and now the screen will actually accept your money if this is something you’d like to support. The Kickstarter page for Wasteland 2 is now live and is currently receiving about $1,000 per sentence I write, which means I should stop writing sentences and just paste in the link. The page has details of the incentives, quotes one of our readers, and also contains an informative and rather amusing video that explains why Fargo wants to make the game, and also recreates the difficulties he’s had convincing publishers that the world wants a Wasteland sequel. “There was a Fallout 1 and 2?”

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202 Comments »

  1. 13/03/2012 at 13:30 thesisko says:

    $250 pledged.

  2. 13/03/2012 at 13:34 Dana says:

    900k is a very high number…can we make it ?

    • 13/03/2012 at 14:30 pkt-zer0 says:

      What do you mean ‘can we make it?’

      YES WE CAN.

    • 13/03/2012 at 15:02 bikkebakke says:

      ofc we can, sadly I would have wanted this during the summer when I work (studying atm), so I could pledge a little more, haven’t decided yet on how much though :P

      $50-75 sure looks tempting and still within my budget.

    • 13/03/2012 at 15:07 Khemm says:

      The correct answer isn’t “yes, we can”, but “WE HAVE TO”.

    • 13/03/2012 at 16:56 Buckermann says:

      While I watched the video, another 10k monies was added (not by me though ): ). If it continues like this, than I predict that within 24 hours he gets his first million.

    • 13/03/2012 at 17:59 LintMan says:

      The $900K figure seems a bit daunting, but better for them to target a “do it right” figure rather than a “bare minimum and hope for more” one that could result in a disappointing product.

      I never played the original Wasteland, but loved Fallout 1 & 2, so I’m in. I really hope they pull it off.

    • 14/03/2012 at 09:18 BlackestTea says:

      Hm.. I guess these concerns have resolved themselves in the less-than-a-day since the original post. Wow, 500.000 pledged already. No need to fear the Kickstart-euphoria will die out before this is funded. (It is, by the way interesting to look at the profiles of backers – I’d say 80-90% of the profiles I had a look at – 20maybe – had only 2 projects they backed: Double Fine and this).

  3. 13/03/2012 at 13:35 kukouri says:

    Backed. Really hoping to see this do as well as Tim’s did.

  4. 13/03/2012 at 13:44 Frans Coehoorn says:

    90 minutes in and $23,651 collected and counting. I actually wonder if they will ‘sell’ the $10k pledges. A million is a lot of money though, despite (or because of?) Fargo’s name on it. I hope they can manage it. :)

  5. 13/03/2012 at 13:49 NathanH says:

    Obligatory “If you pledge more than $15 then you are mad” post that nobody will pay attention to, or may irritate people enough to pledge more than $15, and thus unsuspectingly support my nefarious scheme…

  6. 13/03/2012 at 13:54 phlebas says:

    Cloth map!

  7. 13/03/2012 at 14:02 Mechanicus_ says:

    I feel very sorry for that Kickstarter tactical shooter project – Wasteland 2 generated more money in a few minutes than they have in 2 weeks.

    • 13/03/2012 at 14:13 killias2 says:

      I feel like the tactical shooter people didn’t approach this as well as Fargo did. Fargo has basically been pumping this up for weeks now. If this doesn’t make it.. I’ll be sad.

    • 13/03/2012 at 14:16 Hoaxfish says:

      I think the main problem, or difference, is that “tactical shooter” is something even CoD likes to throw around as a phrase, while “old school adventure game” or “the sequel to game that started a string of high profile old school games” are almost niche products.

      Basically, the rarer the idea is is compared to the current game industry ouput, the more likely it is to rake it in, especially if the projects aren’t even on the drawing board.

      If you look at kickstarters from “non-famous” people, they generally show something up front before asking for money. It’s a weird trade from “faith” in what you can see, with “faith” in what the person has previously done and how it will stand apart from “normally funded” games .

      • 13/03/2012 at 15:04 SurprisedMan says:

        It’s an interesting property of these crowdfunding projects, isn’t it? Publishers like to fund safe, bankable ideas, but individuals can group together to fund niche projects. It’ll be interesting to see what sorts of projects survive and which ones fail over the coming years of kickstarter.

        • 13/03/2012 at 20:57 LionsPhil says:

          Both this and Tim’s are fairly “safe” bets in that they’re from proven, professional industry veterans, not some guys in their bedrooms. In particular, Tim also has a development company that has already put out a high-quality game (Psychonauts) to prove that he and those around him are still capable.

