Wasteland 2 Project on Kickstarter

[Jay G.]

The kickstarter has reached $1.25 million, which means they will be "making the world bigger, adding more maps, more divergent stories and even more music".

Only $250,000 more to reach the target for Mac and Linux versions.

[d2cheer]

I just donated. Loved Wasteland on the commodore 64!

[flashburn]

Just put in my pledge too. I wasn't going to, but I've been a huge fan of the series since the original Fallout. Never played Wasteland though.

[JasonF]

I loved Wasteland. Never did beat it, though, but I am totally in for this.

So have we officially wiped Fountain of Dreams out of the history books?

[Jay G.]

Originally Posted by JasonF

So have we officially wiped Fountain of Dreams out of the history books?

It's not gone, just not considered a sequel to Wasteland anymore:
http://uk.retro.ign.com/articles/948/948937p8.html

In 2003, Electronic Arts suddenly about-faced, claiming Fountain of Dreams was not a sequel to Wasteland, making it easier to transfer the Wasteland IP back to Brian Fargo and his new company, inXile Entertainment.

I don't think Brian Fargo or Interplay ever considered it a true sequel.



Kickstarter Update #3:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...2/posts/191771

Wastland 2 interview with Brian Fargo:
http://www.gamebanshee.com/interview...interview.html

[superdeluxe]

Just upped my pledge really want the box set

[superdeluxe]

Up to 1.418 million, about 82k from linux/Mac versions.

Also link to some Kickstarter stats:

http://ruinedkingdoms.com/wasteland2/

[Jay G.]

A great collection of links from posts in the Kickstarter comments:

SXX about 2 hours ago
Exclusive: Brian Fargo of InXile talks Wasteland 2 Kickstarter success:
http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/...arter-success/

SXX about 4 hours ago
Add your ideas and vote:
http://www.google.com/moderator/#16/e=1f7176

Vote about extra funding usage:
http://wasteland.inxile-entertainmen...opic.php?t=336

Support and discuss modding in Wasteland 2:
http://wasteland.inxile-entertainmen...opic.php?t=291

Brutal death animations:
http://wasteland.inxile-entertainmen...opic.php?t=562

Project stats:
http://ruinedkingdoms.com/wasteland2/

Brian Fargo twitter:
http://twitter.com/brianfargo



Some Fallout related info...

Timothy Cain talks about his early days in the vault and the influential game that finally emerged from it:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/Xa5IzHhAdi4
In text:
http://www.gamefront.com/gdc-2012-ti...ry-of-fallout/

Fallout 1 Vision Statement:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/32182571/F...sion-Statement

The Origins of Fallout:
http://www.nma-fallout.com/article.php?id=60785

Thanks to superdeluxe for posting the Kickstarter stats link.

[Jay G.]

Kickstarter Update #4 has been posted. Read the paragraph at the end for Fargo's proposed "Kick it Forward" initiative to fund future Kickstarters from the profits of Wasteland 2.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...2/posts/193810

Update #4: We didn't start the fire.
Posted 20 minutes ago
I continue to be overwhelmed by the positive feedback and enthusiasm from the support I have gotten from Kickstarter. The groundswell of people cheering us on and the evangelism - people spreading the word - is unlike anything I have experienced. In fact, I would say the last week was the high water mark of my career.

We are closing in on the funding for 1.5 million which will allow us to add both a Mac and Linux version of Wasteland 2 to the release. One of the (more common) questions I am asked is whether we'll support console and I believe it to be unlikely. It is imperative that we deliver the core PC experience that the fans are expecting here and I want to avoid any elements that could distract us. The console interface is quite different when you consider the input device and proximity to the screen whereas the Mac and Linux are pretty much identical to that of the "PC". We will consider a tablet version due to the similarity of the screen and interface but even on that we need to do a bit more research.

There have been some nice human moments along the way that I thought I would share.

We started off strong in the first 24 hours raising nearly 50% of our minimum need but still I was nervous. All the signs of success were there but we all wanted it to happen so badly that it seemed to good to be true. Around 6:00 that first night we received an email from a wealthy software industry individual who is a passionate fan of Wasteland and offered to help fund the game if Kickstarter came short! Talk about feeling good. Of course I thanked him and said I hoped we would not need his assistance but he made my whole day/week/month/year.

On the next day I get a short tweet from an individual that confesses he pirated Wasteland as a kid and was donating to help make up for it. I of course forgave not knowing he had donated $10,000 dollars. An incredible gesture... now if we could get every pirate of Wasteland 1 to donate we could really beat the Kickstarter all time record.

