Joystiq

First early gameplay video for Wasteland 2 surfaces

Mike Suszek — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 13:30:00 EST

Wasteland 2, in development by inXile after the studio raised over $3 million on Kickstarter for the project in April 2012, recently got its first gameplay video. The update post for the project lists off a number of elements not seen in this early trailer.

Still, Development Director Chris Keenan's guide to the agricultural area of the game is a lengthy one, as he detailed topics such as the game's customizable UI and turn-based combat. Watch the full video above for a run-down on the game's progress.

First early gameplay video for Wasteland 2 surfaces originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 10 Feb 2013 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will work for Wasteland 2: inXile asks fans to create its Unity assets

Jessica Conditt — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 22:30:00 EST

Wasteland 2 is hosting a crowdsourcing experiment that feels more like a straight-up art contest: interested artists can create game assets in Unity, based on concept images, and inXile will review the entries. inXile will pay and credit artists to use any designs it likes in-game, with other creations that meet the requirements available for purchase in the Unity Asset Store.

The first batch of concept art is live now, and artists have one week to create something beautiful and submit it to the Unity Asset Store. inXile has a special start-up artist pack available for free here. The concept art will update weekly until inXile has all the ~~cheap labor~~ assets it can handle.

Continue reading Will work for Wasteland 2: inXile asks fans to create its Unity assets

Will work for Wasteland 2: inXile asks fans to create its Unity assets originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 06 Dec 2012 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Wasteland 2 screenshot is only the beginning of development

Mike Schramm — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 23:00:00 EST

The screenshot above is your very first look at the Kickstarter-funded Wasteland 2, presenting some environment and character art from the game as it's being worked on. The project hit its goal of $900k easily on the nearly ubiquitous crowdfunding service, and ended up with nearly $2.9 million.

Over on the official blog, the developers say they're releasing this early shot for feedback, and that they're also almost done with the game's main site, which is where backers will be able to update their support if they'd like to do so. The props found above are largely part of Unity's own database of in-game items, customized for the Wasteland world. As the team members learn to use the Unity engine, they're hoping this is only the beginning of the way the game looks.

Presumably, they'll will have some help: Obsidian Entertainment promised to pitch in if the Kickstarter reached at least $2.1 million.

First Wasteland 2 screenshot is only the beginning of development originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wasteland 2 will include the original Wasteland

David Hinkle — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 22:30:00 EST

While we imagine most who are eager to play Wasteland 2 have fond memories of playing the original RPG and might possibly still own it, InXile is still tossing it in free of charge with each copy of Wasteland 2. It is due in no small part to the aid of EA, the publisher of the original Wasteland.

InXile's Brian Fargo says including the classic PC game was the biggest request during Wasteland 2's Kickstarter campaign. "Fortunately EA has continued to support us on this project and has granted us the ability to bring the original to the players," Fargo said. "It is great to be able to make Wasteland available for those feeling nostalgic or who want to experience it for the first time. It certainly will not be a pre-requisite to understand Wasteland 2, but it adds some extra flavor if you did play the prequel."

Wasteland 2 is currently on track to launch sometime next year.

Continue reading Wasteland 2 will include the original Wasteland

Wasteland 2 will include the original Wasteland originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wasteland 2 Kickstarter raises over $3 million

JC Fletcher — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:45:00 EST

People are ready for a new Wasteland, it would seem. The Kickstarter for inXile Entertainment's Wasteland 2 ended at $2,933,252, well over the $900,000 goal and $800,000 more than was required for Obsidian to join in on development.

Oh, and then fans kicked in another $112,089 through PayPal.

Of course, some of that money will go to Amazon, PayPal, and Kickstarter fees, and producing and shipping prizes, a lesson all Kickstarter users should remember. After the game is finished, 5% of the profits from the final release will be put into other Kickstarter projects, as part of a "Kicking it Forward" initiative. Perhaps the stimulation of the Kickstarter economy through this project will prevent the world from becoming a Wasteland-esque nightmare for another couple of weeks.

Update: Corrected the amount going to "Kicking it Forward."

Wasteland 2 Kickstarter raises over $3 million originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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(Don't) Give me that old time RPG combat

Rowan Kaiser — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:30:00 EST

This is a weekly column focusing on "Western" role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity.

The Kickstarter success of Wasteland 2 may be one of the most important developments in Western role-playing games in years. It could re-open the doors to bringing back party-based, less cinematic role-playing games of the sort that have been largely gone since the mid-1990s. The trick, however, will be in using a style of combat that assures both quality and popularity for Wasteland 2. Because if it simply follows in the footsteps of the original Wasteland, it may have problems on both of those fronts.

The original Wasteland was released in 1988, towards the start of a transitional era for role-playing games, both technologically and creatively. The core mechanic of role-playing games of the era -- combat -- started to shift, and lose some of its importance.

Continue reading (Don't) Give me that old time RPG combat

(Don't) Give me that old time RPG combat originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Obsidian will help with Wasteland 2 if Kickstarter reaches $2.1 million

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST

Brian Fargo's Wasteland 2 Kickstarter, having already surpassed two funding goals, has laid out a third one that will ensnare Obsidian Chief Creative Officer Chris Avellone if passed. With 17 days of funding left to go and $1.7 million already pledged, Fargo's company inXile wants to hit $2.1 million on Kickstarter, after which Avellone will agree to work directly with the design team on the project.

Fargo and Avellone's relationship goes back to the better days of publisher Interplay, where the pair worked on titles like Fallout 1 and 2, and Planescape: Torment.

"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," said Avellone. "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."