          That, I’d say, is a massive part of why they’re getting such responses, vs. unproven indies with ideas that, frankly, aren’t even that desperately compelling, or are hard to see how they could pan out.

    • 13/03/2012 at 14:37 Etherealsteel says:

      Tactical shooters are just overdone imo, it’s nothing new, innovative, or creative. People want to remake some of those old games that they remember growing up with, much like with what Doublefine wants to do with an old school adventure game.

    • 13/03/2012 at 14:40 sweetcraspy says:

      I looked at that project and had no idea what kind of game play they were going for. As Hoaxfish says, “Tactical” and “Shooter” have so many meanings in the mainstream that they could be planning to go in any direction.

      Even, then, if it’s a first person shooter, that design space is pretty well explored. Adding the tactical elements of SWAT 3-4 or Rainbow Six is not enough to make it a compelling project to me.

    • 13/03/2012 at 14:58 Drayk says:

      I know it’s strange but… The guy making it gives me the creeps. And the end of the trailer, with his kid waving a gun (even a fake one) made me unconfortable…

    • 13/03/2012 at 15:14 Mechanicus_ says:

      I agree, with most points – not having anything to show (even a title!), nor doing any “warmup” for the Kickstarter the way Fargo has were very poor choices.

      The very fact that people are saying “There’s loads of tactical shooters!” means he did not communicate the type of game he wants to make well at all; listening to him in interviews he most certainly does want to make an original Rainbow 6 style game with planning modes etc. If people cannot tell the difference between CoD and the old Rainbow 6 games then lets just stop the games industry now.

      Mainly I feel sorry for him because once you arse up that first chance you won’t get another soon.

  8. 13/03/2012 at 14:06 Miltrivd says:

    Just Pledged. Hoping for the best. Hoping for a Double Fine-ish success :D

  9. 13/03/2012 at 14:08 DrScuttles says:

    Just pledged $15. Guess I really ought to play Wasteland 1 at some point…

  10. 13/03/2012 at 14:08 Phantoon says:

    “…some of you have even tried to throw money at the screen”

    Why doesn’t that ever work? I keep a jar of change next to my computer for when it finally does, but all that happens is I have to clean up the mess when it ricochets off.

  11. 13/03/2012 at 14:13 caddyB says:

    Hope this works.

  12. 13/03/2012 at 14:13 InternetBatman says:

    In somewhat related news, the Doublefine Kickstarter is past 3 million.

  13. 13/03/2012 at 14:15 Merus says:

    Yeah, wow, $900,000 is a lot of money, and if they get $899,999 there’s no Wasteland 2. On the other hand, maybe they did budget it out and that’s how much they need.

    On the other hand, the pitch meeting with the kid asking about Angry Birds is a good start.

    • 13/03/2012 at 14:19 NathanH says:

      If it gets to $899,999 just before the deadline, then I will rouse myself from my throne of smug cynicism and pledge a dollar.

      • 13/03/2012 at 19:33 PearlChoco says:

        i wonder what keeps them from chipping in the last few 1000 bucks themselves, they’ll earn 800.000+ $ by doing that (better than no project at all).

        I think 900.000 is a smart number: IF they get that much, they KNOW everone will try to break the 1M $ so actually theyre asking for 1.000.000$.

  14. 13/03/2012 at 14:16 Starayo says:

    Ooooh… Gotta get budgeting on this one, I’m hankering for those cloth maps and books… :D

  15. 13/03/2012 at 14:20 Etherealsteel says:

    I wish him luck. I’m not really interested in the game though. It’s interesting though that this is how other developers are following Doublefine in getting a game made. I love that we, the customer or fan of the game can have a say or be a part of the experience.

    • 13/03/2012 at 14:26 caddyB says:

      It’s a way of getting people to make what you want. Just throw money at them. If enough money is thrown, they will do it.

      Would be better if publishers saw that there is money to be made in rpgs and simulations and other genres that aren’t shooters. Or even shooters that aren’t like CoD.

      • 13/03/2012 at 14:52 HothMonster says:

        Publisher Mantra:

        Find out what works.
        Repeat what works
        Repeat it again.
        When it suddenly doesn’t work blame the developer, close them, and repeat again.
        When it doesn’t work again find something new that worked despite you telling the developers it will never work in a million years because it isn’t whatever you have been repeating.
        Repeat that.
        Repeat.

  16. 13/03/2012 at 14:23 Jim9137 says:

    Does my screen accept commodities of esoteric shape? Like the fridge, or the couch? I don’t use them anyway. I don’t think my apartment will fit through the screen, though.

