"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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[Parmandur]

Miscommunication is highly probable, people being as we are

 

[Mark CMG]

The problem is for Wizards of the Coast, their approach has been about the rules. With each edition they managed to publish, 3rd Edition through 5th Edition, they have re-designed the rules. Obsidian seems to think 3rd Edition was from TSR, though.

I suppose in some sense 3.0E is largely a design and execution by TSR people who came along with the sale to WotC of TSR. 3.5E isn't all that different from 3.0E, so the same would hold true all through 3.XE if you take the first part to heart. Did 4E and does 5E, however, have anyone who was with TSR on staff?

 

[billd91]

I suppose in some sense 3.0E is largely a design and execution by TSR people who came along with the sale to WotC of TSR. 3.5E isn't all that different from 3.0E, so the same would hold true all through 3.XE if you take the first part to heart. Did 4E and does 5E, however, have anyone who was with TSR on staff?

Did Kim Mohan have any design credit on 4e? He had been around in TSR days.

 

[Mark CMG]

Did Kim Mohan have any design credit on 4e? He had been around in TSR days.

Maybe. I can't seem to locate my 4E books to check. Anyone? Buehler?

 

[MerricB]

Maybe. I can't seem to locate my 4E books to check. Anyone? Buehler?

Both Steve Winter and Kim Mohan worked on the 4E books. Kim left Wizards in 2013, Steve left Wizards in 2011.

Here are their pages on RPGGeek:
Steve Winter - http://www.rpggeek.com/rpgdesigner/562/steve-winter
Kim Mohan - http://www.rpggeek.com/rpgdesigner/2207/kim-mohan

Cheers!

 

[Mark CMG]

Both Steve Winter and Kim Mohan worked on the 4E books. Kim left Wizards in 2013, Steve left Wizards in 2011.

Here are their pages on RPGGeek:
Steve Winter - http://www.rpggeek.com/rpgdesigner/562/steve-winter
Kim Mohan - http://www.rpggeek.com/rpgdesigner/2207/kim-mohan

Cheers!

Thanks. Do you know from the credits of a 4E book in what capacity they worked on 4E?

 

[Cybit]

Well, Obsidian's behavior over the years, in what they release and how they deal with partners, can be fairly characterized as unprofessional. Running down a competing brand when Ovsidian probably wasn't in line to work on it anytime soon is just more wood on the fire.

Don't ever ask the Bioware KOTOR 1 developers about KOTOR 2 and Obsidian. Many of the developers used to be friends before KOTOR 2 came out. Obsidian....ugh. They did some shady things. (I worked in the games media at the time all that was going down)

 

[MerricB]

TSR alumni that worked on the 4E PHB:

Additional Design and Development: includes Richard Baker, Kim Mohan, Steve Winter, Michele Carter, Bruce Cordell, Julia Martin, Ed Stark

PHB Managing Editing: Kim Mohan

Editing: Michele Carter

Cheers!

 

[Cybit]

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

Nah; much more on the "Pathfinder will sell its license to cheap for us!" bandwagon. You should ask Goblinworks how much the Pathfinder license cost to make the MMO.

Obsidian developed a bad rep for messing up KOTOR 2 (they underestimated the time necessary to make the game, and Lucasarts got fed up with them and made them release it 6 mo after the promised release date, if the E3 rumors at the time are to be believed); Dungeon Siege 3 did poorly (which is sad, as I quite liked the game) in terms of sales, and Fallout: New Vegas and South Park had really bad QA issues on release (Fallout: New Vegas will fail on PS3s eventually, for instance).

Based on the bugginess of the last few games they've released - WotC may have said no to them outright. They went to KS because I do not think major publishers are eager to work with them currently.

 

[jeffknight]

Forgive my skepticism, but to me this looks like a comment out of spite more than an objective assessment of the matter. The fact that WotC doesn't want to make yet another D&D game in the vein of NWN may as well be because such games don't sell as they did in their time, like it or not.

Also, if "becoming TSR again" means "turning on the supplement treadmill and crashing down"... then, no thanks!

Sorry, but I have to disagree. The Neverwinter Nights 1/2 community desperately wants a true Neverwinter Nights 3. The first 2 games have done really well on GOG and are still selling copies. NWN was what got me into the world of D&D. NWN3 could be a massive boon to 5e if WotC plays its cards right.