Developer Obsidian will also lend a hand in the game's creation, providing "experience they have in the development of RPG games and tools to inXile."

Fargo stated, "Obsidian has an incredible library of story, dialog and design tools that they have used to create hits like Neverwinter Nights 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, and of course, Fallout: New Vegas. Regardless of the tech we use to develop the game, experience with these tools will help us efficiently design the game without wasting time and resources on the tools needed for development."

If you're looking to support the dream, you know where to go.

Continue reading Obsidian will help with Wasteland 2 if Kickstarter reaches $2.1 million

Obsidian will help with Wasteland 2 if Kickstarter reaches $2.1 million originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Double Fine's Kickstarter kick-started funding for video games

Jessica Conditt — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 22:00:00 EST

Double Fine raised almost $3.4 million in its Kickstarter campaign, shattering records and publisher's hearts worldwide, but with all that attention on a single project it seemed impossible for any others to get a penny of funding. Not true, Kickstarter says, and it has the stats to back it up (Back that stat up).

Double Fine Adventure catalyzed the entire video games category on Kickstarter: The month before Double Fine's project, video games averaged 629 pledges per week; after its launch, video games received an average of 9,755 pledges per week, excluding those to Double Fine, Kickstarter says.

Similarly, in the first two years on Kickstarter, the video games category raised $1,776,372 in total. In the six weeks after Double Fine, it generated $2,890,704 without Double Fine's contribution, $6,227,075 with it. Before Double Fine, only one video games project had exceeded $100,000; now nine have.

Double Fine brought 61,692 first-time backers to Kickstarter, and they have gone on to pledge almost $400,000 to Wasteland 2, another successful, million-dollar project. Kickstarter offers a more detailed run-down of these surprising statistics right here.

Double Fine's Kickstarter kick-started funding for video games originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 29 Mar 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wasteland 2 Kickstarter passes $1.5 million, game coming to OS X and Linux

David Hinkle — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 01:30:00 EST

When Brian Fargo revealed his Kickstarter project to fund Wasteland 2, he laid out some goals. One of those tiers was $1.5 million, which at the time seemed kind of ridiculous. It has since been pledged by backers, meaning Wasteland 2 will also be available on Mac OS X and Linux at launch.

Wasteland 2 has well exceeded its original goal of raising $900,000 on Kickstarter, and there are still 24 days to go. We don't expect it'll beat Double Fine's current record-level of pledges, but we're certainly ready to be surprised again.

Wasteland 2 Kickstarter passes $1.5 million, game coming to OS X and Linux originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 24 Mar 2012 01:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wasteland 2 Kickstarter exceeds goal (and is still going)

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:40:00 EST

That Wasteland sequel you've been waiting for is about to go into production, as the game's Kickstarter crested its goal of $900K while we slept last night. The Kickstarter has started to pick up some momentum, it seems, as the total currently sits at just over $967K, with another 32 days to go.

As stated on the project's site, the goal is actually to raise $1 million, but inXile head Brian Fargo had agreed to put $100K of his own scratch on the line -- it's looking like that won't be necessary any more. Which isn't to say there aren't plans should the team raise even more money. If they reach $1.25 million, the extra dough will go to "making the world bigger, adding more maps, more divergent stories and even more music."

If the fundraiser reaches $1.5 million, that depth goes further, with, "more adventures to play, more challenges to deal with, and a greater level of complexity to the entire storyline. We'll add more environments, story elements, and characters to make the rich world come alive even more." Oh, also, it'll come to OS X. So, hey, how about we get things to $1.5 million so your buds at Joystiq can play the game on their writing machines? That'd be just capital.

Wasteland 2 Kickstarter exceeds goal (and is still going) originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You can now help fund Wasteland 2

David Hinkle — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST

Fans of classic PC games (with a post-apocalyptic setting) can help fund a sequel to Wasteland starting today. Just as inXile head Brian Fargo promised, a Kickstarter page for Wasteland 2 is now live. The goal is $900,000 -- as of writing this post, $380,897 had been raised.

Wasteland 2 will be a DRM-free PC title. "It'll finally be the game worthy to be a Wasteland sequel, as challenging and rewarding as the original, with all added capacity and dazzle of games today," the Kickstarter page says. Many of the original designers are returning for the sequel, and Fallout composer Mark Morgan will create the tunes. Jason Anderson, co-creator of Fallout, will handle Wasteland 2's story.

Fans will be able to offer input during the development of Wasteland 2 through the forums. And of course there are the usual Kickstarter benefits, ranging from the soundtrack to various special boxed copies of Wasteland 2 and a collectible coin and cloth map. Wasteland 2 is slated to launch in October of 2013.

You can now help fund Wasteland 2 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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inXile plans to launch Kickstarter drive for Wasteland reboot

David Hinkle — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:30:00 EST

Developers must have Kickstarter fever right now. After one of the most successful campaigns ever with Double Fine, inXile Entertainment has announced intentions to start its own Kickstarter fundraiser.

The Hunted: The Demon's Forge developer wants to use Kickstarter to fund a reboot of Wasteland, CEO Brian Fargo told IGN. Fargo, who recently acquired the rights to the classic PC RPG, is one of the creators -- apparently fans have been bugging him for a new game since they saw Double Fine achieve success. Soon after, Fargo was having meetings and mapping out a production schedule.

The idea is only 48 hours old at this point, but Fargo is on board. He likes the Kickstarter model since it would eradicate publisher influence on the project, but warns that a reboot would likely need a million dollars.

Fargo hopes to launch the Kickstarter campaign sometime next month.

inXile plans to launch Kickstarter drive for Wasteland reboot originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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