  17. 13/03/2012 at 14:25 RyuRanX says:

    Come on my fellow PC gamers. Let’s make this project happen! Let’s show Bioware and Bethesda that there’s still public for old-school RPGs.

  18. 13/03/2012 at 14:28 Craig Stern says:

    At times like this, I wish I was rich. I would unhesitatingly drop a grand to be an in-game NPC if I had that kind of money to spare. I would also write out a big honking dialog tree for them to consider using; because that’s my idea of a good time.

    I hope they put my $30 to good use.

  19. 13/03/2012 at 14:29 JackShandy says:

    Can this game really make 900,000 dollars?

    Whatever. C-c-c-c-cloth map! Goodbye, fifty bucks.

  20. 13/03/2012 at 14:30 nimzy says:

    I threw my money at them when I heard Mike Stackpole is involved. Ah, nostalgia.

  21. 13/03/2012 at 14:30 RagingLion says:

    My prediction: I think they’re going to make their target. Currently running at $25,000 an hour, over the first day I think that rate can be reasonably sustained as people find out about it for the first time and different gaming news sites pick up on it. They’ll then be at $500,000+ for this first day and can at least coast the rest of the way, especially if further updates are added during the Kickstarter phase to gain attention again and people will want to push it through to the target anyway if they see that it is close.

    Let’s see if I’m right.

  22. 13/03/2012 at 14:31 Dr I am a Doctor says:

    gz Zerosociety

  23. 13/03/2012 at 14:41 Skystrider says:

    Meanwhile, Double Fine breaks $3M. And eighty thousand backers. Still nine hours to go of that.
    http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/66710809/double-fine-adventure/

    Also, I just pledged five hundred dollars to Brian Fargo. These developers are going to be the ruin if me. :-P

  24. 13/03/2012 at 14:44 Candre says:

    It is still a shame that rps didn´t support that tactical shooter to the same amount like they did here. RPS and other media have gainsed some influence on the video game developing market. Of course the fault might lie with Christian Allen himself, as he didn´t go out and went to the media himself. Stil it sucks. I hope some of you will support: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/355932838/crowdsourced-hardcore-tactical-shooter?ref=live

    • 13/03/2012 at 14:49 HothMonster says:

      RPS did an article on this. It is how I heard about it.

    • 13/03/2012 at 14:59 phenom_x8 says:

      Very much agree with you. I wish this project would be succesfully done, but it looks like Allen just do it in a rush without enough hype built beforehand. I even just knew about it after its run for 3 days from PA report Interview. Man, there’s still 19 days to go.

      • 13/03/2012 at 15:12 bear912 says:

        I seriously hope it gets funded. The shaky ground it seems to be on now is a pity, since I don’t know that it’s particularly a reflection of the demand for a true hardcore tactical shooter, but more of the presentation, and the way (in a sense) that it’s marketed to us. I want to see developers making games they are passionate about, and Christian Allen certainly qualifies. It’s just not pitched as well as it could be to us, it’s investors, and so it’s harder to say, “Everyone! Look here! Make this happen!”…

    • 13/03/2012 at 15:03 BobsLawnService says:

      Because the one thing the industry doesn’t see often enough is tactical FPS games.

      • 13/03/2012 at 15:07 sneetch says:

        Actually, we don’t see a lot of tactical FPS games. He’s talking about making a old school Rainbow 6 style game and I think a lot of people think he’s talking about making a COD clone.

        That’s probably a major reason why his funding is lagging behind, people don’t really know what he means.

        “realistic weapon modeling, outfitting and commanding your squad, objective-based, non-linear missions set in real-world locations around the world, single player, co-op, and multiplayer.”

        • 14/03/2012 at 04:14 BobsLawnService says:

          To the people with the personal tastes to fund a Wasteland game an FPS is an FPS.

          Another thing is that the Tactical Shooter kickstarter is an abuse of the model. You aren’t paying for a product, you are paying for a bullet point on a Powerpoint slide. When that fails your money goes to his consolation hookers and cocaine fund. Fuck that.

    • 13/03/2012 at 15:17 Torgen says:

      Don’t blame RPS or other media for not covering an unknown’s kickstarter as well as they do legends in the industry. Have you counted how many kickstarters there are for video games?

      As others have said, it is the developer’s job to promote his game, not to sit back and expect the media to do it for him. Even Schafer and Fargo are reaching out to publicize their projects.

    • 13/03/2012 at 15:21 InternetBatman says:

      I think the idea didn’t stand out enough (give it a name at least) / wasn’t realized far enough to make an effective pitch, the creator wasn’t nearly as famous, and the fans of tactical shooters aren’t as loud or present on the internet. 200k also seems like a tiny amount of money for a shooter.

