Fallout license changes hands

[radnan]

On a slightly offtopic note .. i had a good time seeing this presentation on marketing from Seth Godin

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/28
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Godin

And i think game devs (like Beth) should look over his presentation and the points he makes ... his "purple-cow" theories dont apply everywhere (remarkable doesnt always mean good) but the point he makes about the hardcore buyer bases who really love and value products is something developers often forget about and just go on doing mediocre stuff that adresses everyone and appeals to no-one.

 

[Mick1965]

Bethesda don't really do CRPGs, they do action/adventure games with RPG-like elements thrown in.

Daggerfall had RPG-qualities. Morrowind had some bad mistakes in RPG design, but still has been an RPG. Oblivion is only called "RPG". So I think Beth knows, what an RPG is, but prefers to make dumb down genre mixes to get a bigger mainstream audience.

At one time Interplay also knew how to make RPGs, but it doesn't mean they still know how to. I was referring to Bethesda's latest offering, which pretty much sums up their RPG creating abilities at this point in time.

He said the PC version was inferior to the XBox version, and the game played a lot better on the XBox. Just goes to show that Bethesdsa port their XBox developed games to the PC without much consideration to the needs/wants of PC owners.

The xbox version had same roleplay, same story, same quests, same short topic-click dialogue, same hack&slash, same over-all-levelling etc. Same game - same shit. I can't see the difference here. Graphics is slightly better on xbox than on older pcs, but that's depending on your hardware, and you need a hard disk to get a satisfying performance on xbox. It has been designed for xbox, that's correct, but the poorly designed pc port without a decent pc interface is a major flaw, but that's not the reason for the sucking nature of Oblivion.

That's true, there are many reasons why Oblivion sucked, but it's still interesting to get feedback from an XBox player about the PC version of the game. He mentioned that the PC version was tedious, and surprisingly he wasn't talking about the gameplay, but rather the feel of the game and the game controller.

Mick

 

[taxacaria]

That's true, there are many reasons why Oblivion sucked, but it's still interesting to get feedback from an XBox player about the PC version of the game. He mentioned that the PC version was tedious, and surprisingly he wasn't talking about the gameplay, but rather the feel of the game and the game controller.
Mick

Maybe the xbox controls give a more natural feeling. Apparently the pc port has one more flaw here.
I myself found the pc controls not so bad, except for function keys and riding, which felt like tank drivin'. But I've never played it on xbox - and I will not play it ever more.
The function keys you have in pc games usually are missing in xbox developement - and they failed to implement some more here, maybe compatibility has been the reason. Console games don't have keyboard options as a pc game, and so pc hardware is unused partially. Next are text options, you have a line limit of 38 characters - thanks to xbox resolution.
I think it's the curse of these multi-platform games, that pc users have to pay for it in an unbalanced way.

 

[Dracon M'Alkir]

That's true, there are many reasons why Oblivion sucked, but it's still interesting to get feedback from an XBox player about the PC version of the game. He mentioned that the PC version was tedious, and surprisingly he wasn't talking about the gameplay, but rather the feel of the game and the game controller.
Mick

Maybe the xbox controls give a more natural feeling. Apparently the pc port has one more flaw here.
I myself found the pc controls not so bad, except for function keys and riding, which felt like tank drivin'. But I've never played it on xbox - and I will not play it ever more.
The function keys you have in pc games usually are missing in xbox developement - and they failed to implement some more here, maybe compatibility has been the reason. Console games don't have keyboard options as a pc game, and so pc hardware is unused partially. Next are text options, you have a line limit of 38 characters - thanks to xbox resolution.
I think it's the curse of these multi-platform games, that pc users have to pay for it in an unbalanced way.

Well, I've read a quote from a Beth interview somewhere a long time ago that they stated they had full intentions on releasing Fallout 3 as a multi-platform title. This includes XBOX360, so if anyone was wondering why I was e-screaming in my website (if you've seen it already), is because the same treatment will be applied to FO3.

 

[Machismo]

Thanks. I really wanted to see a big pile of poo on my screen.

********************

Anyway, this could lead to good things. At least the IP is not resting in the hands of a dead company. And practically speaking, nothing changes from when we witnessed Bethesda buying the license from Interplay. If anything, a greater investment of Bethesda's resources, interest, and talent in the franchise.

Bethesda has proven to be quite dynamic in what it can accomplish. From vast open-worlds numerous NPCs (albeit simple-minded) to excellent tactical experiences (on a damned cell phone, no less!) to the gritty feel of several EXCELLENT Terminator games back in the 90s, they are a flexible group who, in my opinion, have yet to reach the limit of their potential.

Whether they create a great embrace the Fallout story and setting, maintain a strong TB-RPG experience, or create a few in depth NPCs like Fallout did, I believe they are capable of making a great game that would make the original developers quite proud of their little idea from the 90s. Will they make it? We'll find out in a few years.

