For the holiday season, inXile has decided to give all backers a free copy of their first game, the Bard's Tale, as detailed in the newest Kickstarter update.<blockquote>The holidays are a time of friends, family, and eating yourself into a food coma. It is also a time where friends and family give thoughtful gifts to those that they love. We here at inXile are feeling the holiday spirit, and we can’t think of anyone we love more than the 63,000 of you that backed Wasteland 2. So that settles it; inXile wants to give all of our backers a great gift this holiday season. Since we are all out of fruitcake and snickerdoodles, we decided the best gift we could give you all was a FREE copy of The Bard’s Tale. You read that right; all of you backers who log into the Ranger Center web portal between now and the end of the year will be able to get a code that will let you download your very own copy of The Bard’s Tale from our friends at Steam.
“What is The Bard’s Tale?” you ask. Good question. Let me tell you. The Bard’s Tale was inXile’s first game (published 2004), and it is a reimagining of the original Bard’s Tale series created by Brian Fargo and Interplay in the mid 1980s. Our remake is a much lighter action RPG than the original, and it is considered by many to be one of the funniest games ever made. The Bard, who is voiced by The Princess Bride’s Cary Elwes, is a sarcastic, reluctant hero who has little interest in saving the world unless there is enough profit in it. We try to turn all the classic RPG clichés upside down in this hilarious tribute to the genre we all love.</blockquote>The Bard's Tale also includes a copy of the original trilogy.
They also talk some more about the crowdsourcing asset experiment, which reminds me to note batch 2 of the concept art for assets is up, adding five new pieces.
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And finally, they link to an interview with the PA Report.<blockquote>Wasteland 2 was always a project with a large fan base, as proven by its Kickstarter success. Fargo says that people were constantly asking if they could provide music, writing, art work, anything that could get into the game. “People forget about how many young people want to get into our industry,” he explained. “For them this is a godsend, they think this program is the best thing they’ve ever heard of. They can’t wait to show their work; how else are they going to get guys like us to see what they produce? They want to try their talents out, get into the game, and get their badge of honor, so to speak.”
This allows artists to practice the skills needed to turn concept art into a working model, and they can be sure their work will be seen and evaluated by industry professionals. The team will also be looking for talent they can work with on future projects; if someone shows that they can provide above average work on a routine basis, it’s very possible the relationship could turn professional.
Even if an artist only has one model selected for use in the game, that can be used to promote the model so others will license it, and they get to say their work appeared in a popular game. It’s a huge opportunity.
It’s also a new, more efficient way of doing things. “Seeing the money that came in, you look at what you have, and then you ask how you’re going to do it,” Fargo said. “You just can’t operate as normal. We got to use existing tools, and to be more clever. We’re being smart and efficient about how we use the money and resources.” With such a large community working on assets and focusing on the 3D models, the core team at inXile has been able to get things up and working much faster than on previous projects.
“We’ve seen more progress in 90 days than we did with Fallout in probably the first nine months,” Fargo said. </blockquote>
“What is The Bard’s Tale?” you ask. Good question. Let me tell you. The Bard’s Tale was inXile’s first game (published 2004), and it is a reimagining of the original Bard’s Tale series created by Brian Fargo and Interplay in the mid 1980s. Our remake is a much lighter action RPG than the original, and it is considered by many to be one of the funniest games ever made. The Bard, who is voiced by The Princess Bride’s Cary Elwes, is a sarcastic, reluctant hero who has little interest in saving the world unless there is enough profit in it. We try to turn all the classic RPG clichés upside down in this hilarious tribute to the genre we all love.</blockquote>The Bard's Tale also includes a copy of the original trilogy.
They also talk some more about the crowdsourcing asset experiment, which reminds me to note batch 2 of the concept art for assets is up, adding five new pieces.
<center>
And finally, they link to an interview with the PA Report.<blockquote>Wasteland 2 was always a project with a large fan base, as proven by its Kickstarter success. Fargo says that people were constantly asking if they could provide music, writing, art work, anything that could get into the game. “People forget about how many young people want to get into our industry,” he explained. “For them this is a godsend, they think this program is the best thing they’ve ever heard of. They can’t wait to show their work; how else are they going to get guys like us to see what they produce? They want to try their talents out, get into the game, and get their badge of honor, so to speak.”
This allows artists to practice the skills needed to turn concept art into a working model, and they can be sure their work will be seen and evaluated by industry professionals. The team will also be looking for talent they can work with on future projects; if someone shows that they can provide above average work on a routine basis, it’s very possible the relationship could turn professional.
Even if an artist only has one model selected for use in the game, that can be used to promote the model so others will license it, and they get to say their work appeared in a popular game. It’s a huge opportunity.
It’s also a new, more efficient way of doing things. “Seeing the money that came in, you look at what you have, and then you ask how you’re going to do it,” Fargo said. “You just can’t operate as normal. We got to use existing tools, and to be more clever. We’re being smart and efficient about how we use the money and resources.” With such a large community working on assets and focusing on the 3D models, the core team at inXile has been able to get things up and working much faster than on previous projects.
“We’ve seen more progress in 90 days than we did with Fallout in probably the first nine months,” Fargo said. </blockquote>