      • 13/03/2012 at 15:31 bear912 says:

        I think the idea was to use that money as a demonstration to pitch to other investors/publishers, showing them that there was still interest in the genre.

        • 13/03/2012 at 19:24 USER47 says:

          Which is kind of problematic, because if it gets funded by kickstarter but publishers are still not convinced, devs are pretty much f*cked. They would have to deliver promised shooter with 200000 bucks, and that’s just impossible:).

    • 14/03/2012 at 03:15 malkav11 says:

      It’s also possible there’s simply less people that want that sort of game than want a proper Wasteland sequel from many of the original people involved with Wasteland or a new point & click adventure game from Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert. I know that even though I conceivably might poke at a Rainbow Six-esque tactical shooter, I’m not going to be good at it and I probably won’t get much out of it. (I do adore the ARMA franchise, but I already feel adequately served there.) Meanwhile turn-based RPG with tactical combat, and LucasArts-glory-days type point and click adventure game are two of my favorite genres even if they weren’t respectively associated with one of the greatest cRPGs of all time and Tim Schafer.

  25. 13/03/2012 at 14:48 HothMonster says:

    “The Kickstarter page for Wasteland 2 is now live and is currently receiving about $1,000 per sentence I write, which means I should stop writing sentences and just paste in the link.”

    No, that means you should write at least another 900 sentences.

  26. 13/03/2012 at 14:52 Meat Circus says:

    SHUT UP AND TAKE MY oh you did.

  27. 13/03/2012 at 15:01 Hoaxfish says:

    Brian Fargo made Wasteland? But what has he done recently?

  28. 13/03/2012 at 15:02 Ironclad says:

    You have no idea how much it hurts that Kickstarter doesn’t allow Paypal. It physically hurts… :-(

    • 13/03/2012 at 21:01 LionsPhil says:

      Based on past record, if it were PayPal, tomorrow RPS would be running a headline about how Double Fine made $4 million but won’t see a penny of it for three years and then maybe it’ll all just vanish into refunds and the ether anyway.

  29. 13/03/2012 at 15:02 karthink says:

    I’ve never played a turn based game to completion, and I don’t think I ever will. Still, I find myself unable to not be part of this. Money pledged.

    • 13/03/2012 at 15:09 Havok9120 says:

      That’s a shame. You really should at least give one of the Fallouts a try. Or a Baldur’s Gate if MED-IEVAL TIIIIIIIIMESSS is more your style. I honestly prefer the Fallouts though and that’s even with me loving High Fantasy to bits.

      Thanks tons for donating though, whether you try one of those or not.

      EDIT: I just noticed your “to completion.” Probably nixes most of my comment. Whoops.

      • 13/03/2012 at 15:11 Brun says:

        Can you really call Baldur’s Gate/Baldur’s Gate 2 “turn based”? I know they are based on AD&D which is turn based, but the games themselves implement those as continuous (i.e. adjoining) 6-second rounds. If you don’t pause they run together and look like a real-time game.

      • 13/03/2012 at 15:24 JFS says:

        Baldur’s Gate isn’t really turn-based. You can speed stuff up a lot, and the enemy acts simultaneously. While I like turn-based games, I haven’t ever completed on either because at a certain point it becomes too drawn-out…

  30. 13/03/2012 at 15:03 Lobotomist says:

    Gamers unite !
    lets make this happen !

  31. 13/03/2012 at 15:04 unimural says:

    Threw my not-that-hard-earned-to-be-honest money at this. I think it will be a close call, but I do hope this will happen.

  32. 13/03/2012 at 15:06 Havok9120 says:

    It gained roughly 7K in the 5-10 minutes I had of reading this article and pause/playing the video.

    Eye luv teh interwebz

    EDIT: And another 7K while I typed this and donated!

  33. 13/03/2012 at 15:11 killias2 says:

    After watching the DoubleFine video and the Wasteland 2 video in somewhat quick succession, it’s clear that Schafer is more comfortable in front of a camera, is funnier, and is more confident. That said, Fargo still did a fine job. He’s just following one of the most charismatic people in the business. I feel like there’s an alternate reality out there where Tim Schafer is a successful comedian.

    Still, awesome stuff. I just can’t decide between the 50 and 100 dollar tiers.

  34. 13/03/2012 at 15:22 olemars says:

    $75 $90 from me. This and the doublefine adventure will be my first boxed copies in years.

  35. 13/03/2012 at 15:59 DiTH says:

    100k LETS Do this. 75$ from me.

