Obsidian Entertainment Raises $1.1 Million To Finance Project Eternity RPG

Obsidian Entertainment raised over $1.1 million with their successful Kickstarter campaign to finance the company’s new Project Eternity RPG. The Irvine, California based developer has created many popular games including Star Wars: KotOR II, Neverwinter Nights 2 and Fallout: New Vegas.

The team working on the new game will include many of the same people who created such games as Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale and Baldur’s Gate, including Feargus Urquhart Josh Sawyer, and Chris Avellone.

Tim Cain, of Fallout, Arcanum and Temple of Elemental Evil fame, will also be involved in the development of Project Eternity.

The fund raising campaign surpassed everyone’s expectations, roaring to its initial goal in just over 24 hours. “Project Eternity is going to be a reality because of you,” Obsidian wrote in an email sent out to backers. “We’ve hit our goal quicker than anyone expected, and the last day has been overwhelming.”

The project now has almost 27,000 individual backers and it is just beginning its second day. One has to wonder of this is the future of financing for smaller, independent gaming companies.

Obsidian is hoping to raise even more money for Project Eternity now that the base goal has been reached. Taking the campaign to the next level, they added a new list of goals to their Kickstarter page:

“1.1 million, Base Goal – Achieved!
Base game includes three races, five classes, and five companions. We have ideas for these, but we want to hear your opinions on what you’d like to see. Stay tuned to Kickstarter, our website, and our forums to join in on the conversation.”

“1.4 million, New Playable Race, Class, and Companion!
Expands your options for character creation and adds a companion of the new class.”

“1.6 million, a Mac Version of Project Eternity and The Story Grows!
We’ve listened and we’ll make a Mac version of the game at this tier. We’re also going to add a new major storyline along with new quests, locations, NPCs, and unique loot (special histories everyone?).”

“1.8 million, New Playable Race, Class, and Companion!
The options grow for your main character and the roster of your motley crew expands with the addition of a new companion from the selected class.”

“2.0 million, Player House!
Get your own house in the game that you can customize, store equipment in, and where your companions hang out, or, as the elves say, “chillax”.”

“2.2 million, a new Region, a new Faction and another new Companion! And, dare we say it… ? LINUX!
Great news, everyone! For the Tarball Knights of Gzippia out there, we’ll be adding Linux support!
Also, the world of Project Eternity grows in a major way with the inclusion of a whole new faction and the territory it holds. This adds new NPCs, quests, magic items, and hours of gameplay. And yes, you got it, another companion.”

The company also shared a detailed description of their plans for Project Eternity:

“Project Eternity aims to recapture the magic, imagination, depth, and nostalgia of classic RPGs that we enjoyed making – and playing. At Obsidian, we have the people responsible for many of those classic games and we want to bring those games back… and that’s why we’re here – we need your help to make it a reality!”

“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.”

“Combat uses a tactical real-time with pause system – positioning your party and coordinating attacks and abilities is one of the keys to success. The world map is dotted with unique locations and wilderness ripe for exploration and questing. You’ll create your own character and collect companions along the way – taking him or her not just through this story, but, with your continued support, through future adventures. You will engage in dialogues that are deep, and offer many choices to determine the fate of you and your party. …and you’ll experience a story that explores mature themes and presents you with complex, difficult choices to shape how your story plays out.”

Raising seed money through a project financing website like Kickstarter has become one of the new age fundraising tools of the gaming industry. Tim Schafer’s company, Double Fine, raised $3.3 million to finance their new game and several other gaming companies are seriously considering online campaigns to raise money.

Would you be willing to donate to a Kickstarter campaign to help finance a new game? Would you even consider donating $10,000 to have an in-game NPC or item named for you?