Woo hoo for Bethesda and Fallout. May it have favorable results for us all.

 

[Nology5890]

Machismo, I would duck, if I were you right now. Some large fireballs are going to be hurled your way due to your statement.

 

[Cimmerian Nights]

Bethesda has proven to be quite dynamic in what it can accomplish. From vast open-worlds numerous NPCs (albeit simple-minded) to excellent tactical experiences (on a damned cell phone, no less!) to the gritty feel of several EXCELLENT Terminator games back in the 90s, they are a flexible group who, in my opinion, have yet to reach the limit of their potential.

You forgot about soil erosion and Patric Stewart. They did a poor job of inculcating you.

 

[Wooz]

Fireballs? Nah.

Either this poster is a blatant troll, or is Yet Another Completely Clueless Newbie*.

If anybody starts a flamewar, it's a strike. Remember, kids: don't feed the potential troll. If you don't feel like explaining for the hundredth time the same thing to yet another clueless newbie, don't post. Someone else will explain it in a civil manner.

Darklegacy, you get a warning for that shit picture. Your contributions in making us look like the irresponsible jerk you behave like are getting increasingly tiresome.

*Which is annoying, but understandable. Unless it's Yet Another Completely Clueless Newbie With An Attitude, in which case it's the perma-boot.

 

[Mick1965]

...Bethesda.... and talent

I'm surprised these words don't jump off the screen and run away screaming. How anyone could write them in the same sentence defies any kind of logic. Maybe it was a misprint, or a miss-spelling of a different word, like tainted or trashed.

Mick

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Whether they create a great embrace the Fallout story and setting, maintain a strong TB-RPG experience, or create a few in depth NPCs like Fallout did, I believe they are capable of making a great game that would make the original developers quite proud of their little idea from the 90s. Will they make it? We'll find out in a few years.

Woo hoo for Bethesda and Fallout. May it have favorable results for us all.

His post is not all bad. He's not a complete newbie, he knows something about Fallout, or at least some of the things that make it great (not random encouters or caravans), but calling Fallout a "little idea from the 90" is fucking insulting.

My main problem with Bethesda, and by this I may clue Darklegacy as to my reasons as he asked once, is not that they do it for the almighty dollar, because, as Adam Smith wrote in "Wealth of the Nations" personal economic interest can turn into general profit, so all men do is search the dollar.

So my problem with them is a purely technical, not social, and stated pretty simply is making huge fucking first person games I haven't got time to play with emty conversations and no consequence gaming. Shorter games (but still pretty big) with high replayability is what people should enjoy most, you 10 hour a day gaming retards. That's why they make this crap the way it is. LONG AND BORING.

 

[PhredBean]

I'm not perfectly familiar with licensing laws, do they own just the IP, or its assets too? Is there anything that would be able to stop them from remaking FO1 and FO2 with a modern and moddable engine and more up to date graphics and selling that?

 

[taxacaria]

If anything, a greater investment of Bethesda's resources, interest, and talent in the franchise.

Talent? I don't know of what kind of talent you are speaking.
Please explain.

Bethesda has proven to be quite dynamic in what it can accomplish.

Beth has produced StarTrek:Legacy, and no one has seen any talent in handling the franchise here. And Beth has proven to be quite dynamic in exchanging their TES fanbase at every release by alienizing the old fans and mistreating the franchise. Beth is very dynamic, indeed.

From vast open-worlds numerous NPCs (albeit simple-minded) to excellent tactical experiences (on a damned cell phone, no less!) to the gritty feel of several EXCELLENT Terminator games back in the 90s, they are a flexible group who, in my opinion, have yet to reach the limit of their potential.

Wow! So much on "Bethesda-About Us". Sounds like Pete live.
Now I know why this great company was bought by Zenimax, it's because of great success and flexibility. Oh, you failed to mention the lovely patch policy of Beth in the 90s. Most impressive and, last but not least, most flexible, of course. Customers were unable to develope the same flexibility, so they often failed to trick out the DF bugs. And Terminator - that's nearly the same as Fallout, and had excellent RPG qualities, I assume. btw - how many of the Terminator devs are still in staff?
And what are these excellent tactical experiences I have missed?

Whether they create a great embrace the Fallout story and setting, maintain a strong TB-RPG experience, or create a few in depth NPCs like Fallout did, I believe they are capable of making a great game that would make the original developers quite proud of their little idea from the 90s. Will they make it? We'll find out in a few years.

Nobody has ever seen such a game from Beth, but everybody has seen the games Beth has produced during the last years.
And everybody can see the developement of Beth's marketing policy.

 

[Francis]

I'm not perfectly familiar with licensing laws, do they own just the IP, or its assets too? Is there anything that would be able to stop them from remaking FO1 and FO2 with a modern and moddable engine and more up to date graphics and selling that?