  36. 13/03/2012 at 15:59 Wizardry says:

    So can I make a post here telling everyone who hasn’t played the original Wasteland to download DOSBox and give it a go?

    • 13/03/2012 at 17:16 RedViv says:

      You’re probably the only person here explicitly allowed to. So go, do it.

      • 13/03/2012 at 17:54 Wizardry says:

        Everyone who hasn’t played the original Wasteland, download DOSBox and give it a go.

        Done. :D

        • 13/03/2012 at 18:04 LintMan says:

          If you haven’t played Wasteland, you probably don’t own it. So where do you get Wasteland from? Is it public domain now?

          • 13/03/2012 at 18:16 Wizardry says:

            If it hasn’t been on sale for coming up to two decades then no one out there will give a damn if you obtain it by any method.

          • 13/03/2012 at 18:17 JackShandy says:

            Download it, then donate the amount you would have paid for it to this kickstarter. No jury would convict you.

          • 13/03/2012 at 18:42 Wizardry says:

            Well, it’s not just that. No one would bother taking you to court. If a publisher cares enough to take you to court over a 24 year old game then they will care enough to re-sell it.

          • 14/03/2012 at 03:17 malkav11 says:

            I could swear the rights were held by EA at this point, and they have historically cared very much about who was downloading games they hadn’t sold in decades.

          • 14/03/2012 at 04:33 Wizardry says:

            No they don’t. Did they take people to court for playing the Ultima series before they stuck it up on GOG? No they didn’t. EA care about money and if they aren’t selling a 24 year old product then you can bet they consider it worthless.

          • 14/03/2012 at 04:53 malkav11 says:

            They haven’t sued anyone, as far as I know, but they were quite aggressive about cease and desist letters and similar tactics. It was really frustrating because they own a lot of great IPs that they were doing absolutely nothing to actually make available until they finally signed up with GoG, but they would force their games off abandonware sites.

          • 14/03/2012 at 05:09 Wizardry says:

            Can you give me a source for the cease and desists please.

          • 14/03/2012 at 12:26 malkav11 says:

            All you would need to do is go to one of the core abandonware sites like Home of the Underdogs circa 2005-2006 or so. Unfortunately, Home of the Underdogs no longer exists – there are a couple of sites that have attempted to recreate it, but they don’t appear to have the same policies – and many of the EA games that used to be just marked as a no go because of takedown notices are now purchaseable legitimately through GoG, so sites like Abandonia provide purchase links instead.

            Make no mistake, I’m not talking about EA actively pursuing individual pirates of their old games. That’s something that companies almost never do even with modern games that they still sell. But even if a game is old and not for sale, it’s still piracy absent the approval of the license holder, and if you have a moral objection to that sort of thing, EA’s stance has been pretty clear: don’t do it.

          • 14/03/2012 at 12:39 Llewyn says:

            @Wizardry: For recent Ultima IV background: http://www.ultimaaiera.com/blog/ultima-4-ea-corrections-and-clarifications/

            If you want additional detail you’ll have to search for it yourself.

          • 14/03/2012 at 16:11 Wizardry says:

            @Llewyn: That was regarding Ultima IV being considered freeware. Nothing to do with EA hunting down people playing their old games. So in other words this has nothing to do with people obtaining a digital copy of Wasteland to play it themselves.

          • 15/03/2012 at 03:06 malkav11 says:

            I never said that EA hunted down people who downloaded their old games. I said that EA has a history of issuing cease and desist letters to sites distributing their old games. Almost no other companies have bothered to go that far.

        • 13/03/2012 at 19:16 B1A4 says:

          @wiz: I already did. And it’s bad. Not bad, bad, but technologickly bad. Awful UI, fights… respawning invisible enemies. I love that shit, not.

          But it has quite a lot interesting ideas and the skill system is superb. I am surely waiting for W2.

          • 13/03/2012 at 20:10 Wizardry says:

            Bad UI? Not particularly. Wasteland had a built in macro system for you to bind your own commands. Respawning enemies? That’s not a particularly bad thing, though in some locations the respawn rate is too high. Also, the fights themselves were better than Fallout’s. Watching 20 weak enemies slowly crawl towards you was properly boring.

  37. 13/03/2012 at 16:13 wodin says:

    My fingers are crossed they reach the amount required. I do have my doubts though.

    As for the tactical shooter I believe Black Foot studios shooter is getting a new lease of life in it’s development. Well so hints the developer after his trip to GDC. News is supposed to be forth coming today.

