I agree with you a lot Heroicspur. I think the reason its taken them so much time is because they want to use the BG card correctly and please the fans as much as possible. Thats how I feel when I read Trent Osters twitterings and such. Him knowing about the mods of Baldur's gate and the team of beamdog talking about how to please us.

More teasing from Trent: Forgot to mention awesome meeting yesterday with the Wizards of the Coast guys. Great talking d&d with them

The pieces of the puzzle are slowly falling into place.

Right, now he is simply mocking us.

I'm still pouring over the tapestries and works of art......

Well he is certainly drumming up interest and talking to the right people!

I miss Cespenar.

From Trent's twitter :

Final day of #gdc We've seen the people we came to see. Just met with the Nvidia guys. #naptime

Hmm....everyone Trent has mentioned so far has undoubted importance to Beamdog's project, Atari (for rights/publishing), Wizards of the Coast (for D&D permissions). Now Nvidia...It may be they will be needed re drivers if the game is using an advanced 3d engine. Or drivers may be needed for an updated infinity engine! Or it may be Trent was just talking to the Nvidia guys (and boasting about how he's the new BG guy).

I've just checked Nvidia's website and one of their dude is called "Jon Jansen"...

Coincidence?... :D

I've just checked Nvidia's website and one of their dude is called "Jon Jansen"...

Quick, to the Batmobile!

It's been too quiet... Trent give us something!

Edit: Grammar.

Zealer, I'm guessing Trent has already said too much on his twitter. Also its sunday. Last sunday and saturday trent didnt say a thing either. It's likely that him and his team take the day off and doesn't bother much with announcements and such. If I'm right tomorrow might yield something :P

The suspense is killin...has killed me.

It's been quiet for a while, so I guess any new is still good news.

Casey Hudson from Bioware is almost desperate to talk to Trent. That's the second time in the last several days he asked Mr Oster to meet him over coffee.

Wonder why? ;)

This information made me sign up ASAP, looking forward to news:)

Also its sunday. Last sunday and saturday trent didnt say a thing either. It's likely that him and his team take the day off and doesn't bother much with announcements and such

Saturday we were very busy wrapping up GDC

http://youtu.be/dwoIrd78Wjs

Saturday we were very busy wrapping up GDC

http://youtu.be/dwoIrd78Wjs

Oh you showoffs! I did see Trent's tweet mentioning this, but the video is just adding insult to injury.

No real news lately, but naturally the BG-whatever development team will need some time to gather their party before venturing forth.

Slightly off-topic, but everyone here should consider supporting Fargo's development of Wasteland 2 via Kickstarter, as a turn-based, stat-heavy, party, isometric (? - 'top down') RPG with freedom and descriptive depth, without the limitations imposed by cinematic and extensive voiceover costs (or big publisher pressures to expand audiences). Since founding InXile, Fargo has been very disappointing - but he's one of the most honest folks in the industry, and has never disguised the fact that his recent games have been parodies or action, non-rpgs (in regards to the horrible, horrible Demon's Forge). I trust him now that he's speaking of a proper return to the old mechanics. All going well, the near future might yield the 'true successors' to the 90s golden-age RPGs, and a refinement of that oft-misused-of-late term 'hardcore RPG'.

Slightly off-topic, but everyone here should consider supporting Fargo's development of Wasteland 2 via Kickstarter

I agree, this is most likely the future of game development funding.

I agree, this is most likely the future of game development funding.

I think it is extremely useful for small/starting developers, but that's until they have some great projects and a big company *cough* EA *cough* buys them.

The way most companies are funded today they are designed to be profitable once they are bought out not when they because great. It takes two to make a sale. This new type of funding may changed that.

The important thing about kickstarter funding combined with digital distribution is that it allows developers to circumvent publishers (traditionally required as a source of finance) who tend to demand profit-maximising, audience-widening concessions that homogenise games on the market, s.t. the public end up with a low variety of similar games that appeal to everyone but excel in no niche. It is exactly that reason that has (partly) led Bioware to become what it is now, as well as the dropping of many of the 'hardcore' mechanics of the 90s golden-era RPGs, including the topical Baldur's Gate.

Wasteland (which Fargo is proposing along similar lines as the older Fallouts and infinite engine games with turn-based combat) was impossible through the big publishers because they all insisted on extensive voice acting, dumbing down (turning real-time), cinematics etc. in order to ride on the (high revenue seeking) conventions established by 'new Bioware' et al. Frankly, Kickstarter is one of the best ways we can be confident of a niche classic-type RPG being made for the fans by 'fans' (in the sense of the creators being passionate about their niche, not merely profit-seeking. Fargo is not even taking a wage in this project).

I don't know what the state is with this BG project, and I do hope it provides what many of us have been yearning for in this decade-long drought, but in the absence of further information, I think we can at least be happy that we have one truly old-school 90s RPG (in Wasteland) to look forward to, that doesn't stand a risk of being dumbed down. Even if this BG project makes promises now, depending on its publishing situation (and I hate to say it, the recent activities of Atari and WotC - just look at the horrible horrible Daggerdale! - have been less than encouraging) our uncertainty over every old-school mechanic particular (e.g. whether quest-markers will be included etc.) will remain through much of the production process.

