Obsidian Entertainment unveils Kickstarter for new RPG, ‘Project Eternity’

Obsidian Entertainment, the creators of games like Fallout: New Vegas, are turning to gamers to help crowd fund their latest game, Project Eternity. For about a week Obsidian has been teasing the Internet with the game, but today they finally unveiled concept of their new game via a brand new Kickstarter page.

Project Eternity, which is just a working title, will be a role-playing game for the PC that "aims to recapture the magic, imagination, depth, and nostalgia of classic RPGs that we enjoyed making – and playing."

"Project Eternity will take the central hero, memorable companions and the epic exploration of Baldur’s Gate, add in the fun, intense combat and dungeon diving of Icewind Dale, and tie it all together with the emotional writing and mature thematic exploration of Planescape: Torment," the game's official blurb reads.

Combat in the game uses a tactical real-time with pause system. You will position your party and coordinate attacks and abilities. Unique locations are scattered throughout the world map encouraging exploration and questing. You will create your character and throughout the journey gain companions, while engaging in "deep" dialogue that offers "many choices to determine the fate of you and your party."

Obsidian promises "you'll experience a story that explores mature themes and presents you with complex, difficult choices to shape how your story plays out."

"We are excited at this chance to create something new, yet reminiscent of those great games and we want you to be a part of it as well," they concluded.

So why is Obsidian, who has developed numerous successful titles, turning to gamers for help in funding this?

"We have wanted to go back to our roots and create an epic PC role-playing game adventure for years. But, it's been almost impossible to get funding through traditional methods for a game like this. The great thing about Kickstarter is that we can go directly to the people who love to play RPGs as much as we love to make them. Plus, we don’t have to make compromises with a publisher. We make the development decisions, we market the game, and we don't have to answer to anyone but you – our fans."

Through Kickstarter, Obsidian says their relationship with gamers will be "more transparent". They promise an inside look at the day-to-day operations along with behind-the-scenes look at the game's development, including fun things like developer blogs, web broadcasts, dev chats, and more.

Project Eternity has a lofty goal of $1.1 million because "we are not only making a game, we are creating a whole new world". That means a new RPG system, new art, new characters and animation and tons of lord and dialogue. If the game manages to surpass their goal, the added income will go into adding new levels, companions, NPCs, features, and entirely new parts of the world.

There are tons of different tiers to begin pledging, ranging from $5 to $10,000; each offers unique reward for your contribution. Check out the Project Eternity Kickstarter here.