  38. 13/03/2012 at 16:25 squareking says:

    Backed! This would be my very first cloth map. Get pledging, people!

  39. 13/03/2012 at 16:32 Dys Does Dakka says:

    Pledged.

    -Autumn ’13 is a long time to wait. :c

  40. 13/03/2012 at 16:53 JackDandy says:

    Let’s make this happen!

  41. 13/03/2012 at 17:34 equatorian says:

    I still don’t trust InXile to make a good RPG, and Brian was the guy who said ‘all RPGs really wanted to be action games’, after all. (Allegedly.) Still, I am pledging to this because support for old-school RPGs is a thing that needs to happen, and I’ll even support Garriot if he shows up. DO YOU HEAR THAT, OLD SCHOOL RPG DEVS. YOU WANT MY MONEY, CORRECT.

    /crosses fingers and hopes Mr. Fargo still has it in him. He did give a very good interview.

    • 13/03/2012 at 18:12 Wizardry says:

      That was Matt Findley, not Brian Fargo. Fargo is an old-school bro at heart.

      • 13/03/2012 at 19:03 equatorian says:

        Ah, I see, I am much heartened! Also, I stand corrected. :)

        (No, seriously, THANK YOU for that correction. You have no idea how shocked I got after hearing that. It was one of the saddest things to hear. And now it is happily corrected and resolved, which is rather wonderful.)

    • 13/03/2012 at 18:28 Havok9120 says:

      I inherently trust the old Fallout dudes to make a good game. This is especially true when they’re making another Wasteland/FO.

  42. 13/03/2012 at 17:37 Paul says:

    65 pledged in, this must suceed. I want oldschool RPGs with good production values, and post-apo…mmmmhhmm.

  43. 13/03/2012 at 17:47 equatorian says:

    Once you figure out the interface, yes.

  44. 13/03/2012 at 18:22 Khemm says:

    Is it just me or that video showing publishers and their attitude perfectly describes how Failout 3 was made?

  46. 13/03/2012 at 18:28 FhnuZoag says:

    There’s too much happiness and joy in this thread, so I’m going to flood you with negativity, woo.

    The problem here is that this entire Kickstarter is being sold on nostalgia, isn’t it? Schafer and Double Fine at least have been making games like what they are funding, so the funders have a reasonable expectation that they are paying for at least something interesting. But Brian Fargo hasn’t made anything remotely like Wasteland for decades. Look at the recent library of inXile, and what do you see? A few action adventures and a bunch of iOS object stacking games. Brian Fargo may profess a commitment to old style turn based tactical RPGs, but there’s no evidence of that in his works. Even his lead game designer apparently hasn’t made a game since 1993!

    Why do we think they still have got it? If they brought in someone like Jeff Vogel with recent experience in turn based RPGs, then that might be something. Then we’d know that they know how to make a fun game. If they made a demo or something to showcase their ideas and talent, then that too would be something. But right now, all we have is promises and words (I’m also rather uncomfortable with the cynical use of ‘it’s not going to be a FPS here’) and having done something great twenty years ago. Well, people change in twenty years, and just being in the right genre and having the right IP doesn’t mean Wasteland 2 is going to be a good game.

    • 13/03/2012 at 18:36 Havok9120 says:

      Lets look at the worst case here. Say they “don’t got it anymore.” Say they just get lazy or use outdated design precepts or whatever.

      From what I see, if that happens we’re getting another Fallout, just probably less polished. I’d be okay with that for $15. And why shouldn’t he cynically use those words? He remembers what BethSoft did to his company’s IP. I’d be cynical and a tad bitter about it too. Especially since, well, none of us WANT him to make an FPS.

      • 13/03/2012 at 19:05 FhnuZoag says:

        It’s rather supremely cynical when his company also remade Bard’s Tale as a console third person hack and slash game back in 2004, when those (and not FPS games) were popular, and before this Kickstarter his company hasn’t attempted to make anything like the original Wasteland.

        • 13/03/2012 at 20:14 Wizardry says:

          He’s addressed that a thousand times. There were no publishers willing to fund an old-school RPG. A hack & slash Bard’s Tale game was the best they could do.

        • 13/03/2012 at 20:33 Havok9120 says:

          Which is why we’re doing a Kickstarter. Bard’s Tale was made because, wait for it, publishers wouldn’t make his style of RPG. And, well, he needed the money.

    • 13/03/2012 at 18:49 Wizardry says:

      The fact that people working on the game have been out of the industry for two decades is a good sign, because very little good has come out of the last two decades. Perhaps they will “accidentally” do something “outdated” and we’ll end up with a good cRPG again.

