"Tabletop D&D Has Lost Its Way" Says Pathfinder Video Game Exec

Feargus Urquhart, one of the execs from Obsidian Entertainment, which is behind an upcoming Pathfinder-themed video game, told Polygon why the company chose to go with Paizo rather than WotC for tabletop fantasy inspired games. "One of the reasons we actually went with Pathfinder was ... how do you say it? I'll just say it: We were having a hard time figuring out how to move forward with Dungeons and Dragons." The issue, he says, is that "D&D is a part of Wizards of the Coast and WotC is a part of Hasbro" and that he would "love to see D&D be bought by someone and become what it was before... Become TSR again."

Of course, TSR went bankrupt, so I'm not sure wishing that on somebody is a kindness.

Urquhart is a long-time D&D video game exec, having worked on games like Neverwinter Nights 2; he points out that "I'm probably one of the people who has one of the most electronic D&D games that they've worked on". Now, of course, his company has moved on to Paizo's Pathfinder.

The upcoming Obsidian video games will be based on the Pathfinder games - specifically a tablet game based on the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, due in the next few months. The studio is, of course, known to tabletop RPG fans for D&D games like Neverwinter Nights 2. Urquhart did hint at non-card-game based projects, saying that "We're thinking about how can we take traditional RPG stuff and put it on the tablet. No one has solved it really."

You can read the short interview here.

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[JRRNeiklot]

This reads : We couldnt afford D&D so we went with what was left.

I read it, as "we want a D&D game, which removed WOTC from the equation."

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I can't blame someone for being miffed if they were wanting to make a D&D video game and couldn't for some reason. Has little to do with the tabletop but sure. His opinion should be given appropriate consideration.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Even those pretty good games you mention are highly flawed follow-ups to other peoples work. I might never forgive Knights of the Old Republic II as a customer.

Well, at least that one you can't totally blame on Obsidian. That was LucasArts demanding the game get released in time for Christmas 2004 when it still have probably 6 months of development time required remaining. That's why so many plot threads were left dangling and so much of the story tied together oddly. They had to cut off a whole heap of stuff to get it out by December per LucasArt's orders.

 

[Eric V]

But during the height of 2E's release schedule, the volume, quantity, and differentness of TSR's D&D output was pure awesomesauce to me at the time! I remember those days fondly, as the company burned down!

People aren't nostalgic for the crappy business decisions of course, it's just that not everybody is up on their D&D Corporate History 101 and legitimately miss the days when new D&D products filled multiple shelves and their seemed to be always something new to buy.

This was me as well. I didn't have a lot of different hobbies back then, so I picked up a LOT of different accessories, sometimes just to read (including mods). I get it when people say they prefer the format of the 5e books over 4e and 3e...they are nice just to sit and read, instead of reference (maybe could use a bit of help on the latter ). 2e books were cool to just pick up and peruse, and there was lots of reading to do: Ravenloft, Red Steel, Monstrous Compendiums, Planescape, Al-Qadim (my personal missing fav). As well, even though the black books (S&P, C&T and High-Level Handbook) may not have been tested well, it was great to see some out-of-box thinking for the game.

If that's what he means by "TSR days," I miss them too.

-E

 

[Sailor Moon]

6

This was me as well. I didn't have a lot of different hobbies back then, so I picked up a LOT of different accessories, sometimes just to read (including mods). I get it when people say they prefer the format of the 5e books over 4e and 3e...they are nice just to sit and read, instead of reference (maybe could use a bit of help on the latter ). 2e books were cool to just pick up and peruse, and there was lots of reading to do: Ravenloft, Red Steel, Monstrous Compendiums, Planescape, Al-Qadim (my personal missing fav). As well, even though the black books (S&P, C&T and High-Level Handbook) may not have been tested well, it was great to see some out-of-box thinking for the game.

If that's what he means by "TSR days," I miss them too.

-E

I would say you are spot on!

 

[Xavian Starsider]

What I still find most funny about this though is that he's explaining why he wants to make a Pathfinder mobile app. Really? I'll admit it. I'm a D&D player at heart. I love 5th edition. But I probably wouldn't waste my time with a D&D mobile app. much less a Pathfinder mobile app. If this is 'the way', Paizo's welcome to it

 

[billd91]

What I still find most funny about this though is that he's explaining why he wants to make a Pathfinder mobile app. Really? I'll admit it. I'm a D&D player at heart. I love 5th edition. But I probably wouldn't waste my time with a D&D mobile app. much less a Pathfinder mobile app. If this is 'the way', Paizo's welcome to it

Depends on what the mobile app was. If it was about facilitating the playing of the game, I'm all for it if it covers features I want (like quick access to rules and monster stats). If it's about playing the game, it depends on the user interface. Baldur's Gate isn't quite right for an iPad. It's too hard to pick out a specific figure in a scrum with any efficiency. But a Baldur's Gate style D&D5 game on the iPad? Sure, I'd be interested. I've got more interest in D&D than I have time to play on the tabletop so something to play with in other leisure time is welcome.

 

[Herschel]

My guess is that the Paizo/Pathfinder licence cost less than the WotC/D&D one. This exec is simply trying to disguise a business decision as one relating to the merits of the two franchises. Sorry, Mr MBA, we're not fooled.

It's analogous to when Hollywood studios claim to have "creative differences" with a director or actor. It's very rarely about creativity. It's almost always a disagreement about money, that is, the director or actor wanting more and the studio not wanting to pay. (Occasionally, a "creative difference" is about an actor having behavioural problems relating to drink or drugs. But usually, it's about money.)

Edit: Astrocisebear beat me to it.

Not only that, but look at the quotation marks. I'm surprised Morrus linked an "article" that is not only edition warring, but places the words in such a place as to make them seem attributable to an industry person rather than the writer, who injects his own bias in to what was touted as an interview with someone.

 

[Parmandur]

Well, at least that one you can't totally blame on Obsidian. That was LucasArts demanding the game get released in time for Christmas 2004 when it still have probably 6 months of development time required remaining. That's why so many plot threads were left dangling and so much of the story tied together oddly. They had to cut off a whole heap of stuff to get it out by December per LucasArt's orders.

I would be more sympathetic if they didn't fail the same way over and over. In video games, delivery matters, and Ovsidian consistently fails to deliver.

 

[Ristamar]

Running kickstarters is also a good way to lose prestige if you aren't an indie developer. It says "we badly need your alms to make this game". Which is a shame after NWN2, KotOR II, and Fallout: New Vegas.

Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity Kickstarter was far more of a reflection of the industry's lack of confidence in "old school" CRPGs than a perceived lack of prestige.

In video games, for sure. Plenty of Bioware/Black Isles successor companies, like Beamdog, don't need to go there, and still have contracts with companies like WOTC.

Beamdog is primarily a publisher and distribution platform. The only WotC content their small games division handled is the "Enhanced" remakes of the Infinity Engine titles which had more than their fair share of bugs and problems (particularly the tablet versions). While I think the updates are pretty cool, it's not like they're making brand new content with the D&D license.