Mason Douglass who plays the kid publisher in the Kickstarter video has gotten rave reviews for his performance. His delivery was great and I have had people wanting to contact his manager for parts in TV/film. I jokingly told him when we shot the bit that he might become famous from this. Perhaps he will.

And just today I got an email along with a donation from a kid who lived down the street from me when he was a teenager. His note was as follows:

"This message is intended for Brian Fargo. Brian, I was your next door neighbor when you used to live in Laguna. I was a pesky 15 or 16 year old kid that would come around and ask you about games. You would sit down and take time to talk to me about games, and the industry, and I just wanted you to know how cool it was that you didn't blow me off. It meant a lot to me. Recently, I found out about your Kickstarter movement for Wasteland 2, and I contributed to it because I believe in you and your ability to resurrect the glory of the franchise. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors, and thank you again for creating some memorable memories for me during my teenage years. Take care!"

It shows that being nice creates goodwill 20 years later.

And speaking of goodwill it occurs to me that we can harness the power of Kickstarter in a more meaningful way. Fan funding is bigger than me or Wasteland 2 as I have remarked before. The development community has come together to support us in ways that I didn't think possible and our power as developers will ultimately come from us sticking together. Both gamers and developers have so much more strength than they realize. But in order to help facilitate the power of crowd funding I am going to suggest that all of us that do utilize this form of financing agree to kickback 5% of our profits made from such projects to other Kickstarter developers. I am not suggesting taking a backers money and moving it to another project.. I mean once a game has shipped and created profit that we funnel that back into the community of developers to fund their dreams. I am tentatively calling this "Kick It Forward" and I will be the first to agree to it. In fact, I will have our artists create a badge that goes on all Kickstarter projects that agree to support this initiative. Imagine the potential if another Minecraft comes along via Kickstarter and produces millions of dollars of investment into other developers. This economic payback will continue to grow the movement way beyond the current system. I hope others will join me with this idea and make this a true shakeup.

Let's get the power shifted around a bit!

Brian Fargo

[Jay G.]

inXile has added an option to pledge via Paypal on their site:
http://wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com/pledge.php

PayPal Terms & Conditions

• Unlike Kickstarter, PayPal will debit your account immediately. Please ensure you have all funds available. Since the Kickstarter project is 100% funded, development of Wasteland 2 is assured. Had we not been 100% funded through Kickstarter, these donate buttons would not have been possible.
• International orders must choose from the option for shipment to International destinations if you will be receiving any physical rewards. A $15 US additional charge has been added for shipping and handling.
• Unlike Kickstarter, we are not able to compound multiple donations to achieve a reward at a higher tier. The donation you are making now can not be increased at a later date. Please ensure the reward tier you are donating to is your definite choice of support.
• We are unable to provide donation rewards beyond the $500 tier through PayPal. For rewards beyond $500, you will need to place your donation through Kickstarter.
• If you have any questions, please contact inXile entertainment through our online support form.

[Jay G.]

Wasteland 2 has broken $1.5 million on Kickstarter, meaning Mac and Linux versions will be made:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/wasteland-2

They've also raised $3,415 in Paypal donations:
http://wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com/pledge.php

Meanwhile Brian Fargo has set up a website for his Kick it Forward initiative:
http://kickingitforward.org/

A quick Q&A with Brian Fargo on multiplayer, DLC and quest compasses:
http://www.nma-fallout.com/article.php?id=61125

[superdeluxe]

Awesome! I think if he wants to get to 2 million add a new reward like a exclusive backer tshirt

[JasonF]

I hope this game comes with a printed book of paragraphs.

[Jay G.]

Originally Posted by JasonF

I hope this game comes with a printed book of paragraphs.

The $50 reward is a boxed copy with worn cloth game map and old school instruction book.

There's also a episodic Novella on the Wasteland 2 world created by Mike Stackpole, a member of the original Wasteland story team. The Novella will give hints and clues being built into the actual Wasteland 2 game.

[JasonF]

An instruction book is fine, but Wasteland came with a book of paragraphs. You'd be playing and the game would say "Read Paragraph 87," so you'd flip open the book and read paragraph 87 and get a chunk of the game's narrative. That was awesome.

[Jay G.]

Originally Posted by JasonF

An instruction book is fine, but Wasteland came with a book of paragraphs. You'd be playing and the game would say "Read Paragraph 87," so you'd flip open the book and read paragraph 87 and get a chunk of the game's narrative. That was awesome.

In the original game, the reason for that book was twofold:

1) They didn't have the space to store all that text in the game.
2) It was a form of copy protection, since there were dummy paragraphs that contains a false storyline about a trip to mars, and fake passwords that would cause unintended changes to the game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasteland_(video_game)

It's unlikely Wasteland 2 will ship like that, but it's possible someone may do a mod of it to move in-game text to a separate book.