Ask yourself this: Why would they? What they want to do is "reinvent" Fallout, modify it to their own standards and ideas; What you are suggesting is contradicting that goal, so it's very unlikely to happen.

They will concentrate on milking the "IP" with their own titles, and that's that.

Most impressive and, last but not least, most flexible, of course. Customers were unable to develope the same flexibility, so they often failed to trick out the DF bugs.

That's a very poor example. DF was bugged because it was an extremely ambitious project. Personally, I'd rather live with a load of bugs than a polished and bug-free game that is entirely devoid of any RPG aspects.

And Terminator - that's nearly the same as Fallout, and had excellent RPG qualities, I assume. btw - how many of the Terminator devs are still in staff?

Todd Howard is still there!

And what are these excellent tactical experiences I have missed?

Have to agree on that. That argument was BS.

 

[Maphusio]

Not sure if it was posted here all ready but MMORPG.com posted an article about this found in their recent Newsletter as well as Gamasutra. They first spotted this info here first. No biggie, thought it was worth mentioning though.

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=13515

 

[Jesterka]

By the way - who the hell owns Van Buren alpha, ideas, graphic art and all that stuff now? I´m confused a bit about it...

EDIT -- Got it. It´s Obsidian. Forget it.

 

[Briosafreak]

Well not only Obsidian, do read this Jesterka

 

[Mafu]

Ok, I'm new here so I'll try not to step on to many toes.... well that and I'll put on my hard hat. Why you might ask? Simple, I have played Oblivion, I have played Fallout 1&2 and I liked them all. (Ducks behind water cooler)

So why am I mentioning this and risking impalment in front of some god forsaken farm? Risking that some flamethrowing mutant will fry my faithfull dog? Risking that someone will slip a dose of Jet into my food?(And yes this part of my rant IS to prove that I'm not a nube to fallout)

Well I think that, of all the developers out there to get this title Bethesda is probably one of the best to get it.

Now wait, put away your pipe rifles and molotov cocktails for a moment and here me out.

When Bethesda gets behind a project, I mean really gets behind a project, they deliver what they say they will deliver. You can argue that Oblivion isn't your cup of tea... and on some level I will agree with you. I don't care for the game leveling up with you, it wasn't cool in FF8 and its not cool here eaither, and the mini-games were foolish to say the least, but the game delivered on what they promised. A LARGE world (if not as large as Morrowind) with real time combat and rather simple gameplay that anyone can pick up and play. They made no bones that this game would appeal to a large swath of players from the get go. That being said I can think of no game out there, GTA or otherwise, that comes as close to Fallout in terms of what it wanted to do. Create a world in which the player is completely free to chose his own path and do what he will.

Was Oblivion watered down? Yes. Was Obivion a far cry from Fallouts gritty and ..... real feeling world? Yes. But it was exactly what they said it would be, don't forget that, and it(and more so its predicessor Morrowind) was the closest thing to Fallout to come out in years.... if not since Fallout 2.

So yes, I have concerns. If the penny pincers get there fingers in to deep things could go south. The vilonce, language, and overall feel could be cheapened and dulled down. The ability to do true evil (hitting those theiving kids in the groin with a sledgehammer) removed and replaced with simple "good&evil" choices. All of these could happen and more.

But I also have hope my freinds, lots of hope. Hope that Bethesda realizes that Fallout is about the grittyness, not about the line between good and evil but the grey ribbon in between, the difficulty of realizing that that @#$%@% bandit just snipped your eye from 30 yards away with a critical that leaves you blind and unconcious on some god forsaken streatch of desert only for him to run out of ammo and run at you to have his groin ripped out by your DOG.

Oh yes my freind, I have hope. For in Bethesda is a company that so far does what it says with its big budget titles, and the word of Fallout is still big my freind, still big.

 

[Goweigus]

(And yes this part of my rant IS to prove that I'm not a nube to fallout)

...

When Bethesda gets behind a project, I mean really gets behind a project, they deliver what they say they will deliver.

...

I don't care for the game leveling up with you, it wasn't cool in FF8 and its not cool here eaither, and the mini-games were foolish to say the least, but the game delivered on what they promised.

...

But it was exactly what they said it would be, don't forget that, and it(and more so its predicessor Morrowind) was the closest thing to Fallout to come out in years.... if not since Fallout 2.

Well first of all you spelled n00b wrong! (j/k no biggy)

But from what I know Bethesda does a poor job of delivering what they say they will, EXCEPT in the part that it won't appeal to everyone (especially previous franchise gamers). Because Bethesda developers were talking about in game features up until its release that were never actually in the game, or were much much weaker than what they reported.

But I understand what your saying, it prob. was best taking a chance with Bethesda than anything else. And its always good to have hope...

