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Interplay Reforms Black Isle Studios

I'm borrowing this post from PC Gamer:

Quote:

In website form, at least. Blackisle.com now hosts a spartan splash page featuring the studio’s logo and the simple proclamation that “Black Isle Studios is back.” The famed studio was closed in 2003.

Interestingly, Interplay founder and current CEO of inXile Brian Fargo appears uninvolved. “I just read Interplay is bringing back Black Isle. Hmm…not enough info for me to comment,” he tweeted. Still, some sinister laughter and lightning effects forking down into a portrait of Fargo on Black Isle’s website would’ve worked wonders.

A quick flex of the almighty WHOIS query reveals Interplay as the registrant for the website. Facebook and Twitter accounts also exist, but it’s unclear if any members of Black Isle’s original team — now peppered across the industry but largely concentrated within Wasteland 2 co-developer Obsidian Entertainment — are participating. Obsidian designer Chris Avellone tweeted that he “knows nothing” about the announcement, and that it “doesn’t involve me or Obsidian…or, well, anyone I know.”

Read the original PC Gamer article for more information.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. It seems like barely anybody from the old Black Isle will be involved in this, so why bother calling it Black Isle? I hope this isn't just Interplay trying to cash in on nostalgia.

But it's a bit too early to say right now. Maybe something good will come out of this.

So another Icewind Dale? Actually I don't think there's enough reason to keep on exploiting the DnD universe and ruleset. There are some nice tabletop RPGs out there with great worlds that just beg to be adapted.

There have always been many other RPGs and worlds (more so in the past), but D&D has always been more popular than the rest combined (not that I share that taste myself).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Japo (Post 445320)

but D&D has always been more popular than the rest combined

It's also always been an easy cash cow since it's such a classic PnP ruleset aknowledged by everybody who has at least a slight knowledge about fantasy RPG videogames.
Probably just Interplay's attempt on bringing attention and some cash with that announcement. But we'll see.

Remember when Interplay itself made their big comeback back in 2008? What have they done since....

- Cancel a few bad console games like Dark Alliance III and Brotherhood of Steel II
- Sold rights to the Fallout franchise to Bethesda, keeping the rights for an MMO, then cancelling said MMO after long legal battle
- Re-Released Earthworm Jim on WiiWare
- Licensed the rights for Earthworm Jim HD to Gameloft
- Opened an Indie publishing arm called “Interplay Discovery”, releasing “Pinball Yeah!” and “Tommy Tronic”, releasing a few more titles later
- Re-Released a few games for DSiWare (Prehistorik Man and T-Rex Rumble)
- They had somewhat of a hand in the development and release of MDK2 HD by Beamdog, the same guys that are doing BG: EE now…
- They also ported a few games to iPhones and iPads
- The last thing they did is announcing “Battle Chess: Game of Kings”, getting into financial straits, launching a KickStarter to help fund it and fail at that

Not my list, so it might not be perfect. In fact, I can now tell that its not mentioning the release of Stonekeep: Bones of the Ancestors. They spend two years turning a old DOS game into a downloadable game on a console and this is the result? It wouldn't surprise me if the Fallout MMO only existed on those legal papers that Bethesda finally managed to acquire. They also promised a new Descent and Dark Alliance games, but those are nowhere to be seen.

But yeah, Interplay hasn't been notable or relevant in years, so the Black Isle thing looks more like publicity stunt, especially when the notable people who worked on games like Fallout, Baldurs Gate, Planescape etc. now work for other companies like InXile, Beamdog and Obsidian, and have no interest or any idea about the Black Isle revival.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheChosen (Post 445338)

Not my list, so it might not be perfect. In fact, I can now tell that its not mentioning the release of Stonekeep: Bones of the Ancestors. They spend two years turning a old DOS game into a downloadable game on a console and this is the result?

What is this abomination? So this is what they did to my beloved Stonekeep!? :sick:
I mean, this port doesn't even look and feel like Stonekeep at all! If this is the best they can do (Boxing robots! God save us!) then I don't even want to see what will happen after the revived Black Isle starts to release its titles...