Project Eternity’s crowdfunding is done, crossing the finish line at a grand total of $4.3 million.
Finito. All except for a ‘Slacker Backer’ option, which comes with a key for the game on Steam or GOG upon its release as well as access to private backers’ forums.
Now that all this pre-production hoohah is over, Obsidian expect us to settle down and wait while they ruddy well make the thing. Want to know when Project Eternity is out? 2014. I know. Flying cars and dystopia territory. When Kickstarter Comedown is all over the national papers, remember that this is where you heard that particular medical phenomenon noted first.
Obsidian extended a “huge and humble thank you to everyone who has supported Project Eternity over the last few months” on the game’s official site.
The developers are hardly going dark from hereon in, however – they’re promising weekly updates on the game’s progress.
In a recent post, Josh Sawyer let backers in on the story writing process Obsidian have begun to engage in:
“On this project, the process started with a rough idea for a story and a theme that went along with it,” he wrote. “The story itself wasn’t that important; it was just an idea to get us moving. What followed were critiques of the story’s premise, the unfolding of the plot, the player’s motivation and involvement, and the scope of the conflicts the player faces from the beginning through the end.
“For the past few weeks, we’ve been exchanging various small ideas, big ideas, minor tweaks, radical overhauls, and brand new storylines. Through it all, we regularly return to the questions… ‘What’s the conflict and why do I care about it?’ and, ‘What is my range of roles in resolving the conflict?’ We can (and do) write about all sorts of character and location ideas, subplots and interesting takes on themes, but until we answer those questions in a way we believe will be compelling to your characters and all that they may be, we still have work to do.”
Obsidian like to feel clever about the characters and situations they’ve developed, says Sawyer, but deem it more important to reward the player’s intelligence.
“It’s more important for you to feel clever, for you to feel like you can take control of a situation – by whatever means you see fit.
“Until we believe we have a few gems on our hands, we’ll keep the Story Gnomes digging in the mines on your behalf,” he added.
Have you backed Project Eternity?
Thanks, Eurogamer.