Obsidian is aiming to return to the core elements that made RPG’s engaging and memorable by developing Pillars of Eternity. Pillars of Eternity will bring back the feeling of golden classics such as Baldur’s Gate or IceWind Dale, but with a modern twist. While not using the AD&D rule-set specifically, Obsidian’s RPG will be using a 100-sided dice for some complex combat calculations. In addition, numerous classes (such as the Paladin, Wizard and Chanter) and races (Human, Aumaua, Dwarf, Elf, Godlike and Orlan) will all be part of The Pillars of Eternity, a project that started off as a small kickstarter idea and has grown into a highly-anticipated title.
Pillars of Eternity definitely brings back the epic artwork of Baldur’s Gate!
Initially, the kickstarter page for the game hinted at a Spring 2014 release date. Things have changed, and it seems Obsidian is taking its time instead of rushing to release the game in the promised interval. After all, they are kickstarter-funded, so they don’t really have a publisher breeding down their neck. This might be bad news for eager fans, but we’d rather see a polished masterpiece in Pillars of Eternity, and if this requires a few more months, we’ll deal with the delays. John Sawyer, the project lead behind Pillars of Eternity, was kind enough to elaborate on the matter in an Eurogamer exclusive interview:
“When we started with a million-dollar budget and a relatively modest game with five classes [there are now 11], that was assuming if we get $1m we can make this game and we’ll probably get it done by April. We got almost four-times as much money and that’s a much bigger game, and that doesn’t mean that immediately we just dump four-times as many people on it and it also gets done in April. There’s a lot more stuff to do.” said Sawyer. “But until we get really close to releasing the game we don’t want a specific release window, because we’re not a publisher, we don’t have to! Virtually nothing good comes from us releasing a date before we’re very confident in it. It’s not going to be in spring; we’re going to be working into spring to get alpha done because it’s a big game.” he continued.
Somehow, we half-expect Jon Irenicus to pop-up on the screen!
From all accounts, the game will not be launching during the first half of 2014. In fact, as it stands today, Pillars of Eternity has more than half of its content done and polished to at least an alpha state. But there’s a long road from alpha to gold, and with only half the game in this state, the devs have a long way to go still. Currently, there are around 20-25 Obsidian members on the project, but their numbers will grow in March, when Obsidian’s other title – mainly South Park: The Sticks of Truth – releases.
Meanwhile, the game’s budget continues to grow, surpassing $4.3 million (the original kickstarter goal was set at $1 million), and players continue to support and back the development of Pillars of Eternity, seeing great potential in this return to the golden days of role-playing. Once Pillars of Eternity releases, Obsidian already is considering a sequel or even a franchise. After all, starting is the hard part, and once you establish a popular game brand, there’s no reason to stop. We’ve seen studios grow with their franchises (just look at The Witcher’s CD Projekt Red), and releasing sequels doesn’t necessarily have to mean a drop in quality (yes Call of Duty, we’re looking at you!).
Pillars of Eternity will certainly not be limited in terms of landscapes!
Will Pillars of Eternity be worth the wait? We certainly hope so! It’s not going to be an easy wait, and the delay could go up several months, but in the long-run, we’re pretty confident Obsidian knows what it’s doing, and if they are expanding their initial project to provide an even better RPG, we have no complaints.
Source: Eurogamer