[Jay G.]

At $1.6 million with 19 days to go. The donations have really slowed. I can see the project breaking $2 million easy, but maybe not $2.5 million, and definitely not $3 million.

inXile made another promo video for the kickstarter:

http://youtu.be/hk-baSDDJ14

Another interview with Brian Fargo:
http://www.ripten.com/2012/03/27/bri...ing-fun-again/

[superdeluxe]

we have announced a major piece of good news today that inxile has reached an agreement with obsidian for potential design assistance for wasteland 2. what that means is that obsidian’s chief creative officer, chris avellone, is going to work with our team on the design and writing of the game! it is important to note that we say "potential" as they will come aboard assuming we hit $2.1 million in funding. The good news is that we have already seen a spike in just the few hours since this was announced in a press release this morning.

For those of you who don't know who obsidian or chris avellone are, they are the bulk of the brains who worked on fallout 1&2, icewind dale and planescape torment when i was back at interplay. More of the band is back together to make sure we bring you a fantastic rpg. Chris is going to help push the density and literary content of the game.

The original wasteland was an important game to chris as he recently stated, "wasteland is one of my favorite rpgs of all time, and when brian asked if i wanted to work on the sequel, i jumped at the chance. While i've worked on fallout 2 and fallout: New vegas, getting the chance to work on the spiritual predecessor to the fallout franchise is a honor."

while the programming work will remain with us here at inxile, we are looking to use a host of tools that obsidian has created which will help us get assets into the game faster. The faster we can implement and iterate on content, the deeper the game and the more varied choices the gamers can make.

That’s more good news for all of you that put your faith in us.

Brian fargo

go go go go go

[georgec]

This could turn out to be the most important game ever made. Aside from the amazing product experience it will be, the production and collaboration are a big FU to the greedy publishers.

[Jay G.]

The Kickstarter has broken $2 million.

New update with info on what will be added when they hit $2.1 million, $2.5 million, and $3 million.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...2/posts/202023

Also, of note from the Video Games Deals thread:

Originally Posted by fumanstan

The original Fallout is free from gog.com for the next 2 days.

http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/fallout

[Trevor]

Where can I find the original Wasteland? Gog doesn't have it. I think I'd like to check it out before deciding how much to give here.

[Jay G.]

Originally Posted by Trevor

Where can I find the original Wasteland? Gog doesn't have it. I think I'd like to check it out before deciding how much to give here.

The original Wasteland is abandonware. EA still holds the rights to the original, but hasn't released it in anything since "Interplay's 10 Year Anthology Classic Collection" CD-ROM release in 1995. Copies of the CD-ROM are still available on Amazon Several abandonware sites have a copy for download, along with the necessary manual. DOSBox is needed to run the game in recent versions of Windows.
http://www.ebay.com/ctg/Interplays-1...1993-/56279383
http://www.amazon.com/Interplay-Inte...dp/B000FCIX84/
http://www.amazon.com/Interplays-Yea.../dp/B000K5782S

You did get the free Fallout from GOG, right? That might be the better game to play to get a taste of what Wasteland 2 will be like. It's going to be a mix of Wasteland and Fallout (considering it has a mix of Wasteland and Fallout developers, not to mention those that worked on both). For example, Wasteland 2 will have the isometric view from Fallout, not the top down view of Wasteland.

[Jay G.]

InXile has announced a new all-digital rewards tier, of special interest to international customers that don't want to deal with shipping charges, customs or VAT:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...2/posts/202818

Update #9: New Reward Tier Announced
Posted 24 minutes ago
As our Kickstarter continues to build momentum, we will keep focusing on how we can best deliver what our fans want. We've seen quite a few messages from our international fans expressing concern with the cost of shipping and physical goods relating to VAT and customs costs. For that reason, we opened up a purely digital pledge level at $55 that contains no physical items. You will get the digital copy of the game, digital soundtrack, digital novellas 1 and 2, digital concept art book and early beta access.

As a reminder, InXile is taking Paypal donations on their site, of interest to international customers that can't use Amazon Payments on Kickstarter:
http://wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com/pledge.php

[Trevor]

Thanks Jay!

Yep, got the free Fallout today, and had searched Amazon. Playing around with some abandware sites now. Great googily moogily, I think I see dozens of games I want to replay someday.

I know the Fallouts might be better choices, but my OCD will force me to play Wasteland before Wasteland 2.

[starman9000]

Thanks for Fallout. (Didn't realize I already had a GOG account with Empire Earth on it. )