      Remember that both Ken St. Andre and Michael Stackpole, two of the original Wasteland designers, are both involved in Wasteland 2. These two people have a pen and paper RPG background. Ken St. Andrew created Tunnels & Trolls back in 1975, the second RPG after D&D. Michael Stackpole created Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes, the system that influenced Wasteland’s character system.

      I don’t really know what you want out of this project.

      • 13/03/2012 at 19:02 FhnuZoag says:

        That’s a seriously corrosive attitude that ignores the many contributions and innovations made to videogames since 1988. Very little good, seriously? Are we ignoring Planescape, Baldur’s Gate, half the Ultima series, Jagged Alliance, Xcom….. all of those?

        And on the practical level, do they know how long it takes to make an ambitious open world tactical turn based RPG with today’s technology? 12 months sounds recklessly ambitious.

        Fallout took 3 and a half years to make. Fallout 2 took a year, and that’s with an established team, reusing the engine and much of the art assets. These guys think they can make a game like that from scratch with a team unused to working together or even on games at all, in 12 months. What happens if they hit the deadline and barely anything is finished?

        • 13/03/2012 at 19:11 Thants says:

          Don’t mind Wizardry, that’s kind of his thing around here.

        • 13/03/2012 at 20:10 ffordesoon says:

          Well, I suppose he’s technically correct. Statistically, most games do suck. But that’s always been true, and I know for a fact that’s not what he meant, so, um, yeah.

        • 13/03/2012 at 20:20 Wizardry says:

          Planescape, Baldur’s Gate, half the Ultima series, Jagged Alliance, Xcom

          Jagged Alliance 2 and X-COM were fine games, but X-COM wasn’t an RPG while Jagged Alliance 2 was a hybrid of a genre that necessitates good combat (the thing that declined the most in RPGs).

          Baldur’s Gate? What did that do other than introduce real-time with pause and destroy turn-based combat? Half the Ultima series? You mean Serpent Isle, 8 and 9? Don’t get me started on Planescape “story over gameplay” Torment.

          • 14/03/2012 at 09:40 Frans Coehoorn says:

            The only Ultima that counts is Ultima VIII: The Black Gate (okay and Serpent Isle), obviously. And maybe part VI, but VII looks and plays better.

          • 14/03/2012 at 16:13 Wizardry says:

            There’s no such thing as “Ultima VIII: The Black Gate” and there is no “Part VI”, only Ultima VI. You seem to be muddled. The best Ultima is Ultima V anyway.

        • 13/03/2012 at 20:31 Havok9120 says:

          Shhhhh. Don’t poke the Wizardry.

          Down that path be madness.

          Not to mention that you’re channeling some serious hypocrisy with all these charges of “cynicism” when your viewpoint seems to come down to “they can’t possibly do this. They have no idea what they’re doing because they’re old and unestablished.”

          I do get what you’re saying about ambition and such, but you know that they’re actually planning an 18 month development cycle right? You’re talking about world-building and planning, which is all the stuff they’re planning to do over the next six months, with a release coming a year after THAT. Not to mention that Jason Anderson has (apparently) already put a year of work into the planning and background of the game and its world. And if they hit the deadline and it isn’t finished, they move the deadline back until the money runs out. One of the beauties of not having a publisher.

          I’m all for caution and devil’s advocate, you seem to be going a bit beyond that.

    • 13/03/2012 at 19:08 equatorian says:

      I rather like Spiderweb games, but IDK, I don’t really think Jeff Vogel would be a good man for the job. The atmosphere of his games don’t really work with ones like Wasteland, and he does tend to have the same quirks in everything he makes.

      And at least we know what we’re getting and we can actually make demands and BE the Meddling Executives that always Ruined Our Games By Catering To The Unwashed Masses. We’re the ones doing the QA, remember?

      (Note : I also think InXile’s previous offers are kind of dodgy. I pledged anyway. There are many reasons people choose to part with their money.)

      • 13/03/2012 at 19:14 FhnuZoag says:

        Do the backers have any pull, though? If the development goes in a direction people don’t like, can people really get their money back?

        • 13/03/2012 at 20:02 equatorian says:

          That’s why you have funding tiers, isn’t it? To choose the amount you’re comfortable with giving based on the risk that you might be disappointed with the final outcome?

          Besides, the backers do have pull. Can you imagine what will happen to the Metacritic scores and sales of the game if the backers sufficiently hated it? Of course nobody will be okay with ALL the features, we’re never okay with everything in a game, but if Fargo decided to make an FP manshoot instead, it’ll burn in hell instead of having to deal with some disgruntled grumbling. And so will his reputation and that of his company.

