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Paradox aquires White Wolf from CCP

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Where did that even land? I'm surprised Brian Fargo hasn't snapped it up. Especially as its reputation seems to keep growing as the years go by.

I Facebook'd Tim Cain years ago to fanboy out about how much I love his work and would love to, one day, see a successor to Arcanum. He said the IP is probably owned wholly by Activision and thus nobody will ever get to use it.
 

Metroidvania

People called Romanes they go the house?
Spiritual Bloodlines successor w/ Obsidian (+Mitsoda/Double Bear if you can swing it!) dream game imminent.

But realistically, this at least means hope for something, after how apparently terrible CCP fumbled the ball on the MMO.

If I remember correctly Bloodlines didn't do well at all when it was originally released (though it being busted on release probably contributed a lot too).

It also came out at the same time as Half life 2, MGS3, and Halo 2, among others.
 

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
Funny thing about Bloodlines is that we've seen games built similarly see success in the modern market. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is structurally very similar to Bloodlines, in terms of overall hub-to-mission game pacing, combination of dialogue and combat, light exploration, hub side quests, etc. Bloodlines found a pretty nice balance (read: ultimately broken, but still fun) of table top role playing elements (conversations, skill trees, stats) while also being predominantly real time action driven in all your actual game functions instead of dice rolls.

You could almost take Bloodlines in its complete game design and dialogue as is, and remake it with a modern coat of paint, polish up the few rougher stretches of game (like those fucking sewers), and you'd still have an outstanding gem of a game.

Like, I think the template for a very faithful and similarly designed successor is there, without the need to seriously scale back or hinder the design, for the modern market.

Human Revolutions budget was probably higher then the total value of Paradox, keep your expectations in check folks.
 

dude

dude
BTW, Onyx Path, the guys who are now making the P&P games for the WW franchises, announced V:tM 4th edition some time ago. The stars are all aligning.
There are a lot of WW franchises with great video game potential - Ars Magicka, Exalted, Scion... Paradox could really up their RPG game with these.

I do wonder what WW would work on that Onyx Path has taken over P&P publishing... Would they merge and WW would return to P&P? What has WW actually done under CCP?
 
I have no idea why CCP acquired the licence in the first place, they accomplished nothing but throwing money into the fire with their failed MMO project. Glad it's with a competent studio for a change.

I don't think they started the MMO project with the thought they were going to fail doing it.
 

Dark Matter

Neo Member
I don't think obsidian can make a good Bloodlines sequel or spiritual successor.

A new made in Obsidian Vampire TM Redemption 2 with top-down camera and stategic combat can instead turn out to be great and would be easier to make.
 

Haly

One day I realized that sadness is just another word for not enough coffee.
Mixed feelings. On one hand CCP wasn't doing anything with it. On the other hand they had that tech demo years ago and it looked great, and they also have a lot of experience making open world free-form stuff, so World of Darkness Online would've been something really special.
 

Chariot

Member
Mixed feelings. On one hand CCP wasn't doing anything with it. On the other hand they had that tech demo years ago and it looked great, and they also have a lot of experience making open world free-form stuff, so World of Darkness Online would've been something really special.
They already cancelled that years ago, so literally nothing was lost.
 

dude

dude
Mixed feelings. On one hand CCP wasn't doing anything with it. On the other hand they had that tech demo years ago and it looked great, and they also have a lot of experience making open world free-form stuff, so World of Darkness Online would've been something really special.

Honestly, I was never sold on the WoD MMO. The system is way too story-centric and the world is very rigid and hierarchical. It makes for great story focused games like Bloodlines or P&P campaigns, but turning it into an MMO would have taken a lot of tweaking. I wasn't the least bit surprised it failed.
 

adj_noun

Member
Imagine if someone made a game or series of games based on the Trinity universe. Two fisted pulp action in the twenties, superhero heroics in modern times and sci fi blasters and aliens in the future, all with one hell of a connecting storyline.

I think Onyx Path actually has Trinity, but still. Man oh man.
 

Haly

One day I realized that sadness is just another word for not enough coffee.
They already cancelled that years ago, so literally nothing was lost.

Honestly, I was never sold on the WoD MMO. The system is way too story-centric and the world is very rigid and hierarchical. It makes for great story focused games like Bloodlines or P&P campaigns, but turning it into an MMO would have taken a lot of tweaking. I wasn't the least bit surprised it failed.

Let me dream, okay.
cry.gif
 

AColdDay

Member
Hopefully the success of Human Revolution and games like it helps sell a Bloodlines successor in the modern market. If I remember correctly Bloodlines didn't do well at all when it was originally released (though it being busted on release probably contributed a lot too).

Didn't it come out right at the same time, or shortly after Half Life 2 as well?
 

Xiraiya

Member
Now, while we're talking about old Troika RPGs, let's see if we can't free up the Arcanum license.

Oh boy, don't make me think things that dangerous.

Look, I have a love of Pillars Of Eternity, but that game is a love letter to Bulders Gate fans, I was never a BG Person, I felt like Arcanum was a far more incredible experience so it is the standard to which I hold all of those Isometric RPGs, the voice acting even today is still really damn solid.

I need the Arcanum universe fully realized in a new game, bloodborne is about as close as I'll get and it's not even that similar, but still satisfying.
 

adj_noun

Member
Vampire gets all the hoopla, but where's my Werewolf, Mage and Wraith games.