Subsequently I feel marginally better about BG, since I know that if it fails, at least we have Wasteland.

I expressed it on the very 1st page of this discussion and the idea has been growing on me since then. Because of the reasons you just mentioned fax_ which were also powerfully conveyed in the following paragraph from Wastelad's kickstarter page:

This is probably the last chance for a Wasteland sequel. We have tried to pitch this game multiple times to game publishers, but they’ve balked. They don’t think there’s any interest in a solid, old school type of game. This is our shot at proving them wrong. And more importantly this could help bring back an entire genre of RPGs. The power of the Indie scene continues and we see this as all part of a bigger trend of bringing control back to the developers.

I think I would now be the happiest, if the BG project turned out to be a kickstarter one. It really is the best option out of all those we deemed plausible.

The way most companies are funded today they are designed to be profitable once they are bought out not when they because great. It takes two to make a sale. This new type of funding may changed that.

I'm not sure I get what you mean, but what I meant was that they are only bought after they have great projects on their portfolio, no one will buy something that isn't successful or has no potential.
And I agree that kickstarter type of funding may change that but nothing will stop company X from making an offer to buy developer Y even if the developer only had kickstarter funding so far.

Also kickstarter type funding may only help low cost games.

In the PC world everything dies, but then some day comes back. I remember a lot of the press surrounding BG1/2 around the time of release was that the RPG genre was dead but had been brought back to life in a spectacular renaissance. (You may also remember something similar in the NWN trailer on the BG2 disc. Whatever happened to being able to import BG2 characters into NWN, or NWN being good for that matter?)

And then everyone thought RPGs were dead in the wake of BG2, especially the single player kind. Then we had Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Oblivion etc

Everytime they die, they come back in a slightly altered form. You often see people complaining about countless FPS clones, but sometimes I find myself wanting clones. More games trying to imitate BG wouldn't be a bad thing.

As for the kickstarter discussion above, my only concern is the money from the fans. There are some people who have given $10,000 or more individually to W2 kickstarter (in itself an issue). While that might be great from some perspectives, it raises a number of problems. One of those is conflict of interest, what if I donate $10,000 only to find I don't like the direction the game is going in? What if there are 100 people who have donated $100 who want the game to go in a different direction to the one 10k person? etc. (Incidentally I am aware Mr Fargo has set his mission statement out very clearly.)

By helping to kickstart, in a way you're acquiring a sort of beneficial or equitable interest, which you may feel gives you certain rights, which creates inconsistencies.

That said developers may have the same conflict of interest issue with publishers, the game is for the people who play it, nor for the publisher, but it's the publisher who wants and has given you the dineros to make it.

I remember reading once, that an author should only write for themselves. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, or wants, what matters is whether you like the work that you have produced. Often if you like it, others will too. For an example of the opposite theory (doing what fans want) failing, see Elemental WoM.

I think the situation is slightly different if we have a BG remake, because we're not seeing the implementation of a new idea, but the revision and upgrade of an existing one.

One of those is conflict of interest, what if I donate $10,000 only to find I don't like the direction the game is going in? What if there are 100 people who have donated $100 who want the game to go in a different direction to the one 10k person?

I think you are misunderstanding the concept of kickstarter slightly. When supporting a project with a donation you gain the same kind influence over the final product as all the other supporters, regardless of the amount you pledged. And you get your say automatically, just because you supported the development. You are not buying a share of the game or rights to it in any extent. What you "buy" is the special bonus sets you get after the game is released. I'm pretty sure those 5 people that donated 10K are aware of that.

I don't know if you have noticed, but there is now a 24 hour countdown on the baldur's gate page. So clearly the announcement will come at this time tomorrow.

So come on Trent, can't you give us loyal fans a little peak now that we are so close?

No, I understand the principle. It just seems slightly off that single individuals would be contributing such a vast sum to one game, and it's hard to deny that money changes people. Even if everyone pledges on an equal basis but in different amounts with defined rewards, it's highly unlikely that it wouldn't affect the donator's sense of entitlement.

'You are not buying a share of the game or rights to it in any extent.'

While that is certainly true, I said in my post that:

'By helping to kickstart, in a way you're acquiring a sort of beneficial or equitable interest, which you may feel gives you certain rights'

It's a beneficial or equitable because it doesn't have any grounding except that one might feel it does because of the money they're donating. You can't honestly say donating $10,000 to something wouldn't have that kind fo effect on someone's thinking. (Even if it's groundless on paper).

Oh man, thanks for the heads up Aromir.

And here is your little peak in the site's code:

<!-- March 14, 2012 -->
<!-- Shadowy Figure- Raise Dead : Infinity Engine -->

<!-- It is coming. -->

Yes truly shocking statement really.

"It is coming." Ohh really? You mean the huge countdown is not just there for decorations?