 

[Maphusio]

Ok, I'm new here so I'll try not to step on to many toes.... well that and I'll put on my hard hat. Why you might ask? Simple, I have played Oblivion, I have played Fallout 1&2 and I liked them all. (Ducks behind water cooler)

So why am I mentioning this and risking impalment in front of some god forsaken farm? Risking that some flamethrowing mutant will fry my faithfull dog? Risking that someone will slip a dose of Jet into my food?(And yes this part of my rant IS to prove that I'm not a nube to fallout)

Well I think that, of all the developers out there to get this title Bethesda is probably one of the best to get it.

Now wait, put away your pipe rifles and molotov cocktails for a moment and here me out.

When Bethesda gets behind a project, I mean really gets behind a project, they deliver what they say they will deliver. You can argue that Oblivion isn't your cup of tea... and on some level I will agree with you. I don't care for the game leveling up with you, it wasn't cool in FF8 and its not cool here eaither, and the mini-games were foolish to say the least, but the game delivered on what they promised. A LARGE world (if not as large as Morrowind) with real time combat and rather simple gameplay that anyone can pick up and play. They made no bones that this game would appeal to a large swath of players from the get go. That being said I can think of no game out there, GTA or otherwise, that comes as close to Fallout in terms of what it wanted to do. Create a world in which the player is completely free to chose his own path and do what he will.

Was Oblivion watered down? Yes. Was Obivion a far cry from Fallouts gritty and ..... real feeling world? Yes. But it was exactly what they said it would be, don't forget that, and it(and more so its predicessor Morrowind) was the closest thing to Fallout to come out in years.... if not since Fallout 2.

So yes, I have concerns. If the penny pincers get there fingers in to deep things could go south. The vilonce, language, and overall feel could be cheapened and dulled down. The ability to do true evil (hitting those theiving kids in the groin with a sledgehammer) removed and replaced with simple "good&evil" choices. All of these could happen and more.

But I also have hope my freinds, lots of hope. Hope that Bethesda realizes that Fallout is about the grittyness, not about the line between good and evil but the grey ribbon in between, the difficulty of realizing that that @#$%@% bandit just snipped your eye from 30 yards away with a critical that leaves you blind and unconcious on some god forsaken streatch of desert only for him to run out of ammo and run at you to have his groin ripped out by your DOG.

Oh yes my freind, I have hope. For in Bethesda is a company that so far does what it says with its big budget titles, and the word of Fallout is still big my freind, still big.

Well, its good to see new faces not fearful of the gritty nature of this community as well as the stigma that seems to surround it. Just keep in mind, out here, your in the wastelands, you've got to keep your head on your shoulders or its going to get teared off.

Now, with that said, I wanted to note that the folks outside of the farm on the spears... not real folks they were just dummies

Is Bethesda the best possible team for the job? Well, that can be argued one way or another. Frankly I think there were others that could have been working on this project but Bethesda had to sit on its high horse and deny them that opportunity. I'm of course referring to Troika of which composed a good amount of folks that worked on the Fallout series.

Bethesda has another nasty track record of producing the product then telling you to buy it. Secrecy breeds fear and where fear rears its ugly head... Well, some folk are bound to get a might onery.

The reason why many show disgust toward Bethesda's new project is fairly simple.

1.They have not made a product such as Fallout, a true CRPG. Sure Morrowind was swell but it is NOT Fallout, not even an iota.

2.They have not given us the community any bits of information in regards to the development of this project; furthermore, they have hinted via various interviews that they will not be creating the third installment of this series but their own take on the Fallout universe.

Morrowind or Oblivion are in no way like Fallout. The only real similarity would be the freedom that Morrowind had and thats a very weak similarity indeed.

I do not believe Bethesda helled true on their promises with Oblivion and what you state they said is a very vague statement that could be interpreted one way or the other.

Hope is a great thing to have but take it a step further and DEMAND that justice is served... Stand up tall as the sun is in the sky come mid-day, do what ever you have to to ensure that Bethesda creates Fallout 3 not a product set in the post apocalyptic world with the Fallout name.

If our fears are correct and Bethesda is not creating a third installment of Fallout then our inaction is to blame. It is up to us (to use a Fallout analogy) the Elders of the village to educate the tribe and help them understand what Fallout is and what it means to you and me.

We are not a band of savages, we are simple folk looking to get things done proper because we have been screwed over in the past. I know, you're right there with me on that.

 

[Sander]

Was Oblivion watered down? Yes. Was Obivion a far cry from Fallouts gritty and ..... real feeling world? Yes. But it was exactly what they said it would be,

Bullshit. Where's the consequences to choices they promised? Where's the super-advanced Radiant AI they promised? The proper dialogue they promised? The 'immersive world' they promised with realistic AI conversations? Where's the not dumbing-down for X-Box they promised?