          You may say that it’s not substantial enough, fame vs. money invested, but I’m working in an IP-based industry and I’d say that brand name really is everything. So we’re carrying risks. So are they.

          • 13/03/2012 at 20:11 FhnuZoag says:

            I think I’d just be much more comfortable if the kickstarter came at a later stage in the development process, or if we had a progressive kickstart where for example we might have repeated funding drives as the project goes past certain checkpoints. That would be a more reasonable QA process than possible backlash way off in the future, and it would build allowances for, e.g. development taking more time/money than they had thought, or the audience having, it turns out, differing expectations of what they want.

          • 13/03/2012 at 20:44 Havok9120 says:

            You seem to be talking about crowd-development, which is most certainly NOT what they have any interest in doing. Nor should they, since no large game could be made that way in any reasonable period of time. They’re assuring us that we’ll have input, but you’re asking for outright control (or darn close to it), and then they might as well just break down and accede to the demands of a publisher.

            Not to mention that Jason Anderson has already put in a year of work on the world and developer documents. I mean, its not like Fargo sat down and said “give us a million bucks and we’ll conceive of a game and get to work on it toot sweet!”

  47. 13/03/2012 at 18:41 Khemm says:

    By the way, is there a way to download the video from the kickstarter page? I can’t find a youtube link, which would make it possible.

  48. 13/03/2012 at 19:31 theblackw0lf says:

    Not a lot of mention has been made of the fact that Jason Anderson is developing the story for the game. It should. Here are some games he was project lead for (besides Fallout)

    Arcanum
    Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines

  49. 13/03/2012 at 19:42 Havok9120 says:

    Over a quarter of the way there. I am happy.

  50. 13/03/2012 at 20:14 ffordesoon says:

    AN RPG IS ONLY AN RPG IF–

    …What? Oh, we’re not doing that today?

    Yes, well. Carry on.

    Ahem.

  51. 13/03/2012 at 20:49 Lokik says:

    Now someone just needs to tell Toys for Bob to do the Kickstarter thingy as well, so that we can finally have Star Control 3 (yes, such a game doesn’t exist).

    • 13/03/2012 at 23:18 InternetBatman says:

      I’m surprised we haven’t heard from them already. They have wanted to do it so long that now would be the perfect opportunity. Also, since they could keep it 2D the price would probably be pretty low.

  52. 13/03/2012 at 22:53 eclipse mattaru says:

    I’m gonna ask you to pretty please stop referring to our good chum Brian here as “Fargo”, because every time you do that the first thing that pops in my head is that retard from GameSpy; and I *really* would want to not approach this oh-so-promising project with such abject imagery lingering in the back of my mind.

  53. 14/03/2012 at 01:01 Zylinski says:

    Pledged $265! I deeply respect Brian Fargo and Mark Morgan, Fallout 1 & 2 are my absolute favourite games. SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!

    400k and counting!

  54. 14/03/2012 at 01:59 Angel Dust says:

    Pledged $30 and I might up that in the coming weeks. My wife is super keen for this too. She loves turn-based RPGs and not because of tactical depth or anything like that, but simply due to the fact that the action orientated RPGs of today are too hard (twitch skills) for her to play.

    What I really wanna know is how much did Wizardry pledge? :p

  55. 14/03/2012 at 03:01 Jae Armstrong says:

    A little under 11 hours and halfway there.

    VICTORY!

    • 14/03/2012 at 07:53 LionsPhil says:

      Well, it’ll probably slow down after the initial surge of fans, even allowing for people having the chance to hear about/get around to it.

      But yeah, woo. That number went up fast.

  56. 14/03/2012 at 03:11 Havok9120 says:

    Halfway baby.

    I demand an update from you Limey webmonkeys.

  57. 14/03/2012 at 07:56 Brothabear says:

    lol fuck that. I rather Invest in games like grimlands or ravaged, stuff I know will be fun the moment its relased. Top-down turn based. It had its hayday but with the money I put into my Rig, Im not really looking for games that dont take advantage of it.

  58. 14/03/2012 at 12:43 Huygens says:

    Well, by the end of day 1, the situation was as follows:

    580,106 dollars pledged, from 10,134 backers, which means the project is already funded up to 64% of the original target.

    Things are looking good, I’d say.

  59. 15/03/2012 at 06:52 Jackablade says:

    9 hours, but their goal was less than half the size. Fargo’s fund isn’t quite as quick as the unstoppable Schafer gravy train, but they’re not far behind.

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