Andiftheyhavethetimechangeling.

Ah, Wraith, the game where someone else at the table was supposed to be a full time troll to you. I never actually played it, but I loved the world layers they created for it.
 

dude

dude
Vampire gets all the hoopla, but where's my Werewolf, Mage and Wraith games.

Andiftheyhavethetimechangeling.

Ah, Wraith, the game where someone else at the table was supposed to be a full time troll to you. I never actually played it, but I loved the world layers they created for it.

Is it even possible to translate Mage to a video game? How would the magic system work?
 
I don't think obsidian can make a good Bloodlines sequel or spiritual successor.

A new made in Obsidian Vampire TM Redemption 2 with top-down camera and stategic combat can instead turn out to be great and would be easier to make.

While I wouldn't say no to an isometric, party-based RPG in the Vampire universe, I think Obsidian is perfectly capable of developing a Bloodlines successor. It's not like they've never developed a 3D, action-based game before. Alpha Protocol's mixture of stealth and combat with active abilities isn't worlds away from Bloodlines.
 
Yeah definitely get the old system heavy hitters, VtM, WtA, and MtA into some sort of game. The only thing from the newer system that would rock would be Changeling. That would be some crazy Alice: Madness Returns like goodness.
 

Teeth

Member
Vampire would be nice and everything, but what wouldn't give for a third person Werewolf of the Apocalypse game. I've been waiting for one since Capcom's aborted game in the late 90s.

Get of Fenris 4 lyfe.
 

Cleve

Member
At last, someone can do something with the Street Fighter: The Storytelling Game IP!

I eagerly await streetfighter: the movie - the storytelling game - the game

I'd definitely go for a crusader kings style game. I could bring the Cappadocians to the modern age.
 

Spirited

Mine is pretty and pink
Happy to see Paradox growing, hoping that they'll continue producing/developing great games and maybe get big enough to get some bigger budget on the games.
 

Azih

Member
Ah man. Best news. I'm sorry but CCP was a disaster for white-wolf. Paradox seems like a much better fit. Even if the WoD MMO wasn't going well why they heck didn't they license the IP out to make another Bloodlines? Why did they kill fan projects? Boo CCP. Looking forward to a much better future. WoD rivals Warhammer in terms of fantasy worlds built out of fun cheesy lore. Bloodlines remains the game with the best NPC characters in any game I've played.
 

Haly

One day I realized that sadness is just another word for not enough coffee.
First person Grand Strategy brehs!
 

Dinda

Member
Remake the original Bloodlines in Unreal 4 and let Obsidian develop Bloodlines 2. Or maybe even better build a new great RPG studio for this.
Thanks.
 

SerRodrik

Member
It also came out at the same time as Half life 2, MGS3, and Halo 2, among others.
Woof. Somebody dropped that ball hard.
Yeah definitely get the old system heavy hitters, VtM, WtA, and MtA into some sort of game. The only thing from the newer system that would rock would be Changeling. That would be some crazy Alice: Madness Returns like goodness.
New Changeling would be great. I would also be interested in seeing someone try to translate Promethean (it even has a built in endgame), but I could also see that being a nightmare.
 
I have no idea why CCP acquired the licence in the first place, they accomplished nothing but throwing money into the fire with their failed MMO project. Glad it's with a competent studio for a change.

Well CCP acquired it to produce the MMO and the aim of the MMO was to be 100% player-driven sandbox like EVE but instead of spaceships and corporations, vampires and cults. They spent a lot of money in R&D to see if it was feasible, what they were attempting was from an angle that they're the most competent at, they're the only company to produce the only true entirely player-driven sandbox game - really there is no one else more experienced and/or competent than them for what they wanted to do with it. Their ideas, plans and what they showed was promising but internally they found it to be unfeasible. People were hyped for what they could produce because of the success of EVE and the type of game they developed to allow players to control it the way they can, people even today still desperately want a game as player-driven in a sandbox as EVE but without spaceships and WoD MMO was that potential. Granted, they shouldn't have acquired everything in its entirety and just the rights to make a MMO.
 

Chariot

Member
Woof. Somebody dropped that ball hard.
Didn't the go bankrupt during development and finished the game on the last meters on their own money, which is why was such a buggy mess with clearly missing parts? They didn't had much choice in the matter of release.
 

dude

dude
Well CCP acquired it to produce the MMO and the aim of the MMO was to be 100% player-driven sandbox like EVE but instead of spaceships and corporations, vampires and cults. They spent a lot of money in R&D to see if it was feasible, what they were attempting was from an angle that they're the most competent at, they're the only company to produce the only true entirely player-driven sandbox game - really there is no one else more experienced and/or competent than them for what they wanted to do with it.

The problem, I believe, is that WoD was just never a good fit for an MMO. You can't do it without losing a whole lot of the setting. I guess maybe if the game centers the Sabbath, but even then it's a stretch.
The tragedy here is that this endeavor basically killed WW and put their IPs in near stasis. CCP has done nothing and also basically hindered anyone who did try to do anything...


BTW Onyx Path just posted about this on FB, and it looks like they're quite happy with the news,
 

Azih

Member
Didn't the go bankrupt during development and finished the game on the last meters on their own money, which is why was such a buggy mess with clearly missing parts? They didn't had much choice in the matter of release.

Yeah, it was a classic case of the publisher dicking over the developer and the developer catching all the blame.
 
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