http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obsidian/project-eternity

Project Eternity will take the central hero, memorable companions and the epic exploration of Baldur’s Gate, add in the fun, intense combat and dungeon diving of Icewind Dale, and tie it all together with the emotional writing and mature thematic exploration of Planescape: Torment.

Combat uses a tactical real-time with pause system - positioning your party and coordinating attacks and abilities is one of the keys to success. The world map is dotted with unique locations and wilderness ripe for exploration and questing. You’ll create your own character and collect companions along the way – taking him or her not just through this story, but, with your continued support, through future adventures. You will engage in dialogues that are deep, and offer many choices to determine the fate of you and your party. …and you'll experience a story that explores mature themes and presents you with complex, difficult choices to shape how your story plays out.

We are excited at this chance to create something new, yet reminiscent of those great games and we want you to be a part of it as well.

MAN A GREAT RPG WITH ONLY 1.1 MILLION DOLLARS IT'S TO GOOD TO BE TRUE!

Oh wait it is.

You will get a horrible looking game with bugs/frame problems/not long story.

1.1 wouldn't even fund a gamecube game.... hell even a nintendo 64 game.

$0.

It's not rational, but paying for a product that hasn't even started yet doesn't sit well with me. *shrug*

That said, if/when the game gets made, I'll be there.

What kind of production values do you think they're aiming for...?

Threw up $20 for the project. Don't mind that much if it includes a copy of the game.

This could break the record number for games.

Already 350K!

Unlikely.

Sounds way to ambitious.They are promising great things. But soon they will realize what it takes to make a great RPG. I don´t seem succeed. They will develop it publish it and then it will fail.

Btw. has any of those Kickstarter games even been released yet?

It's Obsidian. They already know how to make great RPGs. Much of the staff that worked on the games they're listing as their targets (Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Plenscape: Torment) are at Obsidian.

Of course, this doesn't guarantee financial success, which is probably why they're trying Kickstarter instead of hitting up a publisher.

I believe so, yes.

I wouldn't say it's irrational. You're paying money for the promise of a product which doesn't exist yet, and despite best intentions, all kinds of things can go wrong with a project before it's completed. Costs can exceed projections, IP issues could pop up, suppliers could fail to deliver, key staff could get hit by a bus.

That being said, I understand the risks and love Kickstarter anyway. It's this awesome place I can go to buy things that I always wanted but never thought I could actually have. Like a Twilight Zone pinball simulator or the return of a surprisingly awesome video podcast or a high quality stealth/survival/puzzle/adventure game.

I have hopes that eventually crowdfunding initiatives will help drive publishers to only the most expensive creative projects, slicing inefficient and out of touch middlemen out of the creative process.

so basically if they